Adjacent devices not neighbors?

[rleidy]

I'm still new to zwave, and frankly, the devices I have are just to build the mesh for communicating with my Linear GDO.  I recently installed a pair of Enerwave duplex outlets (ZW15R), outside on either side of the house front door, each in a single-gang plastic box, but with a metal weatherproof cover.  After a couple heal-network cycles, neither outlet lists the other as a neighbor.  I know that the metal cover might limit their range, but they're only 10ft-12ft apart, and they are neighbors to other devices that are much further away.  Is this an expected result?  Does a zwave heal restrict the set of neighbors in certain situations?  I think I'll prop-open the covers, do another heal, and see if anything changes.  Thanks for any insight.   

[larryllix]

Are your receptacle boxes mounted inside a brick wall?

[mwester]

And is the door and/or the door frame that's between the outlets metal?

[Teken]

Considering its not a Z-Wave Plus using generation 5 chip set you will need to bolster the mesh network. Assuming the device isn't in a metal box and covered you might only get 1-12 feet.

 

Many have used this device to bolster the Z-Wave mesh: http://aeotec.com/z-wave-siren

 

Often times you will need to exclude, include, heal XXX times, for the mesh to determine the best route.

[rleidy]

Thanks for all of your comments.  Reading between the lines, I'm hearing that normally the two devices should see each other as neighbors and that a heal would not discard potential neighbors in favor of a stronger route.

 

The outlets are installed in a framed wall, and while the walls angle out from plane of the door and so the door framing isn't in the way, the metal covers would be partially blocking the signal.

 

I do have one of the Aeotec sirens that definitely helps.  I might need to add another.

 

I'll try the include/exclude/heal and see if anything changes.  

 

Right now, the chain from the ISY to the GDO seem pretty good with 3 intervening outlets and the 1 siren.  I'm just trying to optimize what I've got.

[danbutter]

It is my understanding that the strongest route as you put it would indeed be preferred to something that is simply closer.

This is why you see suggestions of doing multiple heals.

The rf doesn't care if you are one foot away if it has a better signal to something ten feet away.

[mwester]

Also keep in mind that sometimes proximity is actually counter to a good signal.  Consider your experience at, for example, summer camp as a kid -- if you were at the front of the group when the team leader picked up the bullhorn, turned it to max volume, and started to shout something, all  you heard was "GARBLE GLURLGLE WLOP GLOD GOBGURLGE GLUG CAMPERS!".   Same thing with an RF receiver that's next to a strong transmitter.  (The common technical issue is front-end overload, where the signal basically gets clipped because it's so much stronger than the circuitry can compensate for -- receivers with higher dynamic range deal with this better, but of course they cost more... so what sort of dynamic range do you expect we'd find in an Insteon or ZWave consumer device?? )