(Part 3) Top products from r/amazonecho

Assume you mean THIS and not THIS?

It looks like if you do mean the first one, that is kinda pointless with Alexa. You can create your own scenes and just activate them via voice, not sure why you'd want to press a button to do it.

But, to your question, it looks like you don't need the hub with the Echo Plus

"Echo Plus is a simple way to start your smart home. It has a built-in ZigBee smart home hub, which allows for simple and direct setup of compatible ZigBee lights, locks, plugs, and in-wall switches from brands like Philips Hue, GE, and Yale. No additional hub required."

Edit: Now I am curious by what they mean by "in-wall switches", maybe just plain smart lights still need a hub.

I think what you're looking for is a mixer. A lot of mixers are large, expensive devices with all sorts of features, but in your case something like this might suffice:

https://www.amazon.com/Nady-MM-141-4-Channel-unbalanced-Mixer/dp/B0009X9H9I/ref=sr_1_22?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1484302222&sr=1-22&keywords=audio+mixer

(I don't know anything about that brand or that specific model, but that's an example of the thing you're looking for. Most of them will require a 3.5mm to 1/4" stereo plug adapter to plug into the mixer -- note the larger holes on the back of that one.)

You'll physically connect both your Raumfeld One M and your Dot to the mixer, then be able to adjust their individual volumes in the final output. If you don't want to physically connect the Dot to the mixer, you could get a Bluetooth receiver like the one below (again, just an example):

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N5FB8DB/ref=dp_cerb_1

Hope that helps!

Word of Warning: rewiring any 110v electrical is not for the faint of heart and should only be done by experienced electricians.


Weekend project using Lutron Caseta light switch and a hard encapsulated relay. As with most gas fireplaces (mine is Heat & Glo) operate with a millivolt contact to turn on/off using a typical mechanical light switch. The draw back is smart switches need 110v to operate. Fortunately for my setup I also have a fan in the fireplace that operates on 110v that has a separate switch located near the fireplace switch. I replaced the fan switch's single gang box with a double gang and tapped into the 110v with the second Lutron switch which became the new switch for the fireplace on/off. I tied that switch in with the millivolt contact wires using a relay and stuffed the relay into the old single gang box that was once the fireplace switch. The Echo controlled Lutron switch now powers the relay on/off that open/close the millivolt contacts. The Lutron's also come with Pico remotes so I have three ways of turning the fireplace on/off, the Lutron switch on the wall, the Pico remote, and the Amazon Echo.

The Lutron switch https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017LRCG38

The relay https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004KNPRBK/

My wiring nightmare http://imgur.com/a/tESEJ

Put in any light fixture and bulbs you want and use a Lutron Caseta in wall dimmer switch. First light switch is about 100 bucks,

https://www.amazon.com/Lutron-P-BDG-PKG1W-Caseta-Wireless-Selected/dp/B00MXCRAX8/ref=sr_1_3?s=lamps-light&ie=UTF8&qid=1482958038&sr=1-3&keywords=lutron+caseta

This includes the Smart hub needed to make it internet accessible.
Each additional switch thereafter is around 50$.

https://www.amazon.com/Lutron-Caseta-Wireless-Dimmer-150-Watt/dp/B00KLAXFQA/ref=sr_1_2?s=lamps-light&ie=UTF8&qid=1482958148&sr=1-2&keywords=lutron+caseta

You can also purchase them with remotes for $60

https://www.amazon.com/Lutron-Wireless-600-watt-150-watt-Multi-Location/dp/B00JJY0S4G/ref=sr_1_1?s=lamps-light&ie=UTF8&qid=1482958148&sr=1-1&keywords=lutron+caseta

and you can purchase plug in versions that allow you to control standard lamps and such ($60)

https://www.amazon.com/Lutron-Caseta-Wireless-Dimmer-300-watt/dp/B00JJY1QG0/ref=sr_1_7?s=lamps-light&ie=UTF8&qid=1482958148&sr=1-7&keywords=lutron+caseta

Lutron Caseta is not only compatible with alexa, ("alexa turn my living room to 50%" "alexa turn off my bed room" "alexa turn my living room to 10%" etc.) it is also fully homekit enabled. ("Hey siri, set my chamber to 2%" ) and utilizing the home app on your iDevice, you can set up schedules and such, for example my bedroom light turns on to 10% 30min before my alarm, and up to 50% 5 minutes before my alarm. This really helps me wake up on time.

