Home Assistant Podcast From Alexa to Assist: NetworkChuck’s Smart Home with Frigate, UniFi, and AI
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Dec 9, 2025 
NetworkChuck, a YouTuber and former network engineer, shares his journey into home automation. He discusses migrating from Alexa to a custom Home Assistant voice, complete with a Terry Crews voice clone. Chuck dives into deploying Frigate for camera security, troubleshooting Wi-Fi using UniFi, and the nuances of local AI versus cloud solutions. He also shares hilarious stories about automating family life, such as preventing toilet paper mishaps, and reflects on the pros and cons of media servers like Plex and Jellyfin.
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Toilet Paper Revenge Automation
- NetworkChuck replaced Alexa after privacy concerns and built Home Assistant automations to stop his kids from flushing big toilet paper rolls.
- He used sensors, Plex videos, light effects, and internet shutdowns to enforce the rule when the lid or door stayed open.
Avoid Overloading Wi‑Fi With Cameras
- Prefer wired cameras or tune Wi‑Fi before deploying many RTSP streams to Frigate to avoid network collapse.
- Use UniFi logs (or similar) to analyze load and identify misbehaving devices before scaling up cameras.
Frigate Broke My Wi‑Fi
- NetworkChuck rushed-deployed Reolink Wi‑Fi cameras and Frigate while traveling, then discovered they overwhelmed his Wi‑Fi and paused the project.
- He later used UniFi logs and AI to diagnose the issue and got Frigate running reliably and integrated with Home Assistant.
