Domoticz fun and Challenges Topic is solved

[mrwjca]

Hi All,

A bit of sharing but also seeking a bit of help.

I am now a few weeks busy with Domoticz.
It is running on a: RFXCOM-XL Domoticz Starter Kit met Raspberry Pi 3B+
Connected currently:
Nest 2nd generation Protect OAuth
Philips Hue (2 lights)
SolarEdge via Web API

new to this, a newbie so be gentle with me.

I have not yet managed to get a weather channel running on Domoticz. For example I tried DarkSky, got an API, location Zaandijk, but it is not working, tried to change the location to 52.47494 4.80686 but I am getting nonstop a pop up saying "Problem adding Hardware" don't understand this.

I also managed recently to access my Pi via the local network, very useful via putty and remote desktop (I changed the default password)
I have not yet managed to access the PI or domoticz outside my home (say with my smartphone from work)
Need to find more info on this but getting a bit lost on the big internet. help would be nice.
I already have a Mydomoticz account

I have on my Pi also a display:
Raspberry Pi Display 5 Inch 800x480 HDMI TFT Touch LCD Screen Display
Touch is not working, probably a setup issue but it is useful to my opinion.
How ever I would like to let this display always show the domoticz page, currently it is not nice looking and the screen turns off after a little while, need to fix this advice is welcome.

I also have in the house:
Google Home Mini
Sonoff RF Bridge 433 (works via Ewelink app)
Sonoff TH10 switch with Temp Sensor (works via Ewelink app)
Sonoff Slampher E27 Wifi Bulb Socket 433 RF (works via Ewelink app and Google Home Mini)
Sonoff T1 EU Smart Wifi wall Touch Light Switch 1 Gang WiFi/433 RF/APP Remote Smart Home Controller (needs to work in the future on EWelink and Google Home Mini)
Would be nice if these also could connect to domoticz, but how to (easy way)

I noticed this morning my kitchen lights (Ikea ansluta remote control) would these work via domoticz?

In the future it is the idea (I want) to place somewhere a display from which i can see the daily stuff (weather, calendar news) and domoticz, not sure if it is possible?

Any useful tips are always welcome, any changes I will share of course

ps not sure where to post this so I posted it in >General >Other questions and discussions

[HansieNL]

Q: In the future it is the idea (I want) to place somewhere a display from which i can see the daily stuff (weather, calendar news) and domoticz, not sure if it is possible?
A: Take look at Dashticz.

[jake]

Q I have not yet managed to get a weather channel running on Domoticz
A did you enable 'allow new hardware' in the settings page?

[mrwjca]

Q I have not yet managed to get a weather channel running on Domoticz
A did you enable 'allow new hardware' in the settings page?

That was my worry first to but the case is that this has been enabled/allowed and still getting this error.
Just a little extra info the error is a pop up screen on the page when I try to add new hardware. There is no note in the log.

But, yes but, I just managed to add it via my phone, but on my laptop it gives me an error???

[gamlebardun]

Hello mrwjca
I am quite new at domoticz myself, but It has proven a nice rewarding hobby!
At the time, I am renting a domain name, and have to update the DNS-pointer manually. The address does not change often, but if it does it happens at an inconvenient time!

So, I declared a user variable in my Domoticz to hold the current value (found, say, by https://www.myip.com from my local network)
I run Domoticz on a Raspberry Pi, so I created a scheduled bash script to rake my current Public IP, and update this variable when changed - and also send me a notification over Telegram. To reach my server from the internet there is of course a matter of (see your router docs, or ask google)
- having a static IP/dhcp reservation for my domoticz server on my local network - 195.168.86.86 in the script
- port forwarding (8080) in my router, pointing it towards the domoticz server by the reserved IP address

Code: Select all

# check if my public IP has changed, and update my user
# variable PublicIP (idx=1) if it has
# also, notify - so I can get back to my system
# and/or update my manually configured DNS_pointer

# get the current (real world) IP address
CURRENT=$(curl -v --silent "https://www.myip.com" 2>&1 | grep -oP "id=\"ip\">(.*)</span" | cut -d">" -f 2 | cut -d"<" -f 1)

# get the stored value from domoticz. Here, the index of the variable seems to do the trick
STORED=$(curl -v --silent "http://192.168.86.86:8080/json.htm?type=command&param=getuservariable&idx=1" 2>&1 | grep "\"Value\"" | cut -d'"' -f4 | cut -d'"' -f1)

# changed ?
if [ "$CURRENT" = "$STORED" ];then
  echo "no change - leaving script"
  exit 0
else

# update the user variable. This one likes to be referenced by name somehow ..
curl -v --silent "http://192.168.86.86:8080/json.htm?type=command&param=updateuservariable&vname=PublicIP&vtype=2&vvalue=$CURRENT" 2>&1

# send a message through notification subsystem, using telegram
curl -v --silent "http://192.168.86.86:8080/json.htm?type=command&param=sendnotification&subject=New%20public%20IP&body=Public%20IP%20is%20now%20$CURRENT&subsystem=telegram"

fi

I think the achilles heel of Domoticz is its documentation, it carries a heavy technical debt after changes in the solution and can be frustrating to navigate .. perhaps if I get more proficient I will offer to contribute in this area.
On the other hand, I think Domoticz has done so many things just right - and it is a joy to work with - really open and accessible, with fast paced expansion when the initial steps have been mastered .. eh .. and you can afford the gadgets needed It also runs perfectly fine on my RPI with no issues with memory, cpu or storage.. this is awesome.

