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1
Tubular Motors: General Discussion / Re: Lower Limit keeps changing
« on: August 27, 2023, 02:02:01 PM »
Hi, the first thing to check is if you have a smooth walled tube. If you have these, please understand that the drive adapter could be slipping. Please remove the motor and add some vinyl tape to the drive adapter to make it stick to the tube better.

Alternatively you can also add a setscrew:

https://RollerTrol.com/how-to-retrofit-motors-to-blinds-and-shade-tubing

Regards, Adrian

2
Hello, could you please contact us directly through our contact form:

https://RollerTrol.com/contact-us

We will need to determine which unit you have, so that we can give you the correct information.

Regards, Adrian

3
Choosing a home automation system / Re: Home theater shade control
« on: April 01, 2019, 09:45:55 AM »
Hello, thanks for your question; we get that a lot these days.

The BroadLink hub is very nice because it can control both IR and RF for a very affordable price. There are different ways to connect with Google home, and it's very likely that someone has done more work with it since we last looked. In the meantime, the BroadLink hub is a very good starting place for your journey into home automation.

Here is our article series on setting it up with the phone app that can also run on tablets:

http://RollerTrol.com/blind-motor-phone-app-introduction

We have taken it a step further by using the BroadLink hub connected to the excellent (free) Home Assistant (HASS) program running on a Raspberry Pi. We use it with the Alexa plug-in, but HASS also has a plug-in for Google Home.

We have had HASS (written in Python, btw) running on a Raspberry Pi with the BroadLink hub plug-in for several years, without any problems whatsoever. Here is a link to our article series about that:

http://RollerTrol.com/raspberry-pi-smart-home-with-home-assistant-and-broadlink-part1

We have about 5 Raspberry Pi computers running here, for various purposes; it is a very versatile, affordable platform. For instance, we also use it with the built-in software called Node-RED, running with Alexa voice control, which is another amazing home automation program that is worth a look. Here is our article series about Node-RED, BroadLink hub, and Alexa:

http://RollerTrol.com/blind-and-shade-control-with-alexa-part1

This RPi has also been running for over a year without any problems. I just walk into our great room, say "Alexa, turn on Theater Mode" and it closes all the blackout blinds on 3 windows, deploys the 10 foot projector screen over the 4th window, and turns on the 8.1 channel Dolby sound system and HD 1080P projector.

Another way of using voice control is with our new Z-Wave group controller; you can use with any Google Home enabled Z-Wave hub. Here is the link to the website (NodeSwitch Controls is our manufacturing division):

https://NodeSwitch.com

By the way, if you need blackout blinds, please check out our custom blind and shade division:

http://AutomaticBlindsAndShades.com

In short, there are actually numerous ways of integrating Alexa or Google home with your system; it's up to you which way you want to go, but just getting the BroadLink hub with phone app is a great starting place.

Regards, Adrian

Adrian Biffen
Senior Tech
RollerTrol Automation Systems

4
Voltage, polarity, wire size, etc. / Re: non responsive motor
« on: March 18, 2019, 10:27:30 AM »
Hi @jppadula, it does sound like you may have received the wrong motor. I am very sorry about that; please contact us through the contact form on the website and we will quickly arrange a swap for you.

Regards, Adrian

5
Tubular Motors: General Discussion / Re: Picking the right items...
« on: February 25, 2019, 10:38:11 AM »
Hi @prenrick, thanks for your interest.

Could you send me the link to what you saw on Youtube? We have had quite a few clients use our remote control motors to do that type of project.

Best Regards, Adrian

6
Hello, thanks for your interest.

The shade delpoyment speed is determined by several factors, such as motor design, tube diameter, and weight of shade. It is unlikely that your arrangement would result in the same speed of delployment, but you will be able to program the travel limits so that they always end up in the same place.

You can compare the speed of motor types in our cart, but please keep in mind the tube diameter also plays a signifigant role:

http://rollertrol.com/store/en/5-tubular-motors

Regards, Adrian

7
Hello, we couldn't say for sure if you could use our motors, but anything that has strings running through it to the hem bar can usually be motorized by using what we call a "bare tube winder" approach (at the top of the shade).

