I have an old X10 module that powers a relay about 200' from the house. I would like to somehow replace the X10 module with a ZigBee outlet. Everything is in a weatherproof enclosure, so that's not going to help out with the signal. There's no way to get a repeater in between.....the wire from the house to that location is buried.
Any ideas? Is there some kind of long range module/repeater available?
If I can get this to work, I would also like for it to repeat the signal another 200' or so to my barn, but let's tackle one thing at a time for now.
Was just gearing up to ask a similar question but on 1/10th that scale.
I suppose an outdoor outlet on the side of my house might help, but I already have an WiFi Outdoor Outlet that I want to use in the backyard.
Have some colored lights that I'm looking to put around my pool.
Edit: I think I want to join them to my Hue... I have a Tradfri bulb that I could probably put in the backyard light socket but then I get into the lovely "nobody touch the switch" issues... Ugh...
Okay, this isn't very hard to do, but takes a bit of time, go slow and treat it as a challenge. Get an XBee module and a solar powered battery charge(cellphone type). Use the battery pack to run the XBee, and the sunwill charge the battery. Xbees have an amazing range especially in open space.
See this thread:
As an alternate, replace the X10 module with an Insteon outlet. You'll have to buy a 2245 hub, but, if you're just handling a single outlet, the direct PLM driver @cwwilson08 created will work fine. It's not the best driver to use for switches and dimmers, but if you were going to use a Zigbee outlet, then it's clear you were not interested in the load sense feature.
It's $50 for the dual relay outlet and $67 for the 2245-222 hub. Control will be direct from HE to the hub.
Is that a plastic container (hopefully not metal) and is it in line of sight to your home ?
Are you located somewhere where there will be little other radio interference from Wifi/ZigBee ?
I am still wondering and curious mostly why the device I mentioned above wouldn't work. You said you have a plastic enclosure with AC. A regular AC receptacle inside the enclosure with this device and it would act as a repeater. It is basically an Xbee that everyone uses but in an plugin case.
@thekidb The specs says this "Extends signal strength and range of an XBee Zigbee mesh network"
Maybe someone with the knowledge of how these Xbee devices work could take a look at the specs for this device and tell you if it will work.
That looks to be the goods, eh.
Maybe ask the ‘will it work’ question in the Everything Xbee, thread. @vjv, what are your thoughts on this one ? @thekidb, repeaters are typically placed between the hub and the ‘extended’ sensor location. Think of the sensor signals, hopping through the repeater and onto the hub.
Unless you have zigbee scanning tools, the location for placing a repeater will be a bit of trial and error.
@njanda, true about having it in-between the hub and the outlying device. Placing it at the end may not due the trick. I was under the impression @thekidb had a power box somewhere in the middle. Maybe one closest to the door going out (line of sight) and one of these on the other end.
Almost a year later, but I finally got around to playing with this. I put a Iris V2 ZigBee outlet/switch and a lamp on the end of 200' of extension cord and started walking. It lost connection about 60' feet from the house. Disappointing.
On a whim, I replace the Iris V2 with a Sylvania outlet and did the same thing. It responded immediately all the way to the well head (~175' from the house). I proceeded to wire it into my relay system that controls the well pump, placed the sealed container in the top of the well casing and tested again. Nothing. Turns out, I had pushed the sealed container that contains the relay and switch below ground level and blocked the signal. Once it was back above ground, it worked fine...……..and inside the PVC well casing.
So I thought I would push my luck and try to use the newly installed switch as a repeater for the next 275' jump to my barn. Worked like a champ.
I live in a very rural area with no interference whatsoever, so that's probably why I can push (or exceed) the limits of ZigBee. 275' for now, and I may just see how far beyond that it will go. The whole picture may change when the leaves come out this spring. It's a straight line of sight shot, but one never knows!
Bottom line: Try outlets as repeaters before you spend a lot on long range stuff that you might not need.
@thekidb This may work for now but if these are critical, you might want to add additional devices between the end devices and wherever those devices connect to in the home. Stretching things to the limit won't help if anything were to change even slightly.
Not critical......just for convenience and experimentation at this point. Final solution may still be Xbee. If it works reliably for a few months, we'll call it a success.
