Thanks guys. And... I'm shocked this is the whole reason they say it is incompatible while in reality it is not.
I bet they loose a ton of sales due to this.
Not long ago I was about to put an order for 15 units, I saw that chart on their website, contacted support, explained my blinds fit in that category (angled wand) and... I got a straight no from support. Unbelievable.
It is hard to understand how people with the engineering skills to put together such a great device cannot think of a very simple solution:
Make the little charger thingy nice looking (a little nice white box)
Use some UV materials for its construction so it is not damaged by sun light when exposed.
Provide a longer cable (also nice looking, UV resistant) and...
Done.
Now, for those use cases where you can't properly fit it you can have it mounted externally, on the side of the window, behind the valance... your choice.
You increase the cost per unit by a couple of dollars but at the same time you increase you sales by several thousand units.
There, and I'm not going to even charge for such a great idea
I added a "Peekaboo" mode that turned the door shades to 25% so I could peek at the door, but no one could peek in. I also had to use the 3M tape to hold the control unit in place.
One problem I had is that these are Levolor Easy-Lift blinds like @embrito mentioned, and there are lines that run across the top that must be able to run free in order to work. After placing the iBlind unit in the top, I was able to squeeze toothpicks underneath so it wouldn't press against the lines. The retracting unit also increased the distance between the largest gap and the cut-out, so I added a USB extension (an unused power-switch model for a Raspberry Pie).
Clever adaptions to make things fit/work, nicely done! I also had some issues w/the lines running under the motor in one of my blinds, I was able to resolve it by ensuring the lines were in a center channel at the bottom of the motor, but your toothpick idea would have made it a little eaier.
Love the idea/naming of the "Peekaboo" option, very good addition to normal open/close and doesn't require anyone to rememer/say a percentage, etc., and should be very easy to remember.
Yeah, I saw that, but I thought the lines were under too much tension to reach it. I can only imagine how hard it must have been for you to get them in there, lol
I actually may be doing that. My wife has continued to complain about not being able to walk up to the blind and adjust it half inch here or quarter inch that way. She is just not a big fan of some types of automations. I'll let you know, trying to decide in a few days.
We are still "in negotiations." I just can't win for losing.
She has been complaining and complaining that she can't make micro adjustments manually at the blinds. (Fun fact: Something she never actually did before I automated the blinds. I opened them in the morning and closed them in the evening.)
So a few days ago I said OK, I know you don't like these things, I'm going to be a good husband who listens and remove the iBlinds. She responds "What? Oh, I'm not sure I want you to do that." [sigh]
What I thought:
Would you puhleeze make up your mind whether you want these things, and if you decide to keep them, you have to stop complaining about them all the time!!
What I said:
OK, honey, let's give a week or so to think about it.
I guess that's why I'm still married.
I have seven, will sell at least five, maybe all seven (I have two on blinds that only I use so I may keep them there). I have a couple of people who have already asked about buying the iBlinds so they are are kind of "in line." If I do end up selling them I will let you know if there are any available after I talk to the other guys.
Just to throw out some ideas, there's a couple of ways you could do this. If you use Alexa (or Google), you could program phrases like "Open blinds a little/ a lot" and move the blinds in 10% increments. Or add some Zooz Zen34 switches next to the windows. Single taps could be incremental, and double-taps could be completely open/close.
Yup - seems obvious, right? We use Google Home. I should say I use Google Home. She literally refuses to try to use voice commands. Just no interest.
That also seems resonable. She currently has multiple Picos in the room, each programmed to allow incremental position changes of each blind, or all three of them at once. Good enough, right? No sir...she wants direct, at the blind, manual control of the position.
She doesn't need it, she just wants it.
I just marry 'em, I can't explain 'em. She is my lovey-do, but man, does she have her quirks...
I cannot keep my iBlinds up for more than a few hours. After that, they don't respond anymore.
The sad thing is that I pulled out the manual gears thinking I would not need them anymore, so I have to leave these motors in my blinds!
Things I've Tried:
Removing and Re-adding dozens and dozens of times. This actually works great.
Repairing the Z-Wave Network several times
Moving the Hubitat to directly under the blinds
Removed a few Z-Wave devices that I was not using right now (Mostly Christmas Controllers)
Tried 4 different drivers
Reset the iBlinds with the CLBR Reset Button
I don't know what else to try. These are the V3.1 iBlinds with the Solar panels added.
One thing I've noticed is that sometimes after they stop reporting into the Hubitat, they also stop responding to the button. I have to hold it down for several seconds. Maybe to wake it up?
Anyway, if anyone has any ideas, I'd sure love to hear them! I'm super bummed!
She is my lovey-do, but man, does she have her quirks...
