Zwave module recommendation

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Ultimate Geek
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#1568322 8-Jun-2016 22:17

SumnerBoy:

Who made those Blanch? They look very similar to mine which are from Window Treatments in ChCh.

From Home Vision Blinds in Auckland, did you find a motor to fit the tubes?

SumnerBoy

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#1568326 8-Jun-2016 22:41

Nope, still just at the investigation stage really.

chimera

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#1568620 9-Jun-2016 12:41

Response I got was...

The group transmitter is a single channel radio device, very similar to a one channel remote control (with relay contacts instead of buttons for OPEN/STOP/CLOSE).

Controlling the individual blinds is done through the remote control. You use this to initially set up and program the motors and their travel limits. We have 1,2,5,15 channel remotes which you can assign a separate channel to each motor.

Time to go and order some goodies me thinks...!

chimera

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#1569491 10-Jun-2016 16:01

Ordered bits from rollertrol, 2 x blind motors, 1 x 15 channel remote (extra channels for future blinds), 1 x 2 channel wall mounted blind switch (will mount on wall in hallway between blinds either side) and 1 x group transmitter plus shipping, about $600. Once it turns up I'll build an ESP8266 with 3 x relays and connect to the group transmitter and program up to control both hallway blinds up/down/stop via MQTT messaging from OpenHAB. It's more a test / DIY project than anything so will report back with progress and my thoughts on the system once built

SumnerBoy

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#1569543 10-Jun-2016 16:27

Look forward to hearing how you get on!

Blanch

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Ultimate Geek
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#1569592 10-Jun-2016 17:10

Chimera did you find a manual with drawings? I would like to figure out if the Rollertrol units will fit my tubes and if I will need to trim the width of my blinds.

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chimera

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#1569677 10-Jun-2016 18:39

It said 35mm so near 38mm and willing to take the risk and fabricate something if necessary. Will post any arduino code if needed.

chimera

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#1569800 10-Jun-2016 22:21

FYI the one below is the one I bought (first blind bought as a kit - cheaper coz comes with remote) says 1.5" which is about ~38mm comes with tube adapters it's really those that will depend whether it fits or not I'll post photos of adapter ends once it arrives, got plenty of tools to alter if it doesn't fingers crossed she slots straight in

http://rollertrol.com/store/en/diy-motorized-window-blind-kits/25-projector-screen-motor-or-large-blind-kit.html

Blanch

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Ultimate Geek
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#1569937 11-Jun-2016 12:34

chimera: It said 35mm so near 38mm and willing to take the risk and fabricate something if necessary. Will post any arduino code if needed.

That's a D size battery in the blind tube with 1mm clearance. (D batteries have: Nominal diameter of 33.2 ± 1 millimeters).

I found some 3D printed RollerTrol Adapters online.

chimera

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#1570378 12-Jun-2016 10:41

Blanch:

chimera: It said 35mm so near 38mm and willing to take the risk and fabricate something if necessary. Will post any arduino code if needed.

That's a D size battery in the blind tube with 1mm clearance. (D batteries have: Nominal diameter of 33.2 ± 1 millimeters).

I found some 3D printed RollerTrol Adapters online.

Looking at the image of the whole motor unit, it will be down to the drive and crown adapters as to whether they slot nicely into the blind tube. It will be these that need altering - so shouldn't be too difficult if they're just plastic. Dremel tools are the shizzle

chimera

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#1574818 16-Jun-2016 08:36

Oh great, blind motors and accessories have reached NZ customs, track and trace state is "held for clearance" for past couple days so may need to pay customs duty and GST

That could sting me another hundy.

Ordered an Aeotec Z-Wave stick and some Fibraro dimmer modules too (from NZ) Found the NTC CHIP I use for OpenHAB doesn't have enough grunt to run the Aeotec stick, so gonna have to go buy a powered USB hub too - although they're cheap enough.

And unfortunately the Z-Wave controller offered by Rollertrol only supply in US and EU frequencies from what I can see. May just need to use an ESP8266 and 3 block relay with MQTT messaging to control the blinds from OpenHAB.

Waiting waiting waiting... I hate waiting...!

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Blanch

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Ultimate Geek
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#1574910 16-Jun-2016 10:48

Yep add a hundy, had that email last week (and a 2-3 day wait for the customs email)

I just need to find out what the crown adapter dimensions are before placing an order.

chimera

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#1576015 17-Jun-2016 21:01

LOL, just got stung $150 customs charges. I kind of expected it to be honest, so not too worried. Just a little higher than I thought.

Funny how they justify the extras though after my $100 estimate on GST...

$98.25 GST

$25.40 Import Transaction Fee

$3.82 GST on Import Transaction Fee

$17.37 on Biosecurity Levy

$2.61 GST on Biosecurity Levy

$2.80 Online Westpac convenience fee (coz credit card payment)

chimera

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#1577692 21-Jun-2016 15:00

Rollertrol blinds turned up this morning, I literally installed 2 of them during my lunch break today (although temporary wiring to a powerpoint rather than drilling into the ceiling - just as a test for now)

Exceptionally easy to install and configure travel limits. The crown adapters fit nicely into either end. The adapters have different slots in the ends to fit varying tubes. @Blanch - looking at yours I think they will fit perfectly.

They are a little noisey, although to be fair I have nothing to compare against. Supposedly Somfy are amongst the quietest motors around - but I've never heard one running to compare.

Video below (I only have one connected to power at a time at present coz I only got one DC power supply for it, its a 12V 2A power supply, the only other spare I have floating around is 500mA, so a little light on amps to drive the motor so will buy another PSU tomorrow)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tom23DFhzu0

Next step is to drill up into the ceiling and run wires for both blinds, then control via OpenHAB either using ZWave via Fibaro relay (to control the blinds via their group relay controller) or alternately build an Arduino and a 3 block relay to do it with MQTT. Trade off on money vs time...

...although, the Fibaro Zwave relay that I have used so far for my lights only has 2 x switched outputs. Anyone know if Fibaro do 3 x output relay? Coz I need one for UP, one for DOWN and one for STOP.

SumnerBoy

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#1577694 21-Jun-2016 15:05

Nah the Fibaro 2x1.5kW relay is the most you will get in a single module.

The Fibaro Rollershutter 2 has built-in support for UP/DOWN control (no STOP). Have you looked at those as another potential solution?

They look pretty quiet/good from your video - nice work!

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