Albert: home automation

Showing posts with label home automation. Show all posts

Friday, July 03, 2020

Vendor-Neutral Zigbee Gateway with Raspberry Pi

A one-script installer that turns a Raspberry Pi + CC2531 USB adapter into a vendor-neutral Zigbee home automation gateway running Domoticz — supporting 800+ Zigbee devices from any manufacturer.

Pimoticz hardware setup — Raspberry Pi with CC2531 USB adapter

Raspberry Pi with CC2531 USB Zigbee adapter — the complete Pimoticz hardware.

The problem

Cheap Zigbee home automation devices are everywhere, but they're locked to the manufacturer's gateway — limiting you to a small set of supported devices. With commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware, you can build your own vendor-neutral gateway, but it requires setting up multiple components:

Raspberry Pi
CC2531 USB Zigbee adapter (with Koenkk firmware, ~$12 on Amazon)
Raspberry Pi OS (32-bit)
Node.js (v12 or higher)
zigbee2mqtt
Mosquitto MQTT broker
Domoticz
zigbee2mqtt plugin for Domoticz

For beginners, getting all these components working together is a challenging task. Pimoticz simplifies this with an automated installer script — in about 5 minutes you should be ready to pair your first Zigbee device.

Items needed

Raspberry Pi
Micro SD card
5V power adapter
CC2531 USB Zigbee adapter

Important: To avoid the CC2531 programming setup, buy a pre-programmed USB adapter with Koenkk firmware (CC2531_DEFAULT_20190608.zip or higher).

Raspberry Pi OS setup

CC2531 USB adapter, keyboard, mouse, monitor, and internet connection are only needed during the initial setup.

Step 1 — Prepare the SD card using Raspberry Pi Imager and install Raspberry Pi OS 32-bit.

Step 2 — Insert the SD card, connect keyboard/mouse/monitor and internet to your Raspberry Pi, then power on.

Step 3 — On first boot, the setup wizard will guide you through:

Language and keyboard layout (important for correct local time — Domoticz needs it)
Set a new password for the pi user
Black border check (not important — Raspi will run headless after setup)
Wi-Fi setup (skip if using Ethernet)
Software update (optional — can skip to save time)
Reboot to apply settings

Pimoticz software stack — zigbee2mqtt, Mosquitto, and Domoticz working together.

Pimoticz installation

Open a terminal on the Raspberry Pi (locally or via SSH) and run:

git clone https://github.com/hackboxguy/pimoticz.git
cd /home/pi/pimoticz
sudo ./setup.sh -h my-pimoticz    # -h hostname is optional
# wait ~5 minutes for setup to complete
sudo reboot

Setup script in progress — installing all dependencies automatically.

After reboot, open a browser and navigate to http://127.0.0.1:8080 or http://my-pimoticz:8080 — Domoticz will show the detected CC2531 Zigbee coordinator.

Domoticz dashboard showing CC2531 coordinator

Domoticz running on Pimoticz — CC2531 Zigbee coordinator detected and ready to pair devices.

Your Pimoticz gateway is ready. You can now pair Zigbee devices from any manufacturer — Xiaomi, IKEA, Philips Hue, Sonoff, and 800+ more.

SOURCE CODE

github.com/hackboxguy/pimoticz — installer script and documentation

Tuesday, January 01, 2019

$20 Pocket Router as Domoticz Smart Home Gateway

A custom OpenWrt firmware (autom8box) that packs router + Domoticz server + MQTT broker into an all-in-one home automation gateway running on a ~$20 off-the-shelf GL-MT300N-V2 pocket router.

Domoticz home automation gateway setup diagram

System overview: GL-MT300N-V2 running autom8box firmware as Wi-Fi AP, MQTT broker, and Domoticz server.

The problem

Wi-Fi based home automation products are cheaper than Zigbee or Z-Wave, but they typically require internet connectivity. Letting cloud servers control your home devices is not ideal — internet should be optional, not mandatory.

Thanks to the open-source community (Tasmota, ESPurna, etc.) for helping jailbreak devices like Sonoff, Blitzwolf, and Teckin. But jailbreaking solves only part of the problem — you still need a home automation gateway: Wi-Fi access point + MQTT broker + automation server (Domoticz, OpenHAB, etc.).

