Developer Andrew Andrianov has designed slightly accent which goals to make the majority flashing of low-cost off-the-shelf sensible energy sockets rather less painful, by offering a pogo-pin connector for the system’s debug port.
“The issue flashing these modules on bulk is – it’s a must to disassemble and solder the results in the sting connector,” Andrianov explains in a weblog publish dropped at our consideration by Adafruit, referring to Beken BK7231N modules present in low-cost off-the-shelf sensible energy sockets. “It is okay for a one-time solder job, however is a very no-go when it’s a must to do it in bulk. So, I scratched my head, fired up SolveSpace and after some trial and error made this weird-looking system.”
A intelligent 3D-printed pogo-pin clip makes flashing new firmware on these off-the-shelf sensible sockets a fast course of. (📷: Andrew Andrianov)
That “weird-looking system” is a intelligent 3D-printed clip, designed to carry spring-loaded pogo pins. Whereas the exhausting work on determining the right way to exchange the inventory firmware with a model suitable with Residence Assistant has already been achieved, the brand new firmware nonetheless must be loaded onto every module in flip — a job which normally requires soldering a programming header in place.
“No soldering,” Andrianov says of his quicker various for processing the plugs as rapidly as attainable. “Simply connect it and take away as soon as you’re achieved. I received’t do a full writeup of hacking the firmware. Appears there are lots of people which have invested quite a lot of time to make these working. The one related particulars listed below are: they’re additionally flashed through serial port, very like the ESP8266, they’ve OpenBeken firmware, that appears very like Tasmota, and [an] ESPHome fork that ought to be merged fairly quickly to ESPHome grasp.”
Andrianov’s full write-up is obtainable on his web site, whereas the clip itself has been printed to Thingiverse beneath a Inventive Commons Attribution license.