Tasmota VS WLED

All of my office devices are connected to Sonoff S31 smart plugs, flashed with Tasmota on their own locked-down VLAN, and can be controlled via voice, Alexa, Tasker automation on my Android, NFC tags at my office door and various scripts triggered via my StreamDeck (on Linux). This all works fantastic, and I can turn on or off my devices, including my printer, when I start or end my day at work.

The best alternative firmware example for true IOT devices is Tasmota [1]. Erase manufacturer firmware for every ESP devices the day after purchase to avoid those careless manufacturer firmwares.

[1] https://tasmota.github.io/docs/

The ESP8266 based Sonoff S31 and ESP32 based Switchbot plugs, both flashed with either Tasmota or ESPHome, are my go-to options for US WiFi smart plugs with power monitoring.

And if you want to turn your ESP8266 into a standalone appliance, with a web interface and directly editable config that doesn't need a build step, Tasmota is another great option.

https://tasmota.github.io/docs/

Go to your gateway IP and type admin/OTAPASSWORD . The password can be changed from the Wifi Manager portal. Thanks, @NorthernMan54, for this add and to Tasmota as they inspired this feature and the code. Note that the WebUI is unavailable with the Theengs plug in this version.

Setting two on/off cycles with 50 discrete schedules seems like a very inefficient way of doing this when the same thing could be accomplished with two rules. Any compatible device flashed with Tasmota or similar FOSS firmware would make this possible.

This could absolutely be achieved using an ESP8266, but something like Tasmota or ESPHome might be a better platform to start with.

You could strap a magnetometer to a "dumb" weather vane, but I don't think Tasmota supports any magnetometers unless you want to do a PR. I know there have been a few attempts to add the HMC/QMC5883 sensors in the past, like this.

I’m just a beginner myself, learning slowly. There is so much out there that a recommendation would need more information about your goals. Something that I recommend elsewhere in this topic is Dronebot Workshop. That person has well done videos with an excellent companion website. One of the tricks is understanding what information is too old to be helpful.

A very accessible starter project that I would suggest is to use an Wemos Mini esp8266 and an 8x8 led panel. Desolder leads from the panel and solder the 5v, ground and d4 pin from the Wemos to it. Attach to computer via usb and open the WLED website below to load the firmware on the ESP. Then open the on-ESP website or use the WLED app to go wild with colors.

https://kno.wled.ge/

LED Panel: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01DC0IMRW

Wemos mini:

Check out r/WLED or https://kno.wled.ge

You can DIY your own with a IC-based RGB/RGBW strip and a rPi or x86 PC + ESP microcontroller using software like Hyperion or HyperHDR, combined with WLED.

WLED runs on ESP32s and 8255s, and controls LED strings & power relays. https://kno.wled.ge

I've been playing around with WLED on ESP32 and Raspberry Pi Pico W boards. I don't know if it runs on Arduino, but it speaks Artnet and has a lot of built-in effects. https://kno.wled.ge/

- NodeMCU with WLed loaded on it.

Check it out: https://kno.wled.ge