There was a typo in your post. 245 is actually 345mhz. Wifi doesn’t operate at 345mhz (2.4ghz and 5ghz) range. This not wifi or z-wave.
So what standard is it?
MNB The VeraLink (345MHz) protocol seems to be based off of the 2GIG (345MHz) protocol and is similar to some of the Honeywell (345MHz) and InterLogix (319MHz) protocols.
@TDehnke, many thanxs for info, out of ignorance with this protocol what are the Pro’s/Con’s vs z-wave and/or WiFi devices? Mike
It’s not a standard as it only works with 2gig and vera. That’s also a downside but the upside should be longer range and more secure transmission.
@integlikewhoa, thanxs again for the edumacation (sic) ;D. I have a VeraSecure sitting on my desk still in its box (haven’t had time to convert from VeraEdge) but have been following the various related threads. I take it that you have converted to the Secure? if so how was the transition?
Back to your answer, so you indicating longer range and more secure xmission, is it encoded? Have you acquired any of these 345mhz devices and if so what are you using and for what (e.g. alarm system)?
[quote=“MNB, post:26, topic:196319”]@integlikewhoa, thanxs again for the edumacation (sic) ;D. I have a VeraSecure sitting on my desk still in its box (haven’t had time to convert from VeraEdge) but have been following the various related threads. I take it that you have converted to the Secure? if so how was the transition?
Back to your answer, so you indicating longer range and more secure xmission, is it encoded? Have you acquired any of these 345mhz devices and if so what are you using and for what (e.g. alarm system)?[/quote]
I have no plans on getting a VeraSecure.
Lower the frequency (with all others being the same) means better penetration and range but less data transfer speed (which is not needed for this say vs. wifi). Alarm panels sensors don’t work off a mesh but will still report from a max up to like 350ft open area. Z-wave says 100ft open area. In real life alarm sensors easily hit 100-150 where z-wave is more like 50-60ft ish. I would say it is encoded but I don’t have any specs to prove it. Z-wave also has encoding depending on the devices.
I have a GE Caddx Alarm that is integrated into the home automation. They use a 319mhz frequency. I like wired so everything in the house is wired but a detached garage does have some wireless in it and its pretty far from the keypad receiver.
Personally I don’t like to throw all my eggs in one basket. The Secure will be great for some but if vera fails you and you leave to another home automation what are you to do with the sensors you have that only work with 2gig or vera. People have come to vera from other systems and left to other systems. Z-wave picks right up and moves without an issue. My alarm panel I have has functioned with and without any home automation and it has functioned with VERA and with Homeseer.
Other companies have designed sensors and switches that work with not only their controller but others as well (stuck to a “standard” like Z-wave). This 345mhz, is a bit to proprietary for my liking. So while I like to mix it up I’ll stick with devices that work with the future I might have, not only what VERA has for me. I might also think differently if I thought 2gig alarms were on the same level as DSC, Honeywell, GE.
@integlikewhoa, thanxs for your in depth explanation of your situation. Looking on Amazon I see that UTC seems to have purchased GE Caddx Alarm and accessories. Out of curiosity how (interface wise) are you communicating between your Alarm panel and VERA and/or homeseer? Between the two platforms (Vera vs Homeseer) are you planning on moving away from Vera? Mike
Honeywell is probley the oldest most trusted alarm IMO.
DSC is probley the most popular to use right now.
GE is probley 3rd on my list if I were buying today.
GE connects to VERA with a USB to serial Adaptor. I have this one.
You also need to make or buy a serial to serial adapter to plugin into the alarm panel.
I also use a gender changer in to the middle to make the two above connect together.
I think I spent 30.00 total on the cable. Plugin is free on vera or Homeseer for GE/Caddx panels. On Homeseer I run it on a mini windows PC and it has a serial input on the computer so I don’t use the Serial to USB anymore. Just plug the DB9 serial into a open serial port on the computer. I can run what ever length serial I need but I keep most of my electronics in a media rack in one place.
For the DSC or Honeywell it costs a bit more (80-90.00) but you can get a network (cat5e) cable connection to your panel with a “EnvisaLink4” network modual. This lets you get your panel on the network then vera or Homeseer can connect to it from anywhere in the house.
I moved away from VERA to Homseer around a year ago. I have more then one smart house and had veras at each. Both started with Vera lites, then Edges, then the Plus is where I had to stop. You can search for those threads.
Yes UI7 was very painful … it took over 2 years from the time they released the Edge and Plus that required UI7 for them to get a relatively stable system. And that was a very painful time … I personally stayed on UI5 for all but the last 6 months of this cycle.
But it is more reliable now than my UI5/Vera 3 system … but mostly because I was running out of memory.
I still hate the UI … I have more than 200 devices … and its very painful … but I only use it to configure my system.
I am extremely automated … And now I use my Google Homes and Phone for any manual control.
