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    Antenna does not pick up MS in certain section.

    Guys, I have a darn problem in my home and this only happened just days ago. I have a section of my home where I can not register motion sensors. I had one working some time ago but then I noticed that a certain sensor was not deactivating. So I proceed to swap the sensor w/ a none working one but still I dont receive its signal. If I move the sensor closer to the antenna it works but not from a range of around 15'. I have moved the antenna from its place but w/no effect. what else can I do??
    Hector
    ____________________________________
    Win.2003 OS, HS3
    BLDSC,BLstat,BLRadar,BLRamdom,BLOccupied
    BLups,BLrain8,HSTouch,Ultrajones Weatherbug,
    MyTrigger,ACRF2,W800,Zwave
    AP800,Honeywell Stat

    #2
    If you are using the ACRF2 plugin you can always add a second W800 receiver to expand the coverage. I would also recommend unplugging any wireless phones as a test to see if these can be causing interference.
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    Comment


      #3
      Check out the "Boosting RF Signals" link on this page:

      http://davehouston.net/

      You may have some luck increasing the transmit range of "trouble" X10 devices by attaching an 18 1/8" piece of wire (1/2 wave for 310MHz) to the MS case, creating a passive repeater. I tried this with some DS10As and it does seem to make a difference.

      In my case the DS10As will be hidden under cabinets or behind toilets, serving as leak detectors, so the wire hanging off the DS10A isn't an eyesore.

      Don

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by dschoppe View Post
        Check out the "Boosting RF Signals" link on this page:

        http://davehouston.net/

        You may have some luck increasing the transmit range of "trouble" X10 devices by attaching an 18 1/8" piece of wire (1/2 wave for 310MHz) to the MS case, creating a passive repeater. I tried this with some DS10As and it does seem to make a difference.

        In my case the DS10As will be hidden under cabinets or behind toilets, serving as leak detectors, so the wire hanging off the DS10A isn't an eyesore.

        Don

        Hello Don

        thanks for the info, but Iam kind of confussed with the information on the site thats says:


        Our passive repeater consists of a single piece of 5/64" steel wire cut to 1/2 wavelength (about 18.25" at 310MHz - see NOTE below) affixed to the top of the transmitter housing.

        When it says cut to a 1/2 wavelength, does it mean you have to curl it??
        do you by any chance have a pic of yours so I can relate?

        How did you attach your to the device?
        Hector
        ____________________________________
        Win.2003 OS, HS3
        BLDSC,BLstat,BLRadar,BLRamdom,BLOccupied
        BLups,BLrain8,HSTouch,Ultrajones Weatherbug,
        MyTrigger,ACRF2,W800,Zwave
        AP800,Honeywell Stat

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by Rotech View Post
          Hello Don

          thanks for the info, but Iam kind of confussed with the information on the site thats says:


          Our passive repeater consists of a single piece of 5/64" steel wire cut to 1/2 wavelength (about 18.25" at 310MHz - see NOTE below) affixed to the top of the transmitter housing.

          When it says cut to a 1/2 wavelength, does it mean you have to curl it??
          do you by any chance have a pic of yours so I can relate?

          How did you attach your to the device?
          Rotech,

          don't let the techno jargon confuse you, the length is 18.25 inches as it states. It should be straight as well.

          but have you tried a better antenna with your w800? the radio shack 20-176
          antenna works great.

          btw: are you using rechargable batteries? they don't provide the same voltage, and thus could cause a weaker signal.
          Last edited by mnsandler; December 23, 2008, 12:06 AM. Reason: addnl info
          Mark

          HS3 Pro 4.2.19.5
          Hardware: Insteon Serial PLM | AD2USB for Vista Alarm | HAI Omnistat2 | 1-Wire HA7E | RFXrec433 | Dahua Cameras | LiftMaster Internet Gateway | Tuya Smart Plugs
          Plugins: Insteon (mine) | Vista Alarm (mine) | Omnistat 3 | Ultra1Wire3 | RFXCOM | HS MyQ | BLRadar | BLDenon | Tuya | Jon00 Charting | Jon00 Links
          Platform: Windows Server 2022 Standard, i5-12600K/3.7GHz/10 core, 16GB RAM, 500GB SSD

          Comment


            #6
            Hector:

            as stated above your first option is to improve the antenna on the w800, when I used the w800 I had similar issues to you which were solved by changing the atenna to something like this >> http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?im...icial%26sa%3DN

            Thats is ONLY an idea of what they look like.

