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    Potential Vera Refugee with Questions

    Hello all.

    Long time Vera user who is getting very frustrated with it.

    I've downloaded HS3 and ordered a dongle to try it out. I do have some questions, some perhaps best answered by former Vera users:


    1. I have a CentOS box that runs 24x7 that I put HS3 on. That being said, which is better overall - PC or hardware controller?

    2. I use PLEG a lot on Vera. How does HS3 compare in terms of capability to PLEG? For example, in PLEG, I have a Schlage lock the door 5 minutes after the door sensor reads closed. I believe this is easily do-able in HS3, but would like confirmation on how well PLEG actions translated to HS3.

    3. Much of my frustration around Vera centers on the controller's inability to run well. Frequent restarts, the storage in /mios is full, and it's apparently so busy that it's missing events from door/window sensors - causing it to believe that doors that are actually closed are open. I'm hoping that either the dedicated controller or a Linux PC running the software won't subject me to the same misery?

    4. I'm thinking that migrating devices one-by-one to HS from Vera is the best bet. Comments?

    5. Anything else I should know?


    Thanks!

    #2
    Welcome to the forum!

    As an Ex-vera user I can tell you, once you get HS figured out you will wonder why you fought with vera as long as you did. The only limitation Homeseer has is your imagination....

    You can do everything in HS that you could do with PLEG and more... It does take a lot more building from scratch. (unlike vera's built in home, away, vacation etc.) But you can build all of it in HS. It does take time however. The users on this forum are super helpful, have truckloads of knowledge, and are happy to help...

    moving one hardware item/room at a time worked out fine for me, and is probably the best choice. you can build events, rooms etc. as you go.
    Last edited by wadesready; March 28, 2018, 12:48 PM. Reason: needed to

    Comment


      #3
      I am another possible Vera refugee....

      I thought I had seen someone say you could back up your z-wave network on vera and restore it to one of the USB controllers on Vera and make it your primary, thus using your entire existing network on Vera but using the external zwave stick. Then you could plug that same zwave stick into a machine for HS and move your whole zwave network over at once.

      If that is the case it might be nice (for me at least) to do it that way and as I have time to work on building HS, plug it in and work for a bit. When I'm done, plug it back into vera and keep on the way I have been just using the system, making no changes of course. Once I feel I have a significant baseline done with HS...just never plug it back in to vera and continue to make changes in HS.

      Of course, I might just make it harder on myself doing it that way.

      Comment


        #4
        I also came from Vera and understand your pain. It seemed like i was constantly trying to fix things and keep it running reliably. The thing I was struggling with most was delay on the system. With HS I am using the HS Znet and everything is pretty much instantaneous.

        HS has been much more reliable and once something is working it generally stays working. (There has been a rare instance when I had to update a Plug-in to get something back working due to changes external to HS, such as a plugin that uses Find my iPhone)

        As Wadesready mentioned, there are no prebuilt home modes; but you have the capability of creating virtual devices that allow tons of potential. There was a slight learning curve for me also (just because things are a little different). But if you have built a decent sized system in Vera, you have the capability to learn HS and build the same (if not better).

        1. I am just running HS on my Home computer that I also use for Blueiris, Watching movies, and other things. I intend to buy a dedicated computer eventually, but it is running fine this way.

        2. I also owned PLEG when I had Vera. I can say I have had to do very little scripting in HS. I did recently purchase Spud's EasyTrigger which gives you a few nice options, but I got along fine without it for years until I tried to do a bedside alarm clock and needed a few comparisons. FWIW Scripting is about the same in either. I have been able to find examples of what I want to do and easily modify them to fit my needs.

        3. I had the same problems, but non-dedicated Windows 7 Machine with the ZNet has been much better than Vera.

        4. I had about 60 Physical devices when I swapped over and I just took a day and did them all. It took me a coupe days (of evenings) to get the majority back and then a week or two of evenings to get beyond where I originally was, but it was not reliable before so I just figured I would do it all at once.

        5. There were some excellent videos put out by HS that got me started pretty quickly I think there is a link near the bottom of the support page. I would recommend you watch them. https://homeseer.com/support-home/


        Lastly: Things here are not perfect either. My system is not 100% reliable (but I would say mine moved to 98%+ from about 80% on Vera and I have added quite a few more devices). There are a few bugs that pop up from time to time in the upgrades. One of my complaints is the lack of documentation on the Plugins, but since you get to try them for free for a month I can determine if they meet my needs before buying. But, I am happy here and can't see moving to another controller.

