DIY: Openhab Alexa Echo Wall Clock

 

 

This  gadget has following functions

• Wall Clock, sets time automatically from internet using NTP
• Displays Hours, Minutes, Seconds and CentiSeconds. A centisecond is 0.01 seconds i.e. One hundredth of a second.
• Digital 60 full color LED display
• It's an infinity mirror with 20 colorful LED animations.
• Color smart light like Phillips hue.
• Works with Alexa and Openhab
• Shows one, or multiple (one followed by other) count down timers set through Alexa Echo device.
• Shows cool animations when timers, reminders or alarms goes off
• It can be controlled by voice (Alexa) or web (Openhab or Direct local webpage)

 

What do you need to build it:

• WS2812B LED Strip 1-meter 60 LED. (These are individually addressable LED's).
• Wemos d1 microcontroller (esp8266) with power adaptor
• Frame, mirror and one-way mirror or tint film
• Openhab installed and working on raspberry pi or any server
• Alexa echo dot

How to make it work

Make a frame to house LED strip. I got a carpenter to make a square wooden frame.

Fix the mirror, LED Strip, one-way mirror

Connect wemos d1 and LED strip:
Connect Rx pin of Wemos d1 mini to DIN of LED strip using 220 ohm resistance. I am using a mobile charger (usb pin) to power wemos d1 mini. I connected LED strip to +5v and GND of wemos d1 mini using a 25v 1000uf capacitor.

Download arduino sketch from git repository. Open sketch in arduino IDE. Edit following in sketch and upload to wemos d1:

• IP address, Subnet, Gateway
• Wi-Fi ssid and password
• MQTT broker information
• NTP time offset

Note: If you are not interfacing with MQTT broker then remove MQTT connection code from sketch, otherwise it will produce delay in updating LED's.

Open the webpage by typing ip address in browser

 

Default OTA user/password is admin/admin.

At this stage you should be able to see clock running, select and SET color of all LED at once, ON/OFF Light, change brightness and run animations by turning on Random Functions.

Configuration in Openhab-2.5

Install Amazon Echo Control Binding. Check this link  https://www.openhab.org/addons/bindings/amazonechocontrol/

Setting up Alarm integration with Alexa

Open openhab GUI (http://YourOpenhabIP:8080/start/index)
Select PAPER UI à Configuration à Things à Amazon Echo
click on SHOW MORE
Click on Circle beside Next Alarm

Click on drop down below “Please select the item to link” and select “+Create New Item”

Click on “Link” button

Create a rule now by logging in to openhab ssh.
Change to rules directory

cd $OPENHAB_CONF/rules

openhabian@openhab:/etc/openhab2/rules$ cat echo_NextAlarm_Action.rules var String timerString rule "Alarm_Timer" when Item AmazonEcho_NextAlarm changed then logInfo("echo_NextAlarm_Action.rules", "Received AmazonEcho_NextAlarm.state=" + AmazonEcho_NextAlarm.state) // Send stop Alarm timer info to clock. In case of multiple Alexa Alarms set, this will stop any running animation. var String httpString = "http://192.168.1.167/?showAlarm=0" logInfo("echo_NextAlarm_Action.rules", "stop http request to clock " + httpString) var String response = sendHttpGetRequest(httpString) logInfo("echo_NextAlarm_Action.rules", "showAlarm update Response from clock " + response) if (!response.contains("received")){ response = sendHttpGetRequest(httpString) logInfo("echo_NextAlarm_Action.rules", "showAlarm update Response from clock (retried) " + response) } timerString = "Empty" + AmazonEcho_NextAlarm.state if( timerString == "EmptyUNDEF" ){ logInfo("echo_NextAlarm_Action.rules", "Matched UNDEF to AmazonEcho_NextAlarm.state=" + AmazonEcho_NextAlarm.state) } else { logInfo("echo_NextAlarm_Action.rules", "Initiating Alarm Timer for " + AmazonEcho_NextAlarm.state) var Timer myAlarm = createTimer(new DateTime(AmazonEcho_NextAlarm.state.toString), [| logInfo("echo_NextAlarm_Action.rules", "Alarm activated for " + AmazonEcho_NextAlarm.state) // Send Alarm timer info to clock httpString = "http://192.168.1.167/?showAlarm=1" logInfo("echo_NextAlarm_Action.rules", "http request to clock " + httpString) response = sendHttpGetRequest(httpString) logInfo("echo_NextAlarm_Action.rules", "showAlarm update Response from clock " + response) ]) } end

