Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Z-wave Range Is Quite Disappointing, What Am I Doing Wrong?

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    #16
    Is there another 900 MHz device in the new place? Wireless landline phones operate there, at least in the US. Try unplugging if there are. Otherwise have you tried a factory reset on the stick?

    Comment


      #17
      I have however only four devices all in the space of 10 meters where it uses a smart-stick plus (aeon Labs) but I have many connection problems. Here I had tried with a normal smart stick aeon labs but the devices were losing signal continuously then I changed with a smart stick plus aeon labs but I still have difficulty connecting or return signal from devices

      You may have a defective smart-stick plus and or a defective Aeon labs Z-Wave stick. Concrete walls are not RF friendly.

      Currently utilizing X10, UPB, Z-Wave and Zigbee. Light switches are UPB in metal boxes. All light switch boxes have a hot wire, neutral, load and ground to box. There is a UPB repeater in my electrical panel. Electrical is all in conduit.

      Z-Wave devices connect to the Z-Wave Me GPIO device and a Leviton serial VRCOP. Zigbee devices are still being tested connecting to 3 Zigbee touchscreens and 1 Leviton serial ZIM module.

      Here I use a ZWave dot me GPIO device inside of a RPi2 mounted in the attic of the home connected to the network via a POE connection. The RF range covers all of my Z-Wave test devices inside (to 3 floors down) and outside. ~3000 square feet inside. The Leviton VRCOP serial device in the basement also covers all of the Z-Wave devices. The basement is concrete sides and bottom and wood ceiling.

      I have read of modifications to the GPIO Z-Wave device antenna for better range.

      Have a read over here:

      Increasing Z-Wave distance for the RaZberry
      Last edited by Pete; September 20, 2016, 09:42 AM.
      - Pete

      Auto mator
      Homeseer 3 Pro - 3.0.0.548 (Linux) - Ubuntu 18.04/W7e 64 bit Intel Haswell CPU 16Gb
      Homeseer Zee2 (Lite) - 3.0.0.548 (Linux) - Ubuntu 18.04/W7e - CherryTrail x5-Z8350 BeeLink 4Gb BT3 Pro
      HS4 Lite - Ubuntu 22.04 / Lenovo Tiny M900 / 32Gb Ram

      HS4 Pro - V4.1.18.1 - Ubuntu 22.04 / Lenova Tiny M900 / 32Gb Ram
      HSTouch on Intel tabletop tablets (Jogglers) - Asus AIO - Windows 11

      X10, UPB, Zigbee, ZWave and Wifi MQTT automation-Tasmota-Espurna. OmniPro 2, Russound zoned audio, Alexa, Cheaper RFID, W800 and Home Assistant

      Comment


        #18
        If you have access to one, try to add in an Aeon Labs Siren. I am amazed at the range of its repeater in my home. I have one in the separate garage about 200' away from the main house and most of my devices route to it successfully even through concrete and stone. I was never able to do that with any other product.

        Comment


          #19
          Originally posted by Pete View Post
          I have however only four devices all in the space of 10 meters where it uses a smart-stick plus (aeon Labs) but I have many connection problems. Here I had tried with a normal smart stick aeon labs but the devices were losing signal continuously then I changed with a smart stick plus aeon labs but I still have difficulty connecting or return signal from devices

          You may have a defective smart-stick plus and or a defective Aeon labs Z-Wave stick. Concrete walls are not RF friendly.

          Currently utilizing X10, UPB, Z-Wave and Zigbee. Light switches are UPB in metal boxes. All light switch boxes have a hot wire, neutral, load and ground to box. There is a UPB repeater in my electrical panel. Electrical is all in conduit.

          Z-Wave devices connect to the Z-Wave Me GPIO device and a Leviton serial VRCOP. Zigbee devices are still being tested connecting to 3 Zigbee touchscreens and 1 Leviton serial ZIM module.

          Here I use a ZWave dot me GPIO device inside of a RPi2 mounted in the attic of the home connected to the network via a POE connection. The RF range covers all of my Z-Wave test devices inside (to 3 floors down) and outside. ~3000 square feet inside. The Leviton VRCOP serial device in the basement also covers all of the Z-Wave devices. The basement is concrete sides and bottom and wood ceiling.

