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    #16
    Originally posted by Eman View Post
    His Beowulf,

    Here:is another link on intrest: http://store.zwavecenter.com/index.p...tegory&path=59
    Just bookmark it. You will never know when you need it.
    They say they are based on Fibaro but I have not tested any yet.



    Eman.
    They only sell equipment using the 868.4 MHz frequency:
    All our Z-Wave products use frequency of 868.4 MHz, which covers different regions around the world. Devices with 868.4 frequency cannot be used together with devices or controllers that use other frequencies.
    North America uses the 908.4 MHz frequency.

    Cheers
    Al
    HS 4.2.8.0: 2134 Devices 1252 Events
    Z-Wave 3.0.10.0: 133 Nodes on one Z-Net

    Comment


      #17
      Originally posted by sparkman View Post
      They only sell equipment using the 868.4 MHz frequency: North America uses the 908.4 MHz frequency.

      Cheers
      Al


      Now that's a shame!




      Eman.
      TinkerLand : Life's Choices,"No One Size Fits All"

      Comment


        #18
        One other point is that the land has pretty limited internet, at least for now. We look to have 7M DSL at our lot (the start of the HOA has 20M+). A couple of us near the end were going to reach out to the DSL company to see if a junction box can be installed closer up the road (at our cost of course) to give a boost but none of us know if that's even possible or what it would cost. So I have to expect internet isn't goign to be what I've come to expect from other places I've lived over the last ten years.

        So I would expect some lag issues if we did try to use a cloud service for the voice control. And a measurable lag in home automation voice control can be worse than no voice control at all.

        I am only expecting to try to set up some basics of voice (light adjustments, arm/disarm security, request status of something) rather than using voice to set up new events for example. And I would only expect to have that working from a couple areas that would have a mic without too much ambient noise. Kitchen, bedroom, office.

        I have hope that HomeSeer's built in voice control will be good enough to start with. I would LOVE to have solid voice control close to fully functional down the road and if lag isn't an issue then this may be a point where I decide down the road that the privacy/functionality balance has tipped. But for now some appropriately designed and placed touch screens are intended to be the primary interaction and voice will be a supplement.

        Comment


          #19
          Originally posted by Beowulf View Post
          One other point is that the land has pretty limited internet, at least for now. We look to have 7M DSL at our lot (the start of the HOA has 20M+). A couple of us near the end were going to reach out to the DSL company to see if a junction box can be installed closer up the road (at our cost of course) to give a boost but none of us know if that's even possible or what it would cost. So I have to expect internet isn't goign to be what I've come to expect from other places I've lived over the last ten years.

          So I would expect some lag issues if we did try to use a cloud service for the voice control. And a measurable lag in home automation voice control can be worse than no voice control at all.

          I am only expecting to try to set up some basics of voice (light adjustments, arm/disarm security, request status of something) rather than using voice to set up new events for example. And I would only expect to have that working from a couple areas that would have a mic without too much ambient noise. Kitchen, bedroom, office.

          I have hope that HomeSeer's built in voice control will be good enough to start with. I would LOVE to have solid voice control close to fully functional down the road and if lag isn't an issue then this may be a point where I decide down the road that the privacy/functionality balance has tipped. But for now some appropriately designed and placed touch screens are intended to be the primary interaction and voice will be a supplement.
          I live in the mountains and am lucky to have any broadband. What I have is DSL that typically runs at 600K on a good day (that's 0.6M, not a typo). Despite that, my Echo and Dots respond rapidly to voice commands, usually 1-2 seconds for the light to turn on. Very impressive considering it streams voice audio to Amazon, they do the VR, they send text to MyHS, and myHS sends text back to my Zee S2, then the Zee sends Z-Wave RF to the light switch.

          We mainly use the API version to turn lights on/off/dim and to set the thermostats by commands like "Alexa turn on the counter light", but occasionally use the HS skill for increased control flexibility. I used to pause a bit between "Alexa" and the commands, but recently learned it is recording all the time and buffers about 60 seconds of audio so you can say the command with no pause at all and it still works just as well.

          I agree with tenholde, the Echo restored our interest in voice control and has high WAF. It is a game changer, far better than the built in VR in HS or other past VR solutions short of Google Home. It handles somewhat noisy environments, easily hears you over music it is playing, and hears you from two rooms away with the far field mics it has. Along with HA voice control and music, it comes in handy for us when random questions come up like how many ounces in a pint or how old is Tom Petty. It easily understands many questions like that and gives you the answer you were looking for without pulling out a smart phone or going to a computer.

          If you really want your Jarvis vision, you'll want Echo or Google Home.

          Comment


            #20
            Thanks. The first-hand feedback on performance with a slow connection is actually very helpful.

            I will have to give more thought to the Amazon or Google devices but it also just feels odd having a device that wants to do it's own control just as a voice tool to the automation system I actually DO want to use ( HomeSeer ). Considering the price of good quality microphones, required if you have any hope of picking up commands in large rooms anyway, getting an Echo or GHome isn't really much of a price difference.

            If I could get those devices to respond to a trigger phrase of my choice ( NOT "Ok Google" ) and just translate my voice commands to the HomeSeer triggers I may be inclinded. I do like the idea of some of the extra searching capabilities they bring in. I can't tell how often I wish I could do a quick recipie search while in the kitchen, or try to get a quick news or weather update without having to walk over to the computer.

            Comment


              #21
              'hey google' also works and is 1 less syllable.

              Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

              Comment


                #22
                Originally posted by Beowulf View Post
                Thanks. The first-hand feedback on performance with a slow connection is actually very helpful.

                I will have to give more thought to the Amazon or Google devices but it also just feels odd having a device that wants to do it's own control just as a voice tool to the automation system I actually DO want to use ( HomeSeer ). Considering the price of good quality microphones, required if you have any hope of picking up commands in large rooms anyway, getting an Echo or GHome isn't really much of a price difference.

                If I could get those devices to respond to a trigger phrase of my choice ( NOT "Ok Google" ) and just translate my voice commands to the HomeSeer triggers I may be inclinded. I do like the idea of some of the extra searching capabilities they bring in. I can't tell how often I wish I could do a quick recipie search while in the kitchen, or try to get a quick news or weather update without having to walk over to the computer.
                Using the Alexa skill, you can change the command phrase. Instead of Alexa, tell HomeSeer ..... I use Alexa, tell TEN .... (TEN is the name of my house).

                Using the AlexaHelper script by Jon, you have complete control over handling the spoken text.

                tenholde
                tenholde

                Comment


                  #23
                  Originally posted by tenholde View Post
                  Using the Alexa skill, you can change the command phrase. Instead of Alexa, tell HomeSeer ..... I use Alexa, tell TEN .... (TEN is the name of my house).

                  Using the AlexaHelper script by Jon, you have complete control over handling the spoken text.

                  tenholde
                  But that's actually part of my gripe...

                  "Control Tool #1, tell Control Tool #2 to..."



                  ( Even more so if I do not have the ability to change the trigger command for either of those )

                  Since I'm still just in planning and understanding mode right now I don't need to worry TOO much about this yet. Maybe by that time Amazon or Google will expose their voice recognition API in such a way that a HomeSeer plugin can just send the request over and get a quick response back on its own. I know it's past Christmas but I can still wish.

                  -L

                  Comment


                    #24
                    I made events for recurring things I do a lot. Now, for instance, I say "Hey Google, time for bed" and it triggers a Homeseer event that turns off all lights, locks all doors, turns on the alarm.

                    I would agree that both Alexa and Google Home are a little clunkier for ad hoc device control use, though.

                    Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

                    Comment

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