With Amazon only supporting a few countries with Alexa, being the UK, Germany and the USA, you may get timeouts on the java app with an error of: java.util.concurrent.TimeoutException It’s a pain when this happens as you have to login with VNC and click the OK button to reset the application. To help prevent it, you can alter the timeout threshold in the java file located at: /home/pi/Desktop/alexa-avs-sample-app/samples/javaclient/src/main/java/com/amazon/alexa/avs/http/AVSClient.java#L69 You can edit this with: sudo nano /home/pi/Desktop/alexa-avs-sample-app/samples/javaclient/src/main/java/com/amazon/alexa/avs/http/AVSClient.java You’re after line 69, it looks like this, alter the timeout as below: Restart your Alexa and job done!
Tag: AlexaPi
Controlling Infa-Red IR devices with Home-Assistant & AlexaPi on a Raspberry Pi (Non smart, Dumb devices)
In this post I’m continuing my Home Automation and Home-Assistant journey. I already have an Xbox-One with a kinect so routinely say “Xbox on” which turns on the TV, SoundBar and Foxtel (cable) box. This also accepts volume up/down, change of channel, record, Netflix and games. So I’m moving to a completely voice driven household with using Alexa or Siri to operate the lights. But how do I go further? What else is there in the house that I can’t talk to, what remote controls do I still use? There are several things in my apartment that cannot be controlled via wifi, I live in a typical late 90s midcity Australian apartment and have the ubiquitous through house aircon/heating unit with buttons on a wall and a remote control in the living room and vents to each room in the apartment. So since my apartment reaches dizzying temps in the…Continue reading Controlling Infa-Red IR devices with Home-Assistant & AlexaPi on a Raspberry Pi (Non smart, Dumb devices)
Using IFTTT and Alexa Voice Service AVS on a RaspberryPi to control HomeAssistant
This is the next post in my multipost of using a Raspberry-Pi 3 as the center of my Home Automation world. Firstly I set a Raspberry-Pi 3 up in headless mode, then installed Pi-Hole to block adverts at local DNS level, so saving you much needed bandwidth. Next, I installed Home-Assistant, and then Homebridge, which allowed me to use Siri to access my various bulbs in the house. Lastly I installed Amazon AVS but all it does is tell me the time, weather, flash forcast, todo lists etc. Here’s the previous posts: Part 1, Headless Pi Part 2, Pi-Hole, HomeAssistant, LimitlessLED Part 3, Homebridge, Siri, Apple Home Part 4, Alexa AVS on a Pi Config files Using IFTTT Now due to it’s limitation, I can’t simply say “Alexa, find my devices” to find the lights that I can control in my home. So I need IFTTT. If you’ve never used…Continue reading Using IFTTT and Alexa Voice Service AVS on a RaspberryPi to control HomeAssistant
Setting up a Raspberry-Pi, Home-Assistant, Homebridge, Siri and Alexa. Part 4: Installing Alexa-Pi, Amazon’s Alexa Voice Service
Welcome to Part 4 of my multipart blog of setting up a Raspberry-Pi to be the center of your homeautomation world. To recap what I’ve done so far: Set the Pi in headless mode, ie it’s never going to be connected to a monitor Installed HomeAssistant so I can control lights in my apartment, set automation like lights on at sunset if i’m home. Installed Pi-Hole for network wide advert blocking. Setup Homebridge, to link HomeAssistant to Apple Home on my IOS devices, so Siri can control my lights, show me temperatures in the apartment etc. Here are the previous posts: Setting up a Raspberry-Pi, with Pi-Hole, Home-Assistant, Homebridge, Siri and Alexa. Part 1, Setting up a headless (monitorless) Pi http://www.pukit.com/2017/04/05/setting-up-a-raspberry-pi-with-pi-hole-home-assistant-homebridge-siri-and-alexa-part-2-installing-pi-hole-and-home-assistant-using-limitless-led-lamps/ http://www.pukit.com/2017/04/07/setting-up-a-raspberry-pi-with-pi-hole-home-assistant-homebridge-siri-and-alexa-part-3-installing-homebridge-and-using-siri-and-apple-home/ And now for making my Pi into a cheap Amazon Echo. Now know from the outset, that a RaspberryPi with Alexa cant do all the things an Echo…Continue reading Setting up a Raspberry-Pi, Home-Assistant, Homebridge, Siri and Alexa. Part 4: Installing Alexa-Pi, Amazon’s Alexa Voice Service