Aeotec zWave Doorbell

[HeritageOaksGT]

Has anyone installed the Aeotec Doorbell?  Similar to the Siren.

 

ISY994 zWave added it as a Siren rather than a Doorbell.  

I can activate it from the console.

 

Problem is with the wireless button.  I can't get it to activate the bell.

Tried multiple batteries as well as re-linking routine.  Nothing.

 

Any help is appreciated.  I filed an email support request with Aeotec.

 

[Sparks]

I'll ask the obvious question first.  Are you holding the button in your hand when you are testing it, becauue this completely blocks the wireless signal, for some odd reason.  The button must be resting on a table (or fixed to a wall, of course) when you use it.

[robl]

Got this device, haven't tried the button yet, as I only bought this as a z-wave extender and to speak key status phrases. I'll try the button and report back.

 

A different issue though - if i put the device close to the isy994 and turn it on, it beeps twice. If I move it further away, even near another z-wave extender device, it still tries to ding-dong twice, but one of them usually stutters.

 

So I hear .... ding di di ding di ding dong ..... then ding dong.

 

Anyone else run into this or have any ideas? Thanks!!

[robl]

From another post on setting configuration parameters, I found the following works on my main PC:

 

http://hostname/rest/zwave/node/ZW022_1/config/set/6/0x06/1 - plays sound #6 = "front door opened"

 

But when I try entering this in as an ISY network resource, I get "TCP client request failed" immediately. I tried changing timeout up to 2000 and tried get vs post, both fail.

 

Anyone have any ideas?

 

Also, I still see the stuttering, so I get "fro fro front door opened .... pause ... front door opened".

 

Thanks for any help!

[Michel Kohanim]

Hi robl,

 

Did you add your credentials (Authorization header)?

 

With kind regards,

Michel

[WGKirby]

I have the Aotech doorbell as well and would like to use it as a door bell (crazy huh).  I have not seen anyone say that they have got the ISY to recognize the door bell press event (on) so that other actions can be taken.  I can control the door bell from the admin console and from the button, If i cause the bell to ring by any method the ISY status of the device does not change.  If I manually query the device I can see the state change.  I have installed 5.10 in hopes this condition would fix itself but no luck yet.  Can someone tell me if I am missing something or if the problem is that the door bell is not supported as a door bell yet by the ISY.

[Broyd]

I have the Aotech doorbell as well and would like to use it as a door bell (crazy huh).  I have not seen anyone say that they have got the ISY to recognize the door bell press event (on) so that other actions can be taken.  I can control the door bell from the admin console and from the button, If i cause the bell to ring by any method the ISY status of the device does not change.  If I manually query the device I can see the state change.  I have installed 5.10 in hopes this condition would fix itself but no luck yet.  Can someone tell me if I am missing something or if the problem is that the door bell is not supported as a door bell yet by the ISY.

 

Hi WGKirby, have a look at my post about the doorbell ...

 

http://forum.universal-devices.com/topic/21144-aeotec-z-wave-plus-doorbell-gen5-zw056-a-making-it-more-useful/

 

In that post I have suggested that the doorbell parameter 80, if set to a value of 2, will report a doorbell status change to the ISY; you can see that in the ISY log. The ZWave device value ZWAVE-RX ZW010_1 is set to 255 when the .mp3 track is playing (when the remote doorbell button is pressed) and is set back to 0 when the .mp3 track ends.  See the section of the device log in the link above.

 

This change in value is not reflected in the status of the ZWave doorbell in the ISY. The ISY does see that change so the ISY firmware would have to be updated to reflect that change. Until this happens, you will not be able to make use of that very useful capability.

[robl]

Hi robl,

 

Did you add your credentials (Authorization header)?

 

With kind regards,

Michel

 

Perfect, that was it! Thanks!  

[robl]

Ok, so still trying to track down why turning on the doorbell gives me a double on. A double "ding dong" is tolerable, but custom status phrases like "front door open" repeated twice is poor.

So I'm diving into the ISY event viewer:

 

• When I press on in the ISY PC window app for the device, I get 2 dings. ISY Event viewer shows 2 DON 100 commands. Looks like it might be a problem on the ISY side.
• When I do a zwave network heal, after it gets to my doorbell, it says ZWAVE-DB unexpected NULL database for uid=3 0x03 and again for uid=4 0x04 on the next few lines. Googling this error didn't yield much.
• I excluded the device from the network, tried to exclude it 2nd time just in case, and then re-included it. The id went from ZW 022 to ZW 023, but I still have the same problem. A single on becomes a double on somehow.
• I removed all my other z-wave repeater/extender devices just in case one was getting an echo (perhaps impossible with this protocol), but that didn't help.
• I ran a node sync full, but the problem remains.

