Coming Soon! MeiHarmonyHub! (Harmony Hub Monitor and Control)

[sirmeili]

Hi all!
Beta Update:
Thanks for the offers. I will be contacting you all via PM when I am ready to release the Beta. I had plans to get it done this weekend, but my wife was at the ER Friday night and that just set the tone for the weekend (Yes, she is fine now!). I am trying to find time at night, but now I've caught the sickness that all my kids have had... LOL. I am hoping to get something out this week.

Harmony Hub Extender update:
I got my extender in on Sunday. I tried adding one of my BrightSwitches (Which HS wont' include). The Switch seems to think it included, but no sign of it on the Harmony for some reason. They seem to have a limited set of devices they know to work, so I'm not sure how well this will work out. I'm still going to try though. I've considered ordering a device that is known to work. I also tried one of my Cree Connected bulbs, but it didn't work. I don't know if that is because it's an older Cree Connected bulb or if my hub just isn't working (it was a refurb).

I wanted to try zigbee and I thought zigbee was cheeper, but looking at the devices that are supported by the hub extender, they are priced about the same as the z-wave versions. Some of the NYCE stuff is really small though (their motion sensors are TINY!!!). I need to find a zigbee device and a z-wave device that work though so I can at least make sure the hub extender works at all.

Just wanted to update on this. Once I get a device added i'll be able to see what I can and cannot control directly (hopefully a good amount...fingers crossed).

[sirmeili]

Harmony Hub Extender Update:

I got a Cree Bulb from HD today (not sure why my other did not work except that maybe it was an older version or it was because I couldn't reset it as it was on my Hue hub).

I was able to add the bulb, however none of the home control devices show up in the normal config. So this means that either the sync command from the app gets them and stores them on the phone or there is another command I need to figure out to grab them.

However, I can see when one of the devices are controlled from the app or remote! I will try and spend some time seeing if I can send a command to the hub to turn it on/off. If this works, I can add control from HS it will just require the user to put the plugin in a sort of "listening" mode and turn the device on or off so the plugin can pick up the device.

[sirmeili]

Harmony Hub Extender update:

Ok, So I've been going down a rabbit hole, which means the beta will be delayed. However, tonight I was able to pull all the HA devices from the hub. This includes all the devices on the extender AND my philips hue and Nest thermostat!!!

If I can figure out how to actually control the devices, then that means the plugin will be able to detect and control devices from any of the other hubs/services that the harmony supports. This incluses: Hue, Nest, Ecobee, Honeywell thermostat, Huger Douglas, IFFT, Insteon hub, LIFX, Lutron Caseta, Lutron Serena, PEQ and Smartthings, and others as they are added.

Receiving status will also need more testing. I'm not sure if I get only updates when the hub updates a device or if I get it even when it is adjusted outside the hub (for instance when a Hue bulb is adjusted in teh Hue app).

Exciting to see that this plugin could really grow to be much more than the hub. Of course, a lot of this is still iffy as I have yet found a way to send a command to an HA device, but I know it's possible.

[sirmeili]

Harmony Hub Extender update:

Ok, So I've been going down a rabbit hole, which means the beta will be delayed. However, tonight I was able to pull all the HA devices from the hub. This includes all the devices on the extender AND my philips hue and Nest thermostat!!!

If I can figure out how to actually control the devices, then that means the plugin will be able to detect and control devices from any of the other hubs/services that the harmony supports. This incluses: Hue, Nest, Ecobee, Honeywell thermostat, Huger Douglas, IFFT, Insteon hub, LIFX, Lutron Caseta, Lutron Serena, PEQ and Smartthings, and others as they are added.

Receiving status will also need more testing. I'm not sure if I get only updates when the hub updates a device or if I get it even when it is adjusted outside the hub (for instance when a Hue bulb is adjusted in teh Hue app).

Exciting to see that this plugin could really grow to be much more than the hub. Of course, a lot of this is still iffy as I have yet found a way to send a command to an HA device, but I know it's possible.

I just did a quick test and I do get updates even when my Hues are controlled via the Hue app! So, now the last step will be to figure out the control.

[IanIreland]

I just did a quick test and I do get updates even when my Hues are controlled via the Hue app! So, now the last step will be to figure out the control.

Stirling work - good man.

[NickTheGreat]

I already have another plugin for my hubs that seems to work okay with HS.

But would this allow reverse direction? I'd really like to be able to have the Harmony turn off my lights. Or dim. Or . . .

I don't have the Home Extender but would purchase this if required. I currently have an Ultimate (where I'd really like this) and an Elite (would be nice).

[sirmeili]

I already have another plugin for my hubs that seems to work okay with HS.

But would this allow reverse direction? I'd really like to be able to have the Harmony turn off my lights. Or dim. Or . . .

I don't have the Home Extender but would purchase this if required. I currently have an Ultimate (where I'd really like this) and an Elite (would be nice).

Note that I haven't yet found a way to monitor when a button is presses on the Harmony remote. The 2 way communication I'm talking about is for devices that you connected to your harmony hub either through another hub (like Nest, Ecobee, Hue, etc) or through their hub extender (zigbee/z-wave).

