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Comment by 2024throwaway | Hacker News Reader

2024throwaway

I knew from the headline this was about my beloved Flipper Zero.

It is absolutely a scapegoat. There's nothing magical about it, and it doesn't do anything that can't be done with other devices.

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What do you love about it? I have one and I've only used it very occasionally (e.g. https://blog.jgc.org/2024/02/repairing-sort-of-dyson-fan-rem...). I did make a backup of the NFC card that I use to charge my car because it's super useful to have a duplicate, although even that I barely use because I'd need to carry the Flipper Zero around with me.

Cloned various remote controls (treadmill, ceiling fan, floor fan) into one interface.

Also the article isn't wrong, it's cute!

Are these all infrared? Because I've done that and it's handy, but I could also have done that with a universal remote.

Only the floor fan is infrared. The rest are radio.

Or just get a few smart home products, connect your devices, and automate everything from you phone. Easier than carrying around your Flipper Zero at home.

"Replace your ceiling fan and treadmill" is certainly not easier than having a small device sitting on my desk.

What is the use case for a flipper zero and a treadmill?

There are plenty of automations you can do with a treadmill and a smart plug, but I can't think of a single use for a treadmill and any of the components in a flipper zero.

Are you just turning on the fan from the treadmill? That would be better served using a power reading from the treadmill and an IR blaster.

You can tie in other automations as well. I have mine setup to turn off a light that causes a TV glare visible only from the treadmill and to turn on an extra speaker next to the treadmill

It is an under desk / walking treadmill. I'm turning it on and off and adjusting the speed. I really don't need more advanced automation.

Why on earth would you do that? An IR blaster costs $25 and will connect to Homebirdge so you have it in Apple Home (or Android whatever). I made 2 dehumidifiers and 2 floor fans “smart” by buying the cheapest possible smart plugs on Amazon, an Amazon branded smart plug cost me $1 during a sale.

BroadLink RM4 Mini IR Universal Remote Control, Smart Home Automation Wi-Fi Infrared Blaster https://a.co/d/8GnOVRU

That covers the floor fan. Now I need a radio blaster to control the ceiling fan and treadmill. So two extra devices, plus having to set up new automation integrations. This all sounds WAY more complicated than just cloning the remotes like I've done. Would it be more flexible/powerful? Absolutely. Do I need any of that? Absolutely not.

Then you pay $15 more for the IR/RF blaster combo and a $35 raspberry pi 3. If you can copy an image to an SD card you can install homebridge (or home assistant). You already saved money over the $169 cost of a flipper zero and your fans/treadmill can come over whenever you enter the room or at a certain time of day.

If you can play with a flipper zero you can setup automation.

I honestly don't know what point you are trying to make.

Of course I can set up automation. I have Home Assistant running in my house already.

I also happen to own a Flipper that does a great job at controlling these devices.

Why would I introduce complexity where simplicity is working great?

I'm done with this conversation, I'd say it's been fun, but..

OP said only one device was infrared and you don't know how their other devices behave when just turned off and on. Also, smart plugs can only turn things off and on., whereas OP cloned the whole remote.

From what I understand, it is magical in the sense that it makes everything easy to do, even for people without much knowledge.

It makes some things magically easy to do, but stealing cars is not one of them.

Depends very much on the car. Do you own a Hyundai or Kia?

Maybe we should ban Hyundais and Kias until they fix their security holes. Just an idea about banning things

the whole debacle with hyundai/kia is that they shipped cars where you can physically start it without electronics

There’s an electronic attack too. This apparently affects many late-model Hyundai/Kia vehicles up to 2023 or so.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Ioniq5/comments/17lksic/increase_in...

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