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An additional z-wave antenna


wrt503

Question

Hello. Have somebody tested z-wave antenna like this:

 

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13,5dB

 

or

 

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5dB

 

 

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Hi @wrt503,

 

I have no experience with external antennas, because i had no need to use one, but I've seen an 

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which is compatible with Fibaro HC, accoridng to supplier. Perhaps you want to check that out. :-)

 

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6 hours ago, wrt503 said:

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we have them as well on stock, for i think half price (they are ok, real low loss cable, 1m is enough to have HC2 placed into 19" rack and antenna outside rack), but ...

 

Quote

13,5dB

 

they have never ever 13,5dBi. Where you got that value? That antenna have ~3.5dBi

 

Quote

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cable too long, and no, never ever real low loss cable, so useless antenna 

Edited by tinman
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  • Inquirer
  • Thanks for the info. I have found on conrad.com this antenna 

     

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    So I need to decided which to buy. I will install the antenna outdoor, near the window. 

     

    a) 

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      17E

    b) 

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     but in Poland I have found the same antenna for 20E

     

     

     

     

    37 minut temu, tinman napisał:

    they have never ever 13,5dBi. Where you got that value? That antenna have ~3.5dBi

     

    On this page > 

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     , at the bottom of the page there are table with value "Zysk".

     

     

     

    Edited by wrt503
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    53 minutes ago, wrt503 said:

    So I need to decided which to buy. I will install the antenna outdoor, near the window. 

     

     

    - why external antenna?

    - do you have additional modules in house (where your HC2 is located)?

    - if there are modules in house, are they on same floor?

     

    Quote

     

    at the bottom of the page there are table with value "Zysk".

     

    haha, that is copy / paste error. This are not the specs from what they selling. Specs are from this one:

     

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    so yes, there is the "same" folded dipole antenna mounted, but there are additional elements and that's why the real ATK-10 have 13.5dBi (but of course much thinner direction).

     

    If you check that allegro link, there is:

     

    Ilość elementów - 10

     

    so amount of element - 10, and what they selling is one-element folded Dipol, not 10 element as on picture above.

     

     

    Edited by tinman
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  • 4 minuty temu, tinman napisał:

    - why external antenna?

    - do you have additional modules in house (where your HC2 is located)?

    - if there are modules in house, are they on same floor?

     

    First - I have HCL. 

    Second - I have house with 2 floors. HCL will be on the last floor (the highest). On each floor I have one devices (switch, 230VAC). But I would like to add new device (230vac) on my garden. Distance between the HCL and device on garden will be about 20-30 meters with three walls. I'm afraid that I will lose z-wave signal.

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    make it simple: take any z-wave plus device and mount it as last device on last wall in direction garden, that will be enough.

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  • Ok. I will try. As I understand it, after added all devices (on last wall and in the garden) I must perform "Mesh network reconfiguration"?

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    23 minutes ago, tinman said:

    - if there are modules in house, are they on same floor?

    I have 3 floors total height approx. 10 meter. HC2 is on second floor and al my devices from ground to top have good sufficient signal without a need for additional antenna. Wel there are some Fibaro wall plugs on each level :-)

     

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    Perhaps a little add-on to tin-man's recommendation. Having Z-wave Plus mains-powered (not battery-powered) devices on the boundaries of the house, esp. the wall(s) closer to the garden would be good to relay/extend coverage.

     

    Just a little bit more info around changing antennas for RF appliance. It is NOT a straight forward concept of high gain = better performance. In another word, antenna gain is not the only factor to consider.

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    We recommend 5 dBi Z-Wave antennas for our dealers. Atleast to have it as a spare part with them, if they need bigger signal coming from HC.

