As of Home Assistant 2022.12 you are now REQUIRED to change any of your manual MQTT configs in the Configuration YAML file. Any devices that are using Auto Discovery or other automatic integrations are not impacted by this change. I've covered some of the changes and how I edit things in the video linked below. I also included two before and after configs below to see the necessary changes.

Before​

light:
  - platform: mqtt
    name: "Sink Light"
    state_topic: "tele/SinkDimmer/STATE"
    state_value_template: "{{ value_json.POWER }}"
    command_topic: "cmnd/SinkDimmer/POWER"
    availability_topic: "tele/SinkDimmer/LWT"
    brightness_state_topic: "tele/SinkDimmer/STATE"
    brightness_command_topic: "cmnd/SinkDimmer/Dimmer"
    brightness_scale: 100
    brightness_value_template: "{{ value_json.Dimmer }}"
    qos: 2
    payload_on: "ON"
    payload_off: "OFF"
    payload_available: "Online"
    payload_not_available: "Offline"

After​

The Home Assistant and ESPHome developers have brought us as promised the active bluetooth proxy! What is this you might ask? Think of a Bluetooth Proxy as kind of a Wi-Fi access point but for Bluetooth devices. This allows you to place a BT proxy across the house or even in the backyard to pick up temperature sensors in the greenhouse to controlling RGB floodlights to picking up the kids toothbrush activities.

Current list of confirmed Bluetooth Compatible Devices

I've tried a bunch of different methods to have some tube looking lights in the yard. I found some simple white wire loom looks great and is easy to keep straight. It has an awesome look at night!

I'm using addressable pixels on a 12v power supply connected to the LEDeez board from WantMoore.tech running WLED. Super simple to setup and wire up.

digiblurDIY Shorts​

digiblurDIY Video​

SwitchBot has come out with another battery & solar powered product to convert your existing "dumb" blinds into smart blinds. It's installs without any tools and controlled over Bluetooth from the Switchbot Bluetooh hub or right from your phone. Check out the video above to see how it works - to purchase Amazon or from Switchbot for the product information.

digiblurDIY Video​

myQ newer model garage door openers have these "digital" buttons where you can't just use a relay to act like the button is being pushed to open/close the garage door. I used a spare remote opener to control both of my doors without the cloud and keep it all local and reliable. In a later revision I will also be adding vehicle sensors to determine if a vehicle is parked in the spot for automating the doors opening and closing.

Parts​

Project Box to fit everything in and keep dust, bugs, etc out of.

The crew at Home Assistant and ESPHome have done it again! As of the 2022.9 release of Home Assistant you no longer need a USB adapter tied to the system. All the issues of USB drivers, passthrough, etc with the various install types are gone! Small and cheap ESP32 Nodemcus and other ESP32 devices become Bluetooth gateways for Home Assistant to use. YES! you can use multiple proxies if you live in a McMansion to pick up all of the Bluetooth temperature sensors, freezer sensors, and more.

Purchase: ESP32 NodeMCU or ESP32 POE Ethernet or ESP32 M5Stack

digiblurDIY How To Video​

How To​

Make sure Home Assistant is upgraded to 2022.9 or later.
Connect the ESP32 to the computer and visit the ESPHome Blueooth Proxy Install Site via a Chrome Browser

Reolink has upped their game a bit with the PTZ person tracking cameras. The have dual lenses to catch the action and zoom in on subjects as needed. It is quite a neat concept but being their first deep dive into this realm they have some issues to work on with the camera shake. Check out the video and still shots below.

Direct from Reolink - Trackmix POE or Trackmix Wi-Fi Or from Amazon

Pics​

Mounted​