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When Amazon announced the Echo Dot 2.0 at $50, I was ready to give Alexa a try. Since my young children were not tall enough to pull the chains on their ceiling fan, I typically ended up having to turn on or off their light or fan for them. After some research, I found https://github.com/arendst/Sonoff-MQTT-OTA-Arduino, which could turn an inexpensive https://www.itead.cc/sonoff-dual.html into a pair of Alexa controllable relays (one for the light, the other for the fan). I wanted to make sure the sonoff worked before hacking it. I installed the default EWeLink app on my phone and iPad. Unfortunately, it does require you to sign up. I then cutt a two conductor indoor extension cord in half, and connecting the sonoff in the middle. Then plugging in a desk lamp to it. Extension cords vary by country/region. In the United States, we have polarized plugs. The narrow lead is ‘hot’, and the wider lead is ‘neutral’. I would recommend following that when connecting the sonoff. I have a digital multimeter that checks continuity. “

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