Cool switchbot stuff, but I’m confused that you didn’t show the other remote commands working as intended. On/off is straightforward, but from what I’ve learned the remote doesn’t send discrete messages for fan speed up - it sends a whole message for the fan state (speed, in/out, vent open/close) which means you can’t just program the buttons as you show and have it work like you expect.
Interesting you should say that’s. As I’m sure I’ve had its working for to turn it up and down on speeds and had it change. But I guess I could of mapped a higher mode for “up” and a lower mode for “down” so when I’m asking it to go up or down it’s is changing but to a fixed higher or low settings
@@MispronouncedAdventures Yup, could easily be that because that’s how the programming procedure would work. It’s a strange way for the remote to operate with states rather than relative commands. The real test is trying to repeatedly send fan speed up and see if the fan continues to increase in speed or likewise down. What I suspect it’ll do is change speeds once (possibly jumping to a much higher speed) and then no change from there. But if it works differently, I’d love to know!
@oliverhadatsch409 unless something has changed in the app and using a custom remote I was able to ask Alexa to turn the maxxfan on and off with my voice ( and did up and down ) as I did for years or do it via the switch bot app. rarely use the other features however I have notice that there has been some significant changes to the app since I made this video. I don’t know if that has affected functionality and Alexa integration. However, I’d used Alexa previously to change the fan speed however I must’ve mapped an entire status of a higher and speed at the lower and speed. Opposed to Incrementally increasing . I will amend the description or pinned comment. I also need to have a look at the app and see what has changed since I made this video.
That's awesome. Thanks for the video. I really like the snap part had me laughing. And I'm totally with you on the unboxing being boring. It's like so many people and that's as far as they get. They just do the unboxing and you never get a real thorough review of how the item works.
Hah! The one-button/two-signals thing with the fan remote solves a mystery for me. I've got two Maxxair fans, and I found when I would turn one on with the remote, walk over to turn the other one on, it wouldn't work the first time. It took another press of the button to get it fired up. Same with when switching airflow directions.
Great video Alex. Clever bits of kit. Totally agree about the unboxing bit. Love the finger clicking lol. Proper Alex stile. Keep up the wonderful videos mate 👍
Add the ability to get your hot water heater started remotely or on a timer is a good use case. Being able to go surfing in the cold water and come back to a ready hot shower.
I can definitely agree with that. I can’t do it on my own van. But I know there are some people with a Afterburner controller who use the GPIO output to turn on there Bobilvans hot water
More toys! 🤪 Loved your scathing sendup of RUclips clichés! Apart from the issues you pointed out, do you think that the switchbot camera is as good as your current ones. Do they work ok without using the cloud service?
I do love kit! I think the switchbot Cam hardware wise is pretty good for the price ( both the 1080p & 2K version ), the software stuff worked just a little fiddly but maybe one day that will be changed
Humidity issues are pretty common for van lifers and overlanders. It would be great to program the humidity sensor to turn on the MaxxAir in response to a preset level of humidity. Possible? New video idea to teach us how to do it?
That’s a good question. Personally I keep my max fan on 10% extract all the time and never have condensation issues. Humidity as the trigger is a hard one. Two ways I can think off. IFTTT ( “if that then this” ) and find a temperature sensor ( with humidity ) and set that up to trigger the switch box hub to turn the max fan on why IR. another option could be a 12V humidity relay off Amazon and then use the RJ45 port on the Maxxfan PCB which is normally used for an external controller to trigger it ( Auxbeam control panel original video shows how to do this )
@@MispronouncedAdventures Thanks for the idea. Do you think I could just use one of the SwitchBot temp/humid sensors together with the SwitchBot mini-hub set up to turn on the MaxxAir via IR?
The issue is you can only control on and off with alexa. The buttons you have added can‘t control alexa. The issue is for me, when the fan closed, go to automatic mode. I have to find another way to make this happen. I love the automatic mode for temperature control in the van when I’m not here. Set the temperature and the fan does everything for you. Only when I drive often it is to cold and I like to turn the fan of, therefore is Alexa superior. Thanks for this video.
