Fun for a multi-echo house

[wkomorow]

If you have several echos go to the Alexa app, smart home and rerun discovery. All of your echos will report back, but they will be seconds apart - it is like being in a echo chamber (pun intended - been waiting to use that one).

But seriously, the smart home section has been promoted in the Alexa app. It now appears on the left panel instead of settings. Probably because Amazon knows how important the smart home market is to alexa voice control.

[email68]

Cool. Waiting for my Dots in 4 days.

So what happens when you ask one echo something, do they both answer? If you play music on one, do both play? How about setting an alarm? Do they both alarm?

Just wondering how Amazon handles a mutl-echo home.

Thanks!

[wkomorow]

Cool. Waiting for my Dots in 4 days.

So what happens when you ask one echo something, do they both answer? If you play music on one, do both play? How about setting an alarm? Do they both alarm?

Just wondering how Amazon handles a mutl-echo home.

Thanks!

If you name your echos the same - Alexa, for example, and they are within ear shot, they will execute the same voice command. However the further echo often does not pick up the entire phrase and with sometimes do something unexpected. For example I have said Alexa tell homeseer to run event downstairs. My living room echo will run the event, while my second floor echo will only pick up pieces of the phrase and start playing run DMC. Then should out Alexa stop. Speak softly or give your Echos different wakeup words.

[email68]

I was afraid of that. I've ordered five dots! Last time I looked there were only two wake up words. Besides who wants to remember which wake up word to use depending on where you are?

I hope amazon addresses this somehow.


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[wkomorow]

I was afraid of that. I've ordered five dots! Last time I looked there were only two wake up words. Besides who wants to remember which wake up word to use depending on where you are?

I hope amazon addresses this somehow.


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There are three - echo, amazon, alexa. On the echo, the mic is pretty sensitive though it doesn't always hear the entire phrase from a distance. What is really fun is when one thinks you said turn the light off and the other thinks you said turn the light on.

Let us know how the dots are. I would have gotten one for my bedroom and kitchen instead of additional echos, if they were available at the time.

[basshook]

Has anyone tried having a centralized echo? I have mics in every room, all mixed together with AP800's. I am thinking of having a speaker on the mixed mic output of the AP800 such that I can activate Alexa from any room.

The dots have an audio output, so feeding my whole house audio system should work as well.

-ron

[rhardcore]

That is a really neat idea. I think that would work, as along as the speaker is clear enough.

[TomTom]

Fun for a multi-echo house

Has anyone tried having a centralized echo? I have mics in every room, all mixed together with AP800's. I am thinking of having a speaker on the mixed mic output of the AP800 such that I can activate Alexa from any room.



The dots have an audio output, so feeding my whole house audio system should work as well.



-ron

Great idea Ron. I've got several Mics and xap800 that I never got around to installing then came the echo... If you end up doing this, I would love to hear details.


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[basshook]

Unfortunately my Dots will not arrive until July, but I will post results.

-ron

[mikaluch]

Fire TV

I'm not sure if everyone is aware of this already but the Amazon Fire TV can also be purchased with a remote that is a microphone that speaks directly to Alexa. You have to push a button and hold it but it works very well while I wait for my July baby Dots. I have one of the 4k units as a media client at each TV. They are an incredible hardware setup for the purchase price. I expect I'll be hacking on those boxes one day.

The best part is you don't have to use the wakeup word so you can use it right next to the Echo and the Echo won't ever notice.

[Mr_Resistor]

I currently have 3 Echos and 2 dots. They overlap coverage areas, but I use different trigger words. For the Echo's I use "Alexa" and for the dots, I use "Echo". This way I keep multiple devices from answering. No two devices of the same type are within earshot of each other.

[DSteiNeuro]

Cool Echo Hack

Found this on You tube. Seems might work to interface Echo with HS

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ilw0f4srE8

Skip to ~ 2 minutes to see the actual hack

[Steve Q]

This is interesting. But a better hack would be the send the voice commands directly to Alexa via Bluetooth. I have used the HS speaker client to speak commands to Alexa. This is easy to do and works pretty well. But if you could send Bluetooth commands from HS, that would open up lots of possibilities. One thing I learned from this video is that Alexa will still respond to the remote even when it is muted. I did not know this! This is interesting because it would allow me to remotely control an echo dot being used to stream music. Muting the dot will prevent it from listening and responding inappropriately.

Steve Q


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[DSteiNeuro]

This is interesting. But a better hack would be the send the voice commands directly to Alexa via Bluetooth. I have used the HS speaker client to speak commands to Alexa. This is easy to do and works pretty well. But if you could send Bluetooth commands from HS, that would open up lots of possibilities.

Interesting! I tried a Bluetooth Connection to the Echo from my iPad. I could send a HS Speak from a HS event to the iPad and then heard it on the Echo. But I couldn't get the Echo to respond to itself. I heard the Echo speak "Echo" but no response. Local commands still worked.

[Steve Q]

Yes, when you pair your iPad with Alexa, it acts as a speaker just like any of the Bluetooth speakers you can buy. Alexa has a secondary Bluetooth channel that it uses for its remote. This is the channel that would need to be used to send commands to Alexa. It wold be great it someone could hack into it.

Steve Q


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