Use valves (and room thermostat) as repeaters!

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Dragon
Posts: 2
Joined: 07 Mar 2018, 08:44

Use valves (and room thermostat) as repeaters!

Post by Dragon »

Hi there!

I would kindly ask you for a new feature that would diminish many problems that a lot of users encounter.

It would be great if you could let all valves and the room thermostat (possibly also the relay) work in a mesh-like network.

So basicslly each device should repeat the packets that it receives over radio (if it is not directed to itself of course).
You could also require some signal threshold to repeat (to save energy if the potential repeater receives a signal from a nearby device, so repeating would be rather senseless).

Obviously the packets should be marked with a unique ID and be processed only once from the device it is directed to (and to avoid endless repeating).

This would enormously extend the range of the installation and make the connections more reliable.

Thank you in advance and best regards,

Dragon
Dragon
Posts: 2
Joined: 07 Mar 2018, 08:44

Re: Use valves (and room thermostat) as repeaters!

Post by Dragon »

Any updates on this? I really need this to cover up my entire house. There are blind spots and it is frustrating that I frequently lose connection to these valves.
basil
Posts: 50
Joined: 05 Apr 2018, 19:21

Re: Use valves (and room thermostat) as repeaters!

Post by basil »

This would be a great improvement and would defiantly improve operation for those of us who have drop-outs.
I guess the processing power of each valve and transmission congestion might be potential difficulties, would be good to hear Netatmo's comments.
bartsimpsonx25
Posts: 3
Joined: 07 Oct 2018, 20:08

Re: Use valves (and room thermostat) as repeaters!

Post by bartsimpsonx25 »

It would be a great idea but I believe it can't be achieved by a software update, it should be hardware related. If it isn't yet availabel (I would like to know) it could be possible to add a second relais to act as a repeater which would connect to the valves which can't connect to the main relais. It would be possible to use it to create a different zone or to add the conneted valves to the main zone.
basil
Posts: 50
Joined: 05 Apr 2018, 19:21

Re: Use valves (and room thermostat) as repeaters!

Post by basil »

@bartsimpsonx25 Yes, hardware could be the limiting factor, if so then the idea is a non-starter. It depends on the original design:
I assumed the valves transmit & receive on the same frequency using a digital ID as part of the transmission to identify the intended recipient device, if so, it's a fair assumption the software discards/ignores any received messages not intended for it. If this is the case, then 'repeater mode' could simply re-broadcast any messages instead of discarding them. This would impact memory (temporary storage of message and additional code required) and processing power (additional demand in listening and re-transmitting), and probably also result in a shorter battery life, since the valves would probably be 'listening' continuously. I assume there is some kind of scheduled polling at the moment initiated by the relay (since this is powered from the mains, it makes sense for it to do the power intensive stuff?).

However, if the valves cannot do this, then with appropriate firmware changes, the relay should certainly be able to.

Discussions like this are fascinating, collectively, users can produce valuable debate and ideas, it would be great to have Netatmos occasional comments, or even better; how about a user focus group?
Brieuc_Netatmo
Posts: 3088
Joined: 02 Jan 2014, 11:20

Re: Use valves (and room thermostat) as repeaters!

Post by Brieuc_Netatmo »

Hi all,
The Thermostat and the Valves are designed to communicate only with the Relay, they cannot communicate each other, and it cannot be changed by a firmware update.
On the other hand, we're still working on improving the radio signal strength between the modules, we will keep you posted :)
Brieuc - Netatmo Team
basil
Posts: 50
Joined: 05 Apr 2018, 19:21

Re: Use valves (and room thermostat) as repeaters!

Post by basil »

Thanks Brieuc, looking forward to further updates on the valves.

Perhaps a product idea using @bartsimponx25 suggestion, a relay with special firmware could be made available as a booster?
Cristi_XP
Posts: 41
Joined: 20 Aug 2017, 16:00

Re: Use valves (and room thermostat) as repeaters!

Post by Cristi_XP »

still no solution? Till v66... I am having constant dropping today on one valve... tomorrow on another one... tha day after on another one...
If this cannot be improved, maybe a product like relay extender or something to which the valves can connect and fwd the signal to the relay.
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