Posted: December 20 2003 at 18:21 | IP Logged

Hi there,

I got my WF800 so I could eliminate all my TM751's. I did that and found that my SS13A (Stick-a-switch Remote Wall Switch) would not get picked up unless I was within 25 feet of my WF800 antenna. I also had no pickup of some wireless motion sensors at the far edges of the house.

So, I ordered and hooked up an SR731 Smart Repeater and that solved my distant motion sensor pickups beautifully.

However, the SR731 does not register signals from the SS13A, so it can not repeat them. Even if I place the SS13A just 1" from the repeater. Does the SS13A use a different frequency than motion sensors and such?

With the SR731 and WF800, I no longer need 751's except near any SS13A's. I want to eliminate all 751's. Any ideas?

Thank you,

Robert

Posted: December 22 2003 at 17:23 | IP Logged

Robert,

Im sorry to hear about the lack of range on your WF800.  I assume this is the one without the external antenna?

Ive never used any of the RF repeaters so cant really comment on their performance.

If I were you, I would post this same question in the comp.home.automation newsgroup since its not PowerHome related.  It has a high volume of users and would probably generate some responses.

You might also contact WGL Designs and see if they might swap out your WF800 for one with an external antenna as I suspect that the SS13A and your smart repeater and probably incompatible.

Sorry to not be of much help,

Dave.

Posted: December 26 2003 at 11:51 | IP Logged

I'm pretty sure the stick-a-switches use the same frequency.  I use them in my house quite a bit, but they are flakey.   Sometimes they work, and other times they don't.  That is, even the same unit will work one minute, but will not work an hour later, then starts working again.  They seem to be marginal in some way, but I don't know how.  One of these days I'm going to replace them with different RF transmitters (mounting a palm pad perhaps?).  I'm guessing that whatever their design problem is, it is preventing the RF repeater from echoing their signal.

I have the WGL device with the external antenna and I'm extremely pleased with it-- it has better reception performance than the TM751, the DS7000, or even the mr26a with external antenna and amplifier.

Posted: December 26 2003 at 19:27 | IP Logged

My lone SS13A woked intermittantly until I got my WF800; now it works fine, always.

Maybe you need to move yours to a different spot? I've read that this can be a common problem (location).

Posted: January 16 2004 at 23:32 | IP Logged

Robert,

Had a similar problem w/W800RF32A. Downloaded their diagnostic software and monitored the RF signals for awhile. I was getting a stream of 'unknown or corrupt' input errors at about every  ten seconds, it would last about 5-6 seconds. This pretty much was blocking any reliable input to PH. After about five long hours of disabling every eletronic device in the house, tracked it down to my Gyration mouse. Re-trained the mouse on an alternate frequency and things function great now. Don't know if you have any other devices that are RF but tracking your source signals may be worth checking. The program is rf32.exe and the download can be had on WGL's home page.

SA

P.S. I'll throw my hat in the testimonial ring of the 800. Tried the MR26 w/every antenna mod you can find and at best got 15-20 feet. Now at 75-100...