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    Open/close sensor one way

    Here's a question for you.

    I have an open/close sensor mounted in my mailbox. it's linked to the hub. Status ALWAYS shows open, never closed. Yet, when you open the mailbox, alert will fire that sensor was opened. Close mailbox, no alert, app shows open still. Thoughts?

    #2
    It seems that the magnet is being moved far away from the sensor to trip it, but not getting close enough send an off signal. You may need to reposition the magnet and/or the sensor.
    Message from Forum Admin: stusviews passed away in April 2018. Stu was a huge fan of Insteon and a huge presence on both the Smarthome and Insteon forums, helping thousands of us along the way (he had nearly 20,000 posts to his name). We thank him for his contributions, dedication, and passion for making the Smart Home a reality. He will truly be missed.
    Saving energy is not always free. Be a world saver.

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      #3
      Any closed metal box like a mailbox acts like a Faraday cage - blocking all RF signals in and out. When someone opens the mailbox, there is an opening in the "cage," and the open signal reaches your hub. When you close the mailbox, all signals are blocked, and you never get the closed signal. You probably don't want to, but mounting the sensor on the outside of the mailbox would probably work.

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        #4
        So let's say you have a motion sensor in a Rubbermaid box. In my case, the mailbox is too far from the house to get any signal. Is there any way to relay that signal with battery operated devices, or does it require a dual-band plug-in module to make that work?

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          #5
          A dual-band device (wired or plug) including an Insteon bulb can repeat the RF signal received from another device. RF only (battery powered) devices do not repeat other devices' signals.
          Message from Forum Admin: stusviews passed away in April 2018. Stu was a huge fan of Insteon and a huge presence on both the Smarthome and Insteon forums, helping thousands of us along the way (he had nearly 20,000 posts to his name). We thank him for his contributions, dedication, and passion for making the Smart Home a reality. He will truly be missed.
          Saving energy is not always free. Be a world saver.

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            #6
            Originally posted by stusviews View Post
            It seems that the magnet is being moved far away from the sensor to trip it, but not getting close enough send an off signal. You may need to reposition the magnet and/or the sensor.

            I am having the same issue as the original poster, however my sensor is not in a mailbox but on an outside door.

            I'm having a hard time understanding your response. If the magnet is moving far enough away to break connection (and I do get consistent indications when I open the door), then how can it not be close enough to make connection and thus indicate the door is closed?

            Could you clarify? Is the reed switch not providing both the open and closed indications?

            Regards

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              #7
              The distance required to break the connection is often less than the distance required to make the connection. For example, the magnet may break the connection at .7" but needs to be as close as .5" to restore the connection. These are not actual distances for your reed switch, only an example.
              Message from Forum Admin: stusviews passed away in April 2018. Stu was a huge fan of Insteon and a huge presence on both the Smarthome and Insteon forums, helping thousands of us along the way (he had nearly 20,000 posts to his name). We thank him for his contributions, dedication, and passion for making the Smart Home a reality. He will truly be missed.
              Saving energy is not always free. Be a world saver.

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                #8
                stusviews,

                Thanks for the reply. I'm not trying to be a pain, but I'm still not sure I see what you mean. First, I understand the idea of hysteresis in a binary circuit, which seems to be kind of what you are talking about. I certainly understand that the circuit may require a distance of .7" (or more) between magnet and reed to 'break' (open) the circuit. I also understand that it may require the the magnet be as close as .5" (or less) from the reed before it will "make" (close) the circuit. However, what I am getting confused about is that before the circuit can be "broken" (opened), and for the sensor to send out a notification that it has been opened, I am assuming that it must have first been in a "closed" state. In other words, why would it send out a notification saying "hey, I was just opened", if it never knew it had been closed?

                I will say that I have been playing around with it, changed the battery, and do now get occasional messages saying it is closed. However, I have noticed that sometimes when closing the door, after the single blink of the LED, the LED with then start blinking repeatedly for a couple of seconds. I don't recall seeing this when opening the door (sensor), only when closing.

                Could this be an indication of another problem that may be related to the lack of consistent "closed" indications?

                Oh, one other thing. I very often get double notifications when the door is opened. I will receive two emails with the exact same time stamp. Again, could this be related?

                Regards and thanks for your assistance.
                Last edited by jormsby; 01-04-2016, 09:42 PM.

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                  #9
                  A few blinks suggests that either the message was not ACKed on the first or subsequent try (up to 3) or that a device that it was linked to was removed, but not the link. Also, most battery powered devices do, in fact, send out two messages. The second message is usually ignored.

                  Both problems may be related to poor communication.
                  Message from Forum Admin: stusviews passed away in April 2018. Stu was a huge fan of Insteon and a huge presence on both the Smarthome and Insteon forums, helping thousands of us along the way (he had nearly 20,000 posts to his name). We thank him for his contributions, dedication, and passion for making the Smart Home a reality. He will truly be missed.
                  Saving energy is not always free. Be a world saver.

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