What autom8box provides

Wi-Fi access point — dedicated network for your IoT devices
DHCP and DNS server — automatic network configuration
MQTT broker (Mosquitto) — message bus for IoT devices
Domoticz — home automation dashboard and rules engine

GL-MT300N-V2 (~$20) — compact pocket router running the autom8box firmware.

Limitations: Limited Wi-Fi range and a reduced set of Domoticz plugins due to the 16 MB flash limit. But it's a good starting point for low-budget home automation.

Flashing steps

Step 1 — Download autom8box-mt300nv2.bin.

Step 2 — Power on the GL-MT300N-V2 and wait for its SSID to appear (shown as GL-MT300N-V2-xxx).

OEM SSID appearing in the Wi-Fi list.

Step 3 — Connect to the SSID. When prompted for a password, enter goodlife (printed on the device's back sticker).

Enter the default Wi-Fi password.

Step 4 — Once connected, you should see the confirmation message:

Successfully connected to the router.

Step 5 — Open a browser and navigate to:
http://192.168.8.1/cgi-bin/luci/admin/system/flashops

LuCI login — leave the password box empty and click "Login".

Step 6 — In the firmware update section, uncheck "Keep settings", choose autom8box-mt300nv2.bin, then click "Flash Image".

Firmware upload — uncheck "Keep settings" and select the autom8box binary.

File selected — ready to flash.

Step 7 — Click "Proceed" to confirm:

Confirm flashing — click "Proceed".

Step 8 — Wait about 2 minutes for the flash to complete:

Firmware flashing in progress — wait for the device to reboot.

Step 9 — After reboot, a new SSID autom8box will appear. Connect with password goodlife.

The new autom8box SSID is now visible.

Step 10 — Open http://192.168.8.1:8080 in your browser — Domoticz is ready:

Domoticz home automation dashboard — running entirely on the pocket router.

Post-setup security

SSH credentials: user root, password goodlife

Change root password:

passwd root

Change Wi-Fi password:

uci set wireless.default_radio0.key=my-new-password
uci commit wireless
wifi

Change SSID:

uci set wireless.default_radio0.ssid=my-new-ssid
uci commit wireless
wifi

Important: autom8box does not auto-save the Domoticz database. After configuring your devices, SSH in and run reboot — during reboot the database is saved from RAM to the persistent partition. A hard power cut without rebooting may lose your configuration.

SOURCE CODE

github.com/hackboxguy/lede-a5v11 — build instructions and sources

autom8box-mt300nv2.bin — pre-built firmware image

Sunday, December 30, 2018

Build a $2 IoT/MQTT Node with a Bare ESP-12F

How to use a bare ESP-12F module as a standalone IoT/MQTT node — powered directly from a USB charger with just a handful of passive components, no base board required. Total cost: under $2.

Finished board — ESP-12F module with USB connector, ready to plug into any 5V charger.

Items needed

Prices based on AliExpress at the time of writing:

1x ESP-12F module (pre-programmed with Tasmota firmware)
1x 10k SMD resistor
1x 10k through-hole resistor
2x 4001 SMD diode
1x USB male connector (PCB mount, SMD)

Schematic

Wiring diagram — USB 5V stepped down through two diodes to ~3.6V for the ESP-12F.

Board preparation

Step 1 — Ensure the ESP-12F module is programmed with Tasmota firmware. See the ESP-12F programming post for details.

Step 2 — Mount a 10k SMD resistor between the GND and IO15 pads of the ESP-12F module.

10k SMD resistor soldered between GND and IO15 pads.

Step 3 — Mount a 10k through-hole resistor between the VCC and EN pads of the ESP-12F module.

10k through-hole resistor between VCC and EN

10k through-hole resistor connecting VCC to EN (chip enable).

Another angle showing the VCC–EN pull-up resistor.

Step 4 — Stick a piece of insulation tape on the right side of the ESP-12F module so the USB connector doesn't short any pads.

Insulation tape prevents shorts between the USB connector and ESP pads.

Step 5 — Place the USB connector as shown below. The SMD pins of the USB connector should sit over the insulation tape.

USB connector positioned over the insulation tape.

Step 6 — On the back side, fix the USB connector to the ESP-12F using hot glue. Don't apply hot glue on the SMD pin side yet — that comes later.

Hot glue fixing USB connector on back side

Hot glue secures the USB connector on the back side.

Step 7 — Solder two SMD diodes in series between the + line of the USB connector and the VCC pad of the ESP-12F module.