Good luck on your tinkering!
Ketil

[mrwjca]

Hello All,

Has been a bit,
My son is taking a lot of time from me (Autistic) so I can not always work 24/7 on the project

But I managed to add a few more things on my Raspberry Pi and Domoticz.
Currently I can see:
Nest Smoke and CO Alarm
Nest Room Temp
SolarEdge Sunpanels info
My Electricity and Gas Meter
DarkSky Weather

Hue is not working

Anyways I also managed to access my Domoticz via 4G network, will test tomorrow if I can check from my work.

Now I was reading about the DashTicz option, but installing is a different story.
I am a virgin if it comes to this whole Raspberry Pi and Domoticz and so, learning everyday new tricks and having fun, very important.

But I got stuck at the beginning with install DashTicz, my problem is that I don't fully understand the
First clone the dashticz repository to a folder of your choice
https://www.domoticz.com/wiki/Dashticz_ ... stallation
Can someone give me a push?

[mvzut]

Are you using the last stable or the (last) beta? I believe Hue indeed doesn't work with the last stable. This was resolved in the betas pretty soon after the last stable was released, but this solution never made it into the stable (yet).

As an alternative to Dashticz, you could also consider using Imperihome. This is an Android/iOS app that you can run on a (wall mounted) tablet, which enables you to define dashboards for all kinds of connected equipment. After installing MyDomoAtHome on your Pi, Imperihome can also talk to Domoticz. I have this running for a few years, and I'm super happy with it!

[mrwjca]

Are you using the last stable or the (last) beta? I believe Hue indeed doesn't work with the last stable. This was resolved in the betas pretty soon after the last stable was released, but this solution never made it into the stable (yet).

As an alternative to Dashticz, you could also consider using Imperihome. This is an Android/iOS app that you can run on a (wall mounted) tablet, which enables you to define dashboards for all kinds of connected equipment. After installing MyDomoAtHome on your Pi, Imperihome can also talk to Domoticz. I have this running for a few years, and I'm super happy with it!

I need to dive again in the Hue story.

I tested the connection to Domoticz from work. When I was on my works WiFi network connection failed, but when I disconnected from WiFi it work fine.
This was tested via my phone.

@mvzut, sounds interesting I will of course have a look at it. It won't hurt comparing Dastics an Imperihome.

Sent from my Redmi 5 Plus using Tapatalk

[mrwjca]

Been busy again with Dashticz managed to install it, wasn't that difficult after all.

Now I need to basically build my dashboard, really need to sit down for that. That is not a very easy job

But I am Having fun, the most important thing I would say and learning so much.

Any tips, advices let me know.

Sent from my Redmi 5 Plus using Tapatalk

[Digiduck]

Hello mrwjca
I am quite new at domoticz myself, but It has proven a nice rewarding hobby!
At the time, I am renting a domain name, and have to update the DNS-pointer manually. The address does not change often, but if it does it happens at an inconvenient time!

So, I declared a user variable in my Domoticz to hold the current value (found, say, by https://www.myip.com from my local network)
I run Domoticz on a Raspberry Pi, so I created a scheduled bash script to rake my current Public IP, and update this variable when changed - and also send me a notification over Telegram. To reach my server from the internet there is of course a matter of (see your router docs, or ask google)
- having a static IP/dhcp reservation for my domoticz server on my local network - 195.168.86.86 in the script
- port forwarding (8080) in my router, pointing it towards the domoticz server by the reserved IP address

Code: Select all

# check if my public IP has changed, and update my user
# variable PublicIP (idx=1) if it has
# also, notify - so I can get back to my system
# and/or update my manually configured DNS_pointer

# get the current (real world) IP address
CURRENT=$(curl -v --silent "https://www.myip.com" 2>&1 | grep -oP "id=\"ip\">(.*)</span" | cut -d">" -f 2 | cut -d"<" -f 1)

# get the stored value from domoticz. Here, the index of the variable seems to do the trick
STORED=$(curl -v --silent "http://192.168.86.86:8080/json.htm?type=command&param=getuservariable&idx=1" 2>&1 | grep "\"Value\"" | cut -d'"' -f4 | cut -d'"' -f1)

# changed ?
if [ "$CURRENT" = "$STORED" ];then
  echo "no change - leaving script"
  exit 0
else

# update the user variable. This one likes to be referenced by name somehow ..
curl -v --silent "http://192.168.86.86:8080/json.htm?type=command&param=updateuservariable&vname=PublicIP&vtype=2&vvalue=$CURRENT" 2>&1

# send a message through notification subsystem, using telegram
curl -v --silent "http://192.168.86.86:8080/json.htm?type=command&param=sendnotification&subject=New%20public%20IP&body=Public%20IP%20is%20now%20$CURRENT&subsystem=telegram"

fi

I think the achilles heel of Domoticz is its documentation, it carries a heavy technical debt after changes in the solution and can be frustrating to navigate .. perhaps if I get more proficient I will offer to contribute in this area.
On the other hand, I think Domoticz has done so many things just right - and it is a joy to work with - really open and accessible, with fast paced expansion when the initial steps have been mastered .. eh .. and you can afford the gadgets needed It also runs perfectly fine on my RPI with no issues with memory, cpu or storage.. this is awesome.

Good luck on your tinkering!
Ketil

for me the instructions on this site worked "https://ehoco.nl/wan-ip-checker-in-domoticz/" the only thing i had to figure out was submitting that script the way to handle the device right. the dummy. the instructions left out one tiny thing in my opinion.... and thet was the part after the dzVents you need to put it in sub catagory timer.