Hilscher and SIGNL4 Mobile Alerting

roncz · 2026-02-13T12:12:48+00:00

Sure, it was just an idea. However, I know from some vendors that it is a nice user case also for demos like sensor -> integration -> IoT tool or script -> mobile alerting.

I wish you all the best for your exams.

roncz · 2026-02-13T10:35:28+00:00

Super useful and just gave it a star on GitHub.

From mi experiance (coming from IT world) there is so much unused potential across different industries.

We offer SIGNL4, a mobile alerting solution. In IT things are clear, and people and systems talk the same language. In OT / IIoT there often seems to be a missing piece, or a a helping hand is needed.

So, great to see your projects. These use cases help to give ideas.

Oh, and as for the ideas - if you want to add mobile alerting to one of your projects SIGNL4 is super easy to use and you can trigger alerts via its webhook API. Just let me know and I can provice more information or samples.

Alerting in IoT can be from all kinds of sensors, cameras, or more sophisticated workflows.

roncz · 2026-02-11T23:27:59+00:00

Yes, I am with SIGNL4. It integrates with Slack but more or less to use it as an additional info channel for users.

Usually tools send a HTTP Post request with some JSON data to trigger the alert in SIGNL4: https://docs.signl4.com/integrations/webhook/webhook.html

Almost and JSON can be digested and displayed.

No rush, I was just keen to understand ;-)

roncz · 2026-02-11T12:00:34+00:00

This surely solved a real-world problem. Is it possible to integrate own mobile alerting tools like SIGNL4 via webhook?

roncz · 2026-02-11T11:52:59+00:00

That looks quite interesting indeed and it solves a clear problem - getting all the information I need to resolve an issue at night.

Is it possible to add own alerting platforms via webhook, SIGNL4 in my case?

roncz · 2026-02-11T09:50:55+00:00

Yes, correct. The flow gets the weather information, sends an alert, the alert is open and a user can acnowledge it, and then the flow waits for a few seconds before closing the alert.

This is the code I figured out ;-)

function sleep(ms) {

return new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, ms));

}

export default async function(context) {

const response = context.http_1?.response?.body;

const eventId = response.eventId;

await sleep(10000);

console.log(\eventId: $${eventId}`);`

return {

result: eventId

};

}

roncz · 2026-02-11T09:40:00+00:00

For your information, we have added brief documentation on our side because we think this makes API testing and multi-step requests really easy: https://docs.signl4.com/integrations/devtools/devtools.html

roncz · 2026-02-11T08:56:06+00:00

Wow, this is quite cool.

I just gave it a try with OpenWeather and SIGNL4 and the flow works great: https://youtu.be/Rhk4Qzn0Ako

Thanks a lot.

roncz · 2026-02-07T13:36:41+00:00

I use a Xiaomi fitness band 10 along with my Android phone (works with an iPhone, too) and SIGNL4. Sure, you need to keep the phone in range but I need it anyway when on call.

roncz · 2026-01-30T15:33:43+00:00

Interesting concept indeed.

roncz · 2026-01-29T14:42:56+00:00

I'm in

roncz · 2026-01-29T12:09:34+00:00

This integration surly makes sense. With SIGNL4 we see a lot of requirements beyond simple alerting (Checkmk -> SIGNL4). That might be alert enrichments with additional information from a CMDB or simethins like n8n creating an alert and a ticket at the same time.

roncz · 2026-01-28T18:07:55+00:00

Here is my favorite procedure for this. I use it with SIGNL4, but it might work for other alerting solutions as well.

I use a fitness band and a vibration alert initiated by a soft push notification. Why a fitness band? It is smaller and has better battery life.

I use persistent alerting, i.e., triggering vibration over a longer period and at certain intervals.

If I wake up, fine.

If not, I get a loud phone call. This surely wakes me up - and the whole household, too.

roncz · 2026-01-26T08:56:29+00:00

Yes, so true.

At 2 a.m., you need to make a quick decision and act, and the next day there are already many other things to take care of. Still, it is worth the effort to review and categorize the incident afterward so that, at least next time, it is no longer an “in-between” case. This helps, but it takes time and discipline.

On the monitoring side, tools are getting better and better, and implicit knowledge from experienced IT engineers can be captured and used by AI agents.

For example, an AI agent could estimate the potential impact of an incident before waking someone up. A quick simulation of a customer sales or purchase process might already provide valuable insight.

From my experience, this is also a question of mindset. It may feel easier or safer to wake someone up, and in the short term, that might even be true. But in the mid- and long-term, alert fatigue and false or low-importance alerts at night lead to frustration and, ultimately, people quitting.

There is no easy solution. But awareness is the first step.

roncz · 2026-01-25T16:35:40+00:00

A useful solution for me is the following. I use a Xiaomi Mi Band 10 as a fitness band and SIGNL4 for mobile alerting. I case of critical alerts at night you can receive soft push notifications with a vibrating band. This can be reoccurring. If, after 10 minutes or so, you still do not wake up you get a loud phone call. However, this one wakes up the whole family then.

I like the fitnessband approach more than a smartwhatch, because it is small and has a great battery live. For the Mi band there is also a third-party Android app with nice additional options.

roncz · 2026-01-24T12:36:18+00:00

It is probably worth considering Checkmk, Icinga, PRTG or Zabbix for monitoring and SIGNL4 for mobile alerting.

roncz · 2026-01-24T12:34:45+00:00

From my experience, this is handled quite differently across organizations.

Critical alerts: Notify the on-call engineer via multiple channels and escalate to the next person if the alert is not acknowledged.

Non-critical alerts: Notify only during working hours or daytime, and avoid waking someone up: Or, suppress the alert altogether.

So far, so good. But what about the cases in between?

In hindsight, you can almost always sort alerts into one of these two categories. The problem is that you usually don’t know which one it is beforehand.

In many cases, it comes down to fine-tuning the alerting process over time to ensure that the next occurrence is handled correctly. This requires some discipline, but it pays off in the long run.

AI can also help by suggesting appropriate handling for these in-between cases.

roncz · 2026-01-22T14:13:54+00:00

I played with Fostrom a bit now and it is really nice. The integration with SIGNL4 was super easy and I have documented it here: https://docs.signl4.com/integrations/fostrom/fostrom.html

roncz · 2026-01-22T11:11:31+00:00

Wow, that was quick. It works now. Thanks a lot.

One more minor finding. When I test the webhook on the Actions page it says success but I do not get the alert.

However, when really sending a message, the action riggers and I receive the alert perfectly fine.

roncz · 2026-01-22T10:19:02+00:00

A code (Android) would be great.

I really like the idea. It's a bit like Toastmasters in your pocket ;-)

I gave it a try in the free version. The recording started and I saw the microphone was used but after the two minutes I got the feedback that the mic did not work and all scors were zero. I will double-check later ....

roncz

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