Should a Z-wave Plus device connect at 100kps when near the hub?

I have a Minoston MP21ZD that is Z-Wave Plus. I was expecting it to connect to the hub at 100kps but it connected directly to my hub (C7) at 40kps.

Is this expected?

I was under the belief / illusion that a reasonably close Plus device would connect at the higher speed.

I am certainly no expert but understand plus can connect at 100k and non plus connect at 40. So capability is there but doesn’t mean they will. Case in point I have several Aeotec Multisensor 6s which are Zwave Plus that often communicate at 9.6 even though I have a strong mesh with 75 Zwave devices. Could be a mesh thing.

But ever since I installed the external antenna on my C7 Zwave hub the MS6s have direct connected at 100k.

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My system is working fine so I don't NEED better signal, but I have one dimmer/repeater that's not a Z-Wave Plus device and has a significant number of devices routed through it.
So I was hoping to swap it out for a Plus device to maybe give better response to those routed through it.

The "new" Plus device was joined when about 10feet (direct line of sight) from the hub. I was disappointed to see the connect speed at 40kps.

Oh well I'll have to try a different device.

Thanks

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Like @ritchierich, my system was also working fine. It just works much better with the external antenna. Z-Wave Plus devices that were previously communicating at 9.6 kbps and 40 kbps are now communicating at 100 kbps.

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How did you guys add the external?

My soldering skills are non-existent. So I requested help from @lewis.heidrick. He has done this modification on over 150 hubs at this point of time.

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There is a pretty long thread "External Antenna" with all the details but the quick answer is to desolder the antenna leads and then use the existing pads to solder on a u.fl ipex connector. Drill two holes in the case for the sma pigtails. Then attach the u.fl to rp-sma pigtail to the u.fl connectors. Finally attach an RP-SMA ZigBee and rp-sma zwave antenna.

The easy way is just ship your hub to me and I'll do it with all the right parts. I don't charge for anything but parts and shipping.

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Thanks for the information, and the kind offer. I'm pretty sure I can handle the modification and I will read the suggested thread. I'll post how I make out if I decide to make the mod.

John

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Sounds good. The difficult part is dealing with the non-leaded solder. There are tips in the thread for handling this part.

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non-leaded solder? what's that :slight_smile:

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It's a pain in the ■■■. It's just the type of solder they used when manufacturing the board. I'm guessing so they could sell it in California. It has a much higher melting point. You'll need an iron capable of around 750 to get it off quickly and not risk frying your board by extended time on the pads. You can use a small bit of low temp solder as an alloy to get the required temp down to around 400 or leaded solder to get it to around 650. It takes a little practice to do it right though.

The main thing is to hold the iron on long enough for both to go liquid so they mix. The extra solder will help to dump heat into the joint faster. This is all talked about in that External Antenna thread.

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I was joking :slight_smile: I use 63/37 for all my soldering. I have a little nolead and some bismuth. I even went out and purchased some solder with water clean flux. Cleans great but stinks :frowning:

I do thank you for your response. Always good to have more information that less.

John

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You probably already know this but the water clean flux is much more aggressive than the no clean or paste flux. I'd be extra diligent in cleanup after soldering. I typically only use the more aggressive stuff on really old hardware or where there was water damage.

I wouldn't go sniffing it either, probably give cancer cancer.

I only use it on boards that can be completely immersed in water. I use dish soap, hot water and an ESD brush. Then (and most folks will gasp) I use the air compressor to get all the water under the boards. They come out clean and shiny.

With noclean I have to use alcohol and blot off the rosin residue and its still not as clean as I would like.

I wouldn't go sniffing it either, probably give you cancer.

Thanks, I've been using a fan. Though I'm not outside at least it dilutes the fumes :slight_smile:

Another thing to take into consideration that most home hobbyist don't take into consideration is those voc's can be pretty rough on ac coils if you have an air return nearby. Occasional use probably not a big deal but activity time of the flux could lead to excessive corrosion of the coils.

Using air to remove the water is a good idea. I've seen when water wasn't removed, boiled under a chip and pew pew, chip popped off.

This board doesn't get hot so probably not an issue but still a good practice. Just protect against static discharge.

Just ignore me, I obsess over everything...

I found holding it in my hand and "grounding" the air nozzle to my hand works well. No plastics or fur to allow the air to build up static.

And the VOC's. I use nearly all SMD parts, and solder so little I'm not worried. Besides I've been soldering all my "long" life and my lungs are still in good shape :slight_smile:

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