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NiceThings

232 orders since May 23, 2019

Praha, Hlavni mesto Praha, Czechia

Ships from Czechia.

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Overall Rating:

Review Breakdown

5
18 4
8 3
1 2
0 1
0

Average Ratings

Product: (4.93)

Documentation: (4.78)

Shipping: (4.74)

Communication: (4.89)

All Reviews

Răzvan-Teodor | Feb. 11, 2023

Awesome

For Inkster - E-paper development board

I wanted something similar for my old Amazon 9” eInk screen, but the only option online was a project that didn't sell readyly-built boards. I am glad I found Inkster. Bought one right away. Works as expected and the delivery was fast.

Christian | March 15, 2022

Excellent Product

For Inkster - E-paper development board

First of all: you won't regret buying this product :-). It is well made and comes really well packed and supported by a community of enthusiasts for e-paper displays.

Why would you want this board anyway? Well, you could go for waveshare and gooddisplay boards and displays. You would then find out that the displays are very expensive and you will find e-ink displays much cheaper ($ 10 for 6inch and $25 for 9.7 inch). However, the e-ink displays (as used in amazon kindle or tolino etc.) cannot be driven by waveshare driver boards. Inkplate boards seem like a nice option but honestly, they are pricey as well.

This is the point where epdiy presents as a nice solution. The problem: you cannot buy these boards anywhere. In order to get one, you will have to let them be made - sounds easy, right? At least I thought so. But actually, it isn't (I needed like a week to realise so). Even though pcb assembly itself is quite cheap, many of the components are not available for the epdiy v5 boards and the v6 needs a texas instruments chip that is unavailable for countless weeks. Yes, jlcpcb offers custom stock of components but for that you would have to buy 1500 of them even though you might only need 10. So that's not a solution as well.

So with all that said there is only one way left - buy this board from Martin or solder it yourself (as he way so nice to release the gerber files to get the pcb manufactured and use the bill of material to collect the components). Both options have their pros and cons. For both ways, it should be appreciated that Martin not only 'tuned' the board with a nice rgb led and switches but also found and used components that seem slightly cheaper and better available than the v5 epdiy boards.

If you decide to solder it yourself you might get it to work but a) many components have minimum order quantities so you will end up with a lot of unused (still having to be paid for) components or you will have to make like 10 in a row which is only useful if you can use them all and b) you will probably have learning costs and components that you will destroy trying (at least if you're not an expert on smd soldering). And of course you have to calculate the time to make it, at least if you don't consider the soldering personal leisure time.

If you buy one of the boards here, you will have a really very well made board and much less worries. The github repository contains a nice example for platformio which will help you get started really quick if you have some experience. And most importantly, you will support the inventor of this board (at least the flavor of it) and appreciate all the time he spent on it.

And I almost forgot, the stl files for the case are very useful and well designed as well.

When you take your time to read more about how this hardware and software works, you will on top find a very intelligent group of people who share the same enthusiasm for the e-ink displays.

So as i said in the beginning: if you buy this board, you won't regret it!
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Response from NiceThings | March 17, 2022
Wow, thank you so much for the kind words! :)

Michael | June 17, 2021

Awesome clock

For Flora - WiFi IV-6 VFD clock

Looks and feels extremely high quality, not like a cheap handmade product. Build quality is top notch. Setup was a breeze due to the documentation and easy to use user interface. Love that it is internet connected and accounts for daylights savings time. Compared to my nixie tube clock, this feels like a product of the 21st century (besides the obsolete VFD tubes obviously). Seller was very communicative, shipping was fast. Overall, I'm extremely pleased with this custom VFD clock. Can easily highly recommend.

Adrian | Jan. 23, 2021

Brilliant product - got 3, want more

For Hugo - ESP8266 4-button WiFi remote

Brilliant product for home automation and other projects. "Just works". Cannot believe how fast it establishes wifi connection, obtains and IP address, and publishes an MQTT message. The delay between pressing the Hugo button to the action being executed on the IOT device is fractions of a second!
Give me more!

Henri | Dec. 3, 2020

what i have been looking for for months

For Hugo - ESP8266 4-button WiFi remote

The Hugo is super well made, and works like a charm.
it is really something i have been looking for for a long long time. i am so happy i found them.

Jonathan | Nov. 16, 2020

Great Product for Home Assistant

For Hugo - ESP8266 4-button WiFi remote

Absolutely fantastic product, just purchased three of these and got them all programmed and setup really fast with home assistant and Mosquitto MQTT with the quick connect feature (just remember to use the example config *exactly* as its stated!). I've been slowly moving away from MQTT over to ESPHome so if anyone ever comes up with the config please let me know!

