Introduction: 433MHz Smart Home Controller With Sensorflare and a RaspberryPi

In this instructable we show how to use a 433 Mhz transmitter to control your home's RF devices though Sensorflare using a RaspberryPi.

Components Required :

Step 1: Setup Sensorflare to Communicate With You RaspberryPi

First you need to connect to Sensorflare and visit the Connected Accounts page to enable communication between Sensorflare and your Raspberry Pi.

Click the "Add new account" button and select Raspberry Pi 433MHz RF option.

Step 2: Securing Your Connection to Sensorflare

At this point you will need to set a password so that the communication between your Raspberry Pi and Sensorflare is protected.

Keep this password in mind as you will need to set it later on your Raspberry Pi.

Step 3: Copying the Property File

After you have successfully set the password the contents of the property file to be added to your Raspberry Pi are available. Copy the contents to a local file and replace '****' with the password you entered in the previous step.

Step 4: Connecting the RF Transmitter

First we need to connect the RF transmitter to our Raspberry Pi as displayed in the image above.

Step 5: Installing the Software on the Raspberry PI

The next step is to install the libraries that are needed send RF commands using the Raspberry Pi itself.

  1. We need to install WiringPi following the instructions available here.The commands usually needed are:
    sudo apt-get update
    sudo apt-get upgrade
    sudo apt-get install git-core
    git clone git://git.drogon.net/wiringPi
    cd wiringPi
    git pull origin
    cd wiringPi
    ./build
  2. Next we need to install codesend. Detailed instructions and information is available here. The commands usually needed are:
    git clone git://github.com/ninjablocks/433Utils.git
    cd 433Kit/RPi_utils
    make
  3. Now you should be able control you RF devices from the Raspberry Pi using codesend and the rf code of the device (i.e., by typing 'codesend 6956831 )
  4. Setup sensorflare-codesend
    git clone https://github.com/SensorFlare/sensorflare-codesen...
    cd sensorflare-codesend/tools
    sudo ./install.sh
    sudo service sensorflare-codesend start

Step 6: Sending Rf Commands Using Sensorflare

Now when you visit the MyHome page in Sensorflare you will see the 433MHz Terminal. There and using the "Terminal Console" you will be able to send commands to your RF devices by simply typing the decimal command and pressing enter.

Step 7: Save Your RF Device's On/off Commands

Want to use your RF devices with a simple on/off switch ? Just click "+ Device" and set a name a type and the on/off commands for this device and just hit save.

From now on you can interact with this device using a single click from your web browser or mobile phone.

Want more ? Just have a look in the Actions page to see how you can setup location or time based control.