I've almost gotten just about all of my devices moved over to a new C7. So far it seems stable and responsive. However, I have two devices that I'm having trouble with and I'm looking for suggestions. I have two Enerwave Relays outdoors in lampposts. They are about 55ft to the nearest repeater. I never once had an issue with mny C5. They worked flawlessly for over a year. But on the C7, they worked for about a minute after pairing then the hub "tried to find a better route" and now they're PENDING ever since. I don't have a lot of options to add repeaters because they're outdoors and I don't have any outlets I can add devices to. I have a repeater right in my garage (GE Outlet). Here were my thoughts and I'm looking for advice:
Install an outlet on the exterior side of the garage wall (the outlet right now is IN the garage) so the signal has one less wall to travel through. Then put an Aeotec 7 series repeater in the outdoor outlet which will be pointed almost directly at the 2 devices, but still ~55ft away. As a note though, the hub doesn't even choose to repeat through this device in my garage, it seems to be repeating through devices that are much further away so I'm worried this will just be a waste of time/money.
Do something with wifi - I have decent wifi by the devices. I'd prefer to avoid wifi but if I can't make zwave work, what choice do I have? Does anyone know of any local only wifi relays?
Get a relay with a better range/antenna than an Enerwave. Anyone have any suggestions? I can't seem to find anyone making a 700 series relay.
If you exclude, factory reset and pair the remote devices again then likely (but not guaranteed!!) they will find the Aeotec 7 if it is closer than the hub. Another 700 series device you can use is the Ring Security Extender V2 which is less expensive AND has a battery backup.
I was reading people saying the gen2 does NOT have battery backup, is that incorrect? Also, it might pick it up but it seems like the c7 just constantly reroutes stuff all the time. These devices were working, until the routes changed. Any chance you know the dimensions of the ring? The Aeotec is small enough to fit in an outdoor enclosure box. Hoping the ring would too
Cool thanks. That's what I get for reading amazon reviews! Unfortunately that's too large to fit in my outdoor box. I'll get the aeotec a try. I'm actually wondering if maybe before I install a new outlet if I should just try installing it in the outlet attached to the lamppost? Maybe it will do a better job of picking up a signal? I mean it's kind of it's sole purpose! Also, maybe it would then force the two relays to at least route through the repeater since the repeater will be only a few feet away. Thoughts? I'll probably try it regardless since it's going to be easier than drilling holes in walls and running a new outlet!
In my experience pairing a device AFTER adding an extender tends to work better than pairing before.. Z-Wave routing being what it is and all. Eventually things might settle down but it may take a while.
This might be my ignorance of zwave, but I did pair it after the existing outlet (repeater) was already on the network. Is an extender some how different than just a normal repeating device from the perspective of choosing routes?
No it's plastic (the one I'll put the extender in). However, the lamppost (which has the relay in it) s metal. But, the relay has an external antenna so I drilled a hole in the lamppost and have the antenna sticking straight out of the lamppost. Still not ideal, but again, worked flawlessly for a year on my C5.
Or you could go absolutely crazy and go LoRa - I believe @JasonJoel is doing for some of his stuff.. not sure about the relays though. It seems like a very cool thing to do if you have the stomach for it.
I don’t really know anything about this? If it requires setting up an rpi or something, not for me. I’m at the point of wanting things that just work and don’t need me setting up more hardware. Like I said, all was fine on a C5. I don’t really understand why a C7 with a better radio would be worse?
Yeah thats something he or someone else familiar with that tech can answer. Quick search on Amazon, the prices seem pretty cheap for an RPi hat and maybe relays but I'm probably missing some stuff..
Note: the range of LoRa seems pretty incredible.
Also don't mean to distract you from your original purpose.. just think it's cool and can solve some longer range issues.. No doubt a repeater or maybe a smart outlet might work.