I am planning on much more automation now … I have not done much with my Audio/Video setup … I will be moving to that soon … and of course leveraging Google Home as I go … I already have a Google Cast connected to my Stereo/TV … and I use Google Home to select what I cast there … and often just listening to music. But I have to manually configure to many things.
twka90 what Vera controller and OS did you migrate from and what Homeseer controller are you using now? For whatever reason (drives I?m guessing) I?ve found that Nortek and Aeotec products to be noticeably more responsive/reliable on the VeraSecure than the HomeTroller S6. As I have a bunch of Nortek and Aeotec products . . . . . . . .
The main reason a bunch of us upgrade from the VeraPlus to the VeraSecure was for the more RAM and CPU the VeraLink was just a bonus. On a side note I wish Mios would list the last time a plugin was updated and what OS that its compatible with UI5, UI7 or both.
As much as I really like the Amazon Echo hardware I think I?ll soon be joining you Richard on the Google Home as that is slowly looking to be the better software for my needs.
And this is one of the reasons I left. Every year I was in need of an upgrade for unexplained issues that I thought were related to under powered hardware (could have also been more then just that too). From the Lite to Edge to Plus in more then one house I have. From 128Mb to 256Mb to 512Mb it just wasn’t enough (mediocre upgrades) and just always enough to keep me good for a few months then hold out until the new vera came out. ui7 growing pains and such were just icing on the cake. But my vera system was never just up. I had wifi power outlets that they were plugged into to be able to run a remote reboot, I had one vera talking to another vera to check in and make sure they are online. I made things work and I got good at redundancy and backup plans, but it only masked the real issue.
I can honestly say I don’t have a Wifi outlet or watchdogs checking up on both houses anymore. I also have not had a lockup or random reboot (besides power outages, which it auto reboots backup) in over a year.
There is threads going on here now, how Vera Reboots after internet connection restore. I can’t say weather the secure hardware is going to fix all hangups, reboots and such but yes the hardware upgrade is better then the previous options for the time being. Although prices are now jumping pretty good too. It’s no longer in the 99 entry level HA controller category (smartthings, Iris) so I hope it doesn’t act like it is either.
It's not a standard as it only works with 2gig and vera. That's also a downside but the upside should be longer range and more secure transmission.
I have had multiple false alerts with zwave smoke alarms and Vera, so I’m fine with the new 2GIG protocol.
That should have nothing to do with the wireless frequency it uses to transmit. I have 4 Z-combo’s and the only problem I had with them was the heartbeat issues (which I think vera corrected) and that was only with VERA. You very well could have a problem with your smokes or the brand or something but it shouldn’t be due to z-wave vs. 2GIG protocol.
I have zcombos and vera has reported smoke several times when the devices themselves did not trip. There is ample evidence that ui5 trapped errors that are not handled successfully in ui7.
I suspect the 2gig devices will have their own vera code. An alarm company can’t stay in business reporting false smoke and water alarm activation. If I had been traveling the fire department would have broken into my house to save my dog. Vera blamed the devices, of course. But the false alerts have occurred on multiple devices from different vendors.
After having multiple false smoke and water alarms (I was home for all, and the devices themselves did not trip), I do not trust vera for security and safety functions. If the vera secure 2gig stuff is handled separately in UI7 I may give them another chance. I’m happy to hear that their security plan is not some half-assed attempt to do these functions by incorporating existing z-wave devices.
Integlikewhoa RAM usage for the Vera and Homeseer do not scale the same way let me give you some context. What is your average RAM usage for your Homeseer right now somewhere around 70% of 4GB stick? When I recreated what I had on my VeraPlus that only had 256mb of RAM on to a HomeTroller S6 I was averaging 93% of a 4GB stick. The VeraSecure has 512MB of RAM. Not all Vera run the same firmware, I can confirm that the VeraSecure does not reboot after internet connection restore. I?m not fished moving my system over to VeraSecure yet (lack of time on my part) but from everything I?ve seen so far the VeraSecure looks to be a good Vera product.
I never knew about HS3 until now so I?ll just shut up lol At the time the S6 had the ports I needed on board and the spec looked good on paper, the ports were good the performance not so.
Hi guys, I really hate to be the party pooper but…
Please try to keep the topic clean and tidy with useful information about VeraSecure.
If you have things to add that are related to other gateways, don’t hesitate to open e dedicated topic.
Thank you for the understanding.
Anyone experiencing slow or no execution on time scheduled scenes?
I have a couple of daily routines (sunrise - blinds up, some lights on); night time (lights on, blinds closed) etc. I created all these scenes on my Vera3 and migrated with all devices to Vera Secure. Since than I fully moved to using Vera Secure exclusively. Devices all work and scenes run, but esp. the scenes run unreliably. They mostly never auto trigger on time set, they do when I select the scene and run manually. But they mostly need 2 to 3 times to start. On the iPhone app I get a small spinning gear when I run the scene, first click nothing happens, second or third try I have 90% success to run the scene.
Appears there is a process ‘sleep’ timer that puts the box in a state where it doesn’t track timed scenes. Any scene that is button triggered or triggered from another devices (like my alarm) works okay most times.
Any insights from others on the Secure?
Is the built-in 3G cellular active with the purchase or only when used in conjunction with the VeraSecure? Will there be the ability to activate this for backup access without the service?