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The Candle controller 

You and your devices communicate via a central wireless controller. 

Browser based

Connect to the Candle with a tablet or laptop to manage your devices, create automations, or explore your data.

VOice control

Say bye bye to Alexa. Online voice services gather data about your private life, which reveals more than you think. Candle uses local voice control - no cloud connection required.

  • Candle Controller with a touch screen

    By jeweler Dinie Besems

    See more

Making the Candle Controller

We don't sell it, you make it yourself.

1. Preparing the Micro SD card

Purchase all the parts mentioned in the shopping list below, and download the WebThings disk image for the raspberry pi. 

Plug the Micro SD card into your computer. Using the Etcher software you can 'flash' the disk image onto the micro SD card.

disk image
Download Etcher

2. Setting up the Candle Controller

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Power it up
Insert the SD card into the Raspberry Pi, and connect the power supply. After about 20 seconds it wil create a new temporary wifi hotspot.‌ 

On your laptop connect your wifi to this WebThings hotspot. A browser window will pop up automatically.

For a more detailed guide, click here.

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Follow the steps
Simply follow the steps and connect the Candle Controller to your wifi. You could skip making a web address at mozilla-iot.org.

Once done, the temporary wifi hotspot will disappear and you can re-connect to your home wifi. Open a new browser window and visit gateway.local.

3. Install the Candle Manager add-on

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Visit the add-ons page
Go to settings, then add-ons, and click on the (+) icon in the bottom right.‌ Find the "Candle Manager" add-on and click 'Add'.‌ 
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Set an ecryption password
Click the back button to return to the add-ons overview page. Click on the 'properties' button of the Candle Manager add-on. Here you should set your encryption password, and then click 'Apply'.

4. Add your first thing

On the things overview page click on the (+) icon in the bottom right corner. This will show you newly available things.

Click 'save' on the 'Candle Manager' thing. 

5. Create the receiver 

T‌he next step is to attach the radio module. It will allow the controller to communicate with all the other Candle devices.

Getting to know the Candle Manager

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Open the Candle manager
At the things overview page, click on the link icon on the Candle Manager thing.

This will open the Candle Manager in a new browser window. The Candle manager allows you to upload the programming code into your candle devices.

When asked to do so, connect the RF Nano to an empty usb port.

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Follow the steps
Select the 'radio bridge' from the list, and click next. You shouldn't have to change any settings. Simply follow the steps until the upload is complete.

‌Done! 

You can now start creating all the other Candle devices.

6. Install the MySensors add-on

The Candle devices communicate using the MySensors protocol. Install this add-on to teach the WebThings Gateway how to speak this language.

If you prefer your temperature in Fahrenheit, you can select this in the add-ons settings page.

 

7. Install the voice assistant (optional)

‌The Voco add-on will allow you to control your devices using your voice. It is 100% privacy friendly: it never communicates with any outside server.

T‌o install Voco please visit the detailed installation page:

Installing Voco

Done!

Have fun exploring all the capabilities of your new privacy friendly smart home controller!

More to explore: 

Build

You can now create the other Candle devices

Rules

T‌ry to create your first automation on the rules page. 

Logs

Try to create a log for some of your sensors.

Shopping list

‌ We recommend getting all parts except the RF Nano from a local store.


Micro USB Cable
Aug 28, 2019

A basic Micro USB cable. You probably already have these in your home.

Raspberry Pi 4B
Jul 09, 2019

The Raspberry Pi 4B is the beating hart of the smart home. It's powerful enough to do voice control without assistance from…

Micro SD card
Aug 10, 2018

Get at least an 8Gb card from a reputable brand. Do not buy this part from Aliexpress or other Chinese shops - go for a…

Controller power supply
Aug 10, 2018

The central controller needs a serious USB power supply that can deliver at 4 amps. You can find power supplies that have…

RF-Nano Arduino
Aug 10, 2018

The RF-Nano is an Arduino Nano with built-in wireless connectivity. It's the brain of all Candle devices.