You can make Alexa do other actions, I only demonstrated the on / off, I should be able turn automatic mode on or turn off automatic mode. Or any of the IR actions. But you would have to potentially creatively name of the buttons in the SwitchBot app. the only reason the maxxfsn turns on with a Alexa is because I named the button “on” in the app. I’m not sure what you mean by when the maxxfan is closed. It goes into automatic mode? as mine doesn’t do that? If I wanted to do the automatic mode remotely I would do the maxxfan on command and turn then the automatic mode on
@@MispronouncedAdventures I understand what you mean with creative buttons actions. Thanks I try. That’s my plan, when the maxxairfan is closed, go to automatic mode, so I don’t have to think about the fans automatic mode. Tryed only on and off aus Option. No option for other buttons in alexa.
Hmm... So temperature information to turn on my diesel heater could be a nifty feature. Or even via phone / hub so the van could be toasty for me in the morning.
Yes It can. However it can only lock the doors not unlocked ( as the transit has individual buttons for lock and unlock and I only have one switchbot ) . I wouldn’t have any reason to unlock the doors with voice activation.
@@MispronouncedAdventures Thanks for the reply. Surprised I thought you would be bound to have one lol. I'm thinking of the A-MIMO-0003 from Poynting thoughts?
The Hub Mini looks really useful. So assuming you have to mount the hub mini in line of sight of your Maxxfan. If I've got two fans (front and back of van), mounting position could be tricky. Wondering how it performs depending on distance, angle and if the IR blaster is tolerant of obstructions etc. Also could separate commands for each fan be setup? Eg front fan and rear fan (doubt it)
I found that the mini hub was Omni directional as I can see the IR flash illuminating the entire van. When my night vision / IR cameras are set to our mode. My mini hub does not currently have a line of site works no problem. I expect if you had two in the van that both of them would be activated simultaneously
@@MispronouncedAdventures Ah I was going to ask the same question the oem remote is totally reliant on line of sight and is a pita to use because of that! So this little gadget might be worth having just to eliminate that flaw 😀
Awesome, Alex. Just a heads up, your code gives 30% off on the Switchbot site but only 7% off from Amazon. Still a great deal given the Black Friday discount but thought I'd mention it anyway.
As far as I can see no, but I only realise this when well it works out of direct line of sight and the internal CCTV cameras is IR at night and when you do a command at night you can see the entire van flash under IR after a moment
Nothing more annoying than my iphone turning my max air fan on and off and the max remote not being backlit, this could be great if controlled via siri.
It’s does work via Siri. I only said Google nest and Amazon Alexa as they are full release. Siri is in beta form but also available in the app. However, I have activated Siri and she can also perform the control of the maxxfan.
Just trying to check QVC? What is QVC? All I can Google is QVC meaning “Quality, Value and Convenience” I don’t see what the issue is here? I made a video about their product I brought myself originally. They sent me some other ones to play around with. I always wanted a way to make a Maxxfan smart and they had a option. And I played with there new camera ( because the old one I use are not available anymore ) and give it mixed feedback anyway.
Alex I believe the problem is not yours but rather that one person is envious of what others are doing and thinks that its acceptable to project their misplaced envy onto you. I on the other hand am extremely grateful for this video as always it is both entertaining and full of useful information. I will definitely be having a look at one of those cameras. Keep up the awesome work 🧡
Alex is great at coming up with innovative uses for things. I'm just here to watch his adventures and really enjoyed the van build. I think even he accepts that some of the videos are not for everyone, such as the detailed electronics episodes, but he's entitled to try to grow his channel and make a living from it to fund his other adventures. Your comment about selling his soul is out of order. QVC is a shopping channel Alex 😂.
What IR item would you control?
