It’s Curtains
I’ve automated my curtains using little curtain robots.
I don’t really have anything more to add about this one - it is what it is. I hope no one does any ‘pull yourself together’ jokes. Neither I, nor 2021 could handle it.
In other news, the LIDL record player video seems to be doing fine so far.
I also continue to be surprised at the positive reaction to the Densha De Go! video from two weeks ago.
So much so, that I went back to have a look on youtube to see if there is a big following on there for any videos about this game series. It turns out that I’ve inadvertently made the most viewed English language video about it. Which is crazy, given that I’m not a gamer, it’s not a gaming channel, I barely understand the game and the plug and play console I featured first came out in 2018.
Don’t worry though, like every video before and after it - it doesn’t indicate a shift in the type of content you’ll be seeing in the future. It’s a one off - there’s only one of those and that’s why I made that video. I rarely plan ahead more than a week at a time.
Anyway I’ll talk a little more about the hit and the misses from 2020 in another video very soon - along with cars and other tangents.
Try to have a lazy day.
Comments (72)
You're spot-on: it seems as if there was _definitely_ a time when having a polished wood console set into a table next to the bed with many buttons on it and being able to open the bedroom curtains remotely was 100% aspirational. Another one of those buttons would activate the four powerful electric motors that raised a 27" color tube TV up from its hiding place inside a cabinet at the foot of the bed. The control that rotated the round bed would have been a two-way toggle, of course, because the sort of slick power broker who owned this home didn't have _time_ to wait for the bed to rotate 270 degrees in the wrong direction.
I’m glad this wasn’t just something that had an impression on me. It briefly spilled over into the real world in cars with electric retractable FM aerials and flip up headlights. I was still impressed by those in my MR2 in the 1990s.
Who else could get a hundred comments about curtains on a tech channel?!
It takes a curtain kind.
When I saw the curtain motors, I couldn't help but notice how well they fit the theme of your channel. They're like a capstan and pinch roller for your curtain rod :-)
I’d never considered that - but you’re right.
Hey Mat! This is a really STRANGE question. But did you work for AGEAS?! I work in insurance and I called their underwriting team and the voice message greeting sounds EXACTLY like you. You mentioned you worked in insurance previously so can you confirm you did the IVR?
Yes that’ll be me - I used to look after the phone system so it was easier to record the announcements myself than ask anyone else to do it.
Well, one of the Hey, Elgoog’s tripped my Home Hub... Evidently it can now hear its name backwards.
Makes me think of HAL lip reading the astronauts conversation about it.
Neato concept, moan time - two dealbreakers, one is the non-removable battery. The other is insitence of creating an "account" without a local wifi mode. (I'm assuming these are wifi?) Should company go belly up, all functionality is lost. Also it's very very whiny!! Thanks for sharing, they are a very neat concept, well thought for the most to be fair.
When I was a sophomore in College in 1966, we had curtains that opened with a string pull and I cobbled together a curtain opening and closing system using a windshield wiper motor from a 1963 Peugeot 403, a full-wave selenium rectifier and a transformer from an electric train set. It had limit switches made from large Microswitch paddle switches with loops of stiff copper wire soldered to the paddles and short pieces of wire twisted around the pull cord at appropriate locations. It actually worked well, but looked like the machine equivalent of Dr. Frankenstein's monster.
That sounds amazing.
Love your sense of humor and fun. Thank you for this!
Haven't watched it yet but just wanted to let you know you scared the crap out of me with that title..!
My home doesn't have neutral wires in the switch boxes, so I can't use most modern smart switches that require it. As such, I've had to make use of a lot of this kind of manual battery-powered mechanical switches. I'm never pleased with their reliability, and they tend to irk the missus quite a bit when there is no manual override for getting the switch to work. I'd be interested to see if you're still using the curtains sliders in 6 months, and if you ever find a use for the little switch bot. My Switchmate switches (similar concept) have all been sent to the "maybe someday" drawer.
Well if it was up to the Mrs the curtain bots would be destroyed - but since she can't see them and the curtains function normally as well then it's hard for her to make her case.
Thanks for the video. In the 1970s families had free remote controls - the kids. I lost count the number of times I turned the TV channel over, turned lights on/off or made tea.
Oh wow that reminds me I'd almost forgotten about the ultrasonic clicker remotes. We knew who the rich people in town were if we visited their house and the TV had a clicker.
"Controlled via a smartphone..." - "Oh, not again!", and at this point I felt a strong urge to click Stop.
