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    Use Voice to talk through Alexa

    Does anyone know if there is a way to use HS to talk through Alexa like a voice command. So, if I speak a phrase into HS, I would want Alexa to say that phrase. Or even vice versa? Have Alexa tell HS to send voice through a speaker.

    If I am outside, I would like to tell someone to bring me a beer. It can get hot doing yard work.

    Thanks!

    #2
    I send voice to my echo from HS using Bluetooth.

    Comment


      #3
      Using HS/Alexa skill and Jon's AlexaHelper, you can easily have Alexa send the phrase you speak to HomeSeer (and Sonos, etc) speakers.

      tenholde
      tenholde

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        #4
        Originally posted by IanIreland View Post
        I send voice to my echo from HS using Bluetooth.
        How exactly are you doing this?

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          #5
          I put a Bluetooth dongle in the PC running HS (That was a challenge as I use Server 2012, but it is doable).
          Pair the PC to the Echo.
          run the HS speaker client.
          Set the audio output to Bluetooth.

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by IanIreland View Post
            I put a Bluetooth dongle in the PC running HS (That was a challenge as I use Server 2012, but it is doable).

            Pair the PC to the Echo.

            run the HS speaker client.

            Set the audio output to Bluetooth.


            Does the Echo still respond to spoken commands when it is paired to Bluetooth? Is it possible to pair and unpair the echo automatically via HS3?



            Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
            HomeSeer Version: HS3 Pro Edition 3.0.0.368, Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 - Home, Number of Devices: 373, Number of Events: 666, Enabled Plug-Ins
            2.0.83.0: BLRF, 2.0.10.0: BLUSBUIRT, 3.0.0.75: HSTouch Server, 3.0.0.58: mcsXap, 3.0.0.11: NetCAM, 3.0.0.36: X10, 3.0.1.25: Z-Wave,Alexa,HomeKit

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by Steve Q View Post
              Does the Echo still respond to spoken commands when it is paired to Bluetooth? Is it possible to pair and unpair the echo automatically via HS3?



              Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
              The echo does respond to voice commands while holding a Bluetooth connection. For example if you are playing music and she needs to speak a phrase from Homeseer through Bluetooth she will simply turn down the music, speak the phrase and then automatically resume the music when finished.

              To answer you're other question. Yes, you could just write a script to enable and disable your Bluetooth connection on the PC, but I don't really think this is necessary since the echo can handle both.

              The downfall that I struggle with in this setup is that the Bluetooth volume (speech through Homeseer) is ultimately dependent on the echo's volume at the end of the line. So if we are listening to music at a low volume then the Homeseer speech is so also low volume, and most of the time too low to even understand.

              At this time I don't believe there is a workaround for this or a way to adjust the echo's volume without direct interaction with the echo.

              Your milage may vary.

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                #8
                This is very cool. I knew the echo could be paired and play music/voice from a Bluetooth device, but I did not realize it would still function normally while paired. This is very interesting because we use the echo all the time for alarms and timers.

                I am interested in a script to pair/unpair the echo. This is probably above my scripting ability. [emoji3]

                Steve Q


                Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
                HomeSeer Version: HS3 Pro Edition 3.0.0.368, Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 - Home, Number of Devices: 373, Number of Events: 666, Enabled Plug-Ins
                2.0.83.0: BLRF, 2.0.10.0: BLUSBUIRT, 3.0.0.75: HSTouch Server, 3.0.0.58: mcsXap, 3.0.0.11: NetCAM, 3.0.0.36: X10, 3.0.1.25: Z-Wave,Alexa,HomeKit

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by Steve Q View Post
                  This is very cool. I knew the echo could be paired and play music/voice from a Bluetooth device, but I did not realize it would still function normally while paired. This is very interesting because we use the echo all the time for alarms and timers.

                  I am interested in a script to pair/unpair the echo. This is probably above my scripting ability. [emoji3]

                  Steve Q


                  Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
                  Out of interest - why do you want to pair and unpair the bluetooth?

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by IanIreland View Post
                    Out of interest - why do you want to pair and unpair the bluetooth?


                    I have 3 echos. I envision pairing my workshop echo during the day then unparing at 6pm. In the evening I would pair the family room echo. Just an idea at this point but it would create some interesting ways to use speaker clients.

