Virtual Buttons for Alexa

Other Devices & Integrations Voice Assistants
#21

Thanks therealdb for giving hope :slight_smile: Would be great if it works on echo devices too (as i took the bose soundtouch speaker route, instead of sonos)

maybe the vera appstore should have an option to pay for the apps so that we could somehow giveback to the developers, or maybe have more programmers helping the community on spare time

#22

I mean, if you can control it from the Alexa web interface, there’s a chance it could be doable from this script as well. Just try it :slight_smile:

I’m more than happy to contribute with code for free. The only problem is that I have a job :slight_smile: and so I have to prioritize it. But I love to contribute back in my spare time, and my code is open source, if anyone want to help.

1 Like
#23

Thanks @randyth for the explanation.
Any of us who have done any coding certainly understand.
I’m not sure if it would be enough but i totally agree with @robie below that many would rather pay up front for a perpetual license and an app store that allows developers to get paid for their work would be a great idea.
I would be willing to pay anywhere from $5 to $10 for the use of your skill as long as i didn’t have to repeat payment each month.
This looks like a nice skill and i may take another look at the free button.

#24

We agree it would be best if we could charge just one up-front fee as if this were a hardware device that doesn’t incur any costs other than the initial materials and manufacturing. However, until our cloud service charges us just one up-front flat fee for ongoing server usage, we can’t viably do the same for the skill’s users. As it is now, we are charged monthly based on the skill’s usage.

We’re going to bring skill to the UK once we’re sure it’s solid and bug free. We’re in soft launch mode right now. The UK version will probably release before the end of the year.

#25

@therealdb
Ok have installed the device and uploaded files.
When i call luup from developers test lupp code with *luup.call_action(“urn:dlna-org:serviceId:DLNAMediaController1”, “Say”, {Text=“Hello from Vera Alexa”, Volume=50, GroupZones=“Lounge”}, 114)
i get no response. any idea where i am going wrong?
LOG JobHandler_LuaUPnP::HandleActionRequest argument Code=luup.call_action(“urn:dlna-org:serviceId:DLNAMediaController1”, “Say”, {Text=“Hello from Vera Alexa”, Volume=50, GroupZones=“Everywhere”}, 114)

I think it maybe alexahost and amazonhost, but i’m not sure

#26

What’s your amazon host? IE, for amazon.de, alexahost is alexa.amazon.de, and that’s similar for many non-US countries (.it, .es, .co.uk, etc).

Be sure your group is spelled that way (it’s case sensitive).

Also, enable debug mode (it’s a variable) and look at the logs for errors.

#27

@therealdb
host is alexa.amazon.co.uk
group is correct case sensitive
logging enabled set to 1 no errors
would my alexahost be different
from log

08 12/16/19 17:17:26.861 JobHandler_LuaUPnP::HandleActionRequest device: 0 service: urn:micasaverde-com:serviceId:HomeAutomationGateway1 action: RunLua <0x73b33520>
08 12/16/19 17:17:26.861 JobHandler_LuaUPnP::HandleActionRequest argument id=lu_action <0x73b33520>
08 12/16/19 17:17:26.861 JobHandler_LuaUPnP::HandleActionRequest argument serviceId=urn:micasaverde-com:serviceId:HomeAutomationGateway1 <0x73b33520>
08 12/16/19 17:17:26.861 JobHandler_LuaUPnP::HandleActionRequest argument action=RunLua <0x73b33520>
08 12/16/19 17:17:26.861 JobHandler_LuaUPnP::HandleActionRequest argument Code=luup.call_action(“urn:dlna-org:serviceId:DLNAMediaController1”, “Say”, {Text=“Hello from Vera Alexa”, Volume=50, GroupZones=“Everywhere”}, 114) <0x73b33520>
08 12/16/19 17:17:26.862 JobHandler_LuaUPnP::HandleActionRequest device: 114 service: urn:dlna-org:serviceId:DLNAMediaController1 action: Say <0x73b33520>
08 12/16/19 17:17:26.862 JobHandler_LuaUPnP::HandleActionRequest argument Text=Hello from Vera Alexa <0x73b33520>
08 12/16/19 17:17:26.862 JobHandler_LuaUPnP::HandleActionRequest argument GroupZones=Everywhere <0x73b33520>
08 12/16/19 17:17:26.863 JobHandler_LuaUPnP::HandleActionRequest argument Volume=50 <0x73b33520>
50 12/16/19 17:17:26.863 luup_log:114: VeraAlexa: TTS added to queue for 114 <0x73b33520>
#28

I’m in the UK
layla.amazon.co.uk
and

But I’m using the TTS plugin which has some other challenges.
Also, can’t help but notice your log is using GroupZones ‘Everywhere’ which probably won’t work.

Does it work after a Luup reload, BTW? Just once?

C

#29

Catman was that the alexahost or amazon?
no difference after luup reload
still no errors
the group name Everywhere is the name of group with all echos and dots

#30

Sorry I only read the first command to Lounge. I could never get Everywhere to work due to (it appeared) some rate limiting issues, but this was the original script

layla.amazon.co.uk is the Alexahost I’m using

C

#31

ok i have tried both alexahost names and changed group to single device lounge. still no luck

to confirm the username and password is the one i log into alexa app with?

#32

I use my Amazon account user / pass. No idea if it’s possible to have a different one.

C

#33

I’m on it. Expect a new version very soon!

2 Likes
#34

my amazon and app have same user and pass.

#35

Very much not pestering you, sir! Interested to know what the issue actually is?

C

#36

Sure, if you found anything, please elaborate. I’m on it, I have 3 weeks at home and I’ll work on my plugins.

1 Like
#37

Not at all! I meant I’m interested to know when you find out what it is! :slight_smile: . Way out of my league!

C

#38

[solved] I am having no luck with this.
firmware latest on veraplus.
variables:
DefaultEcho - Lounge
DefaultVolume - 50
Language - en-us
AlexaHost - layla.amazon.co.uk
AmazonHost - alexa.amazon.co.uk
Configured - 1

Cheers for the help.

edit/
fixed issue. solution for me is posted in this thread Alexa TTS (Text-To-Speech) [and more] plug-in for Vera - #93 by ElCid - Plugins & Plugin Development - Ezlo Community

#39

FYI, Virtual Buttons is now available in the UK. The UK version didn’t go through as much testing as we would have liked, so please contact us about any issues you have (so we can fix them!) before you leave a nasty review.

Cheers,
-Randy

#40

@randyth
Seems to work fine, fairly quick response.
The button is limited to only what is preset in alexa. Would be better if we could define what alexa says or what routine to start in the api call, but thats probably a limitation in alexa.