Integrating Affordable RF Switches with Sonoff RF Bridge

General
1

I’ve been on a quest to integrate some budget-friendly RF switches into my smart home setup, and I wanted to share my journey and findings with the community. While exploring options, I came across the Sonoff RF Bridge, which seemed like a perfect fit for my needs. However, I quickly realized that not all RF devices are created equal. Some devices use rolling codes, which can complicate integration, especially within a Home Assistant setup.

After some research, I stumbled upon a dirt-cheap RF-based remote plug system from a local retailer. To my delight, this system uses a straightforward transmission protocol without any rolling codes, making it a breeze to integrate. The system comes with a remote that has 10 buttons, each of which can be assigned to different functions within HA. This was exactly what I was looking for!

To get everything working seamlessly, I decided to flash my Sonoff RF Bridge with Tasmota. This allowed me to receive MQTT messages in a structured JSON format, which made parsing the data much easier. Following some helpful advice from the community, I was able to extract the necessary data from the JSON payload and set up the automations I needed.

Here’s a quick overview of how I configured everything:

  1. MQTT Binary Sensor Setup:
    yaml
    binary_sensor:
  • platform: mqtt
    hidden: true
    name: “RF Plug”
    state_topic: “tele/rf-bridge/RESULT”
    value_template: ‘{{value_json.RfReceived.Data}}’
    payload_on: ‘F6250F’
    payload_off: ‘F6250E’
    optimistic: false
    qos: 1
    retain: true
  1. Automations for Control:
    yaml

  • id: rf_plug_on
    alias: RF Plug On
    initial_state: ‘on’
    trigger:
    platform: state
    entity_id: binary_sensor.rf_plug
    to: ‘on’
    action:
    service: switch.turn_on
    data:
    entity_id: switch.plug

  • id: rf_plug_off
    alias: RF Plug Off
    initial_state: ‘on’
    trigger:
    platform: state
    entity_id: binary_sensor.rf_plug
    to: ‘off’
    action:
    service: switch.turn_off
    data:
    entity_id: switch.plug

The results have been nothing short of impressive. I now have 10 individually programmable buttons that operate at lightning speed, all at a fraction of the cost of more premium options. It’s a testament to how creative and cost-effective solutions can be when you’re willing to explore a bit.

I’d love to hear from others who’ve had similar experiences or have tips for integrating budget-friendly RF devices. Let’s keep the ideas flowing!