Lutron caseta work great. worth the money

I got this one for the same purpose (without realising the speakers I was trying to connect had an auto-sleep function sigh) but the mixer seems great quality and I've kept it around because it might be handy in future.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Behringer-MX400-Micromix-Noise-Channel/dp/B000KGYAYQ

Apologies for the UK link if you are from elsewhere. You should be able to find the same item on your local store though. As mentioned you'll want to get some 3.5mm-1/4" adapters as well though.

You can use the Lutron Caseta for 3 way switches or more. Install the full Lutron Caseta switch in one box, and use remotes for the other boxes. You can put another switch anywhere, even if there isn't wiring there.

Lutron Caseta Wireless In-Wall Dimmer, 600/150-Watt, Single Pole, Works with Amazon Alexa https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KLAXFQA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_BazDyb4YRKZ8B

Remote with wall bracket
Lutron PJ2-WALL-WH-L01 Pico Remote Control with Wall Mounting Kit, White https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JR202JQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_ObzDybQ8C594T

You need the hub as well

Hub, 1 switch, and 1 remote
Lutron P-BDG-PKG1W Caseta Wireless Dimmer Kit with Smart Bridge for Amazon Alexa and Selected Models, White https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MXCRAX8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_kdzDybXVZ4ZGM

They sell the wall brackets seperate as well
Lutron PICO-WBX-ADAPT Pico Wallplate Bracket https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JZRAFEA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_nfzDybQX74B01

Basically you can get a 2way solution for $100, and add a 3rd switch for $20

The Yeelight strip does everything Hue does. Great price at $29.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LRT0B56/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_X0eCzbAAFJVMQ

If you want cheaper, there are "magic home" wifi controllers on eBay for about $7 into which you can plug super cheap eBay led strips

You need a mixer. This is about the cheapest I could find ($18), but you'd need about three adapters to make it work with 1/8": https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009X9H9I/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_nMSHxbWMZT71M

Unless your speakers are nice it might be more cost effective to just get another set of speakers.

If you are handy here is a DIY: http://www.instructables.com/id/Altoids-Tin-18-Stereo-Mixer/

I recommend the Yeelight bulbs. I now have a bunch in my house since they are pretty inexpensive and do not require a hub. They work flawlessly with my Echo. They are $25 right now I believe and they were about $45 when I bought them so it's a steal.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01LRTWQJ0/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1499480989&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=yeelight&dpPl=1&dpID=31GyDmq0I%2BL&ref=plSrch

Edit: I forgot to mention they have a White version where you can only adjust the temperature of the whiteness, they are cheaper. They also have RGB strips that work with Alexa, and flawlessly too.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01LRT0B56/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1499480989&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=yeelight&dpPl=1&dpID=41zF9u6IqQL&ref=plSrch

Take a look at the House Band skill for JRiver Media Server. Requires JRiver, about $50 US (free trial available), but well worth it and highly recommended.

House Band

JRiver

Quick demo

I have been looking at some wall mounting possibilities as well for my dot. I dont have a plug in a good place for power so I am thinking about something like this to route the cable to a power source.

Quick search answered my question, and yours as well.

I give you "Cool, Cool Considerate Men" on Music Unlimited...

can you tell me whats the different between these two ?

Logitech Harmony Universal Hub

Logitech Harmony Ultimate Hub Wi-Fi to IR Remote Control Adapter

It depends on a few factors, namely what you want to spend overall, your aversion to DIY solutions and, to a lesser extent, how picky you are about your lighting.

I personally dislike the Hue bulbs. I think they're far too expensive (generally double or more than a standard LED bulb) and kind of a gimmick....but that's just me. I like medium cool lighting (~4k) with no need for color schemes. Any device or home lighting fixture you have that you can put a Hue bulb in you can also control using any combination of smart switches or outlets.

