a real bargain for any home automation people out there
Latest comments (39)
ma10
8 Oct 17#39
Got these a few days ago and they seem to be working fine. The only thing I'm wondering about is the battery life, but I guess only time will tell as to their longevity.
Anyway, got curious and cracked one open to inspect its innards (see pic below). The circuitry is not humongous, it's the batteries that take up the most space. I've circled the 2 reed switches on the two "prongs" on either side.
You could easily modify these and make them into a cheap universal z-wave switch for non z-wave devices or for your own DIY projects e.g. a custom button remote, or a trigger for a security alarm/cam that has an I/O module.
mcek
8 Oct 17#38
Only 3 dozen left at the moment. We've cleared the shelves, get in there quick if you're still dithering.
piginabox
7 Oct 17#33
Do these come with a battery?
DJDunk to piginabox
7 Oct 17#34
Yes, they come with 2xAAA batteries, hence their size.
This is a photo of mine compared to the Samsung multi-sensor.
Mine will be going on garage doors, so the bulk isn't an issue there, but I wouldn't want them indoors.
piginabox to DJDunk
7 Oct 17#35
Cheers DJDunk. My pair has just turned up (next day). I had to rattle the wee black button quite fast to get the green light for pairing but all good now. Mine are going into the garage too.
nikc0069 to DJDunk
8 Oct 17#37
Compared to my admittedly much smaller yale sensors from our current alarm, I think these actually look a bit more modern though admittedly not the smallest.
ajsharaf
6 Oct 17#30
I am new to all of this. I manged to get home assistant running on a RPi 3 and with the zwave usb stick installed and the sensor detected. Now what? How do I get it to make a sound or maybe send a command to google home or something. I have been reading and watching but I have not been able to find the correct tutorial . Any advise would be great. Cheers
nikc0069 to ajsharaf
8 Oct 17#36
You'll want to look at automations. It has a trigger, condition and action. So it will be something like "if x and y not home, and sensor is on, do thing". Thing being to trigger text to speech on Bluetooth for example, or to send an alert to a phone. Or if you have a speaker plugged in to play a file on that, or even to trigger a zwave siren. I'm looking to use these to build out a smart home alarm.
piginabox
6 Oct 17#32
Cheers OP, ordered a pair.
xmikebx
6 Oct 17#31
I may try a couple of these for a project I have in mind, has anyone cracked one of these open? Just wondering if the internals are proportionate to the case (hoping they'd be easier to work with than a Xiaomi one)
mrluke
5 Oct 17#29
Got mine today . Am going to use them in the garage . Shame they are a little ugly , otherwise would be a good alternative !.
krustyballcock
4 Oct 17#28
Works a treat and next day delivery. Thanks for the heads up.
Oneday77
4 Oct 17#27
Mine also arrived today.
Initially setup seemed to not work, my Smartthings Hub couldn't find them.
So my working solution is: - 1) Remove battery isolator strip to power it on. 2) Remove the back, slides to one end. 3) On the back there is a finger sized indent, with a small black switch in it. Press that on and off a few times. 4) Light on front will start to blink green. 5) Open App for Smartthings Hub. Press add device. 6) Sensor should show up and you can rename it then save.
Maybe not the official method but worked for me.
Contact to sensor distance is generous and I now have the front and back door connected.
In relation to Samsung's door sensor, it is huge. However it is 1/4 the cost. The pics below show how I have them stuck on to show various mountings and the generosity of the switching range.
rbramhill1
4 Oct 17#26
confirm no issues with Smartthings out the box
They are a bit big though!
mcek
3 Oct 17#20
I'm just getting started with these things to be run in parallel with the Xiaomi zigbee sensors which I have set up and working, and using Domoticz on a linux pc/pi. For the Everspring usb, I'm looking at openzwave openzwave.com/ , cross platform. Everspring devices are listed in their device database, so I assume the stick will work too. Too much on just now to install the Heiman/Everspring, it's my early winter project along with 433/868MHz devices and controllers.
nikc0069 to mcek
3 Oct 17#23
I've ordered these and the stick. Stick is apparently a direct replacement for the sigma designs one and the same chip I think used in several others. I found a listing saying it's compatible elsewhere and open zwave lists the sigma as compatible so should work with home assistant. I will confirm if I get it working. Slowly getting to the point I can get rid of the Vera soon.
mcek to nikc0069
3 Oct 17#24
Yes, the Sigma software is now public, and I found no issues with Everspring or Heiman on the Zwave alliance compatibility listings, so I don't expect any problems when I get around to installation. For the price, these are great- the Everspring is usually around £23, and Zwave devices are £30 upwards. And the cost of Vera etc put me off Zwave, that's why I jumped at the cheap Xiaomi Zigbee devices to start me off. They are working well, but the signal range isn't so great. I also want to include sensors for the shed door and the garden gates, hence the Zwave, and expand automation to the greenhouse etc with 433/868 devices.
nikc0069 to mcek
4 Oct 17#25
The sensors arrived but oddly not the stick that I ordered first, so not tested yet - but I don't see an issue with it given the above.
When you pair these - it says in an earlier post to tap 3 times - literally just tap them? Tap them in the circular indent on the front? There isn't a button per se.
