Notification Options

netspec.inc · August 5, 2022, 10:44pm

I am hoping someone can point me in the right direction. I have been using HE for many years. But only for automating lights for the most part. I have not used any "notifications". Now I would like to get notified and am struggling to find what options there are available. I was interested in a notification that would either speak via an Amazon Echo device, my cell phone, or something similar. I don't want a siren. I have created a rain sensor using a zigbee door magnet switch that works great (tested turning lights on and off).

I just want to be woken if it rains. (If my telescope and camera gear are outside taking pictures overnight and it rains). I don't want to wake the whole house, just me. So a siren is out.

I don't seem to be able to find a zigbee notification device that will play a non-siren sound at a decent level that doesn't cost $60+.

I started to look into IFTTT and playing a sound on my cell phone, but I don't see a action on the free account that will do that and didn't see a way around to test a more advanced version without paying.

I figured the Echo device next to my bed would work great, but I tried setting up Echo Speaks v4, but the directions for "deployment" don't match anything like what is on the herokupapp.com website for deploying that app. The directions were from over a year ago and were fine up until that page. The website says I need to connect to GitHub and use some Herokuapp CLI program to be able to deploy the app. I have no idea what to do with all of that. The directions just say to press the "deploy" button that does not exist. That thread seems stale so I am thinking it is no longer being supported.

Is there a current Echo notification app that works and has good support without a lot of maintenance (saw another old app but has comments about having to update keys regularly)?

Or maybe is there a different way to get my cell phone to turn up the volume and play a song or say something that works and has good directions to use?

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

thebearmay · August 5, 2022, 11:00pm

Could contact @tonesto7 to see if he has a set of updated instructions for heroku.

moh · August 5, 2022, 11:00pm

Hi @netspec.inc. I recently set up Echo Speaks (in the last two months) with no problems and is working fine. Utilized HPM to install and just followed the instructions step-by-step. Would re-read the instructions for setting it up very carefully and follow the instructions step-by-step as it worked without issue for me. Would reference @tonesto7 for additional help.

netspec.inc · August 5, 2022, 11:31pm

I did create a "bug" on his GitHub page.

Well I know the directions show a cell phone and I am using a desktop, but here are the steps for deploy on the directions from the main topic here ([BETA] Echo Speaks V4):

Here is what I see on what appears to be a new "deploy" tab and very complicated instructions for deploying ... directions have no mention of 3 ways to deploy and choosing one:

I have re-read the directions several times and everything tracks up to this point. I guess I might have missed something. I will go back over it again but don't think I missed anything.

Tazena · August 7, 2022, 1:04pm

I just set this up yesterday for use on an Echo. The instructions were long but easy enough to follow. Are you trying to deploy from herokupapp.com or from the popup window per the instructions?

netspec.inc · August 7, 2022, 7:46pm

I think I found my issue. I deleted everything and started from scratch. Google Chrome is blocking the site and the "popup" window fell behind my window where I had already logged into the Heroku site. The Google warning was messing things up. Seems like the app is asks for your Amazon login and password, not using a secure Amazon OAuth method, and hence could compromise your account or something ... and hence Google classified the site as a Phishing, security concern.

Not sure if the site stores my Amazon login and password or just get authorized for notifications, so I think I will try something else since I am nervous about my account being compromised.

ogiewon · August 7, 2022, 8:26pm

If you wants something really simple and low cost to setup, you could simply use Pushover Notifications on your phone. See the following thread for details of using Pushover "Emergency" notifications, which can make you phone produce an audible alert, even if you have it in silent/do not disturb mode while sleeping. These alerts will also repeat until acknowledged. There are some settings on your phone that also need to be tweaked to allow the Pushover mobile phone app to 'break through' your phone's silent mode.

Specifically, see this section

[E] prefix is now used for emergency notifications and requires the following parameters
retry - how often to resend notification until it is acknowledged (in seconds with a minimum of 30 seconds)
expire - timeout for resending notifications if they are never acknowledged (in seconds with a maximum of 10800)

Here is an article regarding setting up Critical Alerts on iOS. I am sure there is a similar article for Android.

netspec.inc · August 8, 2022, 10:42pm

THANK YOU! This is really a good solution. I think it might cost me $5 to have my device registered in the end, but trying the free trial.

I like that it uses API / User keys and no big security concerns. The basic notification and sound level is great. Need to look into that emergency notification that appears to require some acknowledgement and how that works. But my initial test looks very promising. Thank you!