[SHARE] CoRE - show & tell all about Pistons

Is this possible to use the SmartWeather Tile to get precipitation status? Back when I was using Rule Machine, I was told precipitation status wasn’t a standard device capability and thus wasn’t possible. Is there something different in how CoRE works to obtain this status? If so, could you provide some hints on how to get it?

Thanks!

I’ve heard of it, but I thought I had to purchase an extra device to get it working? Is this not the case?

I used the guide here, worked just fine:

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I got Weather Station set up, but how do I set up the rain status in CoRE?

EDIT: Nevermind. I used the Sensor switch and found the water option. This is very nice.

Ok, I think I misunderstood. It seems like you mean really raining, as opposed to forecast rain. My apologies.

This Piston sets my hue lights in the TV room to dim when play is pressed on KODI and bring the lights up to 50% when Pause is pressed in KODI. When show is stopped the lights come up to full. This also disables the motion detections during this time and reactivates when not watching KODI.

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Hi pcgirl65,

Could you tell me how to fetch the status of KODI?
Thanks.

Check here for the smartapp…https://community.smartthings.com/t/release-kodi-for-smartthings-beta/38305

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Thanks to @pcgirl65 I learned I can use Kodi with CoRE. My new piston now lowers my lamp using the Gentle Wake Up app in reverse to 1% from whatever it was once I start playing Kodi through ST.
Playing Kodi through the fire stick remote will not effect ST; therefore; not enable the gentle wake up app.

How did you do the piston to use the gentle wake up app?

This is the piston I made to work with the gentle wake up app (I called it very Darkness so it would be at bottom & to remind it is for dimming to 1%), but I changed it. Whenever I would pause, the light would increase to 40% then immediately return to where the gentle wake up app was interrupted.

This is my current solution until I get a better dimming method. It uses a routine to lower light to 5% and then to raise it to 60% when paused.

Hmm, I didn’t notice how you can include a ST app in a THEN. This could be useful. What parameter is it under?

To use a Routine, under the Then tasks>location>control location mode etc> select execute routine.

To use an app, under Then> Convienece> Control lights, outlets, relays or switches.

I found a that free account with “trakt.tv” makes Kodi a lot easier to search and navigate.

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Here’s a really simple one:

Do - Text Speaker
ELSE
THEN…
Using VLCServer1…
► Speak “{@textMessage}”

Set your @textMessage and Execute Piston from any task

I’ve been doing this exact thing using the integration between CoRE and AskAlexa.

I had it set up like this…

A separate install of AskAlexa for each person in the house.
The invocation word is the name of each person.
I chose the speaker in the Piston where they were… kids were usually in their rooms.

So, I could say this…

Alexa, Tell Justin to come downstairs.

On the speaker in Justins room it would play my programmed message.

I had 30 macros and 30 pistons set up to do this. It gave me a total of 30 voice activated
messaged around the house. It also took 2 smartapps working together.

But I just deleted them all…

I have something better now… :slight_smile:

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Hi all…new to Core and so far so good.

Question on above code…how do I get the When True Block? I can’t seem to find that operator in the basic piston type…simply trying to copy above.

Thanks

Have you enabled expert mode?

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Just did. Thank you!

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I have 2 pistons I’d like to share that work together.

Here is my scenario… I wanted to detect when someone walks upstairs and no one is still downstairs to turn the lights off.

I have a motion sensor at the top (Hallway Motion Sensor 1) of the stairs and one at the bottom (Hallway Motion Sensor 3). I actually have 3, it is easier to explain as just 2. For your information Motion Sensor 2 is upstairs, just down the hall from Motion Sensor 1.

Here is the piston I use to detect if someone walks upstairs between 9:30 PM and 5:30PM. Also, I check to see if one of the TV’s or Computer is on. If they are one, someone must be downstairs still. I can actually remove this check because I check it again in the second piston.

When this piston results in a TRUE it calls another piston called “Monitor - Downstairs”

Here is that piston.

What this piston does it it checks various sensors to see if someone is still downstairs.

I am using a Follow-Up piston so it doesn’t run by itself. It needs to be called by another piston. Because the flow of a Follow-Up piston is IF-THEN-ELSE I had to use the IF-ELSE IF-ELSE IF grouping mode in the IF section of the piston.

If the piston determines that someone is still downstairs through motion or power consumption (or anything else I add later) it increments a counter, logs the event to the ST Activities log, waits 1 minute and calls itself again to start the process over.

I will eventually stop after 3 tries (the first ELSE IF).

The reason I have built this is…

I want the lights to turn off when everyone walks upstairs, but I can’t just rely on motion sensors because they do not become inactive immediately. This way I can have a motion sensor 5 feet from the staircase and it can still read active as I walk up stairs. The first loop through the piston, it will not turn the lights off as it still thinks someone is downstairs. However after a minute it becomes inactive and the lights turn off.

Here is a piston that I set up for my LIFX lightbulbs outside on my front porch. It is specific to only a few weeks in October and will set the color of the bulbs to a different Halloween related color using the " individual actions" section of core.