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    #16
    Hi Thedude

    Wow that was quick

    Here it Is:

    1:

    Stock Tasmota:
    complexity to deploy: low
    Protocols supported: limited
    MQTT data : single alphanumeric data field
    Use case: if your devices are supported with the stock protocols.
    note: You'll have to use VSP associations to distinguish devices but once done its fine. (Or elevate? Not familiar with the option) Not sure if Digoo is supported here as I migrated to Portisch right away.
    ​​​​​​
    Tasmota + Portisch
    complexity to deploy: average
    Protocols supported: extended
    MQTT data : same as above
    use case: if you have unsupported devices with stock Tasmota.

    OpenMQTTgateway + Pilight
    complexity to deploy: advanced
    Protocols supported: lots
    MQTT data : parsed / decoded data (ex: state-open, battery:1, temperature:25)
    Use case: devices with multiple data fields, better data handling.

    2: OMG is an alternative binary/flash (see 3rd option in #1 above) you either use Tasmota OR OMG. ( Or both like I do. Adds some redundancy, and I've seen some devices supported on one but not the other and vice versa. If you only maintain one bridge i suggest sticking with only one brand of devices to ensure compatibility. Probably sonoff would be your best bet)

    3: data is the payload. On a motion sensor you will get a dîfferent payload for each signal but they are unique to each device. For instance "D7586E" will be received every time motion is detected, for another motion sensor it could be E6545B. And for a door/window sensor with open/closed signals you will get 2 unique codes.

    4: I have 2 units outdoors and they are doing fine
    ​​. If not directly exposed to rain I keep as is
    . Otherwise I just add a strip of white electrical tape on the seam. I'd be surprised if they fail. Had X10 in the same locations for years and they never failed. I wouldn't take a chance with a 100$ device but for 10$ its not a big deal.... Another advantage. I actually keep a hot spare just in case
    ​​
    Hope this helps. Cheers.

    Comment


      #17
      Please report back on the battery lifetime.
      I have a hard time believing it can run 5 years on one battery. In ideal conditions it will be possible (not to hot, not to cold). But winter and summer are really battery killers.

      Comment


        #18
        Thanks for the idea and the support. Without it I wouldn't be able to do it so quickly and efficiently. Thanks for the additional info as well.

        Here is some feedback about the Sonoff PIR sensor (RF motion detector)

        1. Don't bet on the advertised "pet immunity" I have two average sized dogs and they keep triggering it.
        2. Sonoff PIR does deliver on the advertised motion detection range of 12 m. or about 36'.
        3. RF range is about 100' depending on how many and what kind of walls you have.
        4. Battery life. The OMG guy Florian did evaluate the battery life and spoke highly about it posted online. He measured stand-by current of about 7 microamps which is really low and estimated battery life well over a year for sure. However, I noticed that Sonoff PIR motion sensor lacks some basic battery saving tricks widely used by others such as
        a) no option to disable the LED indicator, which is good for initial adjustment but not really needed in normal operation.
        b) no option to block consecutive triggers for certain time. If you have a party than this sensor will trigger every other second or about 1,800 times per hour. If there was an option to block consecutive triggers for say 2 minutes (as other brands do) than the number of triggers will be reduced to 30 per hour of partying. Each trigger activates the RF radio and the LED and consumes battery juice.
        c) no option to adjust the power of the RF radio or the sensitivity of the PIR, both can save energy and battery life
        5. It has parabolic mirror surfaces inside that I have seen in high end expensive sensors like the Japanese Optex. If they are plastic (which they are most likely) than only time will tell how long they will last, but so far so good. This explains the relatively long range of the motion detection.
        6. There are six pairs of soldering pads (no holes and no pins) on the PCB board inside that look like they were designed to accommodate jumpers. Nothing that can be used as is and no documentation what these are about. The device as is doesn't provide for any adjustments.

        Comment


          #19
          Originally posted by kriz83 View Post
          Please report back on the battery lifetime.
          I have a hard time believing it can run 5 years on one battery. In ideal conditions it will be possible (not to hot, not to cold). But winter and summer are really battery killers.
          This was from the original post related to the upcoming Shelly wifi motion sensor.

          If you read the description on the website:

          "Up to 5 years while constantly connected to Wi-Fi. Up to 3 years in rear motion areas (up to 3 times per day). Over 1 year in real usage conditions (6 hours of motion per day).

