ControlThink Forums

 Hi,

I have a HA18C switch set up, with a HA09 primary controller.  I can see the switch on my flooplan, and clicking on it will turn it on and off.  But after about 15 seconds after I turn it on it loses the On status and gets a big red slashed circle on it.  I tried to set the polling rate to once a minute, but the red circle stays put.  How can I get ThinkEssentials to show the correct status of the switch (using the latest build of 2.0)?

Cheers,

    Kari 

Hi Kari,

How far away is the HA18 from your PC?  The red circle/slash means that the PC is having trouble communicating with the device (in this case, intermittently).

Two solutions:
1. Make sure that your USB stick is on its extension cable, and that it is away from metal objects.  Try different placements for optimal communication with the HA18.
2. If that doesn't work, you're probably on the "fringe" of range; just add a plug-in module or another Z-Wave device somewhere in the middle and it'll automatically act as a repeater--taking care of the situation automatically.

Chris

 Hi Chris,

hmm, so the switch is about 50 feet from the  HA22.  This morning I first tried to turn the switch on and off again using the HA22.  This did not work, I am not sure now if it worked even yesterday.  So I appreciate now the red circle, it says the device could not be controlled.

Next I tried to control the device using the HA09 controller.  That worked fine even when the controller was at the same spot as the HA22 is.  So I guess the HA09 has a stronger transmitter and/or a more sensitive receiver.  I then moved the HA09 to between the switch and the HA22, but could still not make it work from the ControlEssentials.  I would have thought that the HA09 would have forwarded the command and response, but apparently not.

 I was going to add a HA01C outlet to the system next anyway, so I will do that next.  The outlet will be about mid-way between the HA18C and the HA22.  I will report on that soon.

Cheers,

    Kari 

Kari,

Yes, the handheld remote has a much stronger antenna than the HA22.  Additionally, only AC-powered devices act as repeaters in the network (since battery-operated devices would drain their batteries in a few days if they were always listening for messages to repeat)...

Did you know there's a $20 rebate off of a single HomeSettings product right now?  You can pick up the outlet today from our accessories store (http://www.controlthink.com/amazon/) if you'd like; hint hint :)

Chris

 Hi Chris,

well, I did not get to the outlet today and next weekend I'll be out of town so it will be a little while until I get this fixed and tested.

Yes, I knew of the rebate.  I was looking at your store, but did not see the HA06 switch there, and did not realize I really needed the HA18C switch to use for CFLs.  I therefore bought the HA01C and the HA06, but when I installed the HA06, it had too much flicker in it.  So I had to run to the local CompUSA to get the HA09 and the HA18C.  A bit more but not too bad.  I will definitely keep your store in mind, though.  CompUSA prices are misleading, as they subtract the $20 off every item on their web site, and never mention the rebate is only once to an address. 

Cheers,

    Kari 

 Hi,

I actually decided to work on the outlet tonight.  It was fairly easy to do and works quite well.  I can control the light from the light switch, from the outlet button, from the HA09 remote, and from the ThinkEssentials.  Pretty cool.  I then set up a schedule for the outlet, and it works as well.

The problem is that the porch light still is not working.  I even deleted it from the network, updated ThinkEssentials, then added it back and updated ThinkEssentials again.  Still no juice. :(  The distance from the outlet to the switch is about 35 feet.  I would think that maybe the wiring of the switch is wrong, except that I can still control the switch from the remote.  Any ideas?  Any way to diagnose the problem?  Does ThinkEssentials have a log file of all sent and received commands with time stamps?  That can be used for debugging and also to run reports on how often the lights have been on etc.  I do not see any mention of a log in the docs.

I do have a laptop, so I guess I can save ThinkEssentials configuration, transfer it to the laptop, and see how close I need to be to the switch to get it recognized. 

Cheers,

    Kari 

Kari,

Try this:
1. Stand as far away from the outlet as you can with the remote and still barely control it.  Make sure that you're in a direction that's away from the light switch (so that there is no way that the light switch can be in direct range of the remote).
2. Try controlling the light from the remote.  If it doesn't control the switch at that distance, that means that the outlet isn't strong enough (or the signal is blocked) to control the dimmer switch...

We're working on some really cool diagnostics tools for both the current Professional edition as well as an update for all editions in the future.

You can also put the USB in a notebook to try to determine the range of the USB to the light switch...

Sorry for all the trouble you're having.  Unfortunately, I think you just need another device in there.  35 feet is perfectly fine in open environments, but sometimes indoors with walls and metal and things blocking the way the range can be less.

Chris

 Hi Chris,

just a conclusion to this thread.  I did as you suggested above and found that you were right (as usual).  I then looked at the line-of-sight and realized that I have the fridge blocking the signal.  I have now added a dimmer (HA06) on the network, and everything is now working great.

Cheers,

    Kari