Mycontroller 2.x ideas
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@jkandasa
I see this thread is quite old, nevertheless I'd like to share my thoughts after having played with MyController 1.5 snapshot for a while. As a almost non-programmer, quick changes in GUI or implementation of own scripts is a major hurdle. I have fun in designing the sensor nodes, tweaking the PCBs even further (I may publish the result at openhardware.io one day!). Regarding the controller GUI, the so-called WAF is not to be underestimated. I need expressed acceptance of my wife to install some funny electronics device in our living room. And I only get approval, if the look&feel is most easy and convenient and if the device is useful and non-obtrusive. I see many very convenient setup and configuration options in MyController, but I regret to say there are also some drawbacks with the current version that make me hope for a version 2 one day. I would be more than happy if I could find that one or another of these drawbacks were solved at a later date.1. Changes in layout are almost impossible.
I found the *.css file and could vary font sizes for sensor display values, but this is extremely troublesome, as the *.css file is not structured. I helped myself with the browser's debugger and tried to find the relevant locations in the *.css file and was partly successful - but this is no method that I can carry out after every version step you may publish.
Why do I need this? I want a nice display in my living room. Not everything is formatted in a way I need it. For example, outside temperature display should be as big as possible. Sunrise/Sunset maybe medium size, whereas I pretty well know the name of my village, so that I'd be fine with 6 pt
2. No information on aged or non-available data
This has been posted before. If a sensor fails, the last reading will always remain displayed. This gives a false feeling of confidence. For example, temperature changes in my deep freeze should be actual, or I wouldn't need a supervision at all. A greyed-out display or a simple "n/a" would do very well.3. Some browsers cannot process the active contents
I reported this for my old iPad 2 (which is a excellent choice as it consumes a mere 3 watts, which is less than a Raspi Zero W plus a DIY TFT). I found a workaround, but on account of flexibility.4. Dashboard logs me out after three days
This is a no-go for a stationary display. I cannot go there every third day and type in my account/password.5. Battery status beside sensor reading
Well, this may be more sort of a luxus item, but if I have a "show only" display without touch ability and only one screen that should fit all purpose, the battery percentage value in a (configurable) small font would help to check the status by just having a closer look. -
@Matt Thank you so much for the great feedback! I do consider your requirements in mind.
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@jkandasa Somwthing else I'd like to see within the controller is a facility to get user defined updates (hourly, daily, weekly, monthly) from an NTP server with added function to push updated time to an attached RTC module. Also for MYC to determine if NTP time is available and if not use the RTC as time source.
The DS3231 is the most popular of the 'reasonable' RTC modules and is relatively cheap too.So in summary something in the settings to allow/enable use of RTC and to select how often to update system/RTC time. Then also a test of NTP connectivity and if lost switch to RTC time (or maybe use RTC time all the time if available).
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@skywatch I just had another idea.
Smart Recovery mode for my controller.
In this mode if the controller or gateway are down (say due to a power cut) then on restart the controller will look into the settings and make sure things are how they would have been if no power cut happened.
So if a light should have been turned on during the power cut, then on controller restart it will know this and turn the light on. Also, if there were multiple on/off cycles during the failed state the controller will still be able to calculate what the status should be and send message accordingly.
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@skywatch this is a really nice feature request. We have to address it on the other side too.
example: if node power down for some time and comes back. -
@jkandasa Thank you. Yes, if there were some way to do this with the nodes too then that would be even better.
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Hello,
First, I find this controller is my favourite.
Thank you very much for the hard job you did with.Would it be possible to add folders into rules/timer/operation ?
I think it could help the GUI to be a little more user friendly.And another really nice feature would be to add voice controle throught google home.
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@Aneantisor Thank you!
Would it be possible to add folders into rules/timer/operation ?
Could you please elaborate a bit more? If you can represent in a graphical way.
And another really nice feature would be to add voice controle throught google home.
nice feature request. These days people are using Amazon alexa and google home.
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@jkandasa On the node side we can already recover the status in the node programming by using saveState and loadState, so maybe that is all that is needed that end.
For the controller I guess that myc only needs to record the last message sent to all sensors and time stamp it. Then when the controller powers back up it can check if any rules/scripts/timer functions apply and if not simply re-send the last known message. If rules/scripts/timer functions do apply then it will have to work throught to the current state by using the most recent event that 'should' have happened (but didn't as the controller'/GW was down).
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@skywatch you are right. no action needed from the node side. The controller should handle poweroff situations.
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About folder, i means it would be nice to arrange rules by folder.
-windows_cover:
-->rule1
-->rule2
-->etc...
-temperature controle:
-->rule1
-->rule2
-others:
-->rule1
-->etc...Same kind of architecture for timer and operation.
It would permit to build a lot more rules without being afraid by the amount of line. -
@jkandasa Here is another suggestion to think of for version 2.0.......
It would be nice to have a feature that could be enabled or disabled with a click that will perform the following......
Random Action - I am thinking of lights here for security purposes and making a building look more occupied than ordinary timers will allow. So a feature that allows random on times and random off times, within a specified portion (or portions) of the day/week/etc.
Example
Kitchen lights should be randomly turned on for minimum 2 minutes and maximum 5 minutes from 6am to 7.30am AND between 5pm -10pm.
Bedroom lights should be turned on randomly for minimum 10 minutes and mazimum 20 minutes betwee 5.30am and 6.30am AND between 8pm and 11pm.
And so on for different zones of lights.Once the vatiable are set then it should simply be a matter of enabling all when going away and perhaps you can even add a nice auto-disable for when you are away for a known number of days..... ?
This could also apply to turning on/off radio etc to enhance the effect.
