The Technical Difficulties Podcast

Support our Podcast and find the best deal on Zooz smart home Products:
https://www.thesmartesthouse.com?sca_ref=6284708.sXoXFTZinuqY

Pete's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DIYSmartHomeGuy1
Brandon's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BrandonDoyleMN
Vince's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DIYwithVinny

TJ Huddleston has installed half-million-dollar smart homes, lived in 40,000+ sq ft mansions (temporarily 😅), and now helps regular people build rock-solid networks and automations that actually work.

In this episode of Technical Difficulties, Pete, Brandon, and Vinny sit down with TJ from HomeTech.fm to talk about:

How he went from Craigslist ad ➜ professional smart home installer

What it’s really like wiring giant luxury homes (and living in the attic)

Why he left high-end Crestron/Control4 installs to start his own low-voltage & networking business

His personal Home Assistant setup: Zigbee, Z-Wave, adaptive lighting, presence sensors, Sonos, SDR gas meter, smart garden & more

The eternal battle: Ubiquiti vs Eero for Wi-Fi and networking

Why he’s all-in on PoE security cameras and 24/7 recording (including the story of catching a break-in when Ring totally missed it)

Real talk on Matter: what works, what doesn’t, and why he’s still cautious

Smart blinds, robot lawnmowers, smart toilets (yes, really), golf simulators, and where he sees home automation going in the next 5–10 years

🔌 Guest Links

TJ Huddleston
🎧 Podcast: HomeTech.fm – weekly smart home & home tech show
🌐 Personal site & links: huddleston.bio

🎙 About This Podcast

Technical Difficulties is the smart home podcast where:

Things break

We make fun of them

And then actually tell you how to fix and improve your setup

Hosted by Pete (DIY Smart Home Guy) with Brandon Doyle and Vinny, we talk to creators, pros, and industry folks about real-world smart homes, networking, automations, and all the weird tech in between.

👍 If you enjoyed this episode…

Subscribe so you don’t miss future interviews

Like this video to feed the algorithm robots 🦾

Comment your favorite moment or your biggest smart home fail

Tell us: Ubiquiti or Eero – which team are you on?

Thanks for listening/watching — on behalf of Brandon and Vinny, I’m Pete. See you in the next episode!

Support our Podcast and find the best deal on Zooz smart home Products:
https://www.thesmartesthouse.com?sca_ref=6284708.sXoXFTZinuqY

Pete's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DIYSmartHomeGuy1
Brandon's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BrandonDoyleMN
Vince's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DIYwithVinny

Support our Podcast and find the best deal on Zooz smart home Products:
https://www.thesmartesthouse.com?sca_ref=6284708.sXoXFTZinuqY

Pete's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DIYSmartHomeGuy1
Brandon's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BrandonDoyleMN
Vince's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DIYwithVinny

In this episode of Technical Difficulties, we sit down with Richard Gunther — longtime smart home expert, podcast host, consultant, and one of the most respected voices in connected home tech. Richard has been deep in the smart home world for more than 25 years, starting with X10 and HomeSeer and evolving through Insteon, Amazon Alexa, HomeKit, Home Assistant, and everything in between.

We cover A LOT in this conversation, including:
✔️ The smart home devices Richard actually trusts
✔️ Why he ditched Amazon Alexa for Apple Home
✔️ His very honest take on Home Assistant
✔️ What AI gets wrong about smart homes (and what it should be doing)
✔️ The most overrated and underrated smart home tech today
✔️ His early days with X10, Insteon, media center PCs, and CES
✔️ Why manufacturers still don’t understand the “smart kitchen”
✔️ Real-world smart home fails that will make you feel better about your own setup
✔️ The future of smart home automation — and why we’re not there yet

Whether you’re a smart home hobbyist, a DIY tinkerer, a Home Assistant power user, or someone trying to make your tech actually work, this episode is full of insights, laughs, and blunt honesty.