    Edited by jakub.jezek
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    @wrt503, we do not sell those abroad. Maybe others dealers do. Robbshop has nice 7dBi antenna

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    Photo antenna we sell to our dealers:

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    sure, ali have everything :)

     

    My two cent: the problem with antennas is however, if one use multiband antenna (like these 800/85/900/1800/1900/2170MHz) then additional unwished signals will get picked up as well (e.g. LTE), which then finally increase the noise level and is worse than original antenna. When buying antennas for Z-Wave, it is better to buy one with narrow band (especially in EU, frequency band 868 to 870MHz is what one need - note Z-Wave is on 868.40/.42 MHz but Z-Wave plus on 869.85 MHz). This one is maybe bit overkill (one with 10-20MHz bandwidth is good as well), but is cheaper than china-made "all you can get" antennas:

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    16 hours ago, tinman said:

    sure, ali have everything :)

     

    My two cent: the problem with antennas is however, if one use multiband antenna (like these 800/85/900/1800/1900/2170MHz) then additional unwished signals will get picked up as well (e.g. LTE), which then finally increase the noise level and is worse than original antenna. When buying antennas for Z-Wave, it is better to buy one with narrow band (especially in EU, frequency band 868 to 870MHz is what one need - note Z-Wave is on 868.40/.42 MHz but Z-Wave plus on 869.85 MHz). This one is maybe bit overkill (one with 10-20MHz bandwidth is good as well), but is cheaper than china-made "all you can get" antennas:

    Please login or register to see this link.

     

     

    Thanks @tinman

    I just ordered this, shipping was saucy at €18 so landed cost close to 30e

    I recently moved my HC2 in another room about 8 ft away from previous position with a  little more concrete & bricks

    .

    i always had an issue with my gate modules (relay and UBS) as the front of my house has 2 layers of block and 9 inches of stone so I also purchased a zwave + device for the front most room

    - I'll let you know if any /all of this makes any difference.

     

     

     

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    On 17/07/2017 at 5:06 PM, jakub.jezek said:

    We recommend 5 dBi Z-Wave antennas for our dealers. Atleast to have it as a spare part with them, if they need bigger signal coming from HC.

     

    Right Gain for the Right Frequency ;)

     

    Using a right gain antenna designed for the wrong frequency will only spell disaster. :P

     

    I won't say I am knowledgeable enough to be an RF engineer. Correct me if I am on the wrong track. Just happen to gain some knowledge on basic fundamentals of RF, thanks to those RF engineers I used to hang around with (they work on RF designs and specifications while I work with them on the InfoComm side of their solutions).

    22 hours ago, tinman said:

    sure, ali have everything :)

     

    My two cent: the problem with antennas is however, if one use multiband antenna (like these 800/85/900/1800/1900/2170MHz) then additional unwished signals will get picked up as well (e.g. LTE), which then finally increase the noise level and is worse than original antenna. When buying antennas for Z-Wave, it is better to buy one with narrow band (especially in EU, frequency band 868 to 870MHz is what one need - note Z-Wave is on 868.40/.42 MHz but Z-Wave plus on 869.85 MHz). This one is maybe bit overkill (one with 10-20MHz bandwidth is good as well), but is cheaper than china-made "all you can get" antennas:

    Please login or register to see this link.

     

    *thumbsup*

     

    Finally someone with the right knowledge speaking up. *blink*blink*blink*

    Edited by chaicka
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    1 minute ago, chaicka said:

     

    Right Gain for the Right Frequency ;)

     

    Using a right gain antenna designed for the wrong frequency will only spell disaster. :P

     

    I won't say I am knowledgeable enough to be an RF engineer. Correct me if I am on the wrong track. Just happen to gain some knowledge on basic fundamentals of RF, thanks to those RF engineers I used to hang around with (they work on RF designs and specifications while I work with them on the InfoComm side of their solutions).

     

    Our distributor of antennas made them especially for Z-Wave (EU frequency) 8-). They using Z-Wave in their energy managment system.

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    On 7/18/2017 at 4:24 PM, jakub.jezek said:

     

    Our distributor of antennas made them especially for Z-Wave (EU frequency) 8-). They using Z-Wave in their energy managment system.

    Hello,

    can you please post a link where I can order one?

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    17 hours ago, abpostelnicu said:

    Hello,

    can you please post a link where I can order one?

    Hello @abpostelnicu,

     

    Unfortunatelly, we do not sell to Romania.

     

    Manufacturer is from CZ. They have antennas only for their customers. Also whole web is in CZ:

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    Hi all,

     

    I have an external antenna in use with about 15 meter cable attached to it.

    Range is perfect now, no problems here, but........

    From time-to-time I have a Z-wave engine "freeze" problem (see else on this forum) where z-wave totally stops responding.

    The source of this problem is not yet found...

     

    So, (and maybe this is a long shot...) could this antenna be the root cause of this problem ?

     

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