Chevelle Posted March 4, 2020 Posted March 4, 2020 I'm relatively new to ISY but doing pretty well so far with automating my home. I have a whole bunch of Insteon devices and I am using a Raspberry Pi4 to run PolyGlotv2 with node servers for the few Hue lights I have and two Ecobee thermostats. Now I would like to add ISY to control several ceiling fans in the house. When the house was built by the previous owner, he put in separate hardwired wall switches for the fan lights and the fan power. GE makes a Z-Wave+ three speed wall switch fan controller. I bought two at first. One is for a fan in a bedroom upstairs reasonably close to the ISY (maybe 20 feet max) and another for my office downstairs which is about twice as far away. Try as I might, I could not get either to be recognized by the ISY. The window saying that the ISY is listening just stays there. I tried excluding them just in case, same thing, no response. I factory reset the dongle, no change. (My ISY is a month old, ISY994i ZW+ PRO). Here is a log but I can't make heads or tails out of it. I have three additional fans I would like to control if I can sort this out. Your help would be greatly appreciated. Elapsed 00:00:09.402 : Loading Variables Elapsed 00:00:09.868 : Loading Node Definitions Elapsed 00:00:11.886 : Loading Nodes Elapsed 00:00:12.259 : Creating Widgets Elapsed 00:00:16.698 : Creating Widgets Complete Tue 03/03/2020 03:04:47 PM : Starting Subscription Tue 03/03/2020 03:04:47 PM : Completing initialization Tue 03/03/2020 03:04:48 PM : Refreshing Status Tue 03/03/2020 03:04:48 PM : Refreshing Views Tue 03/03/2020 03:05:14 PM : [ZWAVE ] Factory Resetting Z-Wave dongle Tue 03/03/2020 03:05:14 PM : [ZWAVE ] Setting our application node info Tue 03/03/2020 03:05:17 PM : [ZWAVE ] Factory Reset of Z-Wave dongle complete Tue 03/03/2020 03:05:30 PM : Listening for Z-Wave devices to remove from the network Tue 03/03/2020 03:06:39 PM : Removing Z-Wave devices stopped Tue 03/03/2020 03:06:45 PM : Listening for Z-Wave devices to add to the network Tue 03/03/2020 03:07:11 PM : [ 3D E5 B0 1] DOF 0 Tue 03/03/2020 03:07:11 PM : [ 3D E5 B0 1] ST 0 (uom=100 prec=0) Tue 03/03/2020 03:07:37 PM : [n002_controller] DON 0 Tue 03/03/2020 03:07:38 PM : [n002_rs_lwdx] GV1 0 (uom=25 prec=0) Tue 03/03/2020 03:07:38 PM : [n002_s511815523131] ST 667 (uom=17 prec=1) Tue 03/03/2020 03:08:06 PM : Adding Z-Wave devices stopped Tue 03/03/2020 03:08:42 PM : [ 3D E5 B0 1] DON 0 Tue 03/03/2020 03:08:42 PM : [ 3D E5 B0 1] ST 255 (uom=100 prec=0)
simplextech Posted March 4, 2020 Posted March 4, 2020 You will need additional repeaters. Get a few repeaters or z-wave plus plugs and place one in the room with the ISY and include it then work your way out towards the in-wall units. When you hit a device that won't include but it's not that far from the previous device go back to the ISY and run a network heal and try to exclude the last device and then try to include it again. The z-wave radio signal strength in the ISY is quite weak so repeating devices are a must.
lilyoyo1 Posted March 4, 2020 Posted March 4, 2020 2 hours ago, simplextech said: You will need additional repeaters. Get a few repeaters or z-wave plus plugs and place one in the room with the ISY and include it then work your way out towards the in-wall units. When you hit a device that won't include but it's not that far from the previous device go back to the ISY and run a network heal and try to exclude the last device and then try to include it again. The z-wave radio signal strength in the ISY is quite weak so repeating devices are a must. I think I'm going to write a post with zwave tips. It seems like every other day we get a post with the same issues and repeat the same fix
simplextech Posted March 4, 2020 Posted March 4, 2020 30 minutes ago, lilyoyo1 said: I think I'm going to write a post with zwave tips. It seems like every other day we get a post with the same issues and repeat the same fix Isn't this already documented? Like EVERYWHERE? The only difference of the questions here with the ISY versus other systems is a tip of adding a repeater close to the ISY because of the ISY radio strength. Otherwise it's the exact same information for every other system.