Heated floors with solar heating.....be cool and rain capture off roof to your water tanks 👌 I like all the gadgets you to the van :)
Could it learn to control the Diesel Heater through the Afterburner?
@@ianpierce1888 I don’t think as they don’t use IR. But I know some people who control them with Alexa, but I don’t know how to do that yet
Amazing that it all works together.
I always had bad luck in ancient times with universal remote controls.
I know what you mean there. I was impressed how well it worked
Another entertaining and informative vid. You're definately a natural in front of the camera.
Thanks.
Thank you very much
Love the hub idea, amount of times I have driven off with vent open, hub ordered 🙏
Glad the video was helpful for you!
Lmao 🤣😂🤣 loved the unboxing finger clicking bit.. won't be long before other well known channels copy the idea.. 👍🏻🤣
Haha, i’m guilty of using the finger click before for a transition, so I thought I would take the Mick 😂
Really nice with Maxxfan and the hub. Im installing Maxxfan in the spring I will consider the hub!! Thanks for useful video.
Glad you found it helpful!
Awesome smart gadgets ❤️love it 🚐
Glad you like it
Interesting gizmos only limited by the users imagination…. Just off to console my Alexa after she was unsuccessful in seeking ‘fan’ 😂
Pretty much! Which is why I like thinks like this. It had lots of uses.
Haha yes I did leave the “Alexa” word in there. So I have set off many peoples
Stop saying Alexa! My Alexa is a nosey cow 😂
Loving the click transitions 👌🏼
Hehe 😂
Superb, I’ve used your code Alex so thank you for the discount and insight 👍👍
Thank you very much
Cool switchbot stuff, but I’m confused that you didn’t show the other remote commands working as intended. On/off is straightforward, but from what I’ve learned the remote doesn’t send discrete messages for fan speed up - it sends a whole message for the fan state (speed, in/out, vent open/close) which means you can’t just program the buttons as you show and have it work like you expect.
Interesting you should say that’s. As I’m sure I’ve had its working for to turn it up and down on speeds and had it change. But I guess I could of mapped a higher mode for “up” and a lower mode for “down” so when I’m asking it to go up or down it’s is changing but to a fixed higher or low settings
@@MispronouncedAdventures Yup, could easily be that because that’s how the programming procedure would work. It’s a strange way for the remote to operate with states rather than relative commands. The real test is trying to repeatedly send fan speed up and see if the fan continues to increase in speed or likewise down. What I suspect it’ll do is change speeds once (possibly jumping to a much higher speed) and then no change from there.
But if it works differently, I’d love to know!
@oliverhadatsch409 unless something has changed in the app and using a custom remote I was able to ask Alexa to turn the maxxfan on and off with my voice ( and did up and down ) as I did for years or do it via the switch bot app. rarely use the other features however I have notice that there has been some significant changes to the app since I made this video. I don’t know if that has affected functionality and Alexa integration.
However, I’d used Alexa previously to change the fan speed however I must’ve mapped an entire status of a higher and speed at the lower and speed. Opposed to Incrementally increasing .
I will amend the description or pinned comment. I also need to have a look at the app and see what has changed since I made this video.
Lol I like the click transitions part 😂
Cheers! :)
That's awesome. Thanks for the video. I really like the snap part had me laughing. And I'm totally with you on the unboxing being boring. It's like so many people and that's as far as they get. They just do the unboxing and you never get a real thorough review of how the item works.
Yeah unboxing for me isnt that interesting.
Hah! The one-button/two-signals thing with the fan remote solves a mystery for me. I've got two Maxxair fans, and I found when I would turn one on with the remote, walk over to turn the other one on, it wouldn't work the first time. It took another press of the button to get it fired up. Same with when switching airflow directions.
Ah glad that it has helped you to figure out the mystery!
love the automation of the Maxxair fan, can you get the fan to turn itself on if the temperature of the van goes past a set level?