Probably the best example of this would be our article series on how to motorize Roman shades:

http://rollertrol.com/how-to-motorize-roman-shades

You might also be interested to see our article series on how our motors can be automated with Alexa:

http://rollertrol.com/blind-and-shade-control-with-alexa-part1

Regards, Adrian

8
Hi, are you certain it isn't stuck part way through the travel limit settings? You do need to complete upper and lower limits.

Also, you can clear the travel limit memory by holding the limit button down for 10 seconds on the remote. Please see if that will clear the problem.

Otherwise please use our contact form to contact us directly:

http://rollertrol.com/contact-us

Regards, Adrian

9
Hello, the most important aspect of setting that motor is to complete the travel limit settings for both top and bottom travel limits. If you only do one setting, it will just stay in that setting mode, even with power disconnected (it uses non-volatile flash memory, which retains settings even when power is disconnected). Here are the instructions:

http://rollertrol.com/instructions-DC-no-radio-remote

However, it also sounds like the motor may have failed and needs to be replaced. We still have the 12 lb lift capacity units in stock.

Regards, Adrian

10
Hello, there's no question that z-wave is an expensive solution if you want individual control of the blind motors. Most z-wave users use it to control a group of shades, and use the remote for individual control.

Our BroadLink smart hub system is a very inexpensive solution if you need individual control; please see the application link here:

http://rollertrol.com/blind-motor-phone-app-introduction

I realize you are already using SmartThings, so I will check and see if anyone has made a bridging app between the two platforms.

Regards, Adrian

11
Hello, is this a unit you purchased from us? If so please contact us directly so we can look up your order history in our database system to see exactly what you have:

http://rollertrol.com/contact-us

Regards, Adrian

Adrian Biffen
Systems Administrator
RollerTrol Automation Systems

12
Choosing a home automation system / Re: Controlling Blind Remotely
« on: September 20, 2017, 04:57:17 AM »
Hello @lcsmith62, thanks for your posting.

The feedback we have from our Insteon clients is that the best way to control our blind motors is to use our z-wave control kit:

http://rollertrol.com/store/en/all/253-zwave-group-control-starter-kit-for-blinds-and-shades.html

This would assume that you have whatever Insteon module is required for it to control devices using z-wave.

With regards to Alexa, we're not sure if Insteon has provided the ability to interface with that type of voice control.

We know that it can work with Home Assistant (HASS) running on a Raspberry Pi.

Regards, Adrian

13
Hello @robzeke, thanks for your questions; here are the answers:

re slotted tubing:

Our motors are made for industry standard Rolease tubing, but the drive adapters can be modified to fit other types. Slotted tubing (internal splines) are good because they lock the motor drive. You can also use tubing or pipe with a smooth interior wall, but we suggest you use a locking screw to prevent slippage.

We have written a series of articles with a lot of detail that can be seen on the main menu at Rollertrol.com (see 'How To' and 'Projects')

Projection material can be heavy, so you may want to use our HD motors that have 24 lb lift capacity. One of the above articles explains how to measure the weight of your shade. You can use any kind of tension bar, as long as the fabric + tension bar weight doesn't exceed the lift capacity. We also have the Maxi, which can lift 45 lbs using a 2.5" tube.

We only supply motors, but you could do a search for screen material and tubing. The metal supermarket is one place to check for tubing. We also use 1.25" EMT steel conduit from any home hardware supply.

Regards, Adrian

Senior Tech
RollerTrol Automation Systems

14
You are very welcome, and we appreciate your biz! Customer service IS our #1 priority.

Regards, Adrian

15
Hi, it sounds to me like the battery may have failed for some reason. We have many installations of these systems in skylights and we've never had any issues around heat build-up, so I don't think that is the problem. I will check your order history and communicate with you directly by email so that we can get some replacements out to you right away.

Regards, Adrian

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