Will my Vera always be on the same remote access server, or will it sometimes switch to a different one?
so will this allow me to attach this tag to my key and when I am out of range I could trigger the scene Away? Because that would be the solution for arming my house automatically.
Does anyone know what that “out of range” distance seems to be? Also looking at their site, it will give an “out of range” notification if it can’t talk to the tag for any reason so there might need to be another way to run an “away” scene so that it doesn’t arm an alarm when you are still home.
[quote=“Estoecker, post:21, topic:172570”]Will my Vera always be on the same remote access server, or will it sometimes switch to a different one?[/quote]Not sure, but I guess it’ll either work on both or stay on the same one. It used to be that before UI5 the remote access server you were on, was tied to your Vera serial number on an odd and even basis. Its likely still the same!
In the API docs, there is mention of calling the API directly from a local address on your LAN, but it may need a firmware update.
*Edit
Just spotted the local URL calling feature is already implemented, so this will likely cut down on latency and simplify things 
[quote=“Screamhouse, post:22, topic:172570”]so will this allow me to attach this tag to my key and when I am out of range I could trigger the scene Away? Because that would be the solution for arming my house automatically.[/quote]Yep, that is one of the use cases I’m considering, and one of the reasons I bought it.
[quote=“cubs2b23, post:23, topic:172570”]Does anyone know what that “out of range” distance seems to be? Also looking at their site, it will give an “out of range” notification if it can’t talk to the tag for any reason so there might need to be another way to run an “away” scene so that it doesn’t arm an alarm when you are still home.[/quote]200 Feet “in free space” If it didn’t work well, then I guess you would have to start leaving the tags within range of the transmitter.
Good news, could you update us on your findings, please
I agree with @strangely’s short review, the system is pretty flexible and well thought out. the URL calling is a nice feature that allows it to integrate with Vera. it works well for detecting movement, sensing open doors/windows, etc. but I was a bit disappointed with the out-of-range detection. I tried to use it with my car to track whether it’s at home or not, it gives many false positives and at times, it takes a while to discover that the tag is out of range (unless polling period is decreased significantly, which may affect the battery life) , also a weak signal may trigger a periodic out of range.
another positive aspect is the that the tag itself is relatively cheap.
Sorry for the question, but can you programme it in a way it will only trigger a scene when 2 tags are out of range? I might be away, but my wife can still be at home
the URL calling feature allows you to set 1 URL only, but you can create a virtual switch on Vera for each tag and have the tag toggle the virtual switch when it’s out-of-range. Then you can use something like the combination switch plugin to trigger an event if both virtual switches are set (ie all tags are out of range) …
Brilliant, will have to wait till the watersensors become available, cant wait
Just got mine this weekend and I’m disappointed.
The Bad:
It loses communication with the base, often. I bought 3 tags and started playing with them right away, one in the fridge and one connected to a garage door. It kept losing them so I thought since they were in weird places (in a big metal box and outside) I’d try to put one closer. I put one in the room with the base unit and had it just monitor temps and it still kept losing it.
Motion sensing - It always caught a door opening but 4 out of 5 times it didn’t see it close again. To get it going again you have to reset the tag which means…
Temp monitoring - It doesn’t actually have a thermostat built in. You have to “calibrate” it yourself, which means you need to know the temp of the tag when you set it. What it does is tell you how much the temp has changed from when you calibrate it. The issue with this is, since the tags need to be reset so often you need to re-calibrate the temp settings every time. So if I want to monitor the temp in my garage I have to know how cold it actually is in my garage so I can tell the tag.
Occupancy Monitor - This is actually what I was hoping to get out of this, put one tag in the glove box of each of our cars and when they both are gone, run an “away” scene. Of course this won’t work since it loses communication with the tags so often.
The Good:
Super easy to set up and the tags do seem very rugged considering they aren’t much more than a circuit board and a battery.
The iPhone app is slick and easy to understand.
Very inexpensive for everything you get.
I didn’t take the time to set this up with any scenes on Vera, I don’t see any point since it’s still pretty wonky. I give the product a C- in execution but an A+ in potential. Can’t recommend it just yet, seems like it needs a generation or two to mature.
I was reading the Wireless Sensor Tag website to try and identify if there would be a possibility of using multiple Tag Managers to “kinda” create a wider communication coverage area. I found this in the FAQ’s.
From the Website:
If you have more than 1 tag manager, add them to the same account. This can be done only from the Web app. Log in to mytaglist.com/eth, click “Settings”, then “Account”. Then click “Add Tag Manager”. You can choose to group the new tag manager to the existing one. Now tag paired/associated with the first tag manager can be controlled by the new tag manager, and if tag has gone out of range of the first tag manager, the second tag manager can receive the motion and other events/temperature log data from the tag if it is within range of the second tag manager.
