Additional contact methods for customer support

[brp]

@aaiyar

Do you mean the provided power adapter?

Yup. I had had it plugged into a multi-port USB power supply (plugged in, not connected to computer) for convenience. Moved to an adapter I had lying around from an iPhone as I had forgotten that the Hub came with one. Using that one now.

@aaiyar

Well, there are a limited number of WiFi dongles that are supported by the hub, if your hub is on platform 2.2.5 or higher. This provides a convenient way to locate the hub more centrally.

It does require about $15-20 worth of hardware:

1. a USB OTG cable (about $6-7)
2. a supported WiFi adapter (about $10-15)

Thanks for the info. I may need to look into that.

Despite the network weakness, everything else in the network is functioning with very high reliability (approaching 100%), except this one activity. Things that might be expected to be less stable are not. So, I'm still going to do some experiments with devices, moving the Hub more into the open within this room and seeing if the Tech folks do find the Leviton issue (which could be relevant).

In the end, if this really continues to behave like this, a more remote Wifi connection might be the way to go.

Of course, if I did move it more centrally, it would then be further from the one failing element in the network.

Thanks for the ideas!

Cheers.

[aaiyar]

@brp

a more remote Wifi connection might be the way to go.

You might also consider adding an external z-wave antenna, with the realization that doing so voids your hub's warranty. Nonetheless, many of us have found it to make a dramatic difference to our z-wave networks.

External Antenna

While I am no antenna expert, my experience with Radio Frequency (RF) from CB to millimeter wave, is that the antenna being used is hugely important. And bigger antennas are almost always better. From what I have read, the HE is considered to have a weak and not great antenna. When you take apart your HE C7 hub, you will find a bit of foil on the bottom of the case that acts as the antenna. One for Z-Wave and one for Zigbee. I have voided my warranty and added an external antenna to my HE (…

[tony.fleisher]

If i understand the issue correctly..,
you have a "circulator" (0x0F) and a rule to turn on the indicator light (0x07) and another the tree light (0x15).
The problem is that Sometimes when the circulator turns on, these lights do not turn on. Do i have that correct?

[brp]

You got it. The circulator is far away and low strength, but it works well. The others are closer and higher strength but are less reliable. And the lights always agree with one another (work together or fail together).

And, in all of these cases, not only does 0x0F turn on, but the rule that is supposed to turn on 0x07 and 0x15 trips and says that it turned them on, even in failure cases.

Based on the suggestion that Leviton may be the issue, I added a Jasco dimmer (ox17) at the same location as 0x07, moved the light there and changed the rule to turn that one on and not the Leviton.

Limited testing so far, but it's been working. Of course I need more data to be sure. And we'll see what the Hubitat folks find when they get back to me on this issue formally.

Cheers.

[brp]

OK, fast-forward about 6 weeks. Still no reply from Hubitat. It would seem that Customer Service is not a strong suit for them, although @bobbyD's comment here about a possible cause did prove helpful. Thank goodness for the Community for help in resolving issues!

With no real justification or explanation, it does seem that the "Leviton issue" alluded to above could be the cause. I'm now using a Jasco dimmer for the indicator light (in addition to the Minoston holiday light in the living room) and it is solidly reliable.

Some oddities, though:

Units OXOA (Espresso) and 0X0F (Grundfos- far away) are both Leviton and both very reliable all along.

All of these are run by simple rules.

Espresso and Grundfos are on timer controls as well as attached to switch buttons and all modes generally work.

Grundfos Light (the removed Leviton unit) and the new one, Light 2) are on rules triggered by state of Grundsos, and that's it. That;'s the only difference I can see, but behavior is quite different as noted in this thread.

Another interesting thing is that the network seems to reconfigure itself frequently (certainly every time I check, like every other day). Some things move from appearing optimal to sub-optimal. Not sure if the system ever "settles."

At times it makes odd "decisions." At one point Ox0F was a repeater for OX0A (diagrams are attached).

Also, I added a Repeater (OX18) as had been suggested, but it doesn't seem to participate much.

Also, turned the Hub on its side to see if that made any difference and moved it a bit on the desk. Grundfos is now 100kbps, and that was not the case before.

Anyway, some oddities here, but it seems to work. Certainly welcome any comments about these observations and definitely appreciate all the help!

Cheers.