Things you will need:
- Particle Photon. Particle Core will work as well if you have one lying around
- 433MHz(or 315MHz) transmitter and receiver pair. You can get them cheaper (with potentially slower shipping) on eBay. The wider 4-pin board is the receiver, and the smaller one should be the transmitter.
- Breadboard and jumper wires
- USB adapter
- Micro USB cable
Steps
1. Set up up your Particle Photon (or Core) using this excellent documentation on Particle.io
2. Head over to Particle IDE and make an account. Need help? Click here
3. Find your Device ID and API Key and save them. We will ask for Device ID later to flash Hook firmware. Don’t know where to look? Click here
4. Make the circuit on the Breadboard. Schematic is shown below. You can use either 315MHz or 433MHz transmitter-receiver pair. We recommend that you do not use both 315 and 433, as RF interference may result in sub-optimal performance.
5. You will need to make following connections:
- Transmitter Vcc —–> Photon Vin Red
- Transmitter Gnd —–> Photon Gnd Black
- Receiver Vcc —–> Photon Vin Red
- Receiver Gnd —–> Photon Gnd Black
- Transmitter Data —–> Photon D3 Blue
- Receiver Data (either of the middle two pins) —–> Photon D4 Green
This is how the connections should look: 
6. Alright. Now, power the Photon and make sure it connects to the cloud (LED breathing Cyan).
7. This is the most exciting part – and most likely to fail as well – so bear with us. We need to remotely flash Hook firmware to your Photon. It is important that you keep your Photon powered and connected throughout this step. It could take anywhere between 1-5 hrs for us to respond, and note: we are on Pacific Time.
7a. Remove your Photon from Particle IDE.
7b. Send us an email at connect@gethook.io with your Device ID (from step 3)
7c. We will claim your Photon right away and flash the Hook firmware. Once we are done, we will remove the photon and send you an email informing that your Photon is ready to be claimed.
7d. Add back your Photon ASAP. Head over to Particle IDE and log in. Under devices on bottom left, use the Add Device button to add the Photon to your account using the Device ID (from step 3)
7e. New and Important. Power cycle your Photon.
8. This is it! Now, you should be ready to get Hook’d! Head to our development web service from a computer (Chrome is recommended) and make an account. You may not get a confirmation email upon signing up – this is normal. Please use the same email address that you used to sign up for Beta Program.
9. Once logged in, use the button Add Hook to add your Hook using your Device ID and Access Token.
10. Now, make sure your are close to Hook. Use Add Device to add a lamp or appliance connected using bulb socket or outlet. On the next screen, name your Device. Press the On button followed by the Off button with your remote pointing towards Hook. The buttons should show up on your screen automagically!. The status LED will also flash when you press the button. Name the buttons whatever you want to call them. Press Add Device to save your choice and go back to main page. Send us an email if this doesn’t work for you.
Here’s video showing the experience
11. Your newly-added device should show up on the main page. This page will evolve into the dashboard for all your Hook-controlled devices.
12. Add as many as devices you want. Come back to the main page anytime to control your devices.
13. Continue the discussion on Hook community forum.
Request for Feedback
- Thanks for being awesome and Beta testing Hook! We are looking for feedback on software, especially Hook-Device hierarchy and user-experience. We will be sending out a questionnaire and creating a Beta user discussion forum for you to provide us feedback and share with other Beta testers. But if you can’t wait to say good (or critical) words, shoot us an email.
Reimbursement
- We will be sending funds through PayPal once you have finished the questionnaire.
Notes
- You are not going to get huge receive and transmit ranges. The hardware you are running is not the one that we have spent months fully optimizing.
- IFTTT support will be added to the developed web service in early November. Come back here for more. We’ll email as well.
- Hack-a-Joe Labs LLC is not liable for any damage to persons or property, and by signing up for this Hook Beta Program you acknowledge that you understand the risk.
