What's your experience?

#1

So I’ve been tinkering with this blind control device. I purchased two (1) assembled; (1) unassembled so that I could understand the full process of connecting and determine how to add a solar charging to it. Sidenote: I have found some great solar chargers and others who have done something similiar, have not been able to test as yet.

I’m running Home Assistant as my hub and through all the work it has taken to get this device to a workable state (not functional, workable in my dev environment only) I’m wondering what are the experiences of others who have embarked down this same path.

In a nutshell, what has been your experience setting up and configuring this module for your blinds ?

Has hit delivered the full capability you were originally looking for ?

Is it “functional” in your home automation solution ?

If there are other’s in your home, how do they feel about it ? Do they attempt to use it ?

Are you at a point where you say, “its done” or is this a never ending support project ? Something always changing that requires return, touch or new updated software that may/may not be available ?

I’m just curious. Out of at least 10 blind DIY solutions I’ve been able to find, this one has the most promise, but at the moment I can’t say that it is ready for wide marketing ? There is so much more that might be needed to get this device as a go to for blind control.

#2

I have the same sentiments. This does look like the most reasonable approach to blinds control so far, so I ordered one of the completed boards. Actually, the electronics part of this would be the easiest for me. I could have assembled the board myself but decided to go with the preassembled version. My big weakness is in the programming. I can do almost anything on the electronic side but trying to integrate it into my home automation system proves to be more difficult. My whole house is automated using Indigo. If there’s anybody that has thoughts on specific steps that I can take to make the blinds work with indigo I would be most appreciative.

Dave

#3

The blind control software runs on a MQTT format. Openhab and home assistant both are platforms that use MQTT.
From what i Have read about Indigo, you can install Indigo SHIMS.
and MQTT Connector check these out


This might get you into the right direction

#4

In responding to the OP’s questions.

My personal experience is really as expected for a DIY project. The very fact that i am using Home Assistant (could be OpenHAB as well) as the hub and various DIY devices from Sonoffs to a handful of custom programmed ESP8266 modules set my expectations that this was not a plug and play operation. If that was my goal I would have purchased blinds controllers from the Big Box store or other website and installed those instead.

My familiarity with MQTT and HA made most of the configuration familiar, and while not trivial, at least something that I could accomplish with my current skill sets.

As to the capability of this device. Exceeded my needs. Just having all the parts sourced for a fair price and a very self explanatory PCB included made the assembly and deployment of the controllers straight forward.

Your next two questions are pretty much the same for me. Functional and how others view it are related. To clarify, my ultimate goal is to have an automated home. With the blinds controllers, having any access to push buttons or even the setup I created in HA is secondary to the automations I have created that open and close the blinds based on various conditions. The approval factor is high as I continually manage the conditions that drive the actions and the blinds “just work” to steal a Steve Jobs line.

As to done - never. I am a tinkerer and am always refactoring code, reworking circuits and trying to improve what I have implemented for home automation. With the work that @Mountain has put into the firmware, I have yet to play with any of the potential solar charging LiPo battery functions but really hope to have time this spring as I have two blinds that are nowhere near any power source but get blasted with plenty of sunshine.