Did you ever get rid of your Vera2? I haven’t reached the 25 PM level either yet. thanks (and one more post closer to PM status) :-\
Yes, I sold the Vera to an enthusiast who I am sure will make good use of it. And isn’t loading it with battery-operated Z-Wave devices, so I’m sure it will work well for him.
bob
[quote=“FlyBoyBob, post:18, topic:168778”]Actually bought the $799 unit which includes all of the plug-ins that could have been bought one at a time. I’m such a tinkerer with no respect for what it costs me that I figured I would “get it over with” and forget that I paid that extra $300!
As I said I won’t post good or bad about either company or product other than seeking help for things that I am having trouble with or providing help where I can. Anyone interested in making their own comparisons can find me, and many others I’m sure, at “board dot homeseer dot com” with me being the same user name as here.
All the best,
bob[/quote]
Don’t you also need the 146.00 zwave interface to the controller to make it work? (Z-troller)? Pricey but if it is reliable it may be worth it. I looked at the tutorial videos and does not look any more/less complicated to set up than vera.
A USB zwave stick will work with HS, but the ztroller seems to be the preferred interface.
regarding scene controllers, so far the monster IWC600 devices do not seem to work at all with HS. HS posted that they will likely not support them due to the age and older firmware. At least Vera has partial, workable support for them.
I bought the Aeon Z-Stick for the Hometroller and am considering upgrading to the Z-Troller for the increased range and control. The Hometroller purchase page is not specific enough, or at all, that it needs a Z-Wave hardware device to work with Z-Wave, unlike the Vera2 which is built-in. Fortunately a forum poster informed me of this and I got a call in before my unit was shipped, to include the Z-Stick. The Z-Troller was recommended but they were out of the USB-to-serial device which it also requires since the Hometroller does not have serial ports.
I since discovered USB-to-serial adaptors are very common, about $10 on Amazon and a little more at Best Buy, and I might upgrade to the Z-Troller myself.
Setup ease is about the same yes, although I think everyone agrees the Homeseer web interface is far more professional and comprehensive, and the Z-Wave tools and diagnostics are light-years ahead: although making the network “mesh” still alludes me… ???
Hope that helps,
bob
I think the Z-Troller is a stronger controller than the Z-Stick - I am a gauge guy I like gauges more than idiot lights. I like to see the functions I am performing say added or deleted or check the node number if necessary on a device. Also like the ability of being able to backup the Z-Wave network and if something happens to the controller being able to restore the network to a new controller without having to redo the network Homeseer sells the treadnet USB to Serial converter - I have used a few others some work some don’t as with everything else. The new Hometroller-SE does not have serial ports - the Hometroller-S3 does 8)
Thanks for that… I’m sold on the Z-Troller, and a serial device from Homeseer just so I have someone to complain to if it doesn’t work!
bob
Sorry to see you go. I have the latest firmware and 3 HSM 100’s. 1 works perfectly, 1 is a bit flaky but not too terrible, and the 3rd one is just a complete mess-it works when it wants to…
So, I understand your frustration if you’re relying on these units.
The rest of my system works beautifully-including the Schlage locks that gave me so much trouble initially.
Do you have any HSM100s? Either the battery-operated part or the 3-in-1 (actually 4) is what the latest Vera2 firmware can’t handle, the rest of my network is as 100% reliable as yours. But I use the HSM100s as input to automate everything else, so without them being reliable nothing is reliable.
I am hoping that the HSM100s, being native to Homeseer, will be strongly supported on their controller. Also I see that their remote access is via VPN straight into the box = so no being at the mercy of whatever is going on with the MCV forwarding servers…
Catch me on the Homeseer Forums, causing trouble there! 
bob[/quote]