Re: Z-Wave RF range

[Joerg <notthisjoergsch@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Robert L Bass wrote:
>>No, that's different. People are used to phones
>>conking out while walking, they know that from
>>their cell phones. But a button that's glued to a
>>wall and suddenly quits is considered "defective"
>>in the eyes of a non-technical consumer.
>
>
> The comparison doesn't hold.  Mr Houston is trying to convince you that things running in the 900mHz band have an average range of
> 20-25 feet.  That is total BS and he knows it.
>

It sure will be more than 25ft but it won't likely reach our garage ;-)

Just for the record I am not dissing Z-Wave or RF in general here but I
wanted to raise a concern. After all, I work in the field of RF
engineering ;-)

>
>>It's like with cars. A tire blow-out is considered
>>as something that can happen. An engine that
>>quits is, nowadays, considered something that's not supposed to happen.
>
>
> Appliances fail.  Lights burn out.  HA components occasionally need service.  The issue here isn't whether things can fail.  The
> question raised is what is the range of Z-Wave, a 900mHz RF system.  I say it's a good deal more than the 25-30 feet some have
> claimed.  Experience tells me that.
>
>
>>>>Else there is going to be the usual rash
>>>>of unhappy customers like you have it
>>>>with X10...
>>>
>>>I don't have unhappy X10 customers.  I refuse to sell the stuff.
>>
>>I can sure understand why. That's also why
>>I wouldn't want to go into the HA biz myself
>>yet ;-)
>
>
> If you're waiting until there are no problems, forget it.  You'll never get there.  Every industry always has problems.  I choose to
> work in this trade because I enjoy it.  It's also modestly remunerative.  :^)
>

Good for you. I work in the med electronics biz and maybe that makes me
a bit picky. Our stuff has to work. All the time, even after having been
smashed into an elevator door. A major conk-out can easily lead to a
nasty lawsuit or at least cause some FDA guys to waltz in there and
fasten a gigantic padlock on the factory doors. It's happened.

>
>>>No problem.  I'll let you know how
>>>it works for me anyway.
>>
>>Yes, please let us all know.
>
>
>>>Many (most?) of those are non-towered
>>>anyway.  Some only have UNICOM
>>>service which is operated very sporadically.
>>>Some have nothing at all -- pilots simply
>>>"self announce" before they maneuver in
>>>the area.
>>
>>That's exactly how this airfield works. The
>>runway lights are "keyed on" by keying the
>>mike 4-5 times. They do that right over our
>>house and a 5W transmitter packs a punch
>>if it's only 250ft away :-(
>
>
> I once had some fun with a lady friend.  We were flying over a non-towered airport in CT just before dark.  I was a student pilot
> and my instructor was in the right seat.  I was at the controls.  As we approached I pointed out the airport to her below my left
> wing.  I said, "Hmm.  They forgot to turn on the lights" and then pretended to broadcast, saying, "Uh, Jim?... Yeah, this is Robert.
> You forgot to turn on the lights again."  Then I keyed the mic a few times and the lights came on.  I muttered into the intercom,
> "That guy's always forgetting..."  My instructor gave a little smirk and neither of us let her in on it.  :^)
>

:-)

Don't we all play those games? Once I joked a bit after the gear was
lowered "That didn't sound normal!". My wife told me never to do that
again. Well, after we had an engine out over the Atlantic I kind of
don't do that anymore.

>
>>Until there is a fire. You might want to
>>get out as fast as possible when that
>>stuff starts to burn. Remember the
>>disaster at Duesseldorf airport? I used
>>to live close to it when that happened.
>>The people in there were killed by toxic
>>fumes, not the fire.
>
>
> There's plenty of more noxious stuff than Visqueen to burn in a house.
>

Sure, but why add to the mix if it isn't necessary? I try to avoid
plastics when I can. And wood, because that stuff not only burns but
also rots.

>
>>>>I had a test generator from there.
>>>>Oh man... but it somehow worked.
>>>
>>>From Brazil?  What brand?
>>
>>I don't remember if it was from Eudgert
>>or another brand. It puzzled people
>>visiting my lab when they saw a front
>>panel with all Portuguese on there.
>
>
> A few weeks ago briefers told Dubya Bush that two Brazilian soldiers had been killed in Baghdad.  Bush began to weep.  Through his
> tears he asked, "How many are in a brazillian"?
>
>
>>In our house Visqueen was only used for the
>>vapor barrier under the cement bed that all
>>floors have. But I can only tell you that in the garage it crumpled wherever a wee bit stuck
>>out. Ok, that's 35 years now but I expect
>>construction to last a lot longer than that.
>>Aluminum does.
>
>
> I've worked in attics that had Visqueen installed quite a few years ago.  I never noticed any of it becoming brittle.  I wonder if
> contact with chemicals leaching out of the cement as it cured might have been an issue.  Not being a chemist I couldn't tell say but
> if you were to claim there's Visqueen inside a Z-Wave transceiver I'm sure Dave would tell you that it will fail within weeks.  :^)
>

:-)

>
>>>And idiot politicians who can't even act.
>>
>>Arnold sure does a much better job than the one before, IMHO.
>
>
> What is it with California anyway?  You guys have millions of geniuses working in Silicone Valley yet you hire moron ex-actors as
> governors.  Oh, well.  At least this one can't become president.
>

Not yet, and maybe he doesn't want to. But he sure is a good governor
IMHO. I don't like his movies though. Not because of his acting but
because I don't enjoy those kinds of movies at all.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com