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Comment by pmontra | Hacker News Reader

Great project but a little too much for the ones of us with only software development skills.

I use smart plugs over Wi-Fi to do that. Shelly Plug S have a small physical button, a web app, a HTTP URL to call to switch the plug on or off. They also have a lot of features that I don't need. Among them MQTT and Alexa/Google integrations. A few bash scripts with curl and I can do everything I need. The price is reasonable and they saved me a lot of time.

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I use a couple of Ewelink devices (hardware-equivalent Chinese clone of Sonoff S20 from AliExpress), reflashed with open source Tasmota firmware for the same purpose: remotely controlled power socket, with physical button, connected to WiFi, with HTTP web page and REST API for curl etc, firmware has MQTT support too; I have no idea about Alexa/Google integrations (likewise, I'm not interested in this feature), but the price is bargain, $10/each. Sonoff S26 clones are good for this purpose too, but UART port is easier to solder on S20 (larger one). Soldering UART port is necessary for reflashing to Tasmota, because stock firmware is utter crap.

how do you feel about leaving "Chinese clone" devices plugged in 24/7? do the plugs have a ground pin? do they get hot? do they have CE certification? genuinely interested in this setup and don't answer if too prying. thanks

Ground/PE pin is there, in passthrough mode at least (I'm using European/Schuko version). CE certification is obviously missing (in Conformité Européenne sense I mean, China Export is there), but hardware is 1:1 clone of Sonoff, so I don't worry too much about safety. The device looks like a mass produced in a factory, not a homemade solder in a garage. Temperature isn't hot, looks normal to me. ESP8266 chip is the same, the rest (a few Y caps, resistors, LEDs, pushbutton etc) I'm pretty sure is chinese crap anyway, regardless of whether this is Ewelink or genuine Sonoff. Local suppliers here in Ukraine are selling Ewelinks reflashed to Sonoff firmware as genuine Sonoffs anyway, so I see no point in spending more.

thanks very much for all the info

Hardware can be a fun change of pace if you’re willing to try. A lot of stuff is pretty safe as long as you follow basic precautions.

I built my own remote garage door opener with an esp32, relay, and Amazon dash button. Took a bit to get working but super satisfying when you do :)

> Great project but a little too much for the ones of us with only software development skills.

It's a transistor, a resistor, and some wires. The ESP32 boards are trivial to program even without embedded-specific development experience, using just the Arduino IDE and a USB cable.

Agreed. The Shelly looks to be targeted at EU markets. I suppose the more American equivalent would be something like a Meross

Meross Smart Plug Mini https://a.co/d/ey2LJcb

It's 3 components, a bread board and some wire. I would encourage any "software only" people to give it a go :) The software side (MQTT, ESPHome, Docker) of this is far more complex than setting up the hardware.

This. Most mainboards can be configured to boot the moment they receive power, no need for a power button.

It's also worth noting that any internet integration can be disabled on all Shelly devices.

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