          So it will probably end up being 1 year+

          Which is good but the main benefit would be wifi capability.

          If someone eventually buys it, yes please report back.

          Comment


            #20
            Originally posted by Thedude View Post

            Here is some feedback about the Sonoff PIR sensor (RF motion detector)
            1. I dont usually count on such features from motion sensors. If needed, someone is better off with Blue Iris or some other camera + AI software.

            4. Agreed. However, once a battery operated device offers more than 1 year battery life, I'm ok with it. I just change them while i'm doing the smoke detectors. not sure this would make a significant difference anyways. Also check 6 below. The led can probably be unsoldered btw.

            6. I found the associated documentation a while back (below). it does include some battery saving features. You can probably solder the pads but not sure if the actual features are still functional. Tbc.

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            Comment


              #21
              Just discovered that Sonoff RF motion sensor is unreliable when far from RF to MQTT gateway Sonoff RF. Same sensor produced different codes when triggered several times.

              {"Time":"2020-11-18T19:31:35","RfReceived":{"Sync":12540,"Low":430,"High":125 0,"Data":"D7188E","RfKey":"None"}}
              {"Time":"2020-11-18T19:31:15","RfReceived":{"Sync":12540,"Low":410,"High":128 0,"Data":"C7588E","RfKey":"None"}}
              {"Time":"2020-11-18T19:47:27","RfReceived":{"Sync":12540,"Low":470,"High":121 0,"Data":"95480A","RfKey":"None"}}

              At the same time if I do the same experiment with a sensor that is closer to the gateway than the result is solid same code.

              This is quite disappointing. It is not a surprise that RF has limited reach. However Sonoff should've implemented some validation of the result (check sum for example) and issue a reliable reading. I don't mind reading "not available" or "too far" but to give me various codes for the same device is simply not acceptable.

              Now I have the dilemma to either keep adding Sonoff Gateways (have 2 already) or to switch to another motion sensor.

              Comment


                #22
                Quite surprised that the bridge would actually decode partial signal and return erratic values;
                All testing I did on my end would end up with correct signal or no signal at all.
                Did you try that exact same unit at various distances to confirm theory?

                I any case, my suggestion is quite simple: add an external antenna.
                I have used this approach since the old X10 CM15A days and it extends reception way beyond my requirements.

                see my method here :

                https://community.openmqttgateway.co...d-range/777/22

                or here for a variation:

                https://community.openmqttgateway.co...433mhz/1024/62

                If you use outdoor RF, I suggest the 1st option and placing the antenna in the attic, otherwise the second option should be fine.


                BTW, the stock protocol and/or Portisch only return single values which can become cumbersome to manage if you use multiple devices or more complex data like temp/hum sensors; if so I would suggest using OMG/Pilight or RTL_433.

                Here I have 3 RF bridges running perfectly on the same antenna : Tasmota/Portisch, OMG/Pilight and SDR-RTL/RTL_433

                I integrated pretty much any RF device in HS, including Motion sensors, Leak sensors, Door/windows, temp/Hum sensors, remotes, smoke detectors, old X10 devices, BBQ thermometer and all my neighbors weather stations etc. etc.

                let me know if you need further help.

                cheers,

                Yann


                Edit: Following wife's roadmap getting ready to order one of these guys, unfortunately sold out in minutes I guess... :

                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Gm5bBW1sRY

                https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005...60c67b30teC1g6

                Comment


                  #23
                  Looking for alternatives, I noticed that my older RF sensors by "Dakota Wireless" have much longer range. They do communicate to their own Gateway only that has relay outputs, which requires extra circuitry to import it in HomeSeer. Can I adopt Dakota RF motion sensors by using Sonoff RF Gateway?

                  Comment


                    #24
                    Originally posted by Thedude View Post
                    Looking for alternatives, I noticed that my older RF sensors by "Dakota Wireless" have much longer range. They do communicate to their own Gateway only that has relay outputs, which requires extra circuitry to import it in HomeSeer. Can I adopt Dakota RF motion sensors by using Sonoff RF Gateway?
                    Yes, potentially, but without the unit to test it's hard to tell;

                    first off they seem to use 433Mhz for their line of products, which is good news:

                    https://fccid.io/QK8DCMT-4000/
                    https://fccid.io/QK8DCMT-2500

                    did you try to generate code with you Sonoff bridge via RAW decoding?

                    have a look at the procedure to learn new codes here : https://tasmota.github.io/docs/devic...RF-Bridge-433/

                    otherwise, OMG or RTL_433 might be able to decode the signal natively.


