I have about 49 feet between a Vera 2 and an outdoor electrical outlet (ge jasco). Vera can’t pair to it because it is too far away. I am looking to see if there is an outdoor Zwave module that acts like a extender so I can get it to pair.
A few things
I cannot bring the Vera to the device because the wifi settings always breaks Vera (long story) so I have it hardwired and I do not have a long enough Ethernet cord.
My Vera is old and is slow. It takes forever to load the gui.
When I leave Vera plugged in and try to pair the switch outside Vera doesn’t “see it” due to range.
The Vera 2 must be in close proximity in order to include a Z-Wave device. Normal inclusion is a low-power process, but even a full power include is probably not going to work at 50 feet, and likely through a wall(s). You must bring the two devices within a few (3) feet for include. “Extenders” will not help in the inclusion process. You must reduce the distance.
The GE Z-Wave Wireless Lighting Control Outdoor Module is portable. To include it, you would simply move the device close to Vera and include. Then install in its final location and do a Z-Wave network heal or two.
However, based on your post, I have a feeling that you are actually talking about a GE Z-Wave Wireless Lighting Control Duplex Receptacle possibly in an outdoor enclosure. Since this device is not portable, your choices are more limited.
Since normal portable include is undesirable in your case, one option would be to use a long ethernet cable to get the Vera 2 close to the receptacle.
Your other option would be to move the receptacle close to the Vera 2 and temporarily power it. For this, I’d use a piece of extension cord or a pigtail, but be very careful not to shock yourself or short the power. Once powered, perform the include and then reinstall the receptacle in its final location. Finally a heal or two to figure out its new location.
Thanks for the info. I actually got it to pair but not configure. This is likely due to the distance. I get errors transmission fail and can not get the name of the device. I tried putting the device configure setting to 1 and reload lua but it doesn’t work. I can do a heal but I don’t think that will help configure it.
I think what happened was I did move the Vera close to the outlet when I had a long 50ft Ethernet but it didn’t flutter the lights so i didn’t think it paired. When I plugged Vera back in its home the device was included but not configured. So I’m stuck.
Would the GE outdoor module act as a mesh to extend the range between the Vera and my outlet and finish the configure?
[quote=“Bboy486, post:3, topic:188355”]Would the GE outdoor module act as a mesh to extend the range between the Vera and my outlet and finish the configure?[/quote] It might. It certainly will act as a routing node on the network, extending your range. But, it may require that the device configure first.
I’d try putting Vera close to the outlet, using the long ethernet cable and see if you can get it to work that way first. Then, if you have range issues, look at a routing node/extender.
Well it is definitely the distance. I ran the Ethernet cord and plugged the Vera near the outlet. It configured the outlet and I was able to turn it on and off. Once I put Vera back to its home I got an error. So I definitely need something in between. I do have a door sensor between the Vera 5 ft and switch 35 feet but I don’t think Vera is able to use that as a mesh.
You should always do a heal after relocating a device or Vera. That heal has likely occurred by now, as there is an automatic nightly heal, unless you’ve changed the defaults.
You’re correct, the battery operated door sensor, like all battery operated devices, do not contribute to the routing mesh. You’ll need a powered node(s).