Has anyone found a smart radio? Like an AM/FM radio that can be triggered on or off?
I know there are smart speakers and bluetooth speakers and google chrome audio, but I need a radio to turn ON when I leave. We have dogs and we have noticed they chew less when the outside noises are drowned out by the radio. So when we leave we turn on an old CD/radio alarm clock. So why not automate this, right?
I have looked around a bit, but couldn’t find anything. Alexa won’t trigger unless I ask her to play something and I have noticed she won’t be playing when I get home. One idea I had was use an old radio with a smart plug, but I figured I’d ask if anyone here has seen a smart radio.
Other solutions are welcome too. I have a Harmony hub that could also be used as part of the solution as well.
It will be interesting to see if anyone knows of a “smart” radio. [The only thing I can think of is rigging something to trigger a streaming source (a radio station, music service, or what have you!) to a suitable speaker.]
Something that is going to play all day long as long as you’re gone? Nope, I’ve not seen anything like that. Your best bet is what you’ve already figured out…dumb radio, smart plug.
On a side note, have you noticed any difference in behavior depending on what station you set the radio to? If you leave it on a talk radio station are they more riled up when you come back? If you leave it on NPR, do you find they they think themselves better than the other dogs?
So after sending this I finally saw a WiFi Radio. But they are like $90-150. If I can find a radio with a IR remote then I can use my harmony hub. It will be in the same room.
My dogs are dumber than a brick. NPR would be a welcome change for them.
Does anyone know if you can trigger Google home to play something?
All steaming services stop playing after the while, but you could always program it to reload itself or start over every 2 or 3 hours.
Like
Alexa play ABC at 9 am
Alexa play CBS at 11th
Alexa play NBC at 1pm
Etc,etc
You could use a Sonos Play 1. It plays all the day, no doubt.
You could also use Google home to play a radio station using routines. It’s not that smart like the sonos solution, but possible and a radio station would play all the day.
So a Google Home can be triggered to play? Can I set a routine like “OK Google, Good Bye” and it would start a station and possibly do other stuff like lock locks and turn off lights etc?
Ok. I figured it was something like that. I’ve looked at a few radios with IR remotes. I just wish I knew it would work with Harmony before I bought it. From my understanding it should as long as it can find the right signal. I guess I’ll just by one and figure it out.
You can setup a Routine which is done and played by Google Home or you can use a Smarththings routine or WebCore to use a smart or WiFi speaker to play the music. I think the possibilities are invinitely.
If you want something that will be 100% foolproof and work just about every time with very little setup, your idea of the dumb radio with the smartplug is the best in my opinion. You don’t care what’s playing, just that there is something one. A smartspeaker will always run the risk of stopping and then you wouldn’t know and the dogs could go nuts and tear the place apart. Barring that, if you’ve found one with an IR remote, your harmony is the next best option. Remember the KISS method…Keep It Simple, Stupid.
