vestal walrus
Hello,
Im new to ZWave, how it works, its range etc. I have my HA running on a truenas VM that is enclosed in a rack with other equipment in my garage. Could someone explain what my expected range could be, should I add a zwave mesh extender or something in the mix here? If so, how do I do that? Can I use a second stick plugged into a RPI?
lime charm
"enclosed in a rack with other equipment in my garage" - probably one of the worst scenarios. Use a USB extension at least to get it out of the rack. https://zwave-js.github.io/zwave-js/#/troubleshooting/first-steps. Garages are also typically at one end of a house, not centralized, if that's the case you will need mains-powered nodes to build the mesh.
vestal walrus
Oh yeah, it was put there with the idea of never using something like this. All of my AP's are hard wired and not in this area lol. My garage is exactly like you described.
grizzled talon
Can I use a second stick plugged into a RPI?
You can run zwavejsUI on an RPI. You don't even need a second stick, you can just use your one and only stick in this way.
vestal walrus
So I can put my RPI in a central located spot and use it to send the data back to my HA?
grizzled talon
Yup
vestal walrus
Ok great. Any idea where I can find a write up on how to pipe the info from the stick to my HA?
grizzled talon
This is what I used to know, it's a bit outdated now though
https://flemmingss.com/how-to-set-up-zwavejs2mqtt-on-a-raspberry-pi-and-integrate-it-with-home-assistant/
The name has changed to zwaveJsUI (from zwavejs2mqtt)
lime charm
Which is option 3 here https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/zwave_js/#advanced-installation-instructions
grizzled talon
I think the broad contours are still the same though.
lime charm
you don't need mqtt though, stick with websocket server
vestal walrus
Awesome, well I think this is exactly what I need guys. Thanks for your help. Now I just need to figure out the best zwave motion sensor. Looking for one that does motion and temperature if possible. I know thats not a question for this spot but I thank you both greatly!
lime charm
Official ZUI docs might be good enough for you. Docker is recommended but there are several other install options. I don't particularly like Docker if you use an SD card. https://zwave-js.github.io/zwave-js-ui and https://zwave-js.github.io/zwave-js-ui/#/homeassistant/homeassistant-official.
If you are using HAOS you can also install the Z-Wave JS UI add-on and connect to a remote TCP serial port. That means your RPi (or anything) can run ser2net to expose the serial device.
vestal walrus
I am Running HAOS, ill look into that plugin. It seems like the easiest way, and docker doesnt perform so well on these old pi's
lime charm
If you're into POE, there's a tubez POE adapter which works the same way
https://zwave-js.github.io/zwave-js/#/usage/tcp-connection?id=configuring-ser2net, then you just specify a tcp:// device path in the ZUI settings.