        This system does cost more than Vera, Especially when you start adding Plug-Ins, but for me I was happy to pay a little more for the additional reliability.

        Comment


          #5
          Another potential refugee

          I too am looking to move away from Vera. I've tried a bunch. Wink, SmartThings, Vera, Home Assistant, Vera+Home Assistant. So far the Vera+Home assistant has been the best combination, of using Vera as a z-wave/zigbee controller and doing everything else in Home Assistant. But even HA has it's limitations and stability since it is still very young.

          Can anyone tell me how I can add Zigbee Motion detectors into HomeSeer? That's is the only thing I REALLY need, or tell me a suitable z-wave replacement for NYCE Ceiling Motion Sensor. Those are the best little motion sensors I've found but they are Zigbee.

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by jeubanks View Post
            Can anyone tell me how I can add Zigbee Motion detectors into HomeSeer? That's is the only thing I REALLY need, or tell me a suitable z-wave replacement for NYCE Ceiling Motion Sensor. Those are the best little motion sensors I've found but they are Zigbee.
            There is a Zigbee plug-in, but I have no experience with it or any information on how it works. You should probably try asking your question in that forum.
            https://forums.homeseer.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1524
            Mike____________________________________________________________ __________________
            HS3 Pro Edition 3.0.0.548, NUC i3

            HW: Stargate | NX8e | CAV6.6 | Squeezebox | PCS | WGL 800RF | RFXCOM | Vantage Pro | Green-Eye | Edgeport/8 | Way2Call | Ecobee3 | EtherRain | Ubiquiti

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by jeubanks View Post
              I too am looking to move away from Vera. I've tried a bunch. Wink, SmartThings, Vera, Home Assistant, Vera+Home Assistant. So far the Vera+Home assistant has been the best combination, of using Vera as a z-wave/zigbee controller and doing everything else in Home Assistant. But even HA has it's limitations and stability since it is still very young.

              Can anyone tell me how I can add Zigbee Motion detectors into HomeSeer? That's is the only thing I REALLY need, or tell me a suitable z-wave replacement for NYCE Ceiling Motion Sensor. Those are the best little motion sensors I've found but they are Zigbee.
              jeubanks,

              In combination with the deCONZ gateway (raspbee or conbee) you can use many different kinds of zigbee lights and sensors with the JowiHue plugin. The Philips motion sensor is supported, the Ikea motion sensors and also the Aqara motion sensor other brands are also known to work. The deCONZ is still in strong development, so if the NYCE motion sensor is standard HA 1.2 Zigbee3 compabitible the gateway will be able to support it, maybe with some development needed by dresden.
              Once the gateway supports it, the JowiHue plugin will either support it already (expected for any motion sensor) or I will follow up soon.

              For more info check the forum for JoiwHue: https://forums.homeseer.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1227

              Thanks
              Wim
              Last edited by w.vuyk; April 4, 2018, 01:46 PM.
              -- Wim

              Plugins: JowiHue, RFXCOM, Sonos4, Jon00's Perfmon and Network monitor, EasyTrigger, Pushover 3P, rnbWeather, BLBackup, AK SmartDevice, Pushover, PHLocation, Zwave, GCalseer, SDJ-Health, Device History, BLGData

              1210 devices/features ---- 392 events ----- 40 scripts

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by w.vuyk View Post
                jeubanks,

                In combination with the deCONZ gateway (raspbee or conbee) you can use many different kinds of zigbee lights and sensors with the JowiHue plugin. The Philips motion sensor is supported, the Ikea motion sensors and also the Aqara motion sensor other brands are also known to work. The deCONZ is still in strong development, so if the NYCE motion sensor is standard HA 1.2 Zigbee3 compabitible the gateway will be able to support it, maybe with some development needed by dresden.
                Once the gateway supports it, the JowiHue plugin will either support it already (expected for any motion sensor) or I will follow up soon.

                For more info check the forum for JoiwHue: https://forums.homeseer.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1227

                Thanks
                Wim
                Well I ordered a conbee and I have the deCONZ software installed already. Wanted to see if it would work with my HUSBZB-1 but it doesn't. I'll know soon enough. I've started pulling a couple devices here and there to test with HS so see if it will work for me. Specifically I took a google mini for TTS and that is working with plugin, and my fibaro keyfob is working. I don't dare touch the big red button until I'm ready to switch as that would kill the WAF of any more changes.