A proper laugh out loud at the end there, Mat. Good video, thanks.
Now I wish I had some curtains to draw with this mechanism. I have slowly convinced my wife to automate some things so now we have Nest thermostats, Ring Doorbells and Alexa that she uses to listen to music.
Thanks for shedding some light on this product
Apart from the reliance on spy devices such as Alexa/Google Home/Siri and the fact that we have blinds rather than curtains, I'd be on this in a flash!
What a pain to get set up! Good to see that automation hasn't progressed in ease of use since 2015. all these menus, all these annoying things to just run a motor!
After playing The Stanley Parable a couple weeks ago - your voice would be awesome in it. Just sayin'
The whiny sound that they make, reflects the amount of effort that they are saving you! 😄
Funny you mentioned the Mrs Techmoan at the end, this is the first time I've wondered how she reacts to all of this. She must be very tolerant!
These home automation gadgets can be life changing for some with disabilities. Simple things that many of us take for granted, like being able to close the curtains at night, etc. Don't fancy them myself, but was interesting to see how they work etc.
Hi Mat. Great video. My curtains go round corners wonder if they can handle that. Your lidl video got mentioned in another youtuber video today, who has 11 thousand subscribers so you may get more views. Said the mech was a Crosley. Do you have hdr on your tv just brought a hdr tv wondering how much difference it makes
He uses an OLED IIRC, which is, in my opinion, the only worthwhile technology to invest in for good contrast/dynamic range.
Hi Matt, lazy day in progress here... Like yourself (or perhaps more your missus), I'm sceptical about automating the home just for the sake of it - motorised curtains could be genuinely useful for those with limited mobility, or who want them to open automatically in the morning. Mind you, having to create accounts for everything is a pet peeve of mine, and you gotta ask what happens to all those smart devices if the manufacturer ceases trading or their servers get hacked or your internet goes down. As a hardware & software engineer, I know that a lot of big name smart devices (nanny-cams, door-locks, heating controls etc.) are quite insecure, using weak or no encryption, and have been demonstrated to be hackable, A 'smart hub' if hacked, could give an attacker, anywhere in the world, full access to your home internet and everything connected to it. People are too keen to blindly hit next->next->next and grant these companies access to their homes without considering the risks involved. I think each of us should do a little research and determine how secure these products we are installing really are and how the companies protect your data. In the internet of things, saying "we will never sell your information" doesn't really cut it. Great video btw, as always..
Suggestion: window blind augmentation with motors: https://www.somasmarthome.com we have a bunch of these and they work quite well
It looks like the chocolate record video has also done well, but I still fault you for failing to say anything about battery life in that one. Silliness aside, regarding today's video, I find the idea of automated curtains cool, but the set-up in my house means it's simpler and faster to open and close them manually. If, as in your case, I had to crawl over a sofa, or davenport, or couch or chesterfield, or whatever, then the automated system is more practical in addition to being cool.
I feel like the curtains are a bit loud.
Thanks to your Densha De Go! video, my brother bought me one for my birthday! Hopefully the video you made will inspire someone to make a fan translation :)
The plug and play video did so well because A: Gaming content always does well on youtube and B. Because you are not an annoying 20 something showing it, so people 30 or older feel more comfortable hearing your opinion on it. Personally, I think you should ride the wave on this and do another. EDIT: Just watched the video and THANK YOU SO MUCH. I didn't know that push switch existed. In the apartment I live in, there is a switch to turn on and off the extraction van for the bathroom and its switch is ABOVE the door. I am not the tallest person and I have to jump at the switch or use an object to push it which is a pain. This will work wonderfully. Also it would work well for the a nuclear launch button. Kim Jong Un doesn't need to leave the bed another more.
Good point - I can't remember how many YT videos I've cancelled after a couple of seconds of 'Howzit goin' y'all, yer boy Phil here, aka the Philster..."
I have to kneel on rocking chairs or move them to move my curtains, so this would be a wonderful thing to have. I’m worried that my heavy curtains would bog it down though. I bought extra thick curtains to block sunlight, and they’re more like blankets than curtains. Thanks for the laugh at the end. It startled my dogs when I snorted.
They do seem to struggle a bit and I wouldn’t consider my curtains particularly heavy.
This is a nice, unbiased look at this sort of gizmo. Like with most of these things, it feels like it would be cool if every single part works perfectly for your situation, and completely deranged otherwise. The "touch and go" feature shows they've put a lot of thought into that, and I like the image of a neighbourhood busybody trying to spy on someone in the street and then having the curtains whisk open all by themselves.