Any ideas?

 

Also, one other thing drives me crazy - often when I bring up an options window in the ISY program on my PC, the window contents get all corrupted. I can get them to fix themselves by resizing the window, but I'm tired of resizing the window all the time. I thought after my last java security update I told it to remove all programs and then did a fresh isy install, but still see the problem. Ideas?

 

Thanks for any help!!

[Broyd]

The doorbell parameter number 2 sets the number of times the .mp3 file is repeated. The default is 2. You can set that parameter within the doorbell using the admin console OR with the network module, you can set the parameter 'on the fly'. Also these parameter can be changed in a program if you are using a 5+ version of the firmware.

[robl]

The doorbell parameter number 2 sets the number of times the .mp3 file is repeated. The default is 2. You can set that parameter within the doorbell using the admin console OR with the network module, you can set the parameter 'on the fly'. Also these parameter can be changed in a program if you are using a 5+ version of the firmware.

 

Awesome, that did it, thank you!!

[Broyd]

Got this device, haven't tried the button yet, as I only bought this as a z-wave extender and to speak key status phrases. I'll try the button and report back.

 

A different issue though - if i put the device close to the isy994 and turn it on, it beeps twice. If I move it further away, even near another z-wave extender device, it still tries to ding-dong twice, but one of them usually stutters.

 

So I hear .... ding di di ding di ding dong ..... then ding dong.

 

Anyone else run into this or have any ideas? Thanks!!

I'm not sure about the stutter. I am thinking the device may be defective. I've never had that happen with the unit I have.

 

Is it possible that the doorbell is being sent multiple on/off commands very quickly?

[Broyd]

Also if you are going to start using zwave devices, try and find the 'engineering' docs for the device. Here is the one for the doorbell.

 

https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.freshdesk.com/data/helpdesk/attachments/production/6009584693/original/11%20Doorbell%20Gen5.pdf?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIAJ2JSYZ7O3I4JO6DA%2F20170511%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20170511T181005Z&X-Amz-Expires=300&X-Amz-Signature=cadc4eb960a5a9bbf2a0caf4eae8ac5ee2a5156b1085fec2c157208ad6ec0159&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=Host&response-content-type=application%2Fpdf

 

It's a .pdf so download and save it.

[robl]

Also if you are going to start using zwave devices, try and find the 'engineering' docs for the device. Here is the one for the doorbell.

 

https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.freshdesk.com/data/helpdesk/attachments/production/6009584693/original/11%20Doorbell%20Gen5.pdf?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIAJ2JSYZ7O3I4JO6DA%2F20170511%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20170511T181005Z&X-Amz-Expires=300&X-Amz-Signature=cadc4eb960a5a9bbf2a0caf4eae8ac5ee2a5156b1085fec2c157208ad6ec0159&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=Host&response-content-type=application%2Fpdf

 

It's a .pdf so download and save it.

 

Thanks! You read my mind, collecting zwave port/config parameter settings from posts and experimentation is tedious. Unfortunately, I get access denied on your link, do you have any other sources? Thanks!

 

<Error>

<Code>AccessDenied</Code>

<Message>Request has expired</Message>

<X-Amz-Expires>300</X-Amz-Expires>

<Expires>2017-05-11T18:15:05Z</Expires>

<ServerTime>2017-05-16T23:58:01Z</ServerTime>

<RequestId>681E6D06C61D4FB7</RequestId>

<HostId>

oWj24is2G5LbV9IUzyLWR8P8nX/mwlqX/kpP/aF6YPZW6bU6Wilxc3NCM4XPvT14vivmCOvYKic=

</HostId>

</Error>

[robl]

OK, ISY v5 beta or released can't come soon enough! Unfortunately, while still in Alpha I need to hold off or risk alienating my family with this hobby.

 

For the doorbell, this means I now have ~35 network programs to speak one of ~35 status messages. It's really cool. And really tedious. Speaking of tedious, I just received 4 more doorbells. That will extend the zwave network to the whole house and allow statuses just about anywhere. Unfortunately, 35 network programs * 5 doorbells = tons of manual work.

 

Can I use export/import on the network resources screen to do all the heavy lifting in a text editor?

 

Unfortunately, when I press export it slowly writes a zip file that is empty once opened. I tried selecting a network resource first, same problem. At first it gave a corrupt zip file error, then I realized it was just slow and I needed to wait a minute.

 

Any ideas on how to mass create network resources? Perhaps using export/import?

 

Thanks!

[Broyd]

Thanks! You read my mind, collecting zwave port/config parameter settings from posts and experimentation is tedious. Unfortunately, I get access denied on your link, do you have any other sources? Thanks!

