Lazurus
Established Member
Has anyone tried the above to control things like dust extractor air filter heaters etc. looks like a good way to have a smart workshop negating the need for remote plugs and timers etc?
Amazon Alexa and smart plugs in workshop
- Thread starter Lazurus
- Start date
Help Support UKworkshop.co.uk:
Inspector
Nyuck, Nyuck, Nyuck!
There is a guy or two on yooboob that has done it to some extent.
Pete
Pete
All well and good until your internet goes down and/or your router goes pop! Surely with extractors or filters they will only be on when required so the old manual switch would be best (and probably better for the pocket considering the pending UK energy price increases).
I have been using Alexa in the workshop for a while now and find it really useful. I was running it through a plug in smart switch but am currently in the process of wiring in some sonoff smart switches as a more permanent solution. I like it.
I posted a thread a while back asking for advice and it had a mixture of comments, some positive and others not so much. It works for me though.
Peter Millard has also done video or two on the subject, amongst others.
I posted a thread a while back asking for advice and it had a mixture of comments, some positive and others not so much. It works for me though.
Peter Millard has also done video or two on the subject, amongst others.
Not using Alexa but I do have a couple of the plug in sockets controlled by a remote, my dust extraction is on one as it's in the corner out of the way & it would be a pain each time I wanted to use a machine to go switch it on first, with the remote which is RF I can switch it on while standing at the machine I am using, got another one on the dust extractor that I use for portable tools like the track saw & orbital sander, just makes it a bit easier for me when using those tools
I went with the RF remote option for the same reasons as Martin above. I control the air filter and dust extractor with the remote from anywhere in the workshop. For the portable vacuum I have a floor pedal that both the tool and vac are plugged into which starts and stops both machines at the same time.
@martin.pearson & @kinverkid Guys, I have been looking into the RF remote sockets recently for another application and was wondering which to buy. Could you let me know which ones you are using please. Many thanks.
There are plenty of 433mhz plug-in types out there and I'm sure they're as good as each other but the last one I bought was this type but not necessarily from this supplier (it was a while back) AliExpress . I have dropped the remote a few too many times recently so I've ordered a new one. I've done it before and they all seem to work with each other across makes.
I just switch things on/off manually. So far it has been pretty reliable. No dropped or lost remotes. I have had no communication problems between the controller and the switch, so I've been really pleased with the system. It is cheap and reliable and quite convenient. The controller has the ability to move around the workshop, which is really impressive to see. It has two flexible switch control arms, which can reach inaccessible places. It even has touch sensors to 'feel' for the switch.
The Wi-Fi plugs I have seen all seem to have the ability to switch around 2 ~ 3 KW of resistive load. Great for lights, TVs, electric heaters. However, a motor is a reactive load, it has a huge surge current when switched on. The small relay or Triacs used in these devices will not withstand that kind of load.
However, what is fairly simple is to wire a contactor using the Wi-Fi plug to energise the coil. Unless your know what your doing with electrics, don’t try this.
However, what is fairly simple is to wire a contactor using the Wi-Fi plug to energise the coil. Unless your know what your doing with electrics, don’t try this.
I go into my account every so often to check and delete what it has recorded. There are a lot of 'Audio was not intended for device' and 'Audio could not be understood', but I'm sure these recordings are analysed to improve performance. You can listen to the recordings.
You can ask Alexa to forget everything it has heard today. Still all a bit scary giving a company the ability to have a listening device inside your house. I often talk about passwords with my wife, she will say shhhhh!! then point to Alexa. I have several Alexas in the house and use them all the time. The one in my workroom is really handy for doing calculations ---Alexa what is half of 127.25....then...Alexa make a farting sound. The best is the Alexa App. I can be out on my bike, my wife has visitors. I can make an announcement on all units telling her she is a fanny!! lol
I must be getting old, I hate social media, don't have a "smart phone" probably because education was much better back in the day and I like to be active so having to actually get up or take a short walk to turn something on is not a problem. I also have fully wired internet and do not rely on any WiFi plus one female in the house is enough, no room for another female like Alexa keeping tabs on your every move or transaction.
I have a feeling if we have android phones or apple phones, there's another copy of "oops" audio, anyway.
Louis Rossman did an interesting video on google (who he has always tried to say "no" to all data and audio collection), how devious they can be with updates and agreements to get you to agree to allow sharing and collection other than what you think you've agreed to. He said something humorous (although annoying) about literally being able to go to the data bank and listen to every single second of phone conversations he's ever had on an android phone (it was humorous because he picked something 9 years ago that was either leading up to or a call where he broke up with his girlfriend).
