Krzysztof kuhy Rudnicki
4286fcb019
Groundwork for the alarm-hardening work. No behaviour change.
- .pre-commit-config.yaml pinned gatelock-v0.4.0 while pyproject.toml and
requirements.txt pinned v0.4.1, so pylint type-checked against a different
gatelock than production runs. All three now agree on v0.4.1.
- AGENTS.md claimed ALARM_DAYS is "Mon, Fri, Sat, Sun"; _constants.py:9 is
frozenset({0..6}), i.e. every day. Corrected.
- Complete the CLAUDE.md -> AGENTS.md symlink migration that was left
uncommitted in the working tree.
- DOCS-speaker-recommendation.md: item 7 of the hardening work. Prose only.
Researched from official manuals/vendor FAQs. The deciding spec turns out
to be the power switch, not the LED: _alarm.py already cuts plug mains on
every exit path, so a speaker needs a latching mechanical switch to come
back without a button press. Anything shipping a remote has a standby
microcontroller that a mains cycle cannot clear (confirmed by Edifier's own
support article), which disqualifies it.
- Drop the stale "TODO: Specify your own unique Application ID" template
comment; applicationId has been set to com.kuhy.wake_alarm_sync all along.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01EckWmyfetYq3Mi8MAnUudh
4.9 KiB
Speaker recommendation — bedroom wake alarm
Item 7 of the alarm-hardening work. Prose only; no code changes here.
Why the software cannot solve this
A powered-off speaker is undetectable from software. Measured on this
machine: the analog sink is present and IDLE whether or not the amplifier has
mains power.
$ pactl list short sinks
61 alsa_output.pci-0000_0d_00.6.analog-stereo PipeWire s32le 2ch 48000Hz IDLE
Nothing in _list_real_sinks() can distinguish "playing to speakers" from
"playing to an amp that is switched off". Designing detection here would be
shipping a placebo. The fix is hardware plus the smart plug that is already
integrated.
The deciding spec is the power switch, not the LED
_alarm.py already calls turn_on_plug() when the alarm fires and
turn_off_plug() from on_close() — which runs on every exit path including
SIGTERM. So the "cut mains overnight, restore at alarm time" architecture is
already implemented; it simply has no plug configured yet
(~/.config/wake_alarm/tapo.json does not exist).
That makes one criterion pass/fail, ahead of everything else:
GATE — the speaker must come back ready to pass audio when mains returns, with no button press and no standby state.
A latching mechanical switch (rear rocker, or a volume pot with a click-off detent) holds its position through a mains cut, so the unit re-energises in the state it was left in. A momentary / soft-touch / microcontroller button has no mechanical memory and boots into whatever firmware defaults to — usually standby. That is disqualifying.
Rule of thumb: a remote control in the box = disqualified. Anything with a remote has a standby microcontroller.
Verified findings (official manuals / vendor FAQs only)
| Model | Switch | LED | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edifier R1280T ~299–309 zł | Rear latching rocker, no remote | Blue, front | ✅ Top pick |
| Edifier R1280DB / R1700BT / R1855DB | Has remote → soft standby | — | ❌ see below |
| Mackie CR3-X ~ | Rear rocker + front click-off pot, no standby | White logo ring, cannot be defeated | ⚠️ gate-passes, light fails |
| M-Audio BX3 | Front click-detent pot (no rear switch) | Front LED | ✅ runner-up |
| JBL 104 | Rear latching | Front ring around volume knob | ⚠️ auto-standby after 19 min |
| PreSonus Eris E3.5 (non-BT) | Front latching On/Off | Solid blue | ⚠️ ok, but see BT note |
| PreSonus Eris BT models | — | Red in standby | ❌ 15-min standby, up to 30 s wake delay |
| SVEN SPS-702 ~239 zł | Rear mains rocker, no remote, analogue pots | Single pinhole | ✅ budget pick |
| Creative Pebble Pro | RGB button cycles to Off | persistence unverified | ⚠️ unverified |
The Edifier trap, worth stating explicitly
Edifier's own support article (R1280DB/DBS standby): powering down with the remote activates standby — the LED goes off but the physical switch stays on, and "the only way to wake the speakers is to use the same remote power button." A mains cycle will not clear that state. So any Edifier with a remote breaks the smart-plug architecture. The plain R1280T has no remote, which is exactly why it is the right pick.
Disqualified on wake latency
PreSonus Eris BT: standby after 15 minutes, and waking costs "delay up to half a minute until audio playback is heard." An alarm that starts half a minute late is a broken alarm. JBL 104 has the same class of problem (19-minute standby), though it can be disabled via a headphone-jack toggle sequence.
Recommendation
- Edifier R1280T (~299–309 zł) — passes the gate (rear latching rocker, no remote, no standby state to get stuck in), loud enough at 42 W RMS, analogue volume pot so the level survives a power cycle. Its blue front LED is the one drawback → cover it with a LED-blackout sticker ("LEDim", biohac.pl, or any Allegro naklejki blokujące światło LED). Cheap, reversible, no warranty impact.
- SVEN SPS-702 (~239 zł) — budget alternative, same topology (rear mains rocker, no remote, analogue pots), 40 W RMS, single pinhole LED.
Avoid anything with a remote, and avoid Mackie CR3-X for a bedroom (its white logo ring cannot be turned off while powered — vendor FAQ confirms).
Analog, not USB
Keep the speakers on analog 3.5 mm, not USB. A USB speaker disappears from
PipeWire when its mains is cut and re-enumerates on restore, reintroducing
exactly the auto_null-only sink race that caused the 2026-07-11 silent alarm.
An analog sink stays present regardless of the speaker's power state.
Required code change (tracked separately)
_alarm.py's main() runs turn_on_plug() immediately before
WakeAlarm(...).run() — zero lead time. An amplifier's soft-start / mute
relay typically delays output 1–5 s after mains is applied, which would swallow
the opening of the alarm. Add a configurable pre-roll delay between plug-on and
the first beep.