How to: smart outdoor Christmas dekoration with Meross Smart Plug Socket

From the time back when I lived with my parents (honestly that isn’t that long ago XD), I can still remember how my dad was setting up a manual control unit to turn the outdoor Christmas decoration on and off on a periodical basis. But I never thought about how I would deal with that topic, since I never had to set up outdoor Christmas decoration… Until now. Since I moved in the middle of this year, I have a balcony with large windows so I can see nearly everything up to the balcony’s handrail.

But honestly, a mechanical control unit is quite not appropriate for a “smart” household. Ok, I just cannot meld it with my personal standards. ;P So, first I searched for smart outdoor fairy lights but sadly I didn’t found something that meets my demands of being addable to the Wi-Fi and into the google home platform. Also, I thought it would be nice to have a more general control instance for the time after Christmas, so I can reuse is for something else.

Luckily, black Friday came along and featured me just the right deal (oh wounder) … so I decided for a mini project combining standard outdoor fairy lights with a smart plug socket. I ordered a 19,9 meters long Christmas decoration with 270 LEDs and the Meross WLan outdoor plug socket. Using a Meross device again comes with two benefits because first, I already know how the system structure and manufacturer app works (also I can assume the quality of the product) and second it is way easier to keep track of all the different devices in the network and keep everything working if they are from just a few different vendors. 

 

After a few days everything arrived and because, as I mentioned, this is only a mini project, setting the thing up can be done within half an hour. First, I installed the fairy lights around the handrail by simply wrapping them around and then securing them from moving away in a storm or so on with simple zip ties. To test if everything is still fine and I didn’t damage something I plugged them into the wall socket. 

Next up is the setup for the Meross plug socket. Powering an unconfigured Meross device up always brings it into paring mode, so you can connect to the Wi-Fi the device sends out and from there configure the connection into the right network. These steps are done through the Meross app on the smartphone, what also directly connects the device to the right profile. Also, as in my case, if you already have that manufacturer connected to the google home platform, the new device automatically gets added to your home and you only have to assign a room to it. 

 

After everything was connected, I took some additional configuration steps to finalize the set up. As the plug socket comes with two slots, it is possible to rename them, so you have three instances: controlling the whole device, controlling only the right slot, controlling only the left slot.

On the second slot, I attached my environmental sensor (I made a blogpost about it some time ago) from luftdaten.info. This brings another comfortable feature in, because the sensor hangs up from time to time and I must reboot it by disconnecting and reconnecting the power. Now, if I receive an e-mail about the sensor not working, I can fix this without even being home. 

 

 

 

 

Anyways, back to why I even started this project: smart controlling my outdoor Christmas decoration. The Meross app allows to set up routines for every device either for a specific time of the day or for a timespan. So I investigated the times I want my fairy lights to shine down on the street (what is as long as it is dark enough and also as the most people are up so they can see it. It’s not really worth having your Christmas decoration shining at 3am when nearly nobody sees it, it only consumes a lot of energy). For this regular on- and off-events I configured routines on the specific slot of the power socket to turn on and off. 

And that is already everything that needs to be done to have an automated, power saving and smart outdoor Christmas decoration.

How do you control your Christmas Decoration or other outside environment? Do you maybe use other solutions or found outside fairy lights that are directly smart controllable? Let me know. I am really interested to get in touch with some nerds, hackers and makers!

The somewhat smart advent wreath ( I know, I'm late to the game)

While everyone was preparing for this year’s Christmastime since weeks, I just felt energized to set stuff up when black Friday week started on amazon.

Because the lack of daylight always sets me in a bad mood, it wasn’t really a question that my advent wreath needs to be a little pimped up…. With LEDs! I still had enough stripes left from all my other smart-LED integrations. So what I had to look for was not much more than an adapter for the stripe that can a) pass through 12V 1,5A AC, as the LED-stripe takes as power input, and b) control the red, green and blue channels separately. Ok, maybe there is a part c). Because I can’t stand a LED-light in my flat not being smart controlled and I think of reusing the adapter when Christmastimes are over, it has to talk to the Wi-Fi at least and in best case is capable of being integrated with the google home platform. After a quick search, I decided for the “Wi-Fi RGB LED Controller” from smart magic home. Also, simply because I killed the last one I had in an experiment, I’ll need a 12V 2A AC power supply too.

As much as I like it to have light all around, I also like to have it safe and comfortable to use and that is why I decided to go with LED-Candles as well. Since then I only knew the one with a static plastic tip that has a flickering LED inside but during my research I found candles that have like a movable plastic flame on a wire that wiggles around if the candle is turned on, so I decided to give them a try. (Spoiler: I was sceptical when they arrived, but they actually do their job.) Sadly, I didn’t found LED-candles that can be integrated in a smart home control and the one with a remote only were controllable as a set and that’s not quite what you want to do an a advent wreath… So, I went with the “downside” of manual switches. But maybe, it’s not really a downside because turning on one more candle every Sunday is pretty much what an advent wreath is all about. 