Two SMD diodes in series for voltage drop

Two 4001 diodes in series drop 5V USB to ~3.6V for the ESP-12F.

Step 8 — Connect the − line of the USB connector to the GND pad of the ESP-12F module.

USB ground connected to the ESP-12F GND pad.

Step 9 — Apply hot glue on both sides of the USB connector and ESP-12F for stability.

Hot glue on both sides for mechanical strength.

Completed board — ready for testing.

Testing

Step 10 — Power the board with a 5V USB charger and look for an open Wi-Fi SSID named sonoff-NNNN.

Step 11 — Connect to the SSID and follow the standard Tasmota generic module configuration.

Your $2 IoT/MQTT node is ready. Plug it into any USB charger, configure Tasmota to connect to your MQTT broker, and start automating.

Sunday, December 31, 2017

Remote Home Access with a 5-Euro Pocket Router

How to turn a ~5€ A5-V11 pocket router into an XMPP chat-bot that lets you remotely access and control your home network from a smartphone — no port forwarding or dynamic DNS required.

Why the A5-V11?

In the quest for the cheapest off-the-shelf Linux hardware, the A5-V11 pocket router stands out — it consumes just ~0.3W, making it ideal for always-on IoT applications.

CPU	360 MHz MIPS (Ralink RT5350)
RAM	32 MB SDRAM
Flash	4 MB
Ethernet	100 Mbit
Wi-Fi	IEEE 802.11b/g/n
USB	1 port for peripherals
LEDs	Red and blue status indicators

The A5-V11 pocket router — a ~5€ Linux device consuming just 0.3W.

How it works

The custom a5v11-xmpp firmware strips down most router/Wi-Fi functionality to fit an XMPP chat client daemon (based on lib-gloox) that acts as a chat-bot. XMPP makes it easy to access your home network without tweaking your home router settings — no port forwarding or NAT configuration needed.

Keep this device connected to your home internet and "chat" with it from anywhere using the Xabber app on your smartphone.

Setup instructions

Step 1 — Create two XMPP/Jabber accounts (master and slave) on your favorite Jabber server as explained here. Add both accounts as friends so the XMPP server can pass messages between them.

Step 2 — Connect a CAT-5/6 cable between your PC and the A5-V11 router, then power it on.

Step 3 — Flash the stock firmware with the a5v11-xmpp image. Follow the step-by-step guide in this blog post (also see the OpenWrt wiki for general instructions).

Step 4 — Connect the A5-V11 router to your home router's network (internet).

Step 5 — Log in via SSH to host my-a5v11 (user: root, default password: brb0x).

Step 6 — Configure the XMPP login details:

echo "user: test-slave-account@xabber.de" >/etc/xmproxy/xmpp-login.txt
echo "pw: chatbotpw" >>/etc/xmproxy/xmpp-login.txt
reboot

Important: Replace the test account details with your own credentials. Also use passwd to change the default root password.

Step 7 — Install Xabber on your smartphone and log in with the master account.

Step 8 — You should see the A5-V11 router appear online in Xabber. Send help to get a list of available commands.

Use cases

1. Get your public IP — Send publicip and the chat-bot responds with your home router's public IP. No dynamic DNS needed.

2. I2C peripheral control — Connect an i2c-tiny-usb adapter to the USB port for controlling sensors, GPIO expanders, and other I2C devices:

shellcmd i2cdetect -r -y 0       # scan for I2C devices
shellcmdresp                      # read the scan result
shellcmd i2cset -f -y 1 0x3c 0x00 0xff b   # set PCF8574 pins high

A5-V11 with i2c-tiny-usb adapter connected

A5-V11 with i2c-tiny-usb adapter for peripheral control.