Yes, there is a “auto” mode already built into s maxxfan. You could turn it on via IR if you wanted. But you would want pre set the temperature.
You could also do that with the SwitchBot temperature thermometer and the home automation.
Great video Alex. Clever bits of kit. Totally agree about the unboxing bit. Love the finger clicking lol. Proper Alex stile. Keep up the wonderful videos mate 👍
Cheers! Glad you liked it. It’s a fun bit of kit
Add the ability to get your hot water heater started remotely or on a timer is a good use case. Being able to go surfing in the cold water and come back to a ready hot shower.
I can definitely agree with that. I can’t do it on my own van. But I know there are some people with a Afterburner controller who use the GPIO output to turn on there Bobilvans hot water
Great informative video - you give a great eye to detail with what's explained. Thank you for the helpful videos.
ATB
Glad you enjoyed it. I’ve been wanting this little unit to experiment with this for a while and SwitchBot gave me the great opportunity.
More toys! 🤪
Loved your scathing sendup of RUclips clichés!
Apart from the issues you pointed out, do you think that the switchbot camera is as good as your current ones. Do they work ok without using the cloud service?
I do love kit!
I think the switchbot Cam hardware wise is pretty good for the price ( both the 1080p & 2K version ), the software stuff worked just a little fiddly but maybe one day that will be changed
Humidity issues are pretty common for van lifers and overlanders. It would be great to program the humidity sensor to turn on the MaxxAir in response to a preset level of humidity. Possible? New video idea to teach us how to do it?
That’s a good question. Personally I keep my max fan on 10% extract all the time and never have condensation issues.
Humidity as the trigger is a hard one. Two ways I can think off.
IFTTT ( “if that then this” ) and find a temperature sensor ( with humidity ) and set that up to trigger the switch box hub to turn the max fan on why IR.
another option could be a 12V humidity relay off Amazon and then use the RJ45 port on the Maxxfan PCB which is normally used for an external controller to trigger it ( Auxbeam control panel original video shows how to do this )
@@MispronouncedAdventures Thanks for the idea. Do you think I could just use one of the SwitchBot temp/humid sensors together with the SwitchBot mini-hub set up to turn on the MaxxAir via IR?
The issue is you can only control on and off with alexa. The buttons you have added can‘t control alexa.
The issue is for me, when the fan closed, go to automatic mode. I have to find another way to make this happen.
I love the automatic mode for temperature control in the van when I’m not here. Set the temperature and the fan does everything for you.
Only when I drive often it is to cold and I like to turn the fan of, therefore is Alexa superior.
Thanks for this video.
You can make Alexa do other actions, I only demonstrated the on / off, I should be able turn automatic mode on or turn off automatic mode. Or any of the IR actions. But you would have to potentially creatively name of the buttons in the SwitchBot app. the only reason the maxxfsn turns on with a Alexa is because I named the button “on” in the app.
I’m not sure what you mean by when the maxxfan is closed. It goes into automatic mode? as mine doesn’t do that?
If I wanted to do the automatic mode remotely
I would do the maxxfan on command and turn then the automatic mode on
@@MispronouncedAdventures I understand what you mean with creative buttons actions. Thanks I try.
That’s my plan, when the maxxairfan is closed, go to automatic mode, so I don’t have to think about the fans automatic mode.
Tryed only on and off aus Option. No option for other buttons in alexa.
Fahrenheit is the celsius doubled plus 30 ( 24c = 78f)
You've got a way of making me spend money!
I do try! 😊
Hmm... So temperature information to turn on my diesel heater could be a nifty feature. Or even via phone / hub so the van could be toasty for me in the morning.
I guess you could use temperature information to use a normal switchbot to hit the turn on a heater
@@MispronouncedAdventures Most of the knock off diesel heaters come with a mini remote. Guess you could teach the hub these ir signals?
Great videos and content. How did you connect Alexa to van ? Does van have hotspot or internet hub?