Gunnar | Oct. 11, 2020

Fun product

For Hugo - ESP8266 4-button WiFi remote

This a really good remote control, easy to "program" / configure.
My only "problem" was to find a suitable battery since that is NOT included.
I will most like buy a few more.
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Response from NiceThings | Oct. 12, 2020
Sorry the batteries are not included anymore, this is primarily because of sourcing issues due to COVID. Feel free to PM me, I will be happy to help you choose the correct battery. :)

Nick | Aug. 15, 2020

Great device

For Hugo - ESP8266 4-button WiFi remote

High quality, shipped quickly and arrived in perfect condition. Thank you for developing a great product!

Jean-Jacques | April 11, 2020

This is exactly what I was looking for!

For Hugo - ESP8266 4-button WiFi remote

I stumbled upon the same problems as the creator, it is annoying to use my phone everytime I need to toggle lights or outlets. With this remote I can do it easily. The response time of the remote is more or less half a second, a little bit more when not used for a while. I might have to give it a static ip to fix this but was lazzy to do it. The configuration is easy when you know how to use the chosen protocol. I had troubles figuring how to use Domoticz with MQTT, between learning how MQTT works and some unfortunate updates that broke MQTT in Domoticz. I switched to basic url commands and it works like a charm now! Flashing the firmware is easy and well documented. The print quality of the remote is awesome and well done. Now that I have a 3d printer, I use it as a reference of what a well printed part should look like. I printed a couple of wall mounts and glued some magnets to the back to hold the remote it works perfectly. Easy to print. I may need mor buttons but I made some scenes and scripts to command more than one light our outlet. I've used it for almost 4/5 months and the battery is still over 90%. The only thing is that I have a bad memmory and often forgot what buttons does what... I should print another cover for the remote with symbols ;)
Overall, this is exactly what I was looking for, it is well made and well tought out and the price is in my opinion right. I could have done it myself but it would have looked way worse than this. I would definitively recommend it.

Claudia | Feb. 24, 2020

works like a charm

For Hugo - ESP8266 4-button WiFi remote

The 2 buttons I bought are exactly what I needed - sometimes a pyhsical button is the best interface :-) I could not find any other pre-made product with the same features and already considered to go for a diy solution. Therefore hugo buttons save me some time tinkering myself. I use the hugo with home assistant and the mqtt version of the firmware. The short documentation is fine - actually not a lot of explanation needed. Most of the setup is self-explaining. The button cases look surprisingly neat and professional for a 3d printed product.

Ivan | Feb. 18, 2020

all good!

For PINKY32 - Tiny STM32F030 development board

Everything fine, better than expected, really quick shipping, good packaging plus welcome email for contacts!

Jeff | Feb. 6, 2020

Excellent device.

For Hugo - ESP8266 4-button WiFi remote

The Hugo is the perfect and better alternative to hacked (and now retired) Dash buttons. I quickly set it up with MQTT to talk to Home Assistant and it works great. Very responsive to button presses. And it's nice having multiple buttons on a single device.

Very nice 3D printed case, so it looks great. The seller shipped it very quickly. It took a couple weeks to get to the US, but that is to be expected with international shipping. Overall I'm very happy!

Joël | Feb. 4, 2020

Great Seller, great product

For Hugo - ESP8266 4-button WiFi remote

Seller (Martin) is very communicative and friendly.
Product works intuitive and there is good documentation available.
Haven't had the chance to use/program it for its intended use, but the standard code works great.
Easy to configure without any coding necessary.
Next up, (re)writing some code, for my specific needs.

Thank you Martin!

Brian | Jan. 27, 2020

Excellent devices; highly recommended

For Hugo - ESP8266 4-button WiFi remote

I ordered two devices for me to use to control my automated blinds. The form factor is perfect; I love that I can print out a new case if the current one gets messed up; I love that the battery seems to last forever compared to my old zwave minimotes (that cost roughly more, and I wore the buttons out and battery out). Highly recommend it you're into home automation and have the ability to leverage mqtt or URL's to perform actions (currently using Hubitat with the MakerAPI). Only negative is the shipping cost, but it's being shipped across the world so not much he can do there).

Jacob | Jan. 14, 2020

Great little device with wonderful style and support.

For Hugo - ESP8266 4-button WiFi remote

Although it's a little bigger than I first imagined, the Hugo is actually just the right size and fits perfectly in your hand. The 3D-printed case is very high quality and only shows it's origins under close inspection.
Despite some problems that were caused entirely by me, the seller was very helpful in getting everything working.
Overall I'm very happy with the Hugo, and plan to buy several more.

Phillip | Jan. 7, 2020

Excellent all around

For Hugo - ESP8266 4-button WiFi remote

This product was exactly as advertised. Quality 3d printing looks lovely, the device works exactly as it should, with all the firmware options on the sellers github. Coming from 1/2 way around the world the shipping was pretty fast, and the seller made sure I knew immediately that with standard shipping it wouldn't likely make it for Christmas - which didn't matter for me but I greatly appreciated him checking in.

Will buy again if the need arrises.

Walter | Dec. 24, 2019

Just excellent !