As far as the effort is concerned, there's a metric TON of things you can do with automation. I'd give /r/homeautomation a look if you're into tinkering. I'm not, but again it boils down to preference. My Echo works great with my Smartthings Hub which can control zwave or zigbee appliances. The Echo also works natively with the Hue, but once you get into Stringify and IFTTT then you're going down a cloud based rabbit hole. Echo is already server driven as is Smartthings so if either system is lagging or BOTH are lagging or somehow dependent on another system you're going to start seeing lag or general functionality problems. That said, you can get a Hook hub which allows you to run non-smart outlet switches via Echo or Smartthings. The cost per appliance goes WAY down.

tl;dr - go with a well supported hub (Smartthings, Vera, HomeControl, etc) and outfit everything with automated outlets and/or switches. The fewer steps in the chain, the better. And cheaper.

Bingo. This is the first result for "Cool Considerate Men": https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00137XH40/

Did you know Amazon will donate a portion of every purchase if you shop by going to smile.amazon.com instead? Over $50,000,000 has been raised for charity - all you need to do is change the URL!

Here are your smile-ified links:

Vobot

---

^^i'm ^^a ^^friendly bot

I got this one and it works great so far.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0013V8K3O/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This is definitely not a solution if you are looking to control streaming content through Sonos. But if you are looking to control your local music collection:

https://www.amazon.com/Philosophical-Creations-House-Band/dp/B01ATZM6N4/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-skills&ie=UTF8&qid=1480192306&sr=1-1&keywords=house+band

What happens when you say, "Alexa, cave on"? That should work. The word "lights" might be problematic and she may be looking for a device called cave (as opposed to a group).

Diagnostic questions: This Hue LED Starter Kit with 2 Bulbs & Hue Bridge Hub? If you're on Android, did you check your bulb setup on the alternative Hue Pro app (which is better than the official app)? What are your individual bulbs named? From what I've seen, it's generally best to avoid using the words "room" or "light" in individual bulb names or group names.

I'm looking at this one but really wish there was something a little cheaper.
iDevices Outdoor Switch
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019IJNKCS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_i87oybDEBAZ4H

• Answer calls in a different room than is currently being called.
  
• Manipulate music from a different device ("pause in the living room"; "stop in the living room")
  
• Music/timer/alarm hand off from device to device ("echo, I've moved from the living room"; "echo, I'm going to the office")
  
• Zigbee remote buttons support to trigger actions (e.g. use one of these and have it turn on and off a set of lights / plugs without needing to speak, if desired)

I plugged mine into this. Works great with my smartthings hub.

GE Z-Wave Wireless Smart Lighting Control Outdoor Module, On/Off, Plug-In, Black, Works with Amazon Alexa, 12720 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0013V8K3O/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_nlMAoRWuALZw1

The setup you're wanting sounds like it could benefit from a mixer and some bluetooth audio receivers. You would need one receiver per echo and the audio would be mixed, so you'd need to remember to stop playback on one device before starting playback on another.

Behold! Pocket Casts :)

CHEAP OPTION: Find a USB powered speaker you like and is in your budget and just get a cheap 2 port USB wall plug. I wouldn't mess with splitters/adapters when you're talking about power. It won't sound great because you really can't get a whole lot of power through USB. It only runs 5V at 2A which is 10W.

WHAT I DID IN MY KITCHEN: I bought one of these outlets to run 2x 120v plugs and 2x USB plugs. This solves your problem if you're handy. you get the 120v for a nice speaker and USB integrated to run your dot.

BETTER OPTION: Figure out a budget. If you're looking for under $50 I'd get the highest reviewed portable speaker that has a headphone jack on it. Get a 2x usb wall plug and 2 cables that are the same length and a 1' acc cable.