Thank you. I have a E5577 4G router in the van for my internet
Could you use the hub and alexa to open and close the switch on your door ?😁👍
Yes It can. However it can only lock the doors not unlocked ( as the transit has individual buttons for lock and unlock and I only have one switchbot ) . I wouldn’t have any reason to unlock the doors with voice activation.
@@MispronouncedAdventures 🙌🙌👍👍
What antenna have you on the roof for your internet connection. And is it the best as am looking to fit a good one.
I don’t use one currently just a 4G router will built in antenna. But I’ll be getting one in the future
@@MispronouncedAdventures Thanks for the reply. Surprised I thought you would be bound to have one lol. I'm thinking of the A-MIMO-0003 from Poynting thoughts?
The Hub Mini looks really useful.
So assuming you have to mount the hub mini in line of sight of your Maxxfan. If I've got two fans (front and back of van), mounting position could be tricky. Wondering how it performs depending on distance, angle and if the IR blaster is tolerant of obstructions etc.
Also could separate commands for each fan be setup? Eg front fan and rear fan (doubt it)
I found that the mini hub was Omni directional as I can see the IR flash illuminating the entire van. When my night vision / IR cameras are set to our mode. My mini hub does not currently have a line of site works no problem.
I expect if you had two in the van that both of them would be activated simultaneously
@@MispronouncedAdventures Ah I was going to ask the same question the oem remote is totally reliant on line of sight and is a pita to use because of that! So this little gadget might be worth having just to eliminate that flaw 😀
Awesome, Alex. Just a heads up, your code gives 30% off on the Switchbot site but only 7% off from Amazon. Still a great deal given the Black Friday discount but thought I'd mention it anyway.
Ah thank you for telling me. It’s odd the code is different amounts off
@@MispronouncedAdventures I blame Bezos
Does the Switch Bot controller need to be in line of site of the device (Max Fan) Edit Should have read the comments first!!!! lol
As far as I can see no, but I only realise this when well it works out of direct line of sight and the internal CCTV cameras is IR at night and when you do a command at night you can see the entire van flash under IR after a moment
Outside cameras 📷 or night 🌙 rain capture off roof and filter and heated floors of solar and incinerator toilet not using much power be cool
Still need to do outside cameras on my van
@@MispronouncedAdventures rain capture auto keep water tanks full be cool haven't seen it done correctly yet
Nothing more annoying than my iphone turning my max air fan on and off and the max remote not being backlit, this could be great if controlled via siri.
It’s does work via Siri. I only said Google nest and Amazon Alexa as they are full release. Siri is in beta form but also available in the app. However, I have activated Siri and she can also perform the control of the maxxfan.
I also agree that the backlit maxxfan remote would be great
@@MispronouncedAdventures Thanks mate. hope your all ok 👍
I’m all well! I hope you are
Another one sells their soul to become QVC vanlife
Just trying to check QVC? What is QVC? All I can Google is QVC meaning “Quality, Value and Convenience”
I don’t see what the issue is here? I made a video about their product I brought myself originally. They sent me some other ones to play around with. I always wanted a way to make a Maxxfan smart and they had a option. And I played with there new camera ( because the old one I use are not available anymore ) and give it mixed feedback anyway.
Alex I believe the problem is not yours but rather that one person is envious of what others are doing and thinks that its acceptable to project their misplaced envy onto you.
I on the other hand am extremely grateful for this video as always it is both entertaining and full of useful information. I will definitely be having a look at one of those cameras. Keep up the awesome work 🧡
Alex is great at coming up with innovative uses for things. I'm just here to watch his adventures and really enjoyed the van build. I think even he accepts that some of the videos are not for everyone, such as the detailed electronics episodes, but he's entitled to try to grow his channel and make a living from it to fund his other adventures. Your comment about selling his soul is out of order. QVC is a shopping channel Alex 😂.
The original poster is welcome to a discount code if they want one 😂😂