Motion Sensor RF Range/Time of Day

[B.A.]

Is it possible that RF range can vary depending on time of day?

I recently installed my third Insteon motion sensor. It is approx 25' from the nearest dual band device.

I have it on night only mode and it seems to work fine when I test in the evening but at some point overnight it

ceases to communicate. When I test in the early morning (In night mode still) it shows nothing received in the ISY.

As it changes to daylight, the Dusk/Dawn OFF is also not received. I have done a factory reset and reinstalled twice.

[Techman]

The Insteon RF (915Mhz) signal range should not be effected by the time of day, it's basically line of sight.

 

Have you checked your battery? A lot of us are using Lithium 9v batteries as they have a much longer shelf and life span.

 

If the battery isn't the issue you might want to try placing the sensor close to a dual band device to see if that resolves the sensor signal not being received.

 

What node from the sensor is not being received by the ISY?

[B.A.]

I was going to rephrase that.....I meant are there outside variable factors that would affect rf range.

Tried again today. It seems to function fine in the evening but then stops responding at some point before morning.

It must be a range issue as I took it down during daylight, brought it closer to a db device and put it in a closet...Dusk/dawn reported as well as motion.

When I brought it back to the original location, it continued to work.

It is the battery it was shipped with...about a week old now. Should I just replace it?

All 3 nodes are not being received when I am having the issue.

I'll change the battery and probably install a DB device closer to it.

I just don't get why the range would vary.

[Brian H]

Your RF Range could be caused by another device using a frequency close to the Insteon 915MHz. That is only active at certain times of the day. Interfering with it.

 

Moving a Dual Band device closer may help.

[Techman]

The RF range will be diminished if there are walls and or obstacles between the sensor and the dual band device. If the battery is only a week old it's probably OK but you may want to try a replacement just to eliminate that possibility.

 

The signal will also be effected if your dual band device is in a metal box (i.e. a switchlinc) vs. a lamplinc or an access point which have better antenna exposure.

 

You should probably try to locate a dual band device closer to the sensor or vice versa.