Alexa my question, how to get a response using alexa skills blueprints or 'on device activity' node?

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1

Hi,

I am using node-red-contrib-alexa-remote2-applestrudel, v5.0.50

I have searched online and found, this from 2020, but I cannot set an empty action on my phone.

I set up a routine in the Alexa app without an action, (an empty routine if you will) and when I ask “What is the Freezer temperature” nothing happens in the app, but, I use the Alexa Event node to watch for “Freezer Temperature” in the JSON. I have a DHT11 monitoring the freezer’s temperature, I save it to a flow variable, then if the Alexa Event node sees “Freezer Temperature” she speaks back the flow variable (the temperature) using the “Alexa Routine” node.

In the past I have added my exact string under routines to my phone that I want Alexa to respond to, but I have most probably 25 that I have to laboriously type in.

Then Node-RED via the 'on device activity' node process's these successfully.

I would like an easier way of doing this ?

I have today noticed that Alexa has a Skills blueprints online, would this work and has anyone used them ?

The best way would be for Node-RED and the above node to work, but I can't see how to get this working ?

Any ideas, Thanks

2

Sadly device activity is very flakey.

You can use a virtual device such as node-red-contrib-virtual-smart-home (node) - Node-RED or node-red-contrib-amazon-echo (node) - Node-RED

You can set up routines that will fire a virtual device, you can use one device for hundreds of routines. By setting brightness in the routine, you can pick up the brightness in node-red to tell which routine has be actioned.

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