Raspberry Pi 3 Cookbook for Python Programmers - Third Edition

Getting ready

Great care must be taken when controlling devices that use electricity from the mains, because high voltage and currents are often involved.

Never attempt to modify or alter devices that are connected to mains electricity without proper training. You must never directly connect any homemade devices to the mains supply. All electronics must undergo rigorous safety testing to ensure that there will be no risk or harm to people or property in the event of a failure.

In this example, we will use remote-controlled radio frequency (RF) plug-in sockets; these use a separate remote unit to send a specific RF signal to switch any electrical device that is plugged into it on or off. This allows us to modify the remote control and use ...