Topics created by jo34l5

@jo34l5, Maybe check out Dr. Zs on YouTube. His channel seems geared more to non-techies. He is big into Sonoff / Tasmota stuff, etc. which nowadays are pretty easy (you can flash them OTA, no more need of soldering). Having said that, the more you learn, the more options open up to you. Also you will pick up more and more of the stuff over time, no need to rush. Take your time and treat it as a hobby. It took me literally years to get where I am now, I finally got some certain things working that I had wanted to for a long time. But my skills (and parts inventory, etc.) was not up to par yet. Well, now it is. Another thing to consider, architecturally, is there are couple ways to tie together even otherwise disparate systems. In other words. no need to "commit" to any particular system. Here at Casa de TRS-80 we are using 433mhz, MySensors, as well as some Wi-Fi outlets, etc... There are a couple different ways to do that. Either in your controller, and/or with some intermediate messaging protocol like MQTT. MQTT is rapidly becoming something like the middle "glue" layer between disparate systems. Lots of things talk MQTT nowadays. Anyway that way you can mix and match. I bought some Wi-Fi plugs and 433mhz stuff to "get started" and get a few things working, but now I am getting better with MySensors and more "advanced" stuff... Just a thought!

@projectMarvin said in Suggestions for my setup? Very new here.: I would advise against messing with the FW unless you need to I agree with general gist of your whole post, except this one point. If we are talking about stuff like {Tasmota, ESPurna, ESPEasy, etc.} this "messing with firmware" is how you achieve freedom / independence from "clouds" / etc. and by now has become quite mundane and easy, even being able to do so over the air, with no need of soldering. Other sorts of devices may lead to other conclusions where firmware tinkering may be much more difficult. Of course, technically you are correct by saying "unless you need to." However in my view (apparently yours as well ), independence from "clouds" is a "need." Cheers!