            The VERY INTERESTING thing I find is Bert from RFXcom used to supply a really neat ground plane antenna with his units but I now see he has changed them to single ones... I will ask him why.

            Anyway, TRY a different antenna, make one if you have to.. you will be surprised!!

            TrOjAn

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by mnsandler View Post
              Rotech,

              don't let the techno jargon confuse you, the length is 18.25 inches as it states. It should be straight as well.

              but have you tried a better antenna with your w800? the radio shack 20-176
              antenna works great.

              btw: are you using rechargable batteries? they don't provide the same voltage, and thus could cause a weaker signal.
              Yeah, exactly what mnsandler said The w800 with better RS antenna is the first thing to try. As for attaching the MS "antenna" wire, a dab of silicone or a piece of tape to the outside of the MS case should work. I used copper wire (insulation removed) rather than the coat hanger per the link I provided.

              Here's a site to calculate wavelength based on frequency (in this case 310MHz): http://www.crompton.com/wa3dsp/hamradio/antcalc.html
              Last edited by dschoppe; December 23, 2008, 12:33 PM.

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by mnsandler View Post
                Rotech,

                don't let the techno jargon confuse you, the length is 18.25 inches as it states. It should be straight as well.

                but have you tried a better antenna with your w800? the radio shack 20-176
                antenna works great.

                btw: are you using rechargable batteries? they don't provide the same voltage, and thus could cause a weaker signal.
                Do you know the overall length of the anntenna? Is it big? I saw the pic for the item and it looks kind of big. I have to locate antenna in a closet or if push comes to shove it will have to be outside and I dont no if it will work outside ,having all my sensors inside..
                Hector
                ____________________________________
                Win.2003 OS, HS3
                BLDSC,BLstat,BLRadar,BLRamdom,BLOccupied
                BLups,BLrain8,HSTouch,Ultrajones Weatherbug,
                MyTrigger,ACRF2,W800,Zwave
                AP800,Honeywell Stat

                Comment


                  #9
                  Mr

                  Originally posted by Rotech View Post
                  Do you know the overall length of the anntenna? Is it big? I saw the pic for the item and it looks kind of big. I have to locate antenna in a closet or if push comes to shove it will have to be outside and I dont no if it will work outside ,having all my sensors inside..
                  Originally posted by mnsandler
                  the length is 18.25 inches as it states
                  TrOjAn

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by Rotech View Post
                    Do you know the overall length of the anntenna? Is it big? I saw the pic for the item and it looks kind of big. I have to locate antenna in a closet or if push comes to shove it will have to be outside and I dont no if it will work outside ,having all my sensors inside..
                    yes, it is kind of big. needs almost 2ft x 2ft x 2ft of space. I hung mine upsidedown in the attic
                    Mark

                    HS3 Pro 4.2.19.5
                    Hardware: Insteon Serial PLM | AD2USB for Vista Alarm | HAI Omnistat2 | 1-Wire HA7E | RFXrec433 | Dahua Cameras | LiftMaster Internet Gateway | Tuya Smart Plugs
                    Plugins: Insteon (mine) | Vista Alarm (mine) | Omnistat 3 | Ultra1Wire3 | RFXCOM | HS MyQ | BLRadar | BLDenon | Tuya | Jon00 Charting | Jon00 Links
                    Platform: Windows Server 2022 Standard, i5-12600K/3.7GHz/10 core, 16GB RAM, 500GB SSD

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by Rotech View Post
                      Do you know the overall length of the anntenna? Is it big? I saw the pic for the item and it looks kind of big. I have to locate antenna in a closet or if push comes to shove it will have to be outside and I dont no if it will work outside ,having all my sensors inside..
                      What I meant was the over all size of the radio shack antenna, sorry..
                      Hector
                      ____________________________________
                      Win.2003 OS, HS3
                      BLDSC,BLstat,BLRadar,BLRamdom,BLOccupied
                      BLups,BLrain8,HSTouch,Ultrajones Weatherbug,
                      MyTrigger,ACRF2,W800,Zwave
                      AP800,Honeywell Stat

                      Comment

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