Re: HAL, Amazon Echo/Dot, SMS, and TV Control
 

Tim,
I agree to some degree that there will be down time when it comes to Alexa and other IoT, but if my electricity is out, I can't do anything either. If Alexa, etc can't provide the convenience, I can still get up and turn on a light manually.

For the time being, I may create a quick link Alexa Skill to HAL. I would have to say, "Alexa tell HAL <<or whatever name I give the skill>> to run <<Macro name>>. I already have a skill for Good Morning and Good Night that fires off a Macro.

Not sure what the HAL Bridge is for that was posted. Perhaps if you didn't have the Insteon HUB2 ?

Re: HAL, Amazon Echo/Dot, SMS, and TV Control
 

Darrin,

I think you are confused on a number of things i posted... First the issue i mentioned was if the internet goes out as did the article i posted a link to. If you loose internet, you can't talk to Siri or Alexa! Second the if you are using a skill that is the way you have to interact with Alexa. The Bridge that was mentioned is a software emulation of a hardware bridge that was developed by BWS Systems. It allows you to turn on or off HAL devices or execute macros via Alexa with out saying tell HAL...

Call me sometime and I will explain further if you like.

Cheers,

Tim

Re: HAL, Amazon Echo/Dot, SMS, and TV Control
 

I will definitely look at the bridge if it cuts down on the "Alexa tell <<>>" portion to run macros. I really hate that. As far as On/Off and Dim, the hub and Alexa take care of that as I can already say, "Alexa turn off the hall lights". Using my Alexa Skill, I can also say, "Alexa start Good Morning" to run the Good Morning Macro in HAL.

I understood. I was just stating that I would never allow myself to be in a situation where I had to completely rely on the internet (Alexa, or any device, including wireless) to turn on my lights, etc. as the person in the article did. I see these all as a convenience and not a all or nothing.

Re: HAL, Amazon Echo/Dot, SMS, and TV Control
 

It's amazing to me how many things are tied to the internet... even your Insteon Hub. The smartphone app communicates with Smartlabs' server which communicates to the the hub. We had a user switch all their Nest Stats over to RTC wifi stats so they would not be dependent on both having the internet up and Nest's servers! He eliminated two points of failure that were out of his control.

Tim

Re: HAL, Amazon Echo/Dot, SMS, and TV Control
 

I agree, it is scary, but I look at the internet like electric. I lost electricity once last year and I lost internet once last year. I could buy a generator for electric outage, but not can be done when the internet is out. That is why I make sure to view it only as a 'nice to have'.

Re: HAL, Amazon Echo/Dot, SMS, and TV Control
 

LOL!

I loss power so often I had my electric company add a device to my electrical meter that allows me to plug my generator in directly when the power goes out... It automatically switches to the utility when power is back.

Also my internet at home is based on the satellite service provider called Exede. So I lose Internet more than power! Any bad rain or snow storm and see ya later! Soooo I cannot be depending on infrastructure for uninterrupted 365 service. The Internet is out 4-5 times a month! I have customers that have either Verizon or Comcast and they too take their service providers names in vain LOL. Depending on the cloud is gamble. And as more and more services become cloud centric you not only run the risk of an outage because of your own local utility but also that of the service providers infrastructure.


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Re: HAL, Amazon Echo/Dot, SMS, and TV Control
 

Yes indeed. We started looking at natural gas generators. The gas lines are in the ground and also kick on when electricity is lost. The cost is higher, but I wouldn't have to fill a tank every 8 or 10 hours, but of course it is not portable either. I guess between electric and internet, it boils down to where you live and how reliable your service is. The last town we lived in, we never lost electric or internet in over 3 years (their power lines were buried).

Re: HAL, Amazon Echo/Dot, SMS, and TV Control
 

Hi, Just a quick update... http://www.bwssystems.com/ just released their latest version 3.0 Amazon Echo HA Bridge that supports HAL. You must have version 6.1.11 or above to use their software.

The HA Bridge allows connectivity from the Amazon Echo or other automation controllers to various Home Automation systems, such as the Vera, Harmony Hub, Nest, HAL, Limitless/Mi-Light or most devices that has an accessible http interface. There are features that allow connections to any http/https/TCP/UDP or scripts or programs on the host machine to be able to consolidate home automation tasks.

Regards,

Tim

Re: HAL, Amazon Echo/Dot, SMS, and TV Control
 

Tim,
Does that include running macro's? "Alexa, start movie time"...etc. ?

Re: HAL, Amazon Echo/Dot, SMS, and TV Control
 

Tim, I have downloaded the latest version of the HA-Bridge, but am unable to get the menu that you posted a screen shot of. Are there any tips you can give me to get this bridge up and running to the point that you have posted the screenshots? Or can you direct me to some documentation on how to set the bridge up to run with HAL?