3. Sonoff relay control — Control Sonoff Wi-Fi relays running Tasmota firmware on your local network:

sonoff 192.168.1.10 on       # switch ON
sonoff 192.168.1.10 off      # switch OFF
sonoff 192.168.1.10 toggle   # toggle
sonoff 192.168.1.10          # read current state

4. Remote SSH commands — Trigger commands on other Linux machines via sshpass:

shellcmd sshpass -praspberry ssh -y pi@raspi-ip sudo reboot
shellcmd sshpass -praspberry ssh -y pi@raspi-ip sudo poweroff
shellcmd sshpass -praspberry ssh -y pi@raspi-ip omxplayer /tmp/video.mp4

5. Wake-on-LAN — Power on a PC that supports WoL:

shellcmd etherwake 00:00:DE:AD:BE:EF

SOURCE CODE

github.com/hackboxguy/lede-a5v11 — build instructions and sources

a5v11-xmpp.uimg — pre-built firmware image

Monday, January 04, 2016

Control Home Devices via XMPP Chat with Raspberry Pi

Control your home devices from anywhere using a Raspberry Pi running the RBox Linux distribution. The RBox chat-bot connects to a public XMPP/Jabber server, so you can toggle GPIO pins from your phone's chat app — no port forwarding, no dynamic DNS, no paid cloud services.

How it works

Setup diagram — Raspberry Pi at home communicating with smartphone via XMPP

Setup diagram — Raspberry Pi at home and your phone both connect to a public Jabber server. Chat messages carry GPIO commands.

Both the Raspberry Pi (running RBox) and your Android phone (running Xabber or any XMPP client) log in to a public Jabber server with their own credentials. Once the two accounts have authorized each other, they can exchange chat messages through the server.

Advantages

No router configuration or port forwarding needed — all incoming firewall ports can stay blocked
No dependency on paid cloud services — hundreds of free Jabber servers are available
Works from any location as long as your phone has internet access (Wi-Fi or mobile data)

Controlling GPIO

To toggle a GPIO pin, send a chat message from your XMPP client:

Gpio 2 1    # set GPIO2 high
Gpio 2 0    # set GPIO2 low

For full setup instructions (SD card preparation, XMPP account creation, first boot), see the RBox installation guide.

SOURCE CODE

github.com/hackboxguy/brbox — RBox sources and build instructions

Saturday, December 10, 2011

$35 Linux Box for Robotics and Home Automation

A survey of low-cost Linux boards for home automation, robotics, and DIY hardware — and why a ~$35 TP-Link MR3220 Wi-Fi router running OpenWrt turned out to be the sweet spot in 2011.

TP-Link MR3220 — a cheap Wi-Fi router capable of running OpenWrt Linux.

The hardware landscape

Over the past few years I studied several low-cost open-source hardware platforms for home automation:

Board	Price
Beagleboard	$150
Beagleboard xM	$150
Beaglebone	$89
Sheevaplug	$85
Seagate Dockstar	$50
Buffalo Linkstation Live	~$150
Linksys WRT-54GL	$50
Asus RT-N16	$90
TP-Link MR3220	$35
Raspberry Pi	$35

Only a few of these are truly open in terms of hardware and software. The rest are commercial products with an option to run open-source Linux.

Requirements

Decent processor, RAM, and flash — under $40 (2000 INR)
Off-the-shelf product available locally (India)
Open-source Linux support (OpenWrt / DD-WRT / Tomato)
Lightweight with low power consumption
Easy option to extend I/O peripheral access

Why a Wi-Fi router?

With these requirements, I narrowed down to the TP-Link MR3220. While the Raspberry Pi was the ideal solution on paper, it was extremely hard to get in 2011 due to heavy demand.

A Wi-Fi router makes practical sense: everyone already needs one for home connectivity. Adding basic home automation capabilities with little added cost — while saving you from running a 24/7 power-hungry desktop — is a good bargain at ~$35.

For enthusiasts, hobbyists, and students interested in embedded Linux, robotics, home automation, and DIY hardware, a router with USB + OpenWrt lets you skip hardware development and jump straight into firmware and software.

Demo: Android app controlling LEDs over Wi-Fi

No warranty void: You don't need to open your router. The openUI hardware is a USB add-on board that plugs into the router's USB port.

Hardware photos

My hardware collection — various Linux boards evaluated for home automation.

MR3220 router with the openUI USB add-on board connected.

Android app controlling LEDs via Wi-Fi through the MR3220 + openUI setup.

Close-up of the openUI USB board.

openUI hardware specs

openUI board featuring LCD, IR receiver, RTC, and I2C connector.

AVR ATtiny2313 — acting as a USB HID device
LCD display — for status output
RC5 IR receiver — for remote control input
PCF8563 RTC — I2C real-time clock with battery backup
I2C connector — for extending with additional peripherals
ISP header — in-circuit programming for ATtiny2313

Find the schematic, PCB layout, and source code for the openUI hardware and software in this follow-up post.