Oregon temp- and humidity sensors battery and signal status?

I am a happy user of the RFXtrx433E plugin 1.6.3 with latest firmware 235.

I used to have the RFXLan as well when running HS3 PRO from HomeSeer but I am in the process of completely switching over my home automation setup from PC and HS3 PRO into Macintosh world and run Indigo. I have found Indigo to be far better and easier to use and during my first test week I have even been able to produce some cool energy, temp/humidity and rain/wind charts which I was never able to do in HS3 PRO during my 12 months of testing...

I did notice though that the RFXLan has better receiver sensivity than RFXtrx433E but using an external antenna (yes I know it is not certified for it) made it possible for me to receive signals from ALL my sensors into my lab (even the ones in my garage 20-30 meters away). I live in a 5 year old house that is built with leca blocks (in ALL walls, not just the outer walls) and with a metal shield/bottom between the upper level and ground level (due to water based floor heating on the top floor as well). Talk about living in a Faradays cage...

Anyway, I am now using the RFXtrx433E and have so far enabled only the Oregon Scientific and AC protocols (yes I now AC and other similar protocols are bad and create a LOT of RF traffic, especially for example the door sensor as well as the motion sensor).

In HS3 PRO I was able to get the battery status into the web gui but I have not been able to see the battery status even in the Indigo event log and not in the Indigo web gui. I guess the plugin does not support it yet? I found some older threads in the forum that it seems that the battery status has been available in earlier versions of Indigo?

Would it also be possible to get the signal level number (that I can see in RFXmanager) into Indigo? It would be very good at least in the installation phase to see signal quality from the sensors being used.

The temperature and battery levels are both actually available for my Oregon Scientific instruments... For battery level, you can set the control page to display Device State -> [device name] -> Battery Level. I use a custom image to display a battery similar to a cell phone style display, but of course can display the text as well. I guess I am just assuming these are updating (all mine have new batteries at the moment), but the state is definitely there. New batteries show 10, so I am guessing this is in 10% increments.

For the signal level, there is a custom state called "Signal Strength". I am not positive on the range of this one... mine are showing 4 and 5 from maybe 70' away (with few obstructions).

Adam

The temperature and battery levels are both actually available for my Oregon Scientific instruments... For battery level, you can set the control page to display Device State -> [device name] -> Battery Level. I use a custom image to display a battery similar to a cell phone style display, but of course can display the text as well. I guess I am just assuming these are updating (all mine have new batteries at the moment), but the state is definitely there. New batteries show 10, so I am guessing this is in 10% increments.

For the signal level, there is a custom state called "Signal Strength". I am not positive on the range of this one... mine are showing 4 and 5 from maybe 70' away (with few obstructions).

Adam

Actually, I think the battery has only three states. 10 = "full" or pretty good, 01= low, and 00 meaning dead. At least that's what I summized from a google search several months ago.

@RogueProeliator / Adam:
Thanks for the info on the signal strength and battery level. Did not realize that the control pages is the only way to see that data, not in the Indigo device page. Will test control pages (for the first time) during the weekend.

@jalves:
Thanks, it was exactly that info I found when searching through the user forum for answers. Those three value levels 10, 1 and 0 are fine to me.

I guess it is time for me now to step out of the trial license and buy the PRO version so that I can add all my devices and leave HS3 PRO for good...

Actually, I think the battery has only three states. 10 = "full" or pretty good, 01= low, and 00 meaning dead. At least that's what I summized from a google search several months ago.

Thanks, Jeff... that will help alleviate some confusion later when I see it drop to near-zero all of a sudden I have no idea how long batteries will last on these things, mine have just been in a month or so.

Adam

The different devices send updates with different frequency. The wind sensor sends the most updates about every 20 seconds That has major impact on battery life. I put rechargeable batteries in with a solar cell. Running now for 6 months.

My temp sensor is still running on the first battery after a year, it sends about every other minute.



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Good point about the update frequency. I'm curious how you wired in the solar panels and what size you got.

solar for scientific oregon wind sensor:
http://forums.indigodomo.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=12431&hilit=wind

Thanks for pointing me at that Karl. I might need to start looking for some cheap solar panels. Perhaps I'll find some deals in May at Dayton Hamvention.

here the battery level and signal strength over time for 4 different devices.

the lines are moved by 0.1 units if they overlap

all of them have signal level >3 even if battery % is 1

Karl

ps I measured the wind sensor requirements for Voltage /Amps need:

works 100% if voltage is > 2Volts, current drawn is < 2 mA at peak / when sending. In-between it is < 10uA. (limit of the DVM)
did this as I replaced regular batteries (2*1.5V) with 2 Ni-hybrid (2*1.3V)+solar charger

Karl