Repeat for NextReminder and NextTimer. See the rules below

openhabian@openhab:/etc/openhab2/rules$ cat echo_NextReminder_Action.rules var String timerString rule "Reminder_Timer" when Item AmazonEcho_NextReminder changed then logInfo("echo_NextReminder_Action.rules", "Received AmazonEcho_NextReminder.state=" + AmazonEcho_NextReminder.state) // Send stop Reminder info to clock. In case of multiple Alexa Reminders set, this will stop any running animation. var String httpString = "http://192.168.1.167/?showReminder=0" logInfo("echo_NextReminder_Action.rules", "stop http request to clock " + httpString) var String response = sendHttpGetRequest(httpString) logInfo("echo_NextReminder_Action.rules", "showReminder update Response from clock " + response) timerString = "Empty" + AmazonEcho_NextReminder.state if( timerString == "EmptyUNDEF" ){ logInfo("echo_NextReminder_Action.rules", "Matched UNDEF to AmazonEcho_NextReminder.state=" + AmazonEcho_NextReminder.state) } else { logInfo("echo_NextReminder_Action.rules", "Initiating Reminder Timer for " + AmazonEcho_NextReminder.state) var Timer myReminder1 = createTimer(new DateTime(AmazonEcho_NextReminder.state.toString), [| logInfo("echo_NextReminder_Action.rules", "Reminder activated for " + AmazonEcho_NextReminder.state) // Send Reminder info to clock httpString = "http://192.168.1.167/?showReminder=1" logInfo("echo_NextReminder_Action.rules", "http request to clock " + httpString) response = sendHttpGetRequest(httpString) logInfo("echo_NextReminder_Action.rules", "showReminder update Response from clock " + response) ]) } end

 

openhabian@openhab:/etc/openhab2/rules$ cat echo_NextTimer_LED.rules var String timerString rule "timer" when Item AmazonEcho_NextTimer changed then logInfo("echo_NextTimer_LED.rules", "Received AmazonEcho_NextTimer.state=" + AmazonEcho_NextTimer.state) // Timer Date and time format 2019-10-20T21:58:35.870-0600. To delete timer Amazon will send UNDEF //Don't know how to match UNDEF value of AmazonEcho_NextTimer.state, using my crude method of adding this to Empty String. timerString = "Empty" + AmazonEcho_NextTimer.state // Timer Date and time format 2019-10-20T21:58:35.870-0600 if( timerString == "EmptyUNDEF" ){ //if(AmazonEcho_NextTimer.state == null){ //this line does not work to match UNDEF logInfo("echo_NextTimer_LED.rules", "Matched UNDEF to AmazonEcho_NextTimer.state=" + AmazonEcho_NextTimer.state) timerString = "0" } else { timerString = AmazonEcho_NextTimer.state.format("%1$tY-%1$tm-%1$tdT%1$tH:%1$tM:%1$tS") } logInfo("echo_NextTimer_LED.rules", "timerString from AmazonEcho_NextTimer.state" + timerString) // Send timer info to clock var String httpString = "" httpString = "http://192.168.1.167/?nextTimer=" + timerString logInfo("echo_NextTimer_LED.rules", "http request to clock " + httpString) val String response = sendHttpGetRequest(httpString) logInfo("echo_NextTimer_LED.rules", "Timer update Response from clock " + response) end

 

To set Openhab/MQTT to control your gadget from Alexa. Check this

All the best!