I just set Big Talker up with an old android phone (uPNP monkey installed) using the generic media renderer in smart things. Then I paired the phone (bluetooth) with amazon echo. This setup works far better that I would have thought. If the echo is busy talking, the Bluetooth audio gets faded in over top. Also, having the phone connected does not prevent the echo from receiving voice commands…
It also works with LANouncer, but I liked the TTS voice better with the DLNA generic speaker.
Any other apps like uPNP monkey that will work with older version of Android? My old phone apparently is too old for uPNP monkey… Your setup works great on my Nexus 7 but would prefer to use an old phone.
I can get custom phrases to work but nothing with the predefined phrases like %weathercurrent%, etc.I look at live logging and nothing is even triggered at the set time.
Friends, I am not sure that I should continue development on BigTalker. @bravenel’s Rule Machine is so powerful that it can do almost everything BigTalker did and more. If he will add run-time variable ability into notification/speech phrases, (ie: %weathertoday%, etc) and a token/variable to insert the device change type (opened, closed, on, off, etc), then I do not see any reason to continue working on BigTalker. I can have unlimited number of timeslots and events for speech with Rule Machine instead of just the 3 that I wrote into BigTalker and so much more logic can be created using Rule Machine.
Tonight, Just to see if I could, I’ve replaced almost all of my BigTalker phrases with Rule Machine Rules and Triggers. The only ones that I haven’t converted are those that use tokens (run-time variables such as “The %devicename% is now %devicechange%”).
I welcome your feedback.
Example rule in Rule Machine that I am using now:
Time Based:
Create New Rule > Define A Trigger
Name the Trigger: Speak: John Doe Bed Time
Select Trigger Events > Capability > Certain Time > At a Certain Time: 7:29 pm
Select Actions
Send or speak a message > Custom message to send:
Notice: John Doe, its time to go to bed, John Doe
Speak this message > On this speech device (and/or music device).
Rule Based:
Create New Rule > Define A Rule
Name the Rule: Door Left Open
Select Conditions > Capability > Contact
Contact Sensors: Back Door, Front Door, etc…
Contact State: Open
Select Actions for True:
Delay These Actions > Minutes of Delay: 1 > Cancel on truth change: On
Send of speak a message > Custom message to send:
Notice: Door Left Open
Include device name: On
Speak this message > On this speech device (and/or music device)
As you are aware, I love BT. I do use RM speech options when I want a simple audible notification with a rule. However, the default configurations in BT are great.
Default Device
Volume
Only talk in this mode (unless I override it in a specific setting)
Don’t talk before or after certain times (unless I override it)
And of course as you mentioned, using variables is really nice. I need to experiment with moving my BT over to RM. The ones I am most concerned about are:
Announcing mode changes but not when changed from certain modes.
Resuming music at the previous volume after an announcement that changed the volume
Resuming the correct music (I know the BT polling has helped a lot with this)
I love using the Talk Now feature to show off my smart home quickly
Do what you will Brian, but I love Big Talker. I never really like doing what everybody else was doing…so switching will be hard for me. Maybe not technologically, but perhaps psychologically.
I use both Big Talker and RM. The main reason I use Big Talker is for the run-time variables and the integration that Big Talker has with LANnouncer. It’s also easier to use and to be able to group a lot of contacts or switches together when using those run-time variables. Plus it’s always good to have choices.
You all make valid points.
Although, Rule Machine is pretty awesome and can do many things including speaking, it is a bit complex to configure. I also agree it’s good to have multiple options.
I’ll continue development on BigTalker.
I love big talker with my raspberry pi. I am currently using VLCthing and it only seems to work with 1.1.3. If I upgrade big talker to 1.1.5 my VLCthing doesn’t work…silence.
So I tried the mediarender on another new raspberry pi with your excellent instructions. It works fine but after each announcement there is a period of loud hiss. When I try to edit the raspberrypi mediarender device the android smartthings app crashes.
So I’m back to 1.1.3 and VLCthing.
This is much better than using RM. It is too complicated to make simple announcements with RM.
BugFix: “Do not talk before”, and “Do not talk after” settings on the Configure Defaults page were inadvertently required.
BugFix: Contact group 3 would not work
BugFix: Conversion of “40S” in phrase conversion was pronounced “four ties”
Feature Modification: Added pronunciation conversion in weather reports for directions NE, NW, SE, SW
If you care to test, please confirm that these bugs are resolved and that you do not find any new bugs. Once I have a few confirmations, I’ll roll this out to 1.1.6-Release.
Please file issues/bugs on GitHub by commenting on existing issues or by creating a new issue if one does not already exist for it. Also, please include the version that you are reporting on in the issue report/comment: https://github.com/rayzurbock/SmartThings-BigTalker/issues
Hi all. So in the past 2 months big talker has stopped working 3 times. For no apparent reason all automations I had configured with it just stopped working and my only fix is to delete my Sonos 1 from smart things ( forcing me to delete all my rules associated with it) and then reinstall the Sonos 1 and configure big talker again.
This solves it every time but it’s really beginning to get frustrating. I’m on the iOS app. The speaker works fine playing music through the Sonos app.
Anyone else having this issue.
Absolutely love this smart app. Just need it to be reliable.