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[cflurin]

[ArnieX]

Some playing with Homebridge-MQTT plugin ;). The only working thing yet is DIY LED Strip controlled by ESP8266.

[ArnieX]

Just an idea what can be accomplished with Homebridge-MQTT plugin, NodeMCU and dimmer module using MOSFET. I have to say, HB-MQTT plugin is best plugin for HB ever and is great enabler for many IoT projects.

Video@YouTube:

[cflurin]

@ArnieX: awesome! thanks for uploading the image and the video.

[ArnieX]

@cflurin could you please point me in right direction? I'm looking for lightbulb's characteristic that could set the accessory unavailable in case that it is physically offline that can happen with such accessory. Thank you.

[cflurin]

There is a service "Outlet" that has a characteristic "OutletInUse" but it only shows the details>OutletInUse: Yes or No.

Another option is to remove the Lightbulb and add it again when it's available.

[ArnieX]

@cflurin yeah but outlet is different story, it is meant to show if something is connected to outlet or not. But my friend who has Philips Hue with new bridge has it showing as unavailable when someone flip the physical switch off, so there has to be some characteristic to set the state to unavailable, but I can't find it. Unfortunately removing and adding isn't really useful way of doing things as you will have to always change the room, add it again to scenes, to automations etc.

[cflurin]

I see, I also use a hue bridge connected directly to Homekit (not homebridge). Indeed it shows "no response". I think they use a timeout, I'll investigate but just now I'm working on an other project.

[ArnieX]

@cflurin that is the right wording ;) I thought it shows unavailable but no response is it. No rush here we haven't finished our ESP8266 operated relay module for lights yet so it won't be needed for at least a month and a half.

[ArnieX]

@cflurin I will just use this thread to reference my two projects here on GitHub

1st is relay control using NodeMCU or ESP8266: https://github.com/ArnieX/esp8266_relay_mqtt 2nd is led strip dimming with the same setup: https://github.com/ArnieX/esp8266_dimmer_mqtt

In both project's readme I have also referenced your plugin ;) so I hope in case someone will find my project appealing will also use HB-MQTT plugin.

[cflurin]

@ArnieX:

I've added homebridge/to/set/reachability

topic: homebridge/to/set/reachability
payload: {"name": "flex_lamp", "reachable": true}
or
payload: {"name": "flex_lamp", "reachable": false}

Please install from GitHub:

sudo npm install -g cflurin/homebridge-mqtt

It'd be nice if you could test this feature.

[ArnieX]

@cflurin wow that is awesome I will test that right away when I get home and will let you know. Thank you.

[cflurin]

Please continue on issue 9 for the Reachability feature: https://github.com/cflurin/homebridge-mqtt/issues/9

[PianSom]

I use homebridge-mqtt with node-red and a Broadlink RM Pro (infrared + 433MHz transmitter) and associated python coding to give a MQTT interface. Together these can control various devices. Here used for a tv (actually a tv and set-top box combo, via a macro), an electric fire, and a series of 4 plug switches.

Additional node-red coding allows for adding/removing the devices, and for changing the home bridge state if a device is changed by e.g. an Alexa command.

[cflurin]

@PianSom: awesome! thanks for your feedback.