Thoughts on how this may improve performance. I had a conversation with an Elder Care Advocate who was working with us regarding my Father-in-Law and he brought up the potential for a system to detect “Presence” and how it could be incorporated/integrated with a Home Automation system (e.g. Alzheimer’s).
MWP
Anyone try to develop a Plug-In or some interface for the Wireless Tag System?
I ordered some Tags and a couple of Tag Managers and am curious if further information, experiences, results or applications have been realized.
Post here or I can be PM’d.
Thanks
MWP
I?m using my tags on daily basis. They fulfilled an actual need, as I needed a few door sensors to be installed outdoors. The tags are relatively cheap, and are weather-proof enough when wrapped in a plastic bag (for my purposes at least)
It?s probably possible to develop a full-fledged Vera plugin, but since I am using them primarily as door sensors, I ended up creating a virtual security sensor in Vera, that gets invoked when the door is opened/closed (by making use of URL calling features of the tags), that way I can view the tag?s open/close status from Vera and mobile apps like AutHomation and I can trigger Vera scenes depending on the tag status. Reliability of the tags themselves are OK, but not perfect (probably 80-90%), that is, it?s possible to miss an event in some cases if someone opens and closes the door real quick.
It looks like they have some improvements afoot that might possibly address some of the reliability issues raised in this thread. From their blog at http://wirelesstags.myshopify.com/blogs/news:
We have sold out all of our existing Tag Manager and will be shipping new Tag Manager hardware from orders received today. The lead time remains the same (no more than 7~10 days.) The new Tag Manager looks and will work exactly the same as the old one, and is 100% compatible with all existing Tags. It provides the following new features. ?A better radio hardware for more reliable radio communication to tags and support of long range version Wireless Sensor Tags that will be released in Summer 2013. ?Due to temperature changes and aging, the crystal frequency in each Wireless Tag (old version) drifts. This prevents Tag Manager from using narrow receive bandwidth for long range. With the new tag manager the receive bandwidth can be programmed in several steps to achieve the best trade-off between robustness (against tag temperature change) and range. In narrower bandwidth modes, a "Calibrate Radio" button may appear when it detects frequency drift larger than the chosen receive bandwidth. Clicking this button to update frequency of each Tag to correct for the drift. If you set the Tag Manager to wide band mode (default) you will never see or have to use this button.?The hardware has capability to store up to 48 tag event transmissions (such as temperature update, motion events) locally while Internet connection is interrupted, and upload those to the Cloud server as soon as Internet connection is back. Each stored event will retain a time-stamp to indicate when it was actually received by the Tag Manager.
Well I received my Wireless Tag System managers and 5 tags this weekend. Cao Gadgets had an issue with their servers and I could not get my Tags to “Add” to the system. Fortunately, I received an email last night regarding a resolution and I was able to “Add, Associate and Configure” the 5 Tags. I had a little difficulty associating the Tags after adding them. After a couple of attempts to re-associate they “took”. I set-up some URL calls and they worked well with my Vera3 system.
I am interested, sent an email to Mr. Zhiheng Cao, if there is any way to define a “rule” and set a URL call off “Signal Strength”. When the Tag Manager “Pings” the Tag, a Signal value (e.g. -38dBm) is returned. I realize that that the Signal may be a somewhat difficult value, but it may be used as some type of indicator for distance. This would possibly provide a way to determine a rough “Presence” definition “within” In-Range and Out-of-Range determination. Any others have thoughts on this.
I have more testing and some thoughts on using multiple Tag Managers to create some virtual switches from a grid perspective.
Back to testing…
MWP
Anymore updates and impressions of these tags?
I have had a set for several months and my view is that the system is not ready for prime time yet. My tag manager loses its Ethernet connection regularly and it needs to be power cycled to connect again. Reporting of the battery voltage also appears to be highly inaccurate.
On the plus side the URL calling feature works well and I use it to trigger scenes in my Vera.
Greg
[quote=“asterix406, post:39, topic:172570”]I have had a set for several months and my view is that the system is not ready for prime time yet. My tag manager loses its Ethernet connection regularly and it needs to be power cycled to connect again. Reporting of the battery voltage also appears to be highly inaccurate.
On the plus side the URL calling feature works well and I use it to trigger scenes in my Vera.
Greg[/quote]
You could plug the tag manager into a Z-Wave controlled socket, then use a ping monitor or a schedule to cycle the outlet and hence the tag manager when the ethernet fails or on a regular basis.
I’m joking. It’s clear that “the system is not ready for prime time yet”.