I’ll be interested to see how many comments ask about battery life.
I want this for our front room. I am reminded of the expression “ While I do subscribe to the "Happy Wife, Happy Life" philosophy there is definitely a case to be made for "Slightly Irritated Wife, Amusing Life" theory as well.”
I really want some automated blinds. Also windows. I can think of a few plug sockets that are a right in the arse to get to that the remote toggle would be useful for as well.
I love home automation stuff, and would be interested to see more videos about it. Maybe a "crossover episode" where you use the switchbot devices to remote control some 70s HiFi devices? Voice controlled reel to reel is the kind of thing i dream about.
Surely there are all sorts of Goldbergian applications for all of Techmoan's gadgets. "Hey Google, start Rube Goldberg sequence!" Sometime after a few tonearms have turned, a couple of curtains have opened, a tape deck door has closed, and a virtual train somewhere outside Tokyo has pulled into station, the kettle boils!
If people still miss that battery life info maybe put it at the start of the video LOL. Great video as always.
Battery life...hilarious! That SwitchBot Bot is a good idea...use it to turn your non remote controllable amplifier on or off...
I’m glad you have achieved closure.
We came for the Hi-Fi, stayed for the tangents.
"–One day, lad, ALL this will be yours!" "–What, the curtains?" Bit concerned about how laboured the motor sounded. Makes me wonder if the internal gearing will give out before the 8 months of promised battery life... 😳 BTW, about the video: the intro was quite a bit darker than usual. I don't know if this was due to exposure compensation in order to show the clip on the monitor? Anyway, enjoyed the review as always!
Yes I turned down the brightness for the monitor. Overall it’s not a great video. Some videos are more interesting as ideas than they are as videos.
kool, these popped up in my insta feed this week and was looking at them. good timing as always. No way I'm getting them as it will ruin one of life's simple pleasures.
IKEA has a automatic system to close blindfolds I believe.
Just FYI, my Densha De Go! arrived three days ago. :-) Loving it.
I also acquired the new one for PS4 and I think I prefer the gameplay on the plug and play model. There’s enjoyment to be had from the simplicity.
Actually, automatic curtains I know from the theatre, automated doors from shops and trains, so, it has never been really my sci-fi dream... I'm sometimes thinking about a bit of automation, not for the sake of remote control or voice control, but to keep out direct sunlight, especially in summer, when I'm away, without keeping the house always in the dark.
And as a bonus, we now know what "Google" sounds like when spoken backwards!
It takes a lot of practice to do that ;-)
You may also make the blinds remote controllable as well. Fun fact: They used to have rods to turn the blinds around and a ball chain to pull them all to one side. The new models only have the chain to turn the blinds around and pull them to one side or close them. Reason being: They are also available controlled by one single motor on the side. That's tempting, isn't it...
I tried that - unfortunately the kit I used meant that they couldn’t be used manually, so I immediately took it down. The Mrs point blank refuses to use anything slightly technological - but it was fair enough in this case. Who wants blinds that only one person can operate via their smartphone and if they aren’t around then the blinds can’t be moved.
What't the battery life on it...nah just kidding :)
I'm glad it isn't just my wife who hates home automation.
There's no need to explain the direction (or lack of it) of your channel. The sheer randomness and unpredictability are part of its charm.
I’m glad to hear that - it’s nice to not have to get stuck in a rut.
Are they really loud? It seemed like it from your demonstration.
You know when they’re working - that’s for sure, but it depends what you call loud. They won’t make you jump out of your skin, but I suspect a cat would give them a concerned stare and might run out of the room.
Ohh my god man! I thought you meant it like “It’s curtain call for me, I’m done - goodbye for ever”! Don’t EVER scare us like that again 🤯😜 But thankfully you were just pulling yourself together ... sorry, this won’t stop now, you do realise that? 😆 Anyways, your videos were the reason I fell in love with YouTube in the first place - I always thought it was just crap content and bad quality, but after seeing your channel, I found a whole world of amazing content, so thank you so much for that! You and your videos are just perfect, and always makes my day better, THANK YOU! PS: I for one LOVE the puppets! 👍
I’m glad to hear that - I felt much the same about youtube in the early days...but there were a few people on there that focused on interesting topics rather than just mugging for the camera. Then again mugging seems to pay well - so each to their own.
Dammit.
ah it’s all coming together
Nyuk nyuk. :)