UK Lock-down mirror

dubalda · Aug 25, 2020, 3:34 PM

Hi all,

Having started lock-down in the UK working from home and trying to home school my kids, this project has been a welcome distraction. I’ve finally managed to complete my mirror and have spent hours going through the various threads to get things working so I thought I’d share my final product. I was keen to use a PIR sensor to turn off the mirror when no one was there, and I have to admit it’s working perfectly.

These are the modules that I’m using:

MMM-PIR-Sensor
MMM-WeatherOrNot
currentweather
weatherforecast
MMM-MyCalendar - this includes our family Google calendar and UK Bank Holidays
MMM-Spotify
MMM-GoogleFit
MMM-TFL
MMM-LondonTransitStatus
newsfeed - BBC News and the Financial Times at the top and M25 (motorway) feed at the bottom
MMM-Strava

I did setup MMM-GoogleAssistant and MMM-Assistant2Display which worked well when I was testing the but I couldn’t find a good way to mount a microphone and speakers so decided to exclude them.

I got the frame built by a local carpenter and added a plug socket behind the unit, I wasn’t keen having a wire hanging down in case my kids yanked it! They’re still only small.

I received three different samples for the two-way mirror:

Pilkington MirroView 75/20 Generation Two (glass)
Pilkington MirroView 50/50 Generation Two (glass)
A generic acrylic two-way mirror

As I’m using a 27" monitor I was told an acrylic sheet will have imperfections/distortion with reflections and I definitely found that when I compared the three samples. If I was creating a smaller mirror it would be an option. I spent a long time deliberating between the MirroView 75/20 and 50/50 glass. In the end I went for the 75/20 as it’s more reflective in my hallway (and just a little bit darker). I was keen to get a good reflection even when the monitor is in place as my wife used the previous mirror just before she leaves the house. I didn’t want any complaints from head office!

Anyway…I hope you like it. Since returning to work I’ve found the MMM-TFL module really useful as it shows you which Underground lines have issues and the Google Fit step count is a good motivator to get up and going.

Thanks again to everyone who contributes to the forums, I found it extremely useful and would be lost with out it.

Cheers

cluelesscarter · Aug 30, 2020, 10:48 AM

👋 Hey man!

This looks great - I’m looking at Glass just now in the UK (I’m in Glasgow) - which supplier did you go with? Would I be able to purchase your samples from you or would you like to keep them?

robertybob · Aug 30, 2020, 11:48 PM

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robertybob · Aug 30, 2020, 11:49 PM

@cluelesscarter @dubalda I’m looking at UK Glass Centre myself and the Pilkingon Mirropane One Way Mirror, but now I’m thinking that’s the wrong glass to use?

cluelesscarter · Aug 31, 2020, 9:24 PM

@robertybob I think it could be right, the Pilkingon stuff is mentioned a lot on these forums from my research so I think it’s the best bet - www.mirrorsandglass.co.uk offer a discount of the price of samples on the final order so I think I might go with them and get a sample of each to see which type (50/50 or 75/25) would best suit my hallway lighting situation…

robertybob · Aug 31, 2020, 9:24 PM

@cluelesscarter would this not be a cheaper alternative to both of those? Or is it not as good? https://www.ukglasscentre.co.uk/mirror-glass/mirror-glass-security-mirrors/pilkington-mirropane-one-way-mirror

robertybob · Sep 1, 2020, 10:25 PM

@smartmirror said in UK Lock-down mirror:

@robertybob you should use a capacitive touch screen and mirror glass

But I don’t have a touch-capable device…

dubalda · Sep 2, 2020, 9:06 PM

@cluelesscarter Sorry for the delayed response, things seem to be hectic at work as people are returning to the office! I’m going to keep hold of the samples as I might need a different glass depending on the size/lighting conditions of my next mirror.

On a positive note I purchased them from https://www.mirrorsandglass.co.uk/ who will refund the same costs if you purchase your glass afterwards. That’s what I did and the customer service was excellent. I really wouldn’t bother with acrylic. Give mirror and glass a try, the refund policy for samples is really straight forward.

I hope that helps.

robertybob · Sep 2, 2020, 10:59 PM

This post is deleted!

cluelesscarter · Sep 6, 2020, 9:19 AM

@dubalda Thanks man! I ordered my own samples after I saw you can discount the sample cost from the final order - they arrived today and are awesome!