433 MHz Support in Node-RED

 ITEAD contacted me about testing some new equipment and write an unbiased blog post about it. I usually reject all such offers, but this one worked for me. Why? Well, all the stuff they offered was on my shopping list anyway! And my home is quite literally chock full of Sonoff relays, lamps, etc. So the first thing I started to play with was the SONOFF RF BRIDGE 433. The bridge makes it possible to control switches, doorbells, curtain openers, etc. that uses 433MHz communication frequency. I’m not interested in using the original firmware because I prefer to do my home automation setup in Node-RED. Here’s how it works. ...

November 17, 2017

Sonoff WiFi Smart Switch With I2C Port

How to add an I2C interface to a Sonoff WiFi Smart Switch. The Sonoff brand is a whole series os IOT devices that use the esp8266 WiFi processor internally. The devices are easily hacked and are cheap. The Sonoff WiFi Smart Switch is the most straightforward device, which can turn on or off 110/220 Volt 10 Ampere remotely. That means you can have your ceiling fan, lamp or anything else connected t mains power remotely controlled by your phone or computer. But the software that comes with it isn’t very flexible and cannot be integrated into a home control system like NodeRED, OpenHAB or any other home automation system. Firmware The Sonoff devices are easy to hack, so you can put a better firmware like ESPEasy on it and integrate the device with any system. ESPEasy has an extensive list of extra modules that you can connect, like temperature, barometric pressure, humidity, light sensors, PIR sensors and a long list of other things. But most modules connect with I2C, which is a serial interface for interconnecting ICs using a clock and a data line. The Sonoff Switch only have one extra pin available, making it impossible to connect more advanced sensors. But there is a way of fixing that. Here’s how to add that to add an I2C connector to your $5 Sonoff and open up a whole field of stuff you can do. ...

March 21, 2017