                    Steve Q


                    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
                    HomeSeer Version: HS3 Pro Edition 3.0.0.368, Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 - Home, Number of Devices: 373, Number of Events: 666, Enabled Plug-Ins
                    2.0.83.0: BLRF, 2.0.10.0: BLUSBUIRT, 3.0.0.75: HSTouch Server, 3.0.0.58: mcsXap, 3.0.0.11: NetCAM, 3.0.0.36: X10, 3.0.1.25: Z-Wave,Alexa,HomeKit

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Bluetooth dongles are pretty cheap these days. What about using a specific Bluetooth adapter for each Echo? You could run USB cables to get you closer to the locations of the Echos if they are pretty far.

                      You may have to do a bit of research on simultaneous streaming to multiple devices with your OS, but I believe it is possible on some Windows versions.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        This may not be the best place for this question - but let's see!

                        You may have noticed earlier in the thread that I have speech from HS coming out of my Echo via Bluetooth. It all works fine on Server 2012R2.
                        However;
                        I want to migrate my HS setup in a virtual machine running under Hyper-V.
                        I can do that with no issues and have a VM with Windows 10 ready.
                        The issue is getting the Bluetooth to work, a Hyper-V VM doesn't have a usb port.
                        I have a USB network server. If I plug the Bluetooth dongle into the USB network server it is recognised by Windows 10 in the VM and sets itself up.
                        If I go to the echo and start Bluetooth pairing it sees the VM with the dongle but it won't pair.
                        If anybody has any suggestions on what I can do to get it paired I would be grateful.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by IanIreland View Post
                          This may not be the best place for this question - but let's see!

                          You may have noticed earlier in the thread that I have speech from HS coming out of my Echo via Bluetooth. It all works fine on Server 2012R2.
                          However;
                          I want to migrate my HS setup in a virtual machine running under Hyper-V.
                          I can do that with no issues and have a VM with Windows 10 ready.
                          The issue is getting the Bluetooth to work, a Hyper-V VM doesn't have a usb port.
                          I have a USB network server. If I plug the Bluetooth dongle into the USB network server it is recognised by Windows 10 in the VM and sets itself up.
                          If I go to the echo and start Bluetooth pairing it sees the VM with the dongle but it won't pair.
                          If anybody has any suggestions on what I can do to get it paired I would be grateful.
                          In 2015 I spent a lot of time trying to get HS3 running on a virtual XP machine. I got it working but I had huge issues with COM ports. With every restart I had to reconfigure the Com ports. After 6 months I decided it was not worth the effort.

                          Perhaps you will have better luck, but you may spend a huge amount of time only to find out that your setup is not reliable.

                          Steve Q
                          HomeSeer Version: HS3 Pro Edition 3.0.0.368, Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 - Home, Number of Devices: 373, Number of Events: 666, Enabled Plug-Ins
                          2.0.83.0: BLRF, 2.0.10.0: BLUSBUIRT, 3.0.0.75: HSTouch Server, 3.0.0.58: mcsXap, 3.0.0.11: NetCAM, 3.0.0.36: X10, 3.0.1.25: Z-Wave,Alexa,HomeKit

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by Steve Q View Post
                            In 2015 I spent a lot of time trying to get HS3 running on a virtual XP machine. I got it working but I had huge issues with COM ports. With every restart I had to reconfigure the Com ports. After 6 months I decided it was not worth the effort.

                            Perhaps you will have better luck, but you may spend a huge amount of time only to find out that your setup is not reliable.

                            Steve Q
                            Watch this space!! I have other systems running in VMs (notably my exchange server) with success.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              I know it's an older thread, but wanted to comment:

                              FWIW I have been running HS 3 on a Win7 VM under Virtualbox for about a year.. no significant issues.

                              To handle I/O... I'm using:

                              Belkin 5 Port Network Usb Hub Ethernet
                              • Way2Call
                              • AD2USB (vista alarm interface)
                              • USB Audio dongle (for Speaker client)
                              • Joystick/GameController (BLGamepad) for Digital IO
                              • RFXCOM reciever

                              and

                              StarTech 4 Port RS232 Serial Over IP Ethernet Device Server
                              • 2 x w800GL recievers
                              • XAP800 audio/Mic Mixer (used to control whole house/zone audio)

                              I did have to introduce a "startup delay" for HS to let the Comports and USB hub initialize .. about 90 seconds. (StartupDelayer software)
                              Before I did that.. I was having similar problems as SteveQ
                              But the delay seemed to take care of it.

                              Host running Debian Jessie with Virtualbox 5.2

                              Three guest VM's
                              • Win 7 Homeseer3
                              • Win 7 HS Speaker
                              • Win XP Blue Iris (4 camera, low frame rate)

                              All running on a fanless pc. (5th gen Core I5, 8 GB memory)
                              Regards,

                              Andrew B.

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