Hey, I read your post and would like to share my experience.
My use case is a bit different since I only had the magnet dimmer, as well as a Q-Gen2, but the dimming works exactly the same.
That meant that I was not searching for bluetooth connectivity.
I use ESPHome for custom sensors/controllers since it easily works together with home assistant via wifi.
I already had a esp8266 and found a board for controlling 0-10V:
https://wiki.dfrobot.com/SKU_DFR0971_2_Channel_I2C_0_10V_DAC_Module
It uses the 8266 onboard 3.3V and does not need any amplifier/external power, so it was perfect for me (I don’t have any experience in hardware/electricity etc).
I got mine from a polish shop (Schwerkraft - 2-Kanal-DAC 0-10 V I2C-Modul - DFRobot DFR0971 Botland - Robotikgeschäft).
Then I bought a electric cable and the wieland plug from amazon (rst20i3s, I compared the picture with my sanlight magnet dimmer). Again, this was for my Q-Gen2 series, so I am not 100% sure which plug type the evo series uses - it should be rst20i3f.
The wiring layout is the same, I asked the sanlight support just to be sure.
(picture is from evo series)
The tricky part is not getting confused with the wiring and setting up the esp device correctly.
Remember the picture shows the lamp, so if you look at the plug dim- is on the left.
You will have to:
- connect esp with the board (cables included), I2C bus
- connect Vout with sanlight dim+
- connect GND with sanlight dim-
- configure esp
Here’s my config:
esphome:
name: dimmer
friendly_name: dimmer
esp32:
board: nodemcu-32s
###
# (default settings omitted)
###
i2c:
sda: GPIO21
scl: GPIO22
scan: true
id: bus_a
gp8403:
id: my_gp8403
voltage: 10V
address: 0x5f #I had to set this for my device, since the default address was different
output:
- platform: gp8403
id: my_gp8403_output_1
gp8403_id: my_gp8403
channel: 0
# this is for 2nd channel, but I only use the board for the sanlight
# - platform: gp8403
# id: my_gp8403_output_2
# gp8403_id: my_gp8403
# channel: 1
# I use light entity, so I can control % in home assistant
light:
- platform: monochromatic
output: my_gp8403_output_1
name: "Sanlight"
gamma_correct: 1
It was a lot of work, but also interesting.
Money wise, it is a lot cheaper than the official options. (and I dont even mean the 600€ Growcontrol)
- 5€ power cable (5m)
- 6€ Wieland plug
- 12€ 0-10V DAC
- 4€ esp 8266
So around 27€, lets say 35-40€ if you have to pay for shipping.
The growcontrol cable alone would cost 36€ (1m or 42€ 3m) which is basically just power cable + plug + rj45 and can not control anything by itself. They should not charge more than 15€ for their cable.
Not sure if the invested time is worth it, but I am pretty happy with the result.
Hope this helps someone.