Ya, I am getting the error on that link NOW as well.

 

Google is your friend . I googled for Aeotec doorbell parameters ... and got you another link.

 

I posted another link last night but when I checked it this morning, it was also access denied. You'd almost think Aeotec doesn't want you to be able to make use of their products! Try googling as I suggested above and see if you get a working link.

[Broyd]

By 'network programs' do you mean network resource definitions?

 

You can use substitution variables to change the .mp3 number (and the volume and number of repeats) in a single resource definition. You set the substitution variable in your program and then call the one resource definition in your different programs for different announcements. You will need a separate network resource for each doorbell since the zwave address part of the URL cannot be saved in a ISY variable, only numbers or hex strings.

 

See this post:

 

http://forum.universal-devices.com/topic/21533-can-you-use-variable-substitution-in-a-network-resource/?hl=relay&do=findComment&comment=209711

[robl]

Wow, wonderfull!! Thank you all, you've been very helpful!!

 

• Here's another link for the zwave parameters and it looks more stable: http://www.zwaveproducts.com/product-documentation/11%20Doorbell%20Gen5.pdf
• I didn't realize i could put variables in the URL, that's awesome! I got rid of my 200 resource definitions and now I'm down to 10 for my 5 doorbells. (1 is play sound, the other is set parameter)
• Yeah, I wish we could have more types for our variables! I've had to hard code the IP addresses everywhere (don't want to run my own dns) and it'd be nice if they were variables.
• Some of my doorbells showed up blinking (low battery on remote) even though I've never used the remote. The params document above showed my what port to poke to clear it. Yay!

Does anyone do anything fancy with their doorbell sound programs?

• For example, I have a variable called notifications_on, that turns on a 9:30am and off at 7:30pm and all my notifications are based on it. Keeps from waking us up.
• I'm considering  opening it up a bit, perhaps 7-9:30am and 7:30pm-9pm can still have it enabled but at lower volumes, and the one outside the kids door is vol=0.
• Any other fun ideas here?

Thanks again for the great help! I love the doorbells and it's made the z-wave network stretch across the whole house.

[robl]

Has anyone found a good approach to deal with echo'ing - multiple alert modules going off at various latencies?

 

For example, if the front door is opened, I have 4 doorbell modules that trigger a sound file "front door is opened". But, the program that calls the alerts does so one at a time, and I imagine the ISY994i has to do each one at a time as well. If I'm in a room with a doorbell, I primarily hear that and it's not a huge issue, but the main hallway that my wife is often in can hear all of them go off at slightly staggered times.

 

The result is a few second delay between the first module and the last module and fractions of that for the others in between. It sounds pretty horrible.

 

Has anyone else run into this and/or have any other suggestions?

 

One idea is a workaround for just a few of the most common status messages. I could make 4 sounds files and prepend some blank silence in front of each to try to even it out. Anyone have any 100ms or 50ms blank sound mp3 files? It looks like sox can chop them up, but only to 1 second boundaries ...

 

Thanks!

 

Rob

[Broyd]

Have a look: http://www.mp3-editor.net/tutorial08_how_to_create_silence_in_your_audio_file.html

 

Your idea about staging various silence intervals is probably the only idea that will come close to working. BUT be aware that the interval between Z-Wave commands (or any other I/O commands) issued by the ISY is not consistent or predictable when talking milliseconds.

[robl]

Thanks, that sounds like a good approach!

 

Btw, not sure if there is an issue, but the while download file passed a virus scan, it's just a wrapper to download additional install packages and install them. I declined all the optional shovel ware.

 

During the 2nd pass install, norton tripped on it, saying "Auto-protect is processing security risk Heur.AdvML.B". Not sure if it's a false positive.

[Broyd]

Ya ... I can't tell you if it's safe or not. I wasn't too happy about the way it installed either. It is the only freebe I found that could insert milliseconds of silence. I may remove it.

[robl]

Ya ... I can't tell you if it's safe or not. I wasn't too happy about the way it installed either. It is the only freebe I found that could insert milliseconds of silence. I may remove it.

 

Gotcha - thank you for the great suggestion all the same!

 

Hmm, if it's not already installed, is there any way you could make a 50ms and 100ms silent mp3 file for me? I'd be forever grateful!

[Broyd]

I uninstalled that program and am going to do a couple of deep scans just in case. I am still thinking about ways to do this, free ways. But it may take a day or so ...

 

A question. I assume you are recording your own messages? What program are you using? Can you leave a silent part before you start speaking that could be trimmed?

[danbutter]

Audacity is a good free one. You'll have to also get the LAME files to do mp3 files, but it isn't hard.

http://www.audacityteam.org/