And that already is everything I bought for this project (yes I did bought it all on black Friday sales and yes I was running out of time so it might could have been prepared better with more time). However, I went to the basement and found the advent wreath like I left him some years ago:

Yea…. So, in my first step I removed like everything and sorted by decoration elements I might want to reuse and by stuff that straight went to trash… like the bows for example.

After this, I had to cut the spikes that normally hold the candles in place because LED-candles usually have a plastic plate on the bottom and right underneath this plate, the battery gets inserted so, DON’T ever try to punch a spike like this through an LED-candle… just saying. :D Removing the spikes is quiet dangerous, so even it is necessary, I can’t recommend that and if you have to, take safety preparations like covering your ears and as you can see I covered the spike with a fabric so I can hold better onto it and if it slips through my fingers likely get caught before it can fly around. Still, it remains a dangerous thing! Because I was not able to remove the spikes restless, I smoothened them a little and covered them with these red fleece stars what also prevents the candles from sliding around. 

 

Next, I needed a basic platform to install my LED-stripe on. I used some cardboard and Christmas gift-wrap paper for that. The so created bottom plate for the cage I sticked then with some sticky tape into place. 

And now it was time to install the heart piece of the project: the LED-stripe and control! Normally, LED-stripes are not really flexible and almost every manufacturer advices to not bend them as I did. But I had enough extreme situations in other projects so I knew it could work if I’m a little careful.

And it did. With some patience needed, I glued them to the cardboard alongside the metal bars, then connected the controller instance to the stripe (please note: It is important to take care of the right direction. Most of these adapters are marked what wire needs to go where.) and glued the controller on the outside bottom edge of the advent wreath. Plug the power supply in aaand disco time! ;) 

 

All left to do now, is to download the app that can be used to control the LED-stripe adapter, set it up in your Wi-Fi and then do the standard integration stuff within the google home app (I have shown how this procedure works in older posts, so if you don’t know how to, just check out older posts with the IoT label). 

Then, I put some of the saved decoration stuff inside, not too much, not too little, so the LEDs can shine through nicely and installed the LED-candles with batteries on top. DA-DA!!! Finished is my somewhat-smart, LED safe and nerdy advent wreath. ^^

 

What do you think of it? Do you made some tech- or nerdlike Christmas decoration? It makes my living room an even more nice place to chill and relax. Good thing, we are all in home office at the moment! ;) 

TOP 5 - Futuristic sports and competitions

As a real nerd and technology enthusiast, I'm into a lot of futuristic events. Now you can read my top events and why I chose them in this time's TOP 5. Future starts NOW! :D

5. Case modding 

Every year on gamescom, the most talented and skilled people of the case modding community come together and turn great ideas into awesome looking custom made PC-cases. While the results are presented and ranked by a jury, it's more like an art gallery. The challenge is not to only to make something that stands out and is original with limited time and material, but also have the PC that remains inside still work afterwards.

4. E-Sports

Maybe already the most "mainstream" modern competition. Today, E-Sports appear in a wide variety of games and forms. As one vs. one, team vs. team or human against machine. As a competition of thinking or quick reactions. A few years ago E-Sports was noticed as a hobby for a small community, but it grew up to a thing that professionals call their job. In some countries it can be watched on television channels next to football and bicycling. And since we are all forced to meet online more often because of the ongoing pandemic, E-Sports may be discovered as an alternative way of entertainment for people who weren't used to it so far.  

3. Hackathon

Hackathons are a funny way of coming together with other tech- and DIY-enthusiasts and turn yourself on to challenges and duties that are not to solve with only expertise but also with creativity and passion. Sadly, because I lack people who have experience and the interest in hackathons, I never did one so far. But I'd like to so… if you are reading this and you compete in hackathons or know someone who could use a rookie, feel free to leave a comment :D !  

2. Drone Racing 

Without a doubt, drone racing is the most spectacular event on the list. It still might be unknown for the most people, but if you have seen the tiny quadcopters whizzing through the air once, flashing like amusement park attractions, you'll be hooked. Sadly, it's hard to find a live show in Germany, but you can always watch the latest events on the YouTube channels of all the different organizations, like the drone racing league (DRL) or the drone racing association (DRA). Sadly, I haven't learned to fly a drone good enough to race it yet. But it's a thing on my project list that one day I want to build one myself. And then… it's on B-) !

1. Robotic Competitions

As old as the field of robotics is, the wishes to construct them as complex and human-like as possible are just as old. Robotic competitions support this pursuit by forcing the participants to develop even newer technologies every time. From autonomous soccer matches to human rescue scenarios or precise environment control. A lot skills, initially developed in such competitions, were the starting point for new end-user devices. While universities mostly compete against each other on professional levels, small beginner tasks and projects are perfect for kids and adult starters in the field of technologies. Because of this, I'm a big supporter of bringing robotics as a school subject to every one out there!  I bet most of the kids would like to go to school at least once a week! :D 

The robotic household - autonomous vaccumcleaner - roborock S5 max [Tutorial]