          I have read of modifications to the GPIO Z-Wave device antenna for better range.

          Have a read over here:

          Increasing Z-Wave distance for the RaZberry
          Hello,
          I don't think there are problems of interference in that residence, but to be sure I made a further test. I brought the system into another residence with different characteristics, and after a few days it was all right, the problem was repeated losing the signal from the sensors with the appearance of red question marks. Now I will ask the replacement of smart stik January 5 but I have read on the forums that many people have had the same problem.
          Thanks
          Massimo-RenderCAD

          Comment


            #20
            Given normal operations both the Aeon and the Homeseer sticks work over surprising distances. I have and have used both. The Homeseer unit is more consistent was my observation. I haven't noticed that anyone on this board has been unable to make one work - it's certainly not a design flaw.

            I design antennas for satellites for a living. When there is a problem I always check the cables and the connections first. Use quality wiring. Use as few connections as possible - they all suffer to some extent from losses due to impedance mismatch.

            Comment


              #21
              After trying many different things to improve range and signal strength around my house, these are the only two things that have worked best for me -

              - Add some ZWave Plus devices in the mix. They act as much better repeaters even for non-zwave plus devices. Just replace the devices that are far from each other with zwave plus devices and they will act as long distance repeaters for all the non-zwave plus devices around them.

              - Extend the antennas in your current devices. Every wired ZWave device (that I've seen) has an 8 centimeter antenna wire inside. All you need to do is to open up the device and connect an exactly 16cm wire of the same gauge to that wire and you will see enormous improvements. The first time I did this, I literally noticed a 3x range and signal improvement throughout the network. It was the best thing ever.

              Nothing else has really worked too well for me, but now with these two modifications, I have fantastic end to end coverage around my house.
              Last edited by jumper4000; January 3, 2017, 03:56 AM.

              Comment


                #22
                Originally posted by jumper4000 View Post
                After trying many different things to improve range and and signal strength around my house, these are the only two things that have worked best for me -

                - Add some ZWave Plus devices in the mix. They act as much better repeaters even for non-zwave plus devices. Just replace the devices that are from each other with zwave plus devices and they act as long distance repeaters for all the non-zwave plus devices around them.

                - Extend the antennas in your current devices. Every wired ZWave device (that I've seen) has an 8 centimeter antenna wire inside. All you need to do is to open ups the device and connect an exactly 16cm wire of the same gauge to that wire and you will see enormous improvements. The first time I did this, I literally noticed a 3x range and signal improvement throughout the network. It was the best thing ever.

                Nothing else has really worked too well for me, but now with these two modifications, I have fantastic end to end coverage around my house.
                Very interesting suggestion. An 8cm wire would be 1/4 wave at 908.42MHz so the 24cm length would work out to 3/4 wave. A length of 1 foot (or actually 12.36 inches) would be the full wave antenna for Z-Wave.

                I might have to do some experimentation with this out in my outbuildings later on. Are you leaving the wire hanging outside the case of your device or coiling it back up inside?

                Comment


                  #23
                  Originally posted by bebaldin View Post
                  Very interesting suggestion. An 8cm wire would be 1/4 wave at 908.42MHz so the 24cm length would work out to 3/4 wave. A length of 1 foot (or actually 12.36 inches) would be the full wave antenna for Z-Wave.

                  I might have to do some experimentation with this out in my outbuildings later on. Are you leaving the wire hanging outside the case of your device or coiling it back up inside?
                  I've done both. Sometimes I coil it up inside the gang-box and sometimes when the device is out of sight, I've left it outside for even better range. Either way, you'll see massive improvements. Right after you extend the antenna, re-optimize the device and you'll notice 3 times as many neighbors associated with it. This is the specific wire I bought and the results have been fantastic every time - https://www.amazon.com/Hillman-Group.../dp/B000BPAI0G. I've only extended them by exactly 16cm though. I never tried anything less or more, so I don't know how much the results will vary. Let us know how it goes.

                  Comment

                  Working...
                  X