For Hugo - ESP8266 4-button WiFi remote

I'd been looking for quite a while for a battery-powered WiFi-based button whose battery doesn't run out after one day on standby. There's plenty of Bluetooth stuff around, but I prefer WiFi for various reasons. So far no luck - and then I found Tindie and the Hugo, and the positive reviews inspired confidence.

This device is just excellent: a nice finish, a solid feel (not 'heavy', just solid, not flimsy at all), and it works like a charm. I'm using the MQTT mode of operation and it took me half an hour or so to get everything up and running; most of that time was spent tweaking my home grown program as that's where an issue existed - the Hugo did exactly what it was supposed to do.

Setting it up is a breeze: just follow the instructions that Martin published on Github and your Hugo will be setup and ready to rock in a couple of minutes. Quick summary of the MQTT environment: 4 buttons + 3 combinations of 2 buttons = 7 unique (or identical, whatever floats your boat, they're all configurable) MQTT topics and values that can be configured to be recognised by your software. An additional topic can be specified for the battery level, which is then communicated to the broker as well whenever a key is pressed - very useful for keeping an eye on that battery level.

On top of all that there's fast shipping and perfect communication; bottom line is: highly recommended !

Tom | Dec. 23, 2019

this thing is great !

For Hugo - ESP8266 4-button WiFi remote

There's a good reason why the Hugo is perpetually out-of-stock... it's a well-designed board, in a handsome package, at low price.
I have 2 of them, they are controlling a bunch of Home Assistant automations over MQTT.

Andreas | Dec. 12, 2019

Great product, very nice seller!

For Hugo - ESP8266 4-button WiFi remote

I bought 5 and could set up all of them in 1 or 2 minutes each. It seems they are even able to communicate via https - I could not confirm that so far because I use HSTS and the HSTS protocol is a bit particular.

I also like the grey / white / beige case, it would be great if we could see an enclosure here.

Martin was very helpful and nice in all mails we exchanged: Thank you very much!

James | Nov. 27, 2019

Great device!

For Hugo - ESP8266 4-button WiFi remote

Very pleased with the Hugo. Came packaged well and I was able to get it up and running in 10 mins. or so with MQTT+Home Assistant. Was contacted by seller to let me know an updated firmware was available. Would definitely buy again.

Matic | Nov. 21, 2019

Hugo is great!

For Hugo - ESP8266 4-button WiFi remote

Its very nice combo of software and hardware and is working amazingly! Author was very helpful in communication, so I would very much reccomend the the Hugo as a great pruduct.

Pierre | Nov. 8, 2019

Love it!

For Hugo - ESP8266 4-button WiFi remote

Was looking for a simple remote with MQTT for a while. Don't like soldering and didn't want to get to deep in the whole ESP8266 and arduino world.
That remote does exactly what its supposed to do and I simply love it! Setup is easy.
You can tell this was done with love an passion!

The only thing that can be improved is the case. Could be a bit softer, especially around the edges. I used a fine sandpaper to make it a little smoother :)
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Response from NiceThings | Nov. 8, 2019
Glad you enjoy it! The filaments with particles are a bit rough on touch, especially the white one. I personally like it's stone-ish feel :)

David | Oct. 30, 2019

Great WiFi remote

For Hugo - ESP8266 4-button WiFi remote

Very versatile, well thought through product that can be used for so many things. Can easily link to home automation projects. With combination of pushes the 4 buttons give you 7 events. Rechargable, looks and feels good. Would recommend. Unfortunately there is a wait for delivery right now - I guess because they are so popular.

Michael | Aug. 26, 2019

Great product, very professional quality, great service

For Hugo - ESP8266 4-button WiFi remote

I bought a couple of these to work with my home automation system using MQTT.
I am firstly impressed by the quality of the product - both the internal hardware on the board as well as the enclosure and magnetic mounting are well finished.
The firmware was straightforward and easy to understand and configure. Also easy to re-flash if needed.
Once set up it operates exactly as expected and is completely reliable so far after a couple of days usage.
I found that the seller was very helpful in explaining the options for shipping, communicative and delivered promptly.
Overall a professional experience and would definitely recommend!

Olivier | Aug. 23, 2019

Great device

For Hugo - ESP8266 4-button WiFi remote

Great device with excellent support from Martin. Battery is chargable with micro USB and he is working on full integration with Home Assistant.
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Response from NiceThings | Aug. 26, 2019
Actually it's done now. MQTT firmware now supports Home Assistant discovery :)

Chirag | July 24, 2019

Flawless product

For Hugo - ESP8266 4-button WiFi remote

Works as intended
Open source software & amazing documentation allows lots of customization

Thank you Martin

Maximilian | June 9, 2019

Sleeping ESP wakes on button press...

For Hugo - ESP8266 4-button WiFi remote

...and allows to read which button was pressed.
This makes together with the auto-flash circuit a pretty nifty board.
I already integrated it into my home network.
And the author gave me some tips and hints for that.
So, nothing less than 5 stars!
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