                    Comment


                      #25
                      Well my question was kind of stupid to begin with. As with any RF communication the distance depends on both transmitter and receiver. Dakota claims up to 1 mile range for their newest 4000 series. Do they have more powerful transmitter or more sensitive receiver? Maybe both. This question has to be answered first before trying to mate Dakota transmitter to Sonoff RF Gateway. This maybe a mute point anyway as I asked the founder and main developer of OMG and he said that it won't work with OMG or anything else as the RF protocol is not listed or implemented anywhere.

                      Meanwhile I noticed that more than one of my 7 RF motion sensors tend to generate false codes occasionally if they are still in reach but further out to the Gateway than the other sensors. This was wrecking havoc in my HS4 as each false code creates a new HS4 device. I have reached about 100 (within one month use) when 7 only are useful. To be honest I've never red the Sonoff RF manual. I did today. I realized that I never did the "pairing" that they recommend and that uses a predatory Chinese app called ewe that asks for my phone number. The only thing that I hate more than spam calls is spam calls in Chinese. So I didn't do any of the "pairing" between the motion sensor and the Gateway. Is it possible that this may cause the aforementioned issues. Still Sonoff RF does connect to MQTT and reports detected motion so I don't thing I made a major setup blunder.

                      A bit of good news in a gloomy day I found an obscure feature in Big5 plug-in called "lock". I deleted all parasite devices leaving only the useful 7 and "locked" the Big5 MQTT profile immediately after that. Now only the useful information updates the HS4 devices no parasite devices are being created.

                      Comment


                        #26
                        t it won't work with OMG or anything else as the RF protocol is not listed or implemented anywhere.
                        I understand what he meant, but for simple signals (on, off, enable, disable, motion, etc) you don't necessarily need a complex protocol;
                        As long as a unique/identifiable "RFraw" signal is received you could potentially use it as VSP in MCSMQTT.
                        It is true however for anything that requires more complex decoding, like temperature, humidity, pressure, etc.

                        tend to generate false codes occasionally if they are still in reach but further out to the Gateway than the other sensors.
                        Again, unless you are really not comforable with a soldering iron, add an antenna: simple, cheap, efficient. you won't regret it.

                        This was wrecking havoc in my HS4 as each false code creates a new HS4 device
                        General options: just disable auto device creation.

                        I realized that I never did the "pairing" that they recommend and that uses a predatory Chinese app called ewe that asks for my phone number.
                        Absolutely not required, once the unit is flashed, all the pairing, decoding and management is local, no need for some Chinese guy to call you
                        If you already installed the app, hurry. wrap your cell phone in aluminium foil and lock your doors.

                        cheers.



                        Comment


                          #27
                          Thanks for the valuable input. Followed your advice and added antennas. The performance is much more solid now. No random device codes anymore. Unlike you I opted for hard wired pieces of copper wire rather than antenna connector (see the pic).

                          Comment


                            #28
                            Originally posted by Thedude View Post
                            Thanks for the valuable input. Followed your advice and added antennas. The performance is much more solid now. No random device codes anymore. Unlike you I opted for hard wired pieces of copper wire rather than antenna connector (see the pic).
                            Great news. Wasted a lot of cycles a few years back to find a solution and this was it... Glad i could help and save you some time and headaches.
                            cheers.
                            Yann

                            Comment


                              #29
                              Thanks for sharing the wealth of knowledge you've accumulated during the years. While on the subject can I use the Sonoff RF gateway (GW) to send information the opposite way.

                              Now the GW receives RF signal and converts it to MQTT message and sends out MQTT message.

                              Can I send MQTT message to the GW and expect the GW to translate it and send it out as RF command.

                              This is more of curiosity rather than specific application that I have in mind.


                              Thanks,
                              The Dude

                              Comment


                                #30
                                Can I send MQTT message to the GW and expect the GW to translate it and send it out as RF command.
                                Yes but didn't try it yet ; I believe you also need the Portisch mod.

                                https://tasmota.github.io/docs/devic...RF-Bridge-433/

                                Thanks,

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