Re: Z-Wave RF range

[nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx (Dave Houston)]

"Petem" <petem001@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>
>"Robert L Bass" <robertbass1@xxxxxxxxxxx> a écrit dans le message de news:
>XJednaNod_NtVx3YnZ2dnUVZ_silnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>> Out here the houses that were insulated
>>> "extra good" also have insulation inside
>>> some interior walls. This is aluminum
>>> backed as well...
>>
>> I'm not surew where "out here" might be but I can assure you after working
>> on construction sites for over 24 years that aluminum foil backed
>> insulation is uncommon and that any backing in interior walls is rare
>> since it represents an unnecessary cost (something builders are loathe to
>> accept).
>\
>
>Been reading about this tread since the beginning and read a few other post
>of yours and Mr Houston,and I wanted to see real time application of
>z-waze(witch was for me something I wanted to use at my home)
>
>so here is my feedback to you and all other in this group about my on hand
>experience about z-wave
>
>I got this kit from a web site
>
>http://www.maisontechno.ca/en_produits_details.asp?id=20&ret=%2Fen%5Fproduits%2Easp%3Fid%3D8
>
>and I got a 2 of those
>
>http://www.maisontechno.ca/en_produits_details.asp?id=23
>
>I got it from this store cause its located in my country and I feel better
>dealing with people in the same country I live..even if I got better pricing
>somewhere else
>
>so I started to play with the remote and one single device(the lamp
>module),I first noticed that the range was about 30 feet in the front of the
>device itself but it was really less in the back of it10 to 15 feet at
>most( surely cause there is a metallic box grounded in the wall ...)then I
>installed all the lamp module,I could not make them work all the time (ok I
>did it on purpose,all the device where on different level and part of my
>home, BTW its a split level with attached garage with a size of 32*36 feet
>of 4 level)so one was in the basement in the front,one in the kitchen at
>earth level in the back and the other one was on the side on the bedroom
>level, top level)
>
>next I used the 2 dimmer that were kind of in the middle of the house,and I
>got more consistent communication,but still some problem,what I do notice is
>that those 2 dimmer have a very poor range, less then 10 feet if all by
>themselves,being in a enclosed metallic box must not help
>
>I didn't used PIR or any other sensor,but maybe placing some of those in
>good spot could create a good network,but from what I can see,if you use
>z-wave better be ready buying a lot of the stuff,cause you will need them to
>create a steady network path...
>
>
>now if there is some single repeater that could be sparse in the house,maybe
>it would be ok..
>
>And by the way Robert,I do have some insulation that have aluminium inside
>it,and some vapour barrier that is aluminium,and I have many interior walls
>that have vapour barrier like in the kitchen and in both bathroom and in the
>laundry room....

Thanks for the end user feedback. It's about what I expected and for the
exact reasons I've previously noted.

Adding density with more modules will not help. 4 hops is the end
of-the-earth to Z-Wave so you would need another network to extend things.

I don't know whether the same master controller can operate with multiple
networks but I see no way modules in different networks beyond 4 hops
relative to each other can communicate.


http://davehouston.net
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/roZetta/
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