Echo/Alexa Capability

[incoronado]

I'm trying to use the Alexa feature to dim lights. It appears that the feature won't list null devices, only things that are associated with hardware device. I'm using the generic serial device plugin to send UPB commands. The "Dim Level" and "Power State" for each light are maintained via a VBS script in null devices that I am unable to discover in alexa. For On/Off command the Task Device does the trick. Do you have any ideas how to accomplish dimming in my situation?

BTW. Really great feature! I was able to accomplish turning on & off lights in a few minutes using alexa. I actually impressed my wife. And after (she) being married to a "techie" for 25 years she is not very easy to impress.

[ScottBot]

Dimming should work for null devices too. It's a little picky when trying to figure out if the device supports dimming. You need a Property named either Leviton Dim Level or just Dim Level. The device must also have a Power State Property.

Sounds like that's what you have. The other thing is to make sure you are running version 3.40.01. It has a fix for Alexa discovery.

[ScottBot]

BTW, if you like the Alexa skill, please give it some stars.

[incoronado]

I'm clearly missing something. I can't seem to get his to work ask described. See the screenshot.

Capture.PNG (125.03 KiB) Viewed 11948 times

I can only get Alexa to discover execute task devices. I have created a view called Alexa and added devices other than Execute Task Devices to the view. These are null devices with both Power State & Dim Level properties.

Capture2.PNG (24.61 KiB) Viewed 11948 times

[ScottBot]

Is the Power State Property really a stock Power State Property, or another type that has a description Power State?

For example, here's an example of something that looks like a Power State, but isn't really.

If that's the case, I should probably check for "Power State" as a description too.

[incoronado]

That did it.

Thanks Scott.

[markd]

Just got my Echo Dot and am setting it up. The integration is just awesome- works great!!!

One comment- the new Execute Task Device- lists Power OFF Task, Power ON task, but the task pickers list ON then OFF. Just a tiny UI nit.
5 stars given!

[ScottBot]

One comment- the new Execute Task Device- lists Power OFF Task, Power ON task, but the task pickers list ON then OFF. Just a tiny UI nit.

The buttons weren't getting sorted alphabetically in the list. I'll fix it in the next release. Thanks for the review!