As of right now, my biggest hurdle is actually controlling HA devices connected to the harmony (like my Hues). I can grab their information, what capabilities they have, but I have yet to get the command to send to it to control them.

On that note, I'm actually going to halt my work on this (controlling HA devices) so I can get the base functionality of the plugin done for those that want to start using it (including myself on my production machine). I've let it run on my dev machine and it maintains a connection just fine for long periods. Just to add some polish like actual config screens..LOL

[Guest]

On that note, I'm actually going to halt my work on this (controlling HA devices) so I can get the base functionality of the plugin done for those that want to start using it (including myself on my production machine). I've let it run on my dev machine and it maintains a connection just fine for long periods. Just to add some polish like actual config screens..LOL

can't wait haha :P

[sirmeili]

Harmony Hub Extender Update:

So because I absolutely HATE creating config screens for these plugins (they are kind of a pain), I took a break to decompile the harmony android app and see how it controls devices (I tried packet capture from my phone, but wasn't successful, it appeared scrambled).

However, I can turn a light on and off via my plugin through the harmony (currently just tried a Cree ZigBee lightbulb).

This means that with a bit of elbow greas I should very well be able to control any device that the harmony has the ability to control. This opens up a ton of possibilities since the harmony hub has so many tie-ins already to other systems (Nest, Ecobee, Insteon Hub, Philips Hue, and on and on).

Ok...Now back to creating config screens so I can get the initial beta out. (sad face for creating the config screens, not getting the beta out. can't wait for that part )

[sirmeili]

Harmony Hub Extender Update:

So because I absolutely HATE creating config screens for these plugins (they are kind of a pain), I took a break to decompile the harmony android app and see how it controls devices (I tried packet capture from my phone, but wasn't successful, it appeared scrambled).

However, I can turn a light on and off via my plugin through the harmony (currently just tried a Cree ZigBee lightbulb).

This means that with a bit of elbow greas I should very well be able to control any device that the harmony has the ability to control. This opens up a ton of possibilities since the harmony hub has so many tie-ins already to other systems (Nest, Ecobee, Insteon Hub, Philips Hue, and on and on).

Ok...Now back to creating config screens so I can get the initial beta out. (sad face for creating the config screens, not getting the beta out. can't wait for that part )

Just a small update. The Hub Extender would only be needed for controlling ZigBee and Z-wave devices that are included in the extender. Hue, Nest, Ecobee and the others would be controllable even if you don't have the extender!

My next break from config screens I'm going to try a quick test on one of my Hues (which is controlled via the harmony)

[sirmeili]

BETA UPDATE

BETA UPDATE

General Update
I have rewritten parts of the plugin to be a bit more efficient. This wasn't absolutely necessary, but doing it now before release means that there should hopefully be less chance of having the beta testers completely wipe out their devices.

I will eventually add automatic Discovery of hubs (well, I plan to anyways), but for now, Hubs can be added via IP. Once added, the hubs are by default disabled. Along with the ability to enable a hub, there are currently 2 more options on the hub level: Use Activities and Use Devices. These should be self explanatory, but just in case:

Use Activities: Creates a HS device for that hub that will allow you to change and monitor which activity is currently running on the hub.

Use Devices: Creates a HS device for each of the devices on your hubs that has commands that can be sent (For instance, My son's Leap Pad TV is not added since the hub can't send it commands (That I'm aware of)). This is all done automatically based on the data the hub sends back.

Device Delays/Repeats
I am finishing up the code to handle commands. I have started implementing delays and repeats both by device and by individual commands (command settings override global device settings). I've also added inter-command settings for a device so that a person can limit how often a command is sent to a device (note that if a command has a repeat delay of 100ms with a repeat of 3 and the device has an inter-command delay of 500ms. The repeats will still be sent 100ms apart, then there will be a wait of 500ms before another command can be sent to the device).

I am currently working on a queuing system so that commands will happen in the background and not tie up the rest of the plugin (in case people want to send in long sequences of commands).

Todo:

• Finish up Device Delays/Repeats
• Automatically adding activities to the Activities device if new ones are added
• Automatically adding new HS Devices for new devices found on the hub
• Implement a beta time limit (in case the beta goes over 30 days. This will allow the plugin to operate without a license)
• Release the beta

Sorry for the long Delay. If people don't care about the things in the ToDo list (minus the time limit), I can release the plugin pretty soon. I was hoping to get at least those items in, but if they aren't needed by those testing, I will release now and add them in while others are testing the basic functionality.

[MrMxyzptlk]

Put me in coach, I'm willing to install before all of your Todo list is complete.

[jon102034050]

Let me know if you need another beta tester - I have 2 hubs and would love to help out.

Thanks

[sirmeili]

All,

I will be attempting to add in some basic logging tonight then I will be releasing the beta tonight or tomorrow night. I was able to add in the time limit so the plugin will only function until 2/28/2018. If the beta last longer than that I will release a newer version with a pushed out expiration. Of course with each version of fixes I will push out the expiration date as necessary to ensure we get a good beta test in.

I will be making this a public beta. Either I will see if Homeseer will put the the beta in the updater or I will post the file here in this thread.

[Moskus]

You are able to monitor the current Activity IN REAL TIME! No polling is required! (Updated after the activity is completely started).

Wow, is this even possible? Awesome!