I think that the quoted 20m (just over 65ft) is very optimisitc annd assumes perfect conditions - very unlikely to be met in the real world.
For example, even though I restrict the number of protocols being received on my RFX, over time I receive from HUNDREDS of devices - just checking ... 1,140 in fact!!!! Of which, by far the most common device is the RM174RF smoke detector - possibly an indicator of the number of student houses around us. So the 433MHz band can be quite crowded. Then you have noise from local devices and then you have walls, etc.
However, the RFX devices do have external antennae which can be replaced to get better gain. You should also have them on a good quality USB extension cable to move them away from the device controlling them.
If necessary, you can use more than one RFXtrx433 transceiver with node-red-contrib-rfxcom: these could be located in different places for best coverage. You could then have two instances of rfx-blinds-out, one connected to each transceiver, and send the Somfy control messages to both. The RFX listens for a 'quiet channel' before transmitting, so the radio messages should not clash.
What happens when a Somfy blinds motor receives the same command from two different remotes, that I don't know. You might have to pair each motor with only one RFX, determining experimentally which gives the best coverage. It sounds like a lot of work, though.
No way I would use such a solution for so many blinds. No way I would use a one-way 433 MHz rf protocol that does not support feedback to successful commands when controlling blinds or awnings.
I think RTS is one-way only so you cannot be sure the command has reached all blinds. How stupid would that look like, some blinds moves correctly and others does not?
I have used, and still use, the RFXtrx since many years now. I have a couple of them, actually was developing a plugin for it, just like Max but for another automation SW. I still use it to control some lights that is not migrated to be controlled by Shelly devices. It is working fine for non-critical stuff but I would never use it for the project you describe. Here I would either try to get the ZigBee version of Somfy or I would follow the advice given by @craigcurtin
No you wouldn't need to give them a node-red dashboard - although a simple one running on a Raspberry Pi would be a cheap option - but you just leave the switches in place on each blind so you can manually run the blinds whenever you want
So in our case we have momentary push button switches which my wife still uses about 50% of the time at each blind (but we only have two) and the shelly and Sonoff in the wall box - the switches signal the controller that they have been pushed and then the controller operates the blinds.
So you have the ideal in home automation - an automation enabled system - but also the standard method of operation in case the automation fails.
This would mean having to hardwire each push button in parallel with each Shelly through the wall? It would also mean a push button at each blind, which I was hoping to avoid.
Craigcurtin - what model of Somfy motor do you have which is non-RTS ? I cannot even find one on their website.
I have no idea what model of the motor it was - i was offered remote control or not with our two units - one is roller louver (external) and the other is a motorized awning.
We chose not to go remote control on these two as we had previously had issues with the remote pairing on our older unit (which is remote control) and opted to not go that way.
The intent will be to pair half the blinds to one rfx and the other half to a second rfx, having two independent systems. I wouldnât look to pair the lot with both units. Do you see any issues with this?
Measuring signal (field) strengths in the real world is a difficult problem. Since the Somfy blind motors do not transmit, there is no signal for the RFXtrx433 to measure, and in fact the RFX firmware does not receive RFY messages even from Somfy remote control units. It is likely that the transmitted signal from an RFX will have a longer range than the Somfy remote, mainly because it has a better (larger) aerial, but it may also output more RF power. It is also possible to use a physically larger aerial with the RFX, which will help somewhat. The performance will be limited anyway by the Somfy motor's internal aerial.
It is safe to say that if the Somfy remote works from a given location, then so will the RFX.
Note that the received signal strength is available in the node-red-contrib-rfxcom output, as msg.status.rssi. It is a number ranging from 0 (very bad) to 9 (very good). This is present for all received messages, no matter what type of node generates them
Obviously I don't have his blinds infront of me at the moment, but in that example I am assigning ID 1 01 01 Unit Code 1 (call this Blind 1).
The next blind will be ID 1 01 02 Unit Code 1 and so on.
My understanding from the manual is that up/down commands >2s are used to move the blinds up/down:
To use this from node-red-contrib-rfxcom, I set up the blinds node and address the RFXcom USB device. But not sure how to enter the ID above in the box highlighted below?
Also, then I created a simple flow to control the blinds:
I assume that I set the payload message to instruct the blind to go up / down, but not sure what command to transmit?
The blinds motor address can be provided as the message topic, or using the rfx-binds-out node configuration. Your example addresses would take the form RFY/0x10101/1 and RFY/0x10102/1. The appropriate message payload depends on the motor type. For roller blinds and awnings, the commands to use are UP and DOWN. For venetian blinds, the commands are OPEN and CLOSE to move the blind, and INCREASE ANGLE or DECREASE ANGLE to rotate the louvres. STOP will send the stop command: obviously this only has an effect if the motor is moving. If your system has a sun sensor, this can be enabled by sending AUTO and disabled by sending MAN.
As elsewhere in node-red-contrib-rfxcom, the commands are all case-insensitive, as are some common alternatives, for example ANGLE+ and ANGLE-.
Sorry I didn't reply earlier: I've been having a busy time, getting ready to celebrate my father's 100th birthday on Friday!
Edit to add: I forgot to say, the Somfy venetian blind motors in the USA have different commands to those sold in Europe. This preference is set in the configuration of the serial port for the rfx-blind-out node:
Well I managed to get it all working successfully which is great news. All the comments in this thread were 100% accurate.
This was with a Telis Situo 1 remote linked to one RTS blind.
For those of you who are curious about the range, it was strong up to 16m on the same floor (that's as far as I could go, all doors were closed too), it got a bit sketchy trying to connect between floors (standard antenna was used). The transmitter was downstairs and the blind was upstairs. The house had 2700mm ceilings, 300mm joists with insulation bats between floors. In the manual it seems the antenna does not like communicating with equipment above it, so that's probably why.
There was another set of blinds my friend had which were on a Telis 16 RTS remote, I was unable to force the blinds into program mode (i.e. motor jogs up and down) by pressing the program button on the back (I tried all sorts of durations).
Does anyone have this remote? Is there something special I am missing in order to force the blinds into program mode using it?
