ECHO .. ECHo .. ECho ... Echo .. echo

Awfully quiet around here the past few days! I'm not getting my fill of the community. I wanted to set up some voice integrations since I have acquired a few more echos. I could use some suggestions on the right app to use. I was wondering which echo app will work best for this? There are so many different integrations for echo, I wonder what will be the best one to use? I don't have a TTS added to Hubitat, but I do have the echo skill for "things". Any input is welcome.

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i'd avoid it and get a TTS speaker vs assistant.
An assistant is somewhat controlled by a client, and seems to be always changing, controlling, restricting. I got over it and just got a speaker that HE can push the TTS to.
Hasnt missed a beat.

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Any recommendations?

I love Echo Speaks. It is pretty easy to set up and once set up I haven’t had to mess with it. You should try out a couple integrations and see what you like best. ES can be integrated from a separate HE or ST hub via HubConnect using the speech synthesis driver. I have mine on ST with 13 echos synced to HE.

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Working with the echos takes some time and patience. If you have that then go for it.

There are two options. I can’t remember the name of both of them off the top of my head but they both work well.

If you have any sonos speakers you can also use those.

If you have a tablet running fully kiosk browser you can also use those.

Those are the 3 options I have setup in my house.

Came to recommend some sound dampening panels for your echo problem. After reading your post though, I am of no help. :wink:

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I was also inferring that it's been pretty quiet around here. Maybe everyone is so busy working on the lightify integration that they forgot to find the energy to post anywhere else. There's lots of great excitement over that.

I really don't have the patience. Since we're remodeling, sonos isn't currently an option. I thought there was a more reasonable solution other than echo. I thought I read it somewhere and was thankful that sonos wasn't the only option anymore. I can't find it, so maybe it was in a dream on a night when I was running a bunch of linux through my head. Happens quite often.

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You make a good point. @djgutheinz I believe has a driver for Samsung MS and Radiant series wifi speakers. These are reasonably priced from what I’ve seen. Dave stays on top of any issues with his TP-Link integrations, so I would think this would be solid.

what is this that you speak of?


I would message Dave about them if you’re interested. I don’t have any experience with them, just ran across it on his github when I was more invested in TP-Link devices.
Echo Speaks has been great for me, but I have a ST hub that it’s running on (only reason I still have ST). It does also run on HE though.

hmm ... then i wasn't dreaming.

I stopped pursuing echo speaks because of the token issue. Has that been resolved in HE? I could fire my old ST up, but Dammit ... It's hard to deal with that when you have this.

No token issues with ES. You should definitely fire up that ST and put it to work. It works great for this.
Then you have tts for free until you decide on something local.

Well, if you're looking for something slick like CastWeb API for Google Home, then you want Echo speaks. But if your TTS needs are basic, then the Echo does that natively with static messages you program into the Alexa app. Then just trigger them from HE with this...

metadata {
	definition (name: "Virtual motion with Switch", namespace: "cw", author: "cwwilson08") {
		capability "Sensor"
		capability "Motion Sensor"
        capability "Switch"
	}   
}

def on() {
    sendEvent(name: "motion", value: "active")
    sendEvent(name: "switch", value: "on")
    runIn(12, off)
}

def off() {
    sendEvent(name: "motion", value: "inactive")
    sendEvent(name: "switch", value: "off")
}

def installed() {
}

This is what I do for TTS. I'm a simple man with simple needs. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

However, one of the nicest sounding TTS is Sonos. You don't have to pay a lot for a Sonos speaker. Just head to IKEA and pickup a Symfonisk shelf speaker. I see them in the AS-IS section of our local IKEAs all the time for $120 CAD, so you should be able to get one for about $90 USD. They sound just as good as a Play:3 and better than a Play:1 in my opinion. They're not limited in anyway and have the new AirPlay 2 as well. No crappy IKEA app to use. It's the regular Sonos app. Works great with the Sonos Integration.

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Do you have all the HE devices exposed to the echo app on ST or do you have Alexa app on HE as well.
By the way I use a google mini for in home notifications. Seems to work fine and I think I got it for $20. Could this also be linked to ST?

I don’t have any Alexa app integration on ST, just @tonesto7 ‘s Echo Speaks app for tts. I do Alexa integration from one of my HE hubs. I sync the echos from ST using HubConnect, and can select individual devices in RM and HSM. I only sync a handful of sensors to ST so I can use them in the Echo Actions app to announce the name of the device. Sorry, I don’t have any experience with Google devices.

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So your saying Echo Speaks (on ST) and Alexa skill (on HE) peacefully co-exist using Hubconnect? That sound awesome. May have to retire the Google Mini.

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I know .. it's becoming enticing to dust off the ol' red-headed stepchild and finding some new use for it.

I’m not having any errors or slowdowns or anything else weird.

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April
If it’s just for TTS then you can use almost any cheap dnla speakers.
I have used this app in the past:

It always worked for me :slight_smile:

Andy

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Can someone please fill me in on why people are running Echo Speaks on ST rather than on HE? I still have my ST running for my Schlage locks and the ADT security system, but I moved everything else over including Echo Speaks. What would the benefit be of moving it back to ST?