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ESP8266 WiFi module

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upand_at_them

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I've searched and haven't found anyone on here talking about these new devices yet. So I'm going to start. They're awesome!

They're less than $5 and can act as a small webserver all by themselves. They can connect to WiFi access points as a client and can serve as WiFi access points to other devices. There is a lot of hype about these making the "Internet of Things" possible, which I think is ridiculous...I will never want my fridge or washing machine connected to the Internet. But they still have a lot of potential.

They can be controlled through a microcontroller, but for the ambitious they already have a microcontroller on-board and can be programmed in C or the much easier LUA scriptable firmware.

Check 'em out.
 
I will never want my fridge or washing machine connected to the Internet.

Why?

Simple washer app would be an SMS message when finished washing.

Simple fridge app would be an SMS after a door prop alarm and elapsed time after a temperature alarm.
 
Why?

Simple washer app would be an SMS message when finished washing.

Simple fridge app would be an SMS after a door prop alarm and elapsed time after a temperature alarm.

Well, I don't keep my smartphone strapped to me at all times. I can hear when the washer has finished. And I have never had a need for a door prop alarm.
 
From the view point of those who design products:

We have had products that appear to have been sold more than a year ago. The consumer said they just got the product or that it has been in storage and, this is the first time power has been applied. (wont power up for the first time) Our records show it is out of warranty. Because of smart products, I can see that the product has only been "on" for 3 seconds after it left the factory. So we give then a warranty.

In the case of a refrigerator, the machine can call in to the factory and say "I am loosing coolant and at this rate will not be working well in a moth". We can plan for repairs before a problem happens.

We can see how each machine is working, temperatures, fan speed, line voltage. We can see how all are doing. If 99.5% of all motors are running 20C above room temperature but 0.5% are very different. (why?) Great amounts of data help make better products.

There are computers in many things now. I like to be able to push new firm ware to the product with out having to have a person there.

I know some people don't like computers in cars but there is no choice now.
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I just thought of a security system!
>If I am not home and the refrigerator door just opened, then I have a problem. lol
>If I am not home (or am home) and the refrigerator reports the kitchen room temperature is 200, then I have a problem. FIRE
>The refrigerator reports water two inches deep in the house, I have a problem.
 
I mistakingly thought that a "good" product is one that dies one day after the warranty expires!
I have also heard that.
I have test equipment made by HP/Agilent, Tektronix, Simpson that are very old and works well. I know (by name) when I get a new meter that it will be working 10 years from now. I have a very early HP RF- meter and a picture of H. and P. standing beside it along with the girls that made it.

I have made a short speech about HP/Agilent/Keysight/(what ever comes next). Your name is directly tied to how well/long the equipment works. On the other hand there is a man on e-bay that started on Wednesday, makes meters. Happy Sun Meters Mostly Works, maybe the meters will be working when he goes out of business on Monday.
 
I have a freezer and a refrigerator/freezer downstairs. The fridge/freezer is from the 50's and made by GE. The primary purpose happens to be to store medications for mom and I.
So far, this year the door wasn't closed properly on the 16 cuft freezer.

So as deterrent #1, I bought a $25 freezer alarm, BUT the alarm and LED illuminates for an hour. For now, one sensor is in the freezer and the other in the fridge/freezer. I will time the amount of time in alarm.

The secod deterrent was just installed on the freezer which is the more concerned piece. A child lock: **broken link removed**

The position of the freezer makes it hard to actually determine if the door is closed. I leave opposite the door opening. The latches actually make a click when the door is closed, but if a heavy item fell, it's still possible to wedge the door open a small amount.

I might add a "door prop" alarm and wire it so both units use the same alarm. Some go up to 90 minutes. But they are way to expensive new. AT least two vendors products would work.

So, environmental concerns are real.

Rare water issues. A possible French drain overflow which can be handles with a wet-vac, A window well overflow. It doesn't help when your not home and local alarms in the basement may not be heard. The window well has a local alarm and the french drain has a wireless one with the annunciator in the bedroom. Other water areas could be dreamed up. (washer, water heater, AC drain, sump pump)

Because of a a pilot light stove and an antique stove whose oven has to be lighted manually, a couple of natural gas detectors would help. There is a CO/Nat gas detector in the bedroom, but it would be nice if they were local as well.

Me, I can forget things because of migraines. Usually nothing drastic. I might miss an exit when driving or if distracted, forget what I was going to do. When boiling water for ice tea, I set an alarm. In order to hear my wake-up alarm (which is a Sonalert module), I might not hear it (tinnitus) unless the alarm is facing me.
 
I might add a "door prop" alarm and wire it so both units use the same alarm. Some go up to 90 minutes. But they are way to expensive new. AT least two vendors products would work.

So, environmental concerns are real.

I have no doubt that some people might find it useful to add this WiFi functionality to an appliance. I don't. And manufacturers never will, because refrigerators are incredibly reliable.

Hackaday has covered these extensively! Also the arduino crowd is big on them too.

The Arduino people make me laugh. The ESP8266 already has an MCU on-board, much more powerful than any Arduino.

When the weather gets warm I'm doing to put one on my roof to get temperature reports. (Black rubber roof gets very hot.)
 
I have no doubt that some people might find it useful to add this WiFi functionality to an appliance. I don't. And manufacturers never will, because refrigerators are incredibly reliable.
In some areas there is not enough power to go around. During heavy heating and cooling times the grid does down.
There is great pressure to add remote switches to heavy power user, like conditioners, and the like.
If the grid goes down it might take hours to get going. No air conditioning, no computer, no internet, no lights.
The other option is for the power company to back you air conditioner down to 75% on. So it is a little warmer. You have air, computer, lights and most importantly, cable TV and internet.

It is common in industry for the power company to shutdown big machines at peak demand. OR Give a big credit for those machines to run at 3 am.

Most people in the US get real upset thinking about the power company touching you air conditioning. There are people on the forum that can tell you exactly how a power grid works when the peak demand is too big. No they can't, they are sitting in the dark, with no computer.
 
The Arduino people make me laugh. The ESP8266 already has an MCU on-board, much more powerful than any Arduino.

When the weather gets warm I'm doing to put one on my roof to get temperature reports. (Black rubber roof gets very hot.)

Someone has hacked the firmware to make it capable of acting as its own micro. In your case wouldnt a simple bluetooth link work just as well? I guess you wouldnt have the ability to monitor it online then.
 
Someone has hacked the firmware to make it capable of acting as its own micro. In your case wouldnt a simple bluetooth link work just as well? I guess you wouldnt have the ability to monitor it online then.

The manufacturer has released the C-code SDK for us to create our own firmware. But yeah, someone ported the LUA language interpreter to the firmware...I've used that. A simple script and done.

No need for Bluetooth, since the ESP8266 has WiFi built in.
 
I'm with you radioactive man, I'm regularly frusted by people twiddling on mobile devices, it wont be long before no piece of equipment has any controls at all it, it'll all be done via a 'phone.
We managed ok before them.
 
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The manufacturer has released the C-code SDK for us to create our own firmware. But yeah, someone ported the LUA language interpreter to the firmware...I've used that. A simple script and done.

No need for Bluetooth, since the ESP8266 has WiFi built in.

Ah, I see. I thought you were doing a microcontroller to the wifi adapter. Sounds like a interesting project :).
 
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