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I setup my own "internet buttons", but I did it in a cheating way - my buttons are nothing more than dumb radio-transmitters. There is no bluetooth, no wifi, a

I setup my own "internet buttons", but I did it in a cheating way - my buttons are nothing more than dumb radio-transmitters. There is no bluetooth, no wifi, and no complexity. The buttons are dumb, so they are cheap. Because the aim of the button is to do something "internetty" there is a single receiver which is plugged into my desktop PC which recieves the radio-transmissions, decodes the button IDs, and completes tasks. There is a brief overview here: https://blog.steve.fi/creating_an_iot_button__the_smart_way.html https://blog.steve.fi/creating_an_iot_button__the_smart_way.... I have two receivers, an ESP8266 based device, and a hacked copy of software which uses an SDR dongle. Both are reliable and stable. In terms of functionality though, they're useful. Dotted around the flat they let me control music, disable lights, and similar.

gitgud 9y ago
Cool, that sounds like a reasonable approach. I like the idea of a series of cheap buttons that can connect to a central hub in the home. Couple of questions though: 1. Do these buttons have their own power supply? If so how long does a battery last? 2. Is their a secure radio channel of communication? 3. Is their any feedback on the button that the computer received that button press. (To avoid multiple presses)
- stevekemp 9y ago
  1. Yes, the buttons are powered by CR2032 batteries, and when the button is pressed an LED lights to let you know it worked. (i.e. You can detect when they're empty.) My batteries have lasted for several months so far, but I don't know how long to expect them to work. 2. Not sure what you're getting at here; anybody "local" could probably overhear the transmission. And probably perform a replay attack. 3. There is no feedback on the buttons, you press the button and they send a radio transmission (+ light the LED). There is no facility for two-way communication. If I were building the buttons myself I'd probably have them both send and receive, such that you could use an ACK system. But the whole point is to use cheap & off-the-shelf parts so ..
  - gitgud 9y ago
    Nice, wow those batteries are tiny!! Replay attacks might be acceptable for insignificant tasks light lights and Air Conditioning I suppose. Also gives a much simpler architecture to the system.

gitgud 9y ago

Cool, that sounds like a reasonable approach. I like the idea of a series of cheap buttons that can connect to a central hub in the home. Couple of questions though: 1. Do these buttons have their own power supply? If so how long does a battery last? 2. Is their a secure radio channel of communication? 3. Is their any feedback on the button that the computer received that button press. (To avoid multiple presses)

stevekemp 9y ago
1. Yes, the buttons are powered by CR2032 batteries, and when the button is pressed an LED lights to let you know it worked. (i.e. You can detect when they're empty.) My batteries have lasted for several months so far, but I don't know how long to expect them to work. 2. Not sure what you're getting at here; anybody "local" could probably overhear the transmission. And probably perform a replay attack. 3. There is no feedback on the buttons, you press the button and they send a radio transmission (+ light the LED). There is no facility for two-way communication. If I were building the buttons myself I'd probably have them both send and receive, such that you could use an ACK system. But the whole point is to use cheap & off-the-shelf parts so ..
- gitgud 9y ago
  Nice, wow those batteries are tiny!! Replay attacks might be acceptable for insignificant tasks light lights and Air Conditioning I suppose. Also gives a much simpler architecture to the system.