@karenbobiv
I doubt it's related to the MySensors communication. Are you using a Dallas temp sensor? Could you check that the is actually connected to the dallas sensor by using isConnected().
When googling your problem I found a few hits on -196.6 which is the error code (DEVICE_DISCONNECTED) converted to Fahrenheit.
Start debug mode (Config.h) to see what the sensor actually sends.
the problem is "if (switch.state == 'On') then" that not works, write:
if (switch.active) then
or
if (switch.inActive) then
Device attributes and methods for all devices
@mutantx, sorry for the late reply, but I was on holidays
I've no experience with this sketch code, nor the hardware build of this mp3 player.
Try to contact the author of this player or you can check the general documentation about the use of V_VARx / S_CUSTOM : https://www.mysensors.org/download/serial_api_20
Try to break up things in little pieces when accumulating knowledge about mysensors.
Big complicated sketches can be overwhelming.
I start always, when troubleshouting, with the cleanest version of the script, with minimum code required for operation. And then I build it up.