As most people do, I absolutely hate loosing time on keeping my flat in shape. It's time-consuming, exhausting, and really lasts not long enough for the effort it takes. Luckily, we life in a modern society and learned to design technologies for all this nasty tasks . So it shouldn't be a surprise, that at some point I decided to buy a autonomous vacuum-cleaner to get rid of that problem. It was no question that I wanted a model that not randomized drives through the rooms until it hits something, but can scan the room and recognize  objects. This method of first creating a map of the room and then cleaning it in a structured way provides the advantages of a faster and more accurate cleaning with less blind spots. Also, if the software supports it, you can tell the robot to only clean a special area or room. Luckily, my partner already had a big knowledge in what brands and price ranges (yes, you can pay everything from 200€ to a 1000€ for such a household) would fit my demands. So, after a few more researches, I decided to give the S% max from Roborock a try. The first deal I made on amazon was a warehouse deal and… let's make it short: they send me a wrong model that wasn't in the shape as they offered it to me and so I had to send it back and made another deal of a factory new one for 10 bucks more… which still got me the device for more than 25%  off the normal price, at the point of this article around 600€. After all this trouble, I received the following gear within the box:

 

• Roborock S5 Max with watertank installed
• Mopping module for mopping mode
• Charging- and homestation
• Power cord for the station
• Plasticsheet for the robot to rest on
• Instruction papers

 

The robot itself, has a little turret on it's top in which the laser sits, that scans the environment for obstacles. On the front half sides are bumpers that give the robot the information if he hits something. On the right side (as the robot cleans turning in right cycles, a little rotating brush catches the dust out of the corners. Also sensors search for obstacles ahead, as well as a sensor underneath the robot scans for edges the robot could fall off from. On the top of the front half, a power and a home button can be found.

 

On the back half, underneath the watertank is accessible and the mop can be installed. On the top, a little hatch can be opened to remove the dustbin to empty it. Also, a reset button and control led can be found here. 

 

Alright, let's get to install the station and fire it up! My flat really could need a cleaning session! :S

 

1. Install the homestation 

First step is to find your robot a spot where he can sit, charge and wait for its operation. It should be easy to enter and exit for the robot, in the best case in a central room and you shouldn't fall over your new buddy. Also, the charger should be placed backwards against a wall, so the robot can't push it around. 

 

 

When found a spot, clean the floor, place the homestation with the flat backside against the wall, peal of the protection sheet from the glue stripe on the stations bottom and glue it tight. Then plug the power cord in. 

Last, also clean the area in front of the station, peal of the protection sheet from the glue stripes on the bottom of the transparent plasticsheet and place it with the gap around the homestation. Tie it to the ground by putting a little pressure on it for about 10 second. 

 

  

2. Get the robot started

 

Next, place the robot front facing onto the charging station and press the power button until the device reacts. 

 

3. Install the app

 

Now head over to the app- or android playstore and download the  "Roborock" app. First, as always, you have to create an account and afterwards, the app will lead you into setting up your first device. 

 

On the first step, choose the device you want to install and connect to your target WIFI. 

 

Then, wait until the app uploaded all the information onto the robot and the device is connected to your network.  

 

When finished, open the device menu from the homescreen and update the firmware of your robot. At this point, I pass you my common pleading of why software updates are so important and so on… If you wish, you can also change the name of your device here. 

 

 
4. First environment scan

 

From the home interface, click on "edit map", choose "create new map", read the instructions and then click on "create". 

 

The robot then starts driving around and scans for the shapes of the rooms and obstacles. This can take some time and battery, as the robot needs to orientate. 

 

 

 

5. Finalizing the map

 

When done, the app tries to identify different rooms and mark them in different colors. The white lines show the route the robot took during it's last cleaning session. Now, we can finalize the map by adding custom information. For example, add zones the robot should not clean, or not clean while in mopping mode (carpeting for example), as well as splitting rooms by hand and defining the order in which the rooms should be cleaned. All this can be done again in the "edit map" section. 

 

 

6. Google home integration 

 

Finally, as I'm lazy a.f., I don't want to open the app to get my robot clean the house. I wanna just talk to him. Because the device itself can't react to voice control, but listen for commands in the network and my google nest can hear me and send commands on the network, let's integrate the my smart vacuum cleaner into my google home.

First, open the google home app, click on the little plus symbol in the upper left corner and in the upcoming menu, choose the second option.

 

Then search for "Roborock". Log in with your roborock account and choose your robot to get added to the room you placed him in.

 

 

That's it, your robot now should appear in the dashboard section of the room you defined him in. 

 

Now you can say things like "Start Robotname" and your google home will sent your new household to work.

Good to knows: the robot can recognize carpet and adapts to it. When the robot gets stuck for to long, he cancles cleaning and waits for you to free him.

 

In my test so far, I couldn't notize any reasonable blank spots, the battery can hold more than three cleaning sessions and in mopping mode I really like that the floor is good "mopped", but to wet so it damages the ceiling.

So I hope this little guide helps getting started if you also want to kill timeconsumpting processes with smart technologies. What do you think of todays little helpers for your every day tasks? Would you buy yourself a vacuum cleaning robot? Why or why not or do you maybe already have one in use? Tell me down in the command section!