Trouble pairing with smartthings?

[rkrasny]

I recently installed two 12V DC rollertrol rollershades with the z wave motor control units.  Everything works perfectly by remote control but I am unable to pair with my smartthings hub although I understand they are compatible.  I know there is a zwave include button next to the header connector and I've tried powering up the shade and searching, pressing the header connect button and searching and just about everything else I can think of but the hub doesn't find a new device.  The hub is quite close to the shades so I don't think distance is an issue.

Anybody have any troubleshooting ideas?  I checked the smartthings forums and there are only one or two posts about rollertrol but one is someone who had no trouble.

Thanks

[admin]

Hello, have you paired any other Z-Wave device? Did you follow the instructions in the article series link we sent with the tracking info?

It's possible you have either a defective module or a defective hub, or perhaps a bad power supply.

The pairing is usually a pretty simple process, so if you would like us to send you another module to test, please contact me in the morning by email.

Regards, Adrian

Adrian Biffen
Customer Service
RollerTrol Automation Systems
http://RollerTrol.com

[rkrasny]

I have two modules because I have two shades.  The power supply did seem a bit fussy during the installation but I wasn't certain if that was related to minor wiring issues along the way or a problem.  I did test the output of the power supply when it was working and it was a solid 12V DC.

It seems unlikely that I have two defective z wave relay modules?  Perhaps it is the power supply but the shades operate properly with the remote.  I'm open to trying another relay or power supply or anything else you think might be of help?

Can you elaborate a little bit on the pairing process?  I have about 25 devices on my network so I have quite a bit of experience with all sorts of devices (somfy shades, switches, sensors etc.)  Most devices need to be toggled to become discoverable and I presume that is what the button next to the header plug is?  Is it just a matter of powering on the unit and pressing the button and then searching for devices (that would be typical with the smartthings hub)?  If so I've tried that many times.  Is there any sort of reset that can or should be done?

Thanks

[admin]

Good Morning, thank you for the extensive feedback. I wasn't sure if you were just starting out, but clearly you have had plenty of experience already with the SmartThings controller.

I agree that it is very unlikely that you have 2 defective trigger modules, so I'm thinking this is likely just a procedural issue as I know others have used our trigger module with SmartThings.

Personally, I have not used it with SmartThings but I will do some research on this and let you know. We have a Vera unit here and it paired up with that with no problems.

Regards, Adrian

Adrian Biffen
Customer Service
RollerTrol Automation Systems
http://RollerTrol.com

[rkrasny]

Is it just automatically and indefinitely in a pairing mode when plugged in?  Or do you push the button next to the header plug and it's available for a period of time?  The Vera I think has some sort of auto-include but the relay would still need to be broadcasting connection information.

[rkrasny]

I've done more troubleshooting - the hub is finding the device and calling it a "Dimmer Switch".  With this device type it doesn't function.  I can change the device types to many choices, none of course are your shades but some of them clearly activate the relay in that the red light on the z wave relay goes on and then the blue light on the header controller but the shades don't operate.

Again, I'm sure they are wired correctly because the remote functions.  I'm quite a bit closer than I was though.  The current question is what device type I can use to make these functional (up/down) in smartthings.  Anybody successfully using them in ST would know this - I posed the question on the ST forum although there are very few posts about rollertrol so I think very few people are using them.  If these do work I'll post that too since lots of people balk at the price of somfy motors and these are more affordable.

Thanks - let me know if you discover anything useful.

[rkrasny]

Is it true that it has to be wired correctly if the remote works?  Or does the remote communicate with the motor controller and the z wave relay is separate?  I'm asking because I can clearly have the z wave activate something on the motor controller but no movement occurs.

[admin]

Hello, I haven't yet finished looking into the relationship of the trigger module with SmartThings, but I'm wondering if you somehow missed our instructions link that was sent:

http://RollerTrol.com/z-wave-blind-motor-control-part1g

The Z-Wave module triggers our group transmitter module, and you can test the transmitter module simply by connecting a wire between the appropriate terminals (as a substitute for what the trigger relay would do).

The normal procedure is to get the group transmitter working first (you can just clone a hand held remote channel), test that, then use a trigger relay module of choice (it does not have to be Z-Wave, it could be a Control4 relay module, for instance).

It could also be some other type of relay trigger module that works with SmartThings in some other way. Our group transmitter is powerful enough to reach anywhere in a typical home, and it does not need to be anywhere near the blind motors.

The Z-Wave part of the exercise should be really simple as Z-Wave is supposed to be interoperable, regardless of the hub you use, but apparently it's not as easy as it sounds. I'll report further in the morning on this aspect of the issue.

