You should buy the newer “Sonoff Dongle E”. It’s default transmission power is 20dbm. Unless @aaiyar has figured out how to get 20 on the older ones, I haven’t had time to mess with mine. Outside of that, they really aren’t difficult to flash. I used the TI software and @danabw wrote up the entire process for flashing them recently.
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It’s a compile time option. And pretty easy to compile firmware using Koen Kanters instructions and cloning his repository. I’ve done it to two: one of slaesh’s dongles that I was using as a coordinator, and a Sonoff dongle-P. Took them up to 9 dBm. which is what was recommended at the time.
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Why not use a WiFi bridge at that point? Something like this:
Then you could have another hub at the garage end. You'd also be able to have a local WiFi in the garage as well (need another AP tho).
Of course not sure how it works in a woodsy area and also may be cost prohibitive.
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Eventually I'm going to have cat6 run all the way down there with a Poe access point in the middle but that's in the future and I need a solution for now so I can open the gate while in the house.
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Can you get a wifi signal down there? Maybe a Kasa product or another wifi option thats local.
As of the 220125 FW, the P dongles are set to 9dmb, so better than default 5. Changelog here.
I've been using the 20221102 FW w/out issue on my "P" dongles. (That sounds a little funny... 
)
I don't have a guide for flashing the E dongles (yet). Sonoff USB Dongle P flashing guide is below:
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Appreciate the info. I read through the entire thread and started reading your PDF. Its way over my head.
This forum, mostly the members, are amazing. Everyone is always willing to help and the amount of information available is unbelievable. Forums are a dying breed as everything is moving to Facebook/Instagram which is a terrible way to gather information. You guys are awesome, Dont take this community for granted.
So Im going to find a couple P versions and send them to someone to get flashed and have the gain turned up. The E version can not be flashed to router as of now if Im reading all this right.
Does antenna size make a difference? Why dont more companies just make stronger routers? This seems like a no brainer.
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Also increases noise. And makes it more difficult for other devices on the mesh, like battery-powered end devices, to make themselves heard.
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If you want to ship them to me I'll flash them (takes all of two minutes) w/either the 220908 or 221102 FW (whichever you want) and ship them back to you. (Look at me, I'm an @lewis.heidrick mini-me!! He'd be so proud.) @user359 - You just pay for shipping each way. PM me if you're interested.
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I've flashed both the P and E versions. It's just a different file.
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I know you have your mind set on this and please dont forget to share your results when your done. Please temper your expectations. This may be a struggle to make this happen. Do you have a plan B in place?
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Of course you did. That's why I'm only a mini-me Lewis...
So the FW file on the E is a GBL file, not a Hex, like the "P" file.
- P is zip that contains a Hex file: Z-Stack-firmware/router/Z-Stack_3.x.0/bin at develop · Koenkk/Z-Stack-firmware · GitHub
- E is a GBL: Sonoff_Zigbee_Dongle_Firmware/Dongle-E/Router at master · itead/Sonoff_Zigbee_Dongle_Firmware · GitHub
Is it as simple as I can use cc2538-bsl to flash the "E" dongle using a GBL file, or do I need to use something like Uniflash for a GBL?
I'd also like to stress that these devices (I have the P and E versions), are like someone shouting in a room of whisperers - they can be really heard, but they drown everyone else out.
So, you have to be careful about channels and making sure that every channel is carefully planned out. Don't let your router decide on a channel - plan it out.
These are the strongest repeaters that I've ever seen - but with great power comes great responsibility.
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I suppose I can go back to what actually was plan A and just run 12/2 direct burial and come up every 150' to a receptacle mounted on U-Channel or Unistrut. I already have a 100' run of 1-1/2 conduit from my basement panel to a telephone along the driveway. It has around 7 unused 12awg wires in it. From there I can use a Sonoff wall warts or ZigBee receptacles (Not many ZigBee options).
I knew when I posted this I would get 10 different ideas from 10 educated people. Sometimes it's better off being ignorant.
Here's some more pics cause I'm proud of all my hard work. Also for the budget conscious I have under $2k in this entire gate/fence setup. Everything you see was done by me in the past couple months. Relay is in the green box.
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If you have power down at the gate just put in a powerline bridge with wifi for like 50 bucks. Than just use a wifi version of whatever your controlling the gate with. There is no reason to do all of that unless you want zigbee coverage blanketing your property for some reason.
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Based on the look of the area you're in, I don't think you need a gate. Doesn't look like there are going to be more than 2 other people within 100 miles... There, I just saved you $2,000!
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At this point I'm not against it but it would have to integrate with hubitat. I'm really trying not to have multiple apps for everything. I don't have any experience with powerline adapters so I'll look into it. I suppose then I would just need a Wi-Fi relay or garage door opener kit that integrates with hubitat. I use action tiles on fire 7 tablets and I need to be able to put a button there to open the gate.
When your cameras wake you up at 2:30 a.m. cause there's people pulling up your driveway to get out and take a piss in the woods you might think of putting up a gate. Nevermind the amount of people who just drive up and then turn around and head out. This will happen two or three times a month at all hours of the day and night. Waking up to the driveway camera is one thing but then when the side porch camera goes off a second later it's not the greatest feeling in the world. While I live somewhat in the woods I am at the end of a neighborhood where the road transitions to my driveway.
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I had a hunch that that was happening. People thinking that they were still on the road. I still found @danabw ’s comment humorous though.
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Here is an example. Nothing fancy but gets the job done.
TP-Link Powerline WiFi Extender (TL-WPA7517KIT) - AV1000 Powerline Ethernet Adapter with Dual Band WiFi, OneMesh, Gigabit Port, Ethernet Over Power, Plug & Play (Renewed) https://a.co/d/0hhfXjt
Now you just need something to open the gate. Kasa does local wifi, not sure if they have the relay your looking for. Does anybody have a local wifi device recommendation?