John Brown
Freeloading Social media influenza
I have actually taken the time and trouble to check. Without the trigger word (we use the default A word), there is zero WiFi traffic between our Echo dot and the router/mesh network. I concede that there will be accidental triggers, if we're discussing the frozen wastelands of North America, for example, or buying the upmarket Toyota brand, but that's acknowledged by Amazon.
I can't speak for Google assistant or Siri, however, as the devices that they run on have oodles of background data whizzing back and forth pretty much constantly.
I can't speak for Google assistant or Siri, however, as the devices that they run on have oodles of background data whizzing back and forth pretty much constantly.
In the US and most places, this stuff is effectively unregulated. Not because there aren't rules, but because there's no real penalty to saying "oops, our device collects information even when it's off and even when the user opts out - it was a 'glitch' that caused that".
I have a TV that's smart - so does everyone else, right? they are hooked up through wireless as a means of collecting audio and passing data. The data that they pass could be encrypted by the device, and who (except someone checking traffic caused by the device) would even know what they're sending. If the packets are encrypted data, then even if you can see data is being passed, you have no idea if it's just diagnostic or configuration info going to and from the TV to samsung.
(that's the brand in my case). Either samsung or LG began putting camera and mic on TVs a few years ago and of course everyone was surprised when the TVs were found to be collecting data even when they weren't on. People were spooked at first because "the TV could be watching them". It's not that dark or nefarious, the TV is simply finding out what people say and talk about so it can generate money by having tailored data. When samsung got caught (presuming that's the right company), they said "oops, error". What's the consequence - a $5 million fine or something? The devices are probably collecting billions of dollars' worth of data.
Orraloon
Established Member
We have had this discussion on smart stuff in the workshop before and I think I recall saying that for me the workshop was a place to get away from that for a while. Thinking more on it I can see lazy habits forming. If you can't take the time to flick a switch will you take time to unplug a machine to change a blade or clear a blockage.
The really smart part is those devices make billionaires even richer and thats something I dont need to help along. Perhaps one day there will be something so smart that I will get some benefit from it so until then I can potter around my shed flicking the switches myself.
Regards
John
The really smart part is those devices make billionaires even richer and thats something I dont need to help along. Perhaps one day there will be something so smart that I will get some benefit from it so until then I can potter around my shed flicking the switches myself.
Regards
John
HamsterJam
Let’s take it apart to see what’s inside….
Not tried it but did read somewhere that voice control for the extraction is OK if you have a quiet extraction system otherwise the digital assistant may not becable to interpret your off command. From memory the OP was using a cheap shop-vac.
Crazy Dave
Retired Genius now nursing dementia.
My whole house is controlled by Alexa with routines set for everything from when I get up to when I go to bed. My latest addition is tell her "shower time" she acknowledges and turns the immersion heater on for a set time (winter 25mins) then switches it off tells me "showers ready" then waits for five minutes before turning the bathroom extractor fan on for one hour then off again.
Some may feel this is overkill but I'm in poor mental and very forgetful due to vascular dementia and fibromyalgia which also makes it difficult to get up and down the stairway to heaven (at least that's what it feels like) and I need to save energy now we are paying with blood for our energy.
Regarding use in the workshop, I intend to do the same thing by automating as much as I can. May I give you a warning about the RF remote switches, I used to use these before Alexa came on the scene and have had a few instances where the controlled device would come on without me touching the remote. I used to work with radio devices for MOD years ago and I know that radio waves do some really strange things so I would never trust those RF remotes to control anything more than a light.
There's also WiFi enabled wall sockets available and I use one on my permanently submerged water pump to pump rain water without me having to go outside.
Hope this helps someone, and thank you to Alexa for helping with my spelling.
Some may feel this is overkill but I'm in poor mental and very forgetful due to vascular dementia and fibromyalgia which also makes it difficult to get up and down the stairway to heaven (at least that's what it feels like) and I need to save energy now we are paying with blood for our energy.
Regarding use in the workshop, I intend to do the same thing by automating as much as I can. May I give you a warning about the RF remote switches, I used to use these before Alexa came on the scene and have had a few instances where the controlled device would come on without me touching the remote. I used to work with radio devices for MOD years ago and I know that radio waves do some really strange things so I would never trust those RF remotes to control anything more than a light.
There's also WiFi enabled wall sockets available and I use one on my permanently submerged water pump to pump rain water without me having to go outside.
Hope this helps someone, and thank you to Alexa for helping with my spelling.