Regards, Adrian

Adrian Biffen
Customer Service
RollerTrol Automation Systems
http://RollerTrol.com

[rkrasny]

I did see that article.  I am still a bit confused though.  I am shorting across the neutral terminal and the white/black stripe or the neutral and the other two terminals for open/stop/close on the radio transmitter module and nothing happens except the blue light in the z wave module blinks.  I can't get the motor to move by shorting across (closing) those circuits?

Am I performing the test of the radio transmitter module incorrectly?  Can you let me know what terminals or wires to short to get the motor operating and then I can probably figure out which terminals are being shorted by the smartthings software and connect them properly.

[admin]

Good Morning, thanks for letting me know about the instructions link; some folks do miss that in the instructions message.

It is important to start by setting up a hand held or wall mount remote as the master unit as only the master can set the blind or shade travel limits. Just for reference purposes, here is the collection of remotes, in case you need to check on the part number of your particular remote:

http://RollerTrol.com/store/en/12-remote-control-for-motor

Did you first follow the cloning procedure to clone a channel from your master remote to the group transmitter?

Once you have done the cloning procedure, you should be able to test the blind motor(s) that were assigned to the master channel that you cloned onto the group transmitter.

With regards to testing the group transmitter, if you fasten one end of the test jumper to the N (ground) screw terminal, you then have 3 other terminal to test (OPEN, CLOSE, STOP). Just touching any one of those terminals should cause the appropriate action to occur.

If that does not work, then we need to examine the cloning procedure to see if that is happening properly. You might try the cloning procedure again, just in case it did not work for some reason.

In the meantime, I am gathering as much information as possible for the Z-Wave interfacing, but we need to get the group transmitter working first, before we get to the Z-Wave stage.

Regards, Adrian

Adrian Biffen
Customer Service
RollerTrol Automation Systems
http://RollerTrol.com

[rkrasny]

I didn't do the cloning procedure - I thought that was for using more than one remote or more than one motor on a specific channel.

That is likely the culprit at least at this point since the group transmitter must not have the correct programming information?  I am jumpering the neutral to the open/close/stop and nothing happens but that must be cloning as well.  Just to confirm the neutral terminal has 3 wires because each of the relays has a neutral lead (brown, grey and white I think) - the 3 striped wires goto the individual function terminals.  Also, cloning must not be necessary for the handheld remote to work?  I already have stop limits set as well as intermediate positions with each of the two shades on its own master channel.

I'll clone tonight when I get home for each of the two group transmitters and re-test.  Again, thanks.

[rkrasny]

Adrian, is the "setting" button in the cloning instructions the same one as what is called the "include/exclude" button elsewhere in the instructions for the group transmitter?

[admin]

Hi, for sure you cannot skip the cloning procedure to the group transmitter for the blind motors. It is essentially a roller shade single channel remote with screw terminals instead of push buttons - it can control as many motors as you like, simultaneously, just the same as a hand held or wall mount remote.

Here is a summary of the easiest way to do it:

1. Create a separate master channel for each motor (used to set individual travel limits which can be done later)
2. Clone those individual master channels that will be in a group to another vacant channel on the remote
3. Clone that resulting group channel to the group transmitter
4. Test the group transmitter with a wire jumper for OPEN/CLOSE/STOP actions
5. Set up the Z-Wave trigger module to activate the group transmitter

Tip: the flash memory is in the motors, not the remotes.

Regards, Adrian

[admin]

Hi, just to answer your previous question, there should be no mention of 'include/exclude" except within the context of the Z-Wave module. That terminology is generally only used with Z-wave devices.

The setting button on our motors does have a somewhat similar function in that it allows the motor to be paired with our remote control channels, but we try to keep the "include/exclude" terminology separated, used only for Z-Wave modules.

Our group transmitter can be used with any relay trigger module, whether it be ZWAVE, Zigbee, Control4, Crestron, Lutron or any other system, so we try to keep the terminology separate and distinct. But it doesn't always work.

Regards, Adrian

[rkrasny]

What does this mean (directly copied from your web instructions)? 

•   Press the setting button on the DCG-1R-RFT Radio Transmitter Module once.

The "Radio Transmitter Module" is the plastic module into which the header connector goes and there is a black button inset next to the header connector that your instructions call the "Zwave include/exclude" button?  I just want to make sure we're talking about the same thing and not the actual "Setting" button on the motor itself.

Sorry for the multiple replies, I hope you can understand my confusion.