DannyBoy99
2 Oct 17#17
Has anyone actually got these working with the SmartThings hub? Not every zwave device works out of the box. Some require custom device handlers.
ma10 to DannyBoy99
2 Oct 17#18
I've been having a look at this, there were some discussion on it on the ST forums:
Worth noting that the Xiaomi entry sensors can be had for about £7 each and there's already a SmartThings device handler written for them. I've got 4 and other than being a little tricky to pair, they work perfectly.
krazie2004 to DannyBoy99
3 Oct 17#22
I have bought two of these in the past and can confirm that they work out of the box and do not need a custom device handler with the smartthings hub.
mcek
2 Oct 17#3
I got a couple of these a few weeks ago. And they also sell a badged version of the Everspring ZWave usb stick for about 1/4 of the average price. Very cheap for zwave devices.
niffer1 to mcek
2 Oct 17#19
Hey, I think I will go for a couple of these and get the Everspring ZWave usb stick. Do you have it linked to a windows 10 PC? Do you know where I can find the drivers?
cigbunt
2 Oct 17#16
nikc0069
2 Oct 17#15
Has anyone used the super cheap zwave stick they sell with home assistant on a pi as it isn't in the compatability list but does appear to use sigma protocol which is? @mcek
cigbunt
2 Oct 17#14
I'll be honest i can't be asked messing about with home assistant, looks advanced but don't have the time...
Is smart things hub the best all rounder in terms of a hub?
Geemac
2 Oct 17#12
Anyone know if you can get this to work with Philips Hue lights?
krazie2004 to Geemac
2 Oct 17#13
Hue lights use Zigbee protocol so answer is no, unless you have samsung smartthings hub which can control both z-wave and zigbee as a bridge between the two.
lelinho
2 Oct 17#9
I'm new to this. What does one use these for?
mcek to lelinho
2 Oct 17#11
It's simply a wireless break-the-magnetic-connection sensor to go on a door or window, but it'll speak to a ZWave controller. You have similar wireless/wired ones with security alarms, or newer home automation hubs.
niffer1
2 Oct 17#8
Do you need a hub to talk to these? Anyway to talk to these without the hub?
mcek to niffer1
2 Oct 17#10
You will need either a dedicated hub, be it a ZWave only such as a Vera or a multi protocol, such as Samsung Smartthings, or a usb stick to run with a home automation program on a raspberry /pc, such as the Everspring ZWave stick Foniacs also sell.
DJDunk
2 Oct 17#7
Look worth a try at this price. I'll just have to avoid telling anyone the brand name if they ask.
lucyferror
2 Oct 17#4
So it will work without any problems with SmartThings hub?
mcek to lucyferror
2 Oct 17#5
They seem to be standard ZWave protocol, so yes, I believe so.
alexmoores2 to lucyferror
2 Oct 17#6
yeah they will be fine
deangreen4
2 Oct 17#2
have a few of these and work really well. Mine is paired with a cheap ZME UZB1 stick controlled via home assistant
phillprice
2 Oct 17#1
I have a few of these, they work well. No instructions on box but the back SLIDES vertically off then tap 3 x to pair. To reset replace battery while holding same button.
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Opening post
Latest comments (39)
Anyway, got curious and cracked one open to inspect its innards (see pic below). The circuitry is not humongous, it's the batteries that take up the most space. I've circled the 2 reed switches on the two "prongs" on either side.
You could easily modify these and make them into a cheap universal z-wave switch for non z-wave devices or for your own DIY projects e.g. a custom button remote, or a trigger for a security alarm/cam that has an I/O module.
This is a photo of mine compared to the Samsung multi-sensor.
Mine will be going on garage doors, so the bulk isn't an issue there, but I wouldn't want them indoors.
I have been reading and watching but I have not been able to find the correct tutorial . Any advise would be great. Cheers
Initially setup seemed to not work, my Smartthings Hub couldn't find them.
So my working solution is: -
1) Remove battery isolator strip to power it on.
2) Remove the back, slides to one end.
3) On the back there is a finger sized indent, with a small black switch in it. Press that on and off a few times.
4) Light on front will start to blink green.
5) Open App for Smartthings Hub. Press add device.
6) Sensor should show up and you can rename it then save.
Maybe not the official method but worked for me.
Contact to sensor distance is generous and I now have the front and back door connected.
In relation to Samsung's door sensor, it is huge. However it is 1/4 the cost.
The pics below show how I have them stuck on to show various mountings and the generosity of the switching range.
They are a bit big though!
For the Everspring usb, I'm looking at openzwave openzwave.com/ , cross platform.
Everspring devices are listed in their device database, so I assume the stick will work too.
Too much on just now to install the Heiman/Everspring, it's my early winter project along with 433/868MHz devices and controllers.
For the price, these are great- the Everspring is usually around £23, and Zwave devices are £30 upwards. And the cost of Vera etc put me off Zwave, that's why I jumped at the cheap Xiaomi Zigbee devices to start me off. They are working well, but the signal range isn't so great. I also want to include sensors for the shed door and the garden gates, hence the Zwave, and expand automation to the greenhouse etc with 433/868 devices.
When you pair these - it says in an earlier post to tap 3 times - literally just tap them? Tap them in the circular indent on the front? There isn't a button per se.
community.smartthings.com/t/h…/28
Probably worth a punt at this price.
And they also sell a badged version of the Everspring ZWave usb stick for about 1/4 of the average price. Very cheap for zwave devices.
Is smart things hub the best all rounder in terms of a hub?
You have similar wireless/wired ones with security alarms, or newer home automation hubs.