doing blinds on the cheap

Other Devices & Integrations Garage & Window Covering Control
1

I don’t need motorized shades, but they would be so cool. The price and need for power/control wires routed to the have scared me off.

But these:

…are $100 each. Battery powered, RF remote, no wires.

What would be the options for controlling via z-wave/vera? Mod a remote?

2

Yes, mod a remote. If your name is really fitting :), then follow the somewhat rough guide at the link below. Following on where he leaves off, you would need a device for the relay/contact closure. You could either build that an arduino (and connect that to the USB port of Vera) or use something like the Global Cache TCP to contact closure. Not sure if the Vera GC plugin for the Global Cache only operates the IR blaster or if it also handles other GC devices. Can’t imagine it would be too hard to mod the code for it.

This assumes that they really are RF controlled. The text on the page appears to contradict itself (maybe they are IR and RF like Hunter Douglas).

Definition: remote The remote allows you to raise or lower a shade from a distance up to 30 feet.(Wood blinds will be tilt only) Simply press the up or down button and the shade will automatically stop at the fully raised or lowered position, or at the memory stop you have set. If you wish to stop the shade at a different place, just press the up or down button again. You can also move several shades in a room at once by holding the button down and using a sweeping motion to reach the infrared eye of each shade.
The remote controls have 6 channels operating on a radio frequency so you can control the shades separately or together. The shades themselves are also battery operated with the battery pack mounted on the back side or on the wall.

http://www.ryanwright.com/ht/powerrise/

Will

3

One of the reviews mentions using the remote from another room just fine, meaning RF. I emailed blinds and asked them about the RXFCOM 433mhz compatibility. He said he didn’t know but would ask the manufacturer and get back to me in 24 hours. He did, saying they were not compatible.

At $100 each and being battery powered, I’d love to know more about how they work, RF, etc.

4

Did you happen to buy the motorized blinds?

5

No, not yet. i’ll probably order one in the future. i have about 10 32" windows I’d love to automate blinds on, but it is not a priority. I don’t want power/wires. And they won’t get constant use. These blinds look like they’d do the job. If they work with RFXCOM/vera, i’d probably be in for sure.

6

Have you looked at RollerTrol? Battery options and RFXrtx compatible?

7

[quote=“parkerc, post:6, topic:172697”]Have you looked at RollerTrol? Battery options and RFXrtx compatible?

Yes, I’ve looked at these. I like the fact that they’re RFXCOM-ready, but I’m a little unclear WHAT blinds/shades they could be fitted with. I want simple mini-blinds or cellular shades for several inside mount 31"W x 70" L windows.

I like the idea of an all-in-one ready to mount unit for $100.

8

@Will H’s post for ryanwright.com is exactly how Somfy makes their Single Channel RTS to Dry Contact Interface. I am glad someone made a tutorial for this and thanks for posting. That method is a good way to make any RF remote, dry contact operable.

To answer your question about Rollertrol, these motors are typically best suited for Roller Shades. It may be possible to use them with at CTS cord take up system for slatted horizontal Venetian blinds, if the crown and drive of the motor fit the CTS components in the headrail, it the most common use would be with Roller Shades.

9

@Intrepid, did you purchase any of these shades? I’m thinking about getting some and wanted to see if you ever pulled the trigger and had any feedback.

10

I think I may try these out, too. My electrician said he can hardwire them for me.

But how do I control them with VeraLite?

I’m a total newbie, so talk to me like I’m 5 (and links to any product I’d need would be great, too)!

11

I bit the bullet and bought 2 of these. They were back ordered, so took about 20 days to arrive.

I spent ~$300 total for two windows. I am pretty happy with them so far. The look and quality of the cellular shade is something I’m impressed with.

They were easy to install, even though the provided instructions were pretty poor. The Blinds.com website has a lot of how-to documents and videos, so that was helpful. I read in the reviews that the manufacturer would reduce the size of the blind slightly from what is ordered (to accommodate installation). This was not the case for me. The blinds arrived the exact size I ordered.

Each shade has a power pack that holds 8 AA batteries so plan for that. These are easily hidden in my implementation.

The only negative for me so far is that the motors are a little louder than I would like, but for he price I can live with that.

At some point I will try and tackle Vera integration, but that will be a challenge.

12

sorry, i missed your question. but no, i have not purchased. I’m still very interested though.

keep us posted on how they work out. I’d love to have automation of these…especially at $100 each! these are $117 less 20% now, i see.

Can you tell if the remote is IR (line of sight) or RF (works from another room)?

13

They appear to be RF (there is a little wire antenna). The remote works from just about anywhere in the house.

I would also like to automate. It would be great to have them close automatically at night (during a scene execution).

14

we need to find out if the rfxcom

http://forum.micasaverde.com/index.php/board,45.0.html

will work. i emailed the rfxcom people, and they said no, but i’m not sure if they had the blind.

15

i was thinking to use a fibaro z-wave shadecontroller and a normal cheap DC-motor but it seems there are so many options that it gets confusing.
something like this [url=http://www.blindautomation.co.za/tubular-motors]http://www.blindautomation.co.za/tubular-motors[/url]
but then again it would be even better to have this zwavemotors.com %-level motor to be able to set it at any given point.
this company also sells a lot of cheap motors and accesoires to fit any type.[url=http://shien-motor.en.made-in-china.com/product/LvNJrURTVxhV/China-45mm-Tubular-Motor-SM45-20-15-.html]http://shien-motor.en.made-in-china.com/product/LvNJrURTVxhV/China-45mm-Tubular-Motor-SM45-20-15-.html[/url]
this are also nice looking shade-controllers Z-Wave Motor Controls - RS Scene Automation-Shade Control Products

16

[quote=“Intrepid, post:14, topic:172697”]we need to find out if the rfxcom

http://forum.micasaverde.com/index.php/board,45.0.html

will work. i emailed the rfxcom people, and they said no, but i’m not sure if they had the blind.[/quote]

I contacted Blinds.com and they said that the remote uses 433.42 mhz

Not sure if that helps. I’m going to get an additional remote and break it open I think.

17

The rfxcom devices say 433.92.

18

I ordered the spare remote and will have a look at doing some mods like were detailed earlier in this post after it arrives…unless someone has another idea???

19

in order to automate those blinds, you can always buy another remote control from them and open it up and solder wires to the button contacts. You should only need 4 wires, up/stop/down/common. Then you’ll need a relay solution that you can wire those newly solder wires to. I have purchased the $20 RS232 relay board from ebay that was recommended here:

http://forum.micasaverde.com/index.php?topic=8585.0

Then you’d use and USB to RS232 cable to connect it to Vera. Once the plug-in is installed, the relay board will appear as a window covering or a “projector” with window covering type controls I believe.

20

Thank you Shady!

I will give that a shot one the spare remote arrives.