                Comment


                  #9
                  I got the ConnBee and got things setup with deDECONZ and no luck. The NYCE Ceiling Motion Sensor is a no-go.... Hopefully it'll work soon. I was really hoping it would work. Make puling the trigger on buying Homeseer a lot easier.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by jeubanks View Post
                    I got the ConnBee and got things setup with deDECONZ and no luck. The NYCE Ceiling Motion Sensor is a no-go.... Hopefully it'll work soon. I was really hoping it would work. Make puling the trigger on buying Homeseer a lot easier.
                    I am curious as to what you did to try to get it recognized in deconz. It says it is zigbee 1.2 compatible. Did you try going through phoscon?

                    If you have tried phoscon you can ignore next steps. DEVICE MUST BE WITHIN 2 FT OF CONBEE.

                    1. Open deconz
                    2. upper right corner, click on phoscon
                    3. click on conbee, pw-delight
                    4. close group window
                    5. click on 3 lines upper left corner
                    6. click on sensors, add new sensor, pick other
                    7. start scan
                    8. push button 4 times quickly on sensor

                    See what that does. It will either work or it won't.
                    Last edited by cowinger; April 5, 2018, 03:38 PM.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by cowinger View Post
                      I am curious as to what you did to try to get it recognized in deconz. It says it is zigbee 1.2 compatible. Did you try going through phoscon?

                      If you have tried phoscon you can ignore next steps. DEVICE MUST BE WITHIN 2 FT OF CONBEE.

                      1. Open deconz
                      2. upper right corner, click on phoscon
                      3. click on conbee, pw-delight
                      4. close group window
                      5. click on 3 lines upper left corner
                      6. click on sensors, add new sensor, pick other
                      7. start scan
                      8. push button 4 times quickly on sensor

                      See what that does. It will either work or it won't.
                      Before I read this I was tinkering again yesterday. I was able to add the sensor into deCONZ. It showed up, was showing everything needed. So this part is working. Only change was a reboot, which of course with Windows will fix everything.

                      Now the next part of getting it inside or tied into HS. I tried the JowiHue plugin and it see deCONZ fine and see's my Hue bridge fine. It just doesn't recognize the motion sensor. In that same token, neither the RESTapi or Phoscon show a sensor either. I can see it in the deCONZ app, but nowhere else.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Jeubanks,

                        That tells the deCONZ is seeing the devices, which is good news as it confirms the devices are compatible with the HA 1.2/ Zigbee 3 protocols an can be supported. The developers at dreasden will need to add it to the REST API though.
                        Are you on the latest version of deCONZ? Check on https://www.dresden-elektronik.de/deconz/win/ if you are running windows.

                        If you are on the latest version, add a request for adding the motion sensor (with lightlevel and temperature support?) at the github of the developers here: https://github.com/dresden-elektroni...z-rest-plugin/.

                        They will want to know the details of the devices endpoints of the sensor (press the most right dot on the device in deCONZ and check the clusterinfo on each endpoint. They will want images of it to add the correct support.

                        Wim
                        -- Wim

                        Plugins: JowiHue, RFXCOM, Sonos4, Jon00's Perfmon and Network monitor, EasyTrigger, Pushover 3P, rnbWeather, BLBackup, AK SmartDevice, Pushover, PHLocation, Zwave, GCalseer, SDJ-Health, Device History, BLGData

                        1210 devices/features ---- 392 events ----- 40 scripts

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by w.vuyk View Post
                          Jeubanks,

                          That tells the deCONZ is seeing the devices, which is good news as it confirms the devices are compatible with the HA 1.2/ Zigbee 3 protocols an can be supported. The developers at dreasden will need to add it to the REST API though.
                          Are you on the latest version of deCONZ? Check on https://www.dresden-elektronik.de/deconz/win/ if you are running windows.

                          If you are on the latest version, add a request for adding the motion sensor (with lightlevel and temperature support?) at the github of the developers here: https://github.com/dresden-elektroni...z-rest-plugin/.

                          They will want to know the details of the devices endpoints of the sensor (press the most right dot on the device in deCONZ and check the clusterinfo on each endpoint. They will want images of it to add the correct support.

                          Wim
                          I was checking the github repo yesterday and someone has an issue open, but it's old. I think I will reopen a new one though.

                          Comment

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