🎧 Listen to Richard’s podcasts:
Smart Home Show → https://smarthome.fm

Entertainment 2.0 → https://thedigitalmediazone.com

📱 Follow Richard:
Mastodon & Bluesky: @RichardGunther
About Me: https://about.me/richardgunther

Todays Guest:  @TheStockPot-AU  

Support our Podcast and find the best deal on Zooz smart home Products:
https://www.thesmartesthouse.com?sca_ref=6284708.sXoXFTZinuqY

Pete's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DIYSmartHomeGuy1
Brandon's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BrandonDoyleMN
Vince's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DIYwithVinny

Today we’re joined by Dillan from The Stockpot, one of the fastest-growing DIY smart-home and maker channels on YouTube. If you’ve seen his viral videos—like “Kmart Lied to Me So I Hacked Their Lamp” or his insane robot lawn mower airlock—you already know he builds some of the most creative (and sometimes unhinged) projects on the platform.

In this episode, we dive into:
🛠️ How Dillan exploded onto YouTube in just six months
🌡️ His DIY zoning system for heating/cooling with ESPHome
🚪 The legendary mower airlock that confused the neighbors
💡 Why 24-hour Australian Kmart is still a thing
🎥 How he scripts, films, and edits his high-quality videos
📦 What brands REALLY look for in creators
🐶 The story of his dog trying (and failing) to attack the mower
🎮 His next project: converting a mini-PC into a retro gaming console
🏠 The challenges of building a smart home in Australia
✨ And why sometimes you need to build things twice just to film them

Whether you’re into Home Assistant, ESPHome, 3D printing, DIY automation, PCB design, robot mowers, WLED, or creator workflow, this episode is packed with insights, laughs, and genuinely clever ideas.

🔗 Check Out Dillan’s Work

The Stockpot YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@TheStockPot

The Saucepan (tutorial + long-form): https://www.youtube.com/@thesaucepan

Project blog + kits: https://thestockpot.net

Todays Guest:  @SmartHomeSolver  

Support our Podcast and find the best deal on Zooz smart home Products:
https://www.thesmartesthouse.com?sca_ref=6284708.sXoXFTZinuqY

Pete's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DIYSmartHomeGuy1
Brandon's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BrandonDoyleMN
Vince's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DIYwithVinny

Join Pete, Brandon, and Vinny as we grill Reed from Smart Home Solver on the actual YouTube tactics behind his growth: how he plans titles and thumbnails before filming, why he sticks to quality over quantity, what saves a flopping video (and how fast to pivot), his one-week workflow, how he chooses products (and avoids junk), and the line between sponsorships and trust. We also dig into smart-home tours, analytics mindset (CTR, AVD, retention), second-channel experiments, family cameos, and a hilarious automation fail that blasted a critical alert at the worst time.

If you’re into smart homes, Home Assistant, Matter, or you’re a creator chasing better click-through rate and watch time, this one’s packed with field-tested tactics.

#SmartHome #YouTubeTips #CreatorEconomy #HomeAssistant #Automation #CTR #Thumbnails #Matter #TechnicalDifficultyPodcast

Todays Guest:  @SteveDOES  

Support our Podcast and find the best deal on Zooz smart home Products:
https://www.thesmartesthouse.com?sca_ref=6284708.sXoXFTZinuqY

Pete's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DIYSmartHomeGuy1
Brandon's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BrandonDoyleMN
Vince's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DIYwithVinny

Join Pete, Brandon, and Vince as we sit down with Steve from “Steve Does”—fresh off hitting 300,000+ subscribers—to talk smart home essentials, home networking that actually works, MoCA (Ethernet over coax), Alexa vs Google Home, brand deals without selling your soul, Amazon Influencer strategy, and yes… golf (including Steve’s Pro-Am story). If you’re into smart switches, motion sensors, Akara, Govee lighting, TP-Link, Chromecast, CES trends, or how creators keep videos fresh, this one’s loaded.

What you’ll learn

MoCA / Ethernet over coax: When it’s worth it, how to find your demarcation/splitter, and what speeds to expect.

Home networking setup: Where to put your router, why wired beats wireless, and common placement mistakes.

Smart home that sticks: Lighting, motion, smart locks/garage, and routines that don’t break.

Alexa vs Google Home: Reliability, setup pain points, sunrise/sunset automations, displays & Ambient Mode.

Creator playbook: Monetization, sponsors vs audience trust, thumbnails that revive a video, Amazon Influencer cuts.

Gear & brands mentioned: Akara, Govee, Chromecast, TP-Link, MoCA 2.5, Brilliant/Wemo, Yarbo, Rode Streamer X.

Hashtags: #SmartHome #HomeNetworking #MoCA #Alexa #GoogleHome #Govee #Akara #YouTubeCreator #CES #Podcast