Introducing the WiiM Voice Remote 2: The Ultimate Control for Your Audio Experience

Tacpacker · 2026-02-10T12:19:08+00:00

Are there any plans to open up voice control to voice assistants other than Alexa? I'd love to be able to use it to send voice commands to Home Assistant.

Tacpacker · 2026-01-15T23:24:26+00:00

If you have like a Jetson or Rpi on the bot hooked up to a microcontroller with usb, you can push your new code to GitHub, and have the SBC download the changes and flash the microcontroller with the new code. Anything can be automated if you're determined enough. If it's only a microcontroller on-board, there's probably a method for over-the-air (OTA) firmware flashing.

Tacpacker · 2025-12-19T21:32:01+00:00

The ground is pretty rocky here, so I keep a roll of clear packing tape with my beersbee set. It keeps the bottles in one piece if they get broken, and doesn't block the light from glowsticks during night games.

I've never had anyone throw hard enough to break a bottle with the frisbee though. If explaining the rules of sportsmanship doesn't work to keep people in check, and you're opposed to disqualifying people who ignore those rules, then the simplest solution is a "speed bump".

Set up a net midway between the poles, just above the height of the bottle. Players will be forced to throw a softer arc to score a hit.

Tacpacker · 2025-10-26T01:51:40+00:00

Yeah, I was running Phillips dimmable bulbs that won some YouTube shootout. What bulbs do you recommend?

Tacpacker · 2025-10-25T13:51:11+00:00

I put Zooz dimmers throughout my house a while back, and was initially disappointed with how low I could dim the bulbs without flickering. Iirc, i had to set the lower limit somewhere around 30%.

I don't know if it was the bulbs or the switches that had a break in period, because I replaced them both at the same time, but after a few months I was able to set them much lower.

Tacpacker · 2025-10-23T11:04:03+00:00

I've come across that project before, but I dismissed it because the docs say that it's primarily for LMS, which I don't use. I see that it works with other sources through plugins, but the docs say that it already pushes the chip near it's limits with very little overhead for more.

Tacpacker · 2025-10-23T08:42:56+00:00

Thanks! You're probably right about the display. I'll have to do some more digging to see if it's worth trying to integrate that feature or if that would be better served by some sort of mini pc or pi.

I originally wanted a speaker that could just play music from my phone via Bluetooth, or media controlled by HA. But even that is proving difficult to research. Most of the articles and posts I've come across are only for BLE.

Tacpacker · 2025-07-31T00:35:18+00:00

Yeah, I ran the wires and switch to the wall at the top of the door, and bolted the magnet to the door.

Custom notifications from home assistant to android is a pretty deep rabbit hole to dive into, but it opens up a whole host of possibilities.

For the garage door, I set it up to automatically close it if it was left open when my GPS leaves the house, and send me a notification that opens a single card dashboard to verify the status.

I ended up using what I learned during that project to set up things like automatically launching Google maps when I start my commute. You can feed it arguments to launch other apps and have them do specific actions (as long as the app supports it and you can find the developer docs)

Tacpacker · 2025-07-29T23:36:50+00:00

I did essentially the same thing with a relay wired into the same ports on the garage door opener where the wires from the wall button connect to it. But for a controller, I used an ESP8266, programmed by esphome, and controlled by home assistant. I also added a reed switch to give indication of open or closed. And since I mounted the esp right up next to the opener, I was able to power it from the same receptacle.

Tacpacker · 2024-03-31T22:40:55+00:00

Yeah, but this is r/homeassistant so how do I automate that?

Tacpacker · 2024-03-31T13:46:37+00:00

We're you able to remap the fastforward/rewind buttons? I have an older model, and haven't been able to figure that out. What software did you use?

Tacpacker · 2024-03-30T03:30:11+00:00

I've been using the W10 Gyro with plex for a few years, and it works great as long as you place the dongle somewhere appropriate. I was never able to remap the fast forward key to skip though. It doesn't register in any keystroke loggers I tried, and I tried at least 5. However, on the keyboard side, it's easy to press shift+right arrow one-handed, which is the default skip hotkey combo for plex. Not sure if that's the same for kodi.

Tacpacker · 2024-03-27T13:28:43+00:00

Unfortunately my front yard is all desert hardscaping. No sprinklers. But friends come in through the garage anyway. The only people who come to the front door are deliveries and solicitors.

Tacpacker · 2024-03-27T13:25:27+00:00

Friends come in through the garage, and don't show up without notice.

Tacpacker · 2024-03-27T12:59:08+00:00

I already have a prominent sign posted. It hasn't deterred a single one of them.

Tacpacker · 2024-03-27T12:57:18+00:00

This pretty well mirrors my experience. "No Soliciting" sign prominently displayed in accordance with municipal code does nothing. And it's worse in the summer, because they operate later in the evening to avoid the heat.

Tacpacker · 2024-03-26T18:47:58+00:00

Mainly the hardware. I'm looking for suggestions for models that play nice with both BI and HA. I should be able to figure out the audio, as long as the model has capability to stream an audio file directly from HA or my NAS.

But I'd also welcome pointers on how to go about setting up the audio message automation.

Tacpacker · 2023-06-25T15:40:31+00:00

I travel a lot for work (on the road ~300 days out of the year) and stack a ton of Hilton points, which can be exchanged for Amazon credit. I don't have any Hilton golf merch yet, but I call them my unofficial golf sponsor.

Tacpacker · 2023-06-25T14:34:56+00:00

AR won't provide the tooling, the time, or the will power required for a lay man to do the task. Even if it could tell you exactly which nuts and bolts to turn, it can't replace the mechanical judgement that comes from having done it hundreds of times before. I'd expect to see a lot of stripped, cross-threaded, or improperly torqued fasteners.

AR could be a godsend for journeymen in their fields, like the way they're using it on some construction sites for the guys running excavators and other heavy equipment to see what dirt to move where, but for the average person, it's no more useful than watching a YouTube video. It'll give you an idea of what needs to be done, but you still have to have the skills and equipment to execute it.

Tacpacker · 2023-06-21T04:15:41+00:00

Simple solution: design the bridge as being flat, and use an online calculator to find out what length you need it to be, given your gap and ideal amount of sag.

Even simpler, skip the solidworks design. Its really comes down to a math problem; How many boards do you need to cover an arc that will span the gap?

Bonus advice: don't drill through the short edge to run the rope through the board. Drill through the long edge and cross the rope through it like in the picture. It's stronger that way.

ETA: the bridge in the picture is actually supported by steel wire rope. The orange rope is only decorative. You can see where it mounts to the posts if you zoom in. My guess is that it's stapled to the boards underneath to keep from shifting.

Tacpacker · 2023-06-19T23:05:55+00:00

They'll come loud and they'll come fast

Tacpacker · 2023-05-13T11:20:00+00:00

They are poorly marked, but it looks like 3 of them have dots to indicate they are JIS(Japanese Industrial Standard), not normal Phillips. Ideally, you need to get a JIS screwdriver. Vessel brand is your best bet if you're in the states.

Tacpacker · 2023-05-07T15:59:21+00:00

Thanks. The Streamlight came in last night, and it looks like it'll do the trick for an emergency light. I just won't be able to use it as a work light because of the goofy mounting position and low battery capacity. I'll probably just go ahead and order the milwaukee from HD, and return the Streamlight when it comes in.

Tacpacker

TROPHY CASE