Recent Posts

1

Tubular Motors: General Discussion / Re: Lower Limit keeps changing

« Last post by admin 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

Tubular Motors: General Discussion / Lower Limit keeps changing

« Last post by patcg60 on August 27, 2023, 08:53:42 AM »

I have 13 rollertrol shade/ motors.  They are a mix of older and newer motors.  The problem I am having is the lower limit keeps changing on several of them.  On some it gets longer and on others it gets shorter.   Has anyone experienced this?
Thanks.

3

Choosing a home automation system / Re: Z-Wave Relay Controller Raw Commands

« Last post by admin on May 28, 2019, 08:31:00 AM »

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

4

Choosing a home automation system / Re: Z-Wave Relay Controller Raw Commands

« Last post by javiergilsapiens on May 28, 2019, 07:16:14 AM »

I bought from you a while ago, the Z-wave module and the control relay transmitter, and I was able to get them working pretty good with ST, however, a can only fully open or close the shades using ST, I cannot stop them at any point, the control type that ST assumed it was was a dimmer switch. I've read that to achieve the stop command through the Hub, yo need to use these commands:

Open: 0x26 0x01 0xFF
Middle/Stop: 0x26 0x04 0xFF
Close: 0x26 0x01 0x00

but I do not have a clue where to insert them, could you tell me how to configure these commands in the Smartthings Hub?
I've had the controller for a while now.  do I need to erase the dimmer switch (for the rollers) and set a new kind of switch? if so, what should I do?

Thanks in advance.

5

Choosing a home automation system / Re: Home theater shade control

« Last post by admin 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

6

Choosing a home automation system / Home theater shade control

« Last post by photonmech on March 31, 2019, 06:49:32 PM »

Hello, new user, first post.  Wanting to get automated motors for three shades - 2 windows, 1 sliding glass door.  Ultimately want to control with Google Home and alternately via phone app.  Which control system do you recommend?  What components do I need?  Already using Google Home for lighting and theater components with the help of Harmony for IR devices.  When I looked into this over a year ago I think I had settled on Kit #1 (http://rollertrol.com/store/en/diy-motorized-window-blind-kits/25-projector-screen-motor-or-large-blind-kit.html) plus a BroadLink Hub.  Does that still sound like a good start for one roller?  Will that get me going with Google Home?  Once I get one figured out I think I can then purchase 2 additional tube motors for the others.  Thanks

7

Voltage, polarity, wire size, etc. / Re: non responsive motor

« Last post by admin 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

8

Tubular Motors: General Discussion / Re: Picking the right items...

« Last post by admin 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

9

Tubular Motors: General Discussion / Re: Roller shade motors - Same speed in different sizes?

« Last post by bryblind on February 09, 2019, 11:48:12 AM »

Yes. The speeds are adjustable and I was able to get it close enough.

10

Tubular Motors: General Discussion / Re: Roller shade motors - Same speed in different sizes?

« Last post by Hawkin on February 09, 2019, 03:56:25 AM »

Hello, thanks for checking out these top weight loss shakes and 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

Did you actually experiment with this at all, Bryblind? I'd love to hear about your experiences.