Chevelle Posted March 4, 2020 Author Posted March 4, 2020 I went through many posts about this before posting here. I followed the tips that seemed to fit my situation. I saw that with very few Z-Wave products on the network, range was a problem. That's why I chose the upstairs bedroom as the first attempt since it was so close to the ISY. I didn't expect something less that 20' to be an issue. I guess it is. As the say, in for a penny, in for a pound. I ordered two repeaters and two more fan GE fan switches. I will place one repeater within 2 feet of the ISY on the same wall. One of the additional fan controllers will be on the same floor as the bedroom fan about the same distance from the ISY. The second repeater will be on the first floor somewhat close to the fan controller there. Will report. Again, a prominent sticky post would be a good idea. No one wants to waste everyone's time with repeat posts and answers. Thanks.
lilyoyo1 Posted March 4, 2020 Posted March 4, 2020 2 hours ago, simplextech said: Isn't this already documented? Like EVERYWHERE? The only difference of the questions here with the ISY versus other systems is a tip of adding a repeater close to the ISY because of the ISY radio strength. Otherwise it's the exact same information for every other system. I always add repeaters close by anyway as I feel the controller shouldn't be talking directly to other devices. Especially battery operated ones
lilyoyo1 Posted March 4, 2020 Posted March 4, 2020 2 hours ago, Chevelle said: I went through many posts about this before posting here. I followed the tips that seemed to fit my situation. I saw that with very few Z-Wave products on the network, range was a problem. That's why I chose the upstairs bedroom as the first attempt since it was so close to the ISY. I didn't expect something less that 20' to be an issue. I guess it is. As the say, in for a penny, in for a pound. I ordered two repeaters and two more fan GE fan switches. I will place one repeater within 2 feet of the ISY on the same wall. One of the additional fan controllers will be on the same floor as the bedroom fan about the same distance from the ISY. The second repeater will be on the first floor somewhat close to the fan controller there. Will report. Again, a prominent sticky post would be a good idea. No one wants to waste everyone's time with repeat posts and answers. Thanks. 2 feet will probably be too close. Depending on situation it could work but you want it close enough to capture the signal but far enough that it's not skipped over
mapeter Posted March 5, 2020 Posted March 5, 2020 7 hours ago, Chevelle said: As the say, in for a penny, in for a pound. I ordered two repeaters and two more fan GE fan switches. I will place one repeater within 2 feet of the ISY on the same wall. One of the additional fan controllers will be on the same floor as the bedroom fan about the same distance from the ISY. The second repeater will be on the first floor somewhat close to the fan controller there. You can read about my experience with the GE Fan Control here, including range challenges. Basically, I had to move a repeater (Gen5 siren) within a couple feet of the switch, add the switch to the ISY, and then move the repeater back. If you have to purchase any more fan controls, I recommend the Homeseer HS-FC200+. I had no troubles adding it to the iSY and the manual operation at the switch is much more intuitive than the GE control.
Chevelle Posted March 5, 2020 Author Posted March 5, 2020 Progress... I bought a two pack of the Aeotec repeaters ($28 each). I plugged in the first one on the same wall as the ISY about 8 feet away. No joy! I then plugged it in on the same power strip. (Before you get excited, it is just a simple generic strip. No filters or surge suppressors.) It is now about 3 inches away from the ISY. Tada! It worked. The other repeater is downstairs, located between the office fan controller and what will be the family room controller. The repeaters are recognized as is the one bedroom fan and the one office fan. I have controllers for the family room and the bonus room that will be added tomorrow. We're getting there.
lilyoyo1 Posted March 5, 2020 Posted March 5, 2020 40 minutes ago, Chevelle said: Progress... I bought a two pack of the Aeotec repeaters ($28 each). I plugged in the first one on the same wall as the ISY about 8 feet away. No joy! I then plugged it in on the same power strip. (Before you get excited, it is just a simple generic strip. No filters or surge suppressors.) It is now about 3 inches away from the ISY. Tada! It worked. The other repeater is downstairs, located between the office fan controller and what will be the family room controller. The repeaters are recognized as is the one bedroom fan and the one office fan. I have controllers for the family room and the bonus room that will be added tomorrow. We're getting there. What's your isy firmware and UI?
Chevelle Posted March 6, 2020 Author Posted March 6, 2020 The fan controllers show up as Key1, Key2, and Multi Switch. In ISY, activing the Key1 control can set the fan speed but doesn't report the fan speed. The Multi Switch can set the fan speed as well and does report the fan speed. So I guess it is through the switch that I should control the fan.
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