Something like this?
Lutron Caseta Wireless In-Wall Dimmer, 600/150-Watt, Single Pole, Works with Amazon Alexa https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KLAXFQA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_lQcAybR2S3GG7

Wouldn't it be less annoying to just have ALL the audio go through the audio out thru hdmi and plug your devices into the tv instead of the receiver. Or is the latency/equalizers different going receiver to tv.

do you have a link to the ip2ir device? I'm trying to get the echo to control my tv, and i'm trying to figure out the cheapest way that's reliable. I've heard its possible using a rasberry pi and sending the tv commands through hdmi, but haven't found any guides yet.

nvm. googled it, sounds expensive for beta, think i'd be better off with haromony.

Yeah, we use it for brulee, marshmallows and pork crackling. It was the cheapest one on Amazon! https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0001IWYIC/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494440396&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=kitchencraft+torch&dpPl=1&dpID=41lXAwVplML&ref=plSrch ...can't find it on Amazon US for you tho, weirdly!

House Band skill + JRiver Media Center(not free) does this:

https://www.amazon.com/Philosophical-Creations-House-Band/dp/B01ATZM6N4

and eventually some of us hope SONOS will access our personal libraries...

Yes, the buying link is :
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071CDST5C

I have the Dot in my study, connected via an audio mixer, into an amplified speaker. You can then use the mixer to set the level of (in this example) 4 inputs. Now, any of those inputs can play at the same time, and you can use the mixer to control the level of each input. This might be better for an amplified speaker than a stereo, but might give you some ideas.

http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-MicroMIX-MX400-Low-Noise-4-channel/dp/B000KGYAYQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1464220713&sr=8-2&keywords=audio+mixer

Maybe skip the brick and get something like this? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IAZIU5Y/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_iy4nybNHD8GA4

It looks like for a little more this would work without the need of an always on Android device: https://www.amazon.com/Hook-Smart-remote-controlled-outlets/dp/B01ITSEU3C

Here was my solution.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IAZIU5Y/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_ouISybSQ422WN

Sure, sure.. Look at these though. You can place them anywhere.. and you can tap it 5 times for different "scenes"

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0167Z0P3I/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

it's got to be possible, my kids have been playing the magic door (https://www.amazon.com/Huntwork-net-Inc-The-Magic-Door/dp/B01BMUU6JQ) and to invoke it, you just say "Alexa, Open the Magic Door"

also Harmony Hub is apparently at its lowest ever (£69.99)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Logitech-Harmony-Control-Smart-Devices-Black/dp/B014GXQ9YW

https://www.amazon.fr/Logitech-Harmony-Syst%C3%A8me-Contr%C3%B4le-universel/dp/B014GXQ9YW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482965969&sr=8-1&keywords=harmony+hub

There's also Vobot.

Don't they work with this? https://www.amazon.com/Hook-remote-control-outlets-Amazon/dp/B01ITSEU3C

Lutron Casetta in wall switches and a smart Bridge would do what you need.

Just did a search and found this (it's a skill):
https://www.amazon.com/Huntwork-net-Inc-The-Magic-Door/dp/B01BMUU6JQ

The one that came with this starter kit.

https://www.amazon.com/YEELIGHT-Changing-Smartphone-Compatible-Lighting/dp/B01LRT0B56/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

https://www.amazon.com/Global-Cache-IP2IR-iTach-Wired/dp/B003BFTKUC

I've been using this one, for over 2 years, without issues: https://www.amazon.com/iDevices-Outdoor-Switch-Monitoring-Required/dp/B019IJNKCS/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1536376311&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=idevice+outdoor+switch&psc=1

Pocket Casts is out for echo now: https://alexa.amazon.com/spa/index.html#skills/dp/B07P3GBW57

cleaner URL: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0001IWYIC

Don't mind me. I've got a compulsive thing about messy amazon URLs...

Ack on the no running high voltage cables inside the wall that aren't properly terminated. Regarding low-voltage, I did consider using something like a 1-Gang Recessed Low Voltage Cable Plate, potentially mounted behind the Dot.

Well I'll be damned!!

https://www.amazon.com/Podcast-Media-LLC-Pocket-Casts/dp/B07P3GBW57/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=pocket+casts+skills&qid=1551229178&s=gateway&sr=8-1