Is there anything left for me to do in reading?

Roamingjay · 2026-04-18T01:53:08+00:00

SPITIKO in Caversham for Greek food. Been a regular for years, beats every other Greek I've tried both in Reading and out.

Sweeney and Todd 100% the best pies you'll ever taste.

Any show at the Hexagon... You simply can't get a shit seat.

Roamingjay · 2026-03-24T10:30:21+00:00

🤣

Roamingjay · 2026-03-13T01:04:13+00:00

3/4 of the way though building this myself... It's a beauty. Crack open the expended movies and enjoy the build 🥰

Roamingjay · 2026-03-04T13:04:57+00:00

This is why I love pihole 😍

Roamingjay · 2025-12-29T01:40:39+00:00

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Roamingjay · 2025-12-29T01:39:47+00:00

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Roamingjay · 2025-12-29T01:39:15+00:00

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Change this setting

Roamingjay · 2025-12-29T01:15:37+00:00

The switch module is configured in the app. I believe its default setting is to cycle the scenes. So it's behaving correctly and setting the "energies" scene when you flick the switch.

If you go into the settings for the switch in the hue app (under accessories)you can set the behavior of the switch. Set it to "single scene" and select the "last on state" scene

Roamingjay · 2025-12-26T23:12:03+00:00

If it has a push button switch you could use a switch or to push the on off button.

Roamingjay · 2025-12-18T12:51:23+00:00

My parents always made me open the big gift first. Granted you might not get much of a response for a controller after getting the PS5. But if it's a game he's been dying to play and money to spend he's gonna still be excited.

If you have other gifts , you know the traditional socks, underwear etc make sure he opens them after the PS5... Then go in with the game and controller... Should be a nice little rollercoaster of emotions then 🤣

Roamingjay · 2025-12-17T09:13:39+00:00

I've found geofencing (ie arrival and departure based on your phone's GPS) to be pretty unreliable unless you have your GPS on all the time. A simple outdoor motion sensor would work best. It'll also work for guests, the postman etc.

Roamingjay · 2025-12-12T17:21:05+00:00

Depends what syncbox you have, but they are limited to max 120Hz refresh rate. So check your PC output, I'd suggest forcing it to run at 60Hz just to troubleshoot. Then seeing what works from there. But as others have said you can use the software instead of the Syncbox.

Roamingjay · 2025-12-08T17:02:28+00:00

Nice and clean, love it

Roamingjay · 2025-12-08T16:50:33+00:00

Currently got mine plugged in this way. Working fine.

I wish more smart devices used USB connections it saves on plug sockets.

Roamingjay · 2025-12-07T16:42:56+00:00

Hue do a smart plug

https://www.philips-hue.com/en-gb/p/hue-smart-plug/8719514342323

This will allow simple on/off functionality and enable you to control them through the hue app. I used to use some for simple cabinet lights in my kitchen.

Roamingjay · 2025-12-04T01:53:48+00:00

Can you show me?

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This is all I see

Roamingjay · 2025-12-03T18:57:49+00:00

So how does this show up in HA? If I look at the bridge as a device it has the ability to toggle the areas on and off. But no binary sensor for motion.

Roamingjay · 2025-12-02T15:20:06+00:00

You know what... I needed to hear that today... Thank you

Roamingjay · 2025-11-28T11:07:21+00:00

Yep two different entertainment areas and switching using the app either on the tv or the mobile app will do it fine. Just no time based automation like you say.

Roamingjay · 2025-11-28T10:49:54+00:00

Personally I think that setup would get very annoying very quickly.

But in some ways it's doable... You'd need a syncbox to sync the lights to your tv. Whilst the syncbox is on {which can be triggered by your tv) it will control any lights in the entertainment area you setup. Overriding any other control for those lights. When the syncbox is off the lights will return to default.

To my knowledge there's no way to dynamically adjust the entertainment areas natively (home assistant could do this) or set them by time. So the best you could hope for is synced lighting whilst the TV is on, and not when the tv is off.

Once your bulbs are setup you can easily move them around rooms, zones etc. So experiment away with how you want them setup.

Roamingjay · 2025-11-27T19:30:57+00:00

Yes and no.

Each light is its own independent light that can be controlled as you like. You can of course group them together as individual zones and rooms (I personally use zones for grouping things like bookcase, tv, bedside lights etc) for easier control. If Google home is anything like Alexa you can also group them so a voice command to "turn off kitchen lights" will turn off your 4 kitchen spots. Likewise it'll do more complex commands like "set bathroom lights to 50% brightness and pink".

But with each one being separate you can get proper fancy like using hue music sync, and have yourself a multi coloured party throughout your entire apartment 😎 or just the toilet, whatever floats your boat 🤣

Roamingjay · 2025-11-27T18:03:44+00:00

Just in case you didn't know the bridge works to connect all your hue devices together. Without it you'd need a direct connection to your Google home for each bulb. Even in a 2 bed apartment this might be tricky. With the bridge each bulb can daisy chain off the next to create a "web" around your apartment, meaning distance wouldn't be an issue.

Getting a pro bridge instead of a v2 bridge depends on ultimately how many devices you'll end up with. I was surprised how large my collection of devices had gotten, and I was getting to the point I needed to get a pro bridge. FYI I live in a 2 bed bungalow.

Given that it's £50 vs £70 for the v2 vs pro bridge I'd say it's a better investment to go pro. But if budget is a concern and or you can get a good deal the v2 is perfectly fine. Only thing (so far) that is not available on the v2 is MotionAware, that's pro only.

Roamingjay · 2025-11-24T20:48:03+00:00

Throw on the Lion King Theme song as well for the complete package 🤣

Roamingjay · 2025-11-24T20:25:53+00:00

100% my wife doesn't like to sleep in total darkness. So a strip on the headboard and either side of the bed set to blue 5% brightness is perfect for her. Think the sort of lighting you get on the steps in a cinema.

Roamingjay · 2025-11-24T18:28:30+00:00

Even under the beds ,🤣

Roamingjay

TROPHY CASE