I used a Hackrf One because I could borrow it from a friend. The first picture is with the passive 5/8 wavelength antenna taped to the front, the second picture is with no antenna. I have Samsung Smartthings v3 hub, their website says the strongest reception is from the front. Tip: For longer range, try pointing the front of your z-wave hub at the furthest sensor. Tape the wire to the side of the sensor and test! You can get piano wire at the hardware store, get the thinnest they have. Z-wave plus 916MHz : wavelength 0.32728434 = 12.88inches : ⅝ wavelength = 8.05inchesĬut a small gauge copper wire or piano wire to the 5/8 wavelength you calculate. Here is how to calculate length for the 2 US frequencies Take your frequency and put it in this calculator link below to get 1 wavelength and then multiply it by ⅝ to get 5/8 wavelength, this will be your antenna/wire length. Most documentation says that the US frequency is 908.42MHz, I measured both my sensors at the second frequency 916MHz. A lot of countries have 2 frequencies, if you are not sure what frequency your Z-wave device is on pick the average of the 2. Monoprice Z-Wave Plus Door and Window Sensor, No Logo (Had a much lower power gain) Update: The sensor was taken apart to find where the internal antenna was located and showed a huge improvement in the amount of recorded test events (0/10 recorded events old location, 10/10 new location) by moving the antenna over the black dot in the 1st picture.)įind your Z-wave frequency in the wikipedia list below. Monoprice Z-Wave Plus Door/Window Sensor, NO LOGO (This one had the best measured power gain with the 5/8 antenna) Update: The sensor was taken apart to locate the internal antenna, place the passive antenna on top of any of the black marks in photo 2. Z-Wave Plus is the newer version with longer range and better battery life so get Z-Wave Plus if you can. Z-Wave and Z-Wave Plus use the same frequency.55.6db, -55.4db, -55.6db, -55.6db, -56.3dbġ/4 wavelength (Most internet info recommends 1/4 wavelength passive antennas, 5/8 is MUCH better!) For each measurement separated by a comma in the data below, the door sensor was triggered ~10 times and the peak of the 10 triggers was recorded.ĥ/8 wavelength passive antenna (Best Performance!) Power Levels were measured at 916MHz US Z-Wave PLus frequency. For example if you go from -50dB to -47dB the power has increased by 3dB or doubled. dB is a log scale so a 3dB increase in power is 2x the power. The ⅝ wavelength antenna performed the best.īelow are the results in dB. Lengths of ¼, ⅝ and 1 wavelength were compared with no antenna. Passive antennas (thin copper wires) were attached to the sensors and tested for signal strength with a Hackrf One SDR (Software Defined Radio). My SmartThings Antenna Instructable, most info is repeated in the last step of this instructable. By moving the passive antenna in the first picture over the internal antenna the sensor went from recording 0/10 to 10/10 successful open close events recorded in history from the same location. Put the passive antenna directly over any of the black marks. The antenna in picture 2 is almost a complete rectangle, marked by the black lines. The antenna in picture 1 looks like a small spring under the black mark. Both my sensors were taken apart to find where the internal antennas are located, they are opposite the battery. Placing the wire close to the internal antenna is critical. To test, trigger the sensor 10 times before and after adding the antennas then check history to see how many events are recorded. Also tape an 8" wire to your Z-Wave hub near the internal antenna, for the Smartthings V3 hub tape it to the front on the right side as you are looking at the face of the hub, directly in line with the power connector. If you don't want to read all the tech info below, try taping a straight 8" copper or piano wire to a sensor as close to the internal antenna (see the black pen marks in picture 1 & 2) as possible and see if it increases the range. I use them to monitor my rat/mouse traps and needed more distance. I’ve been experimenting with my Z-Wave Plus system to increase the range of my battery powered door/window sensors.
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