Visonic MCX-610 repeater and RFXCom

[hleidecker]

Hi,

I'm looking into extending the range of my Visonic Key Fobs (MCT-234) connected to my Homeseer system through the RFXCom Visonic receiver.

Can I connect a Visonic MCX-610 repeater with the RFXCom Visonic receiver?

MCT-234 -> MCX-610 -> RFXCom -> Homeseer

Let's assume that no Visonic panel is part of the system.

The following thread indicates that it might work: http://www.domoticaforum.eu/viewtopic.php?t=2518

Best regards,
Henrk

[Bwired]

yes it works, the visonic rfxcom will receive this extended signal
Btw: i have a Visonic mcx-600 including a switching power supply available for 35 euro incl shipping..if you need

[hleidecker]

Hi,

Thanks ... but what about key fob support? It is explicitly stated key fobs aren't supported by MCX-600.

Units can be enrolled on the MCX-610 whereas the MCX-600 seems to simply relaying whatever it receives. I guess that MCX-610 then limits the issue of duplicate messages as mentioned in the linked thread?

Can I assume that MCX-600 and MCX-610 are similar in terms of RFXCom support?

I might be interested in buying the MCX-600 unit if it works with the key fobs.

Best regards,
Henrik

[Bwired]

forgot that sorry, not sure anymore....i think more that its not working then that its working!
To long ago also I cant test anymore, because i use the RS232 interface on the visonic panel now.
there are not many other user on this forum who use this device now, but perhaps......

[hleidecker]

Thank you anyway I'll make an update to the thread if I find the answer.

[hleidecker]

Hi,

A lot of things to consider ...

I went down a different route ... why not move the receiver instead and connect it to a Raspberry Pi with a Wifi dongle? How to ... one more project

And to Google I went ... today I managed to make a successful test setup with the RFXCom receiver connected to a linux box and a Homeseer installation running on Windows. On Linux I'm running 'ser2net' on Linux. 'ser2net' bridges the rs232 interface from the RFXCom receiver to ethernet. I also need a utility in Windows that can transform the TCP stream into a com port. This is exactly what the 'Virtual Serial Port' utility from 'HW group' http://www.hw-group.com/products/hw_vsp/index_en.html does.

I just wanted to share this - if someone else was looking for a 'simple' solution for distributing devices e.g. now I will be able to move my Homeseer installation physically away from my television - I'm using the USB-UIRT device to control my television.

Best regards,
Henrik

[b_weijenberg]

The Homeseer RFXCOM plug-in has a TCP/IP connection option and you don't need a COM Port Redirector.

[hleidecker]

Fantastic! Thanks ... this is getting better and better

It is a much more clean approach with the build-in support in HomeSeer (RFXCom plug-in). Just tested it and it is working perfectly.

I'm considering these two devices for connecting the RFXCom receiver to my WiFi network:

TP-Link TL-MR3020
TP-Link TL-MR3040

OpenWRT can be installed on both and the latter has a build-in battery. The question is if the router automatically switches to the battery if a power outage occurs. Secondly whether or not the router/battery it is capable of supplying enough power for the RFXCom receiver. I'm also concern about the range of these two routers.

[hleidecker]

I bought the TP-Link TL-MR3040 today.

I have the RFXCom receiver connected to my HomeSeer installation through the router. It was fairly straight forward to get it working.

• Install the lastest OpenWRT build
• Configure the router as a client for my existing WiFi network
• Install the FTDI drivers
• Install ser2net
• Modify the firewall rules

I can unplug the power cord and it automatically switches to the build-in battery. I have only done some limited testing but it looks like the setup is able to run on batteries for at least 3 hours.

Best regards,
Henrik

[hleidecker]

A small update to the story about the TL-MR3040.

The OpenWRT website http://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/tp-link/tl-mr3040 mentions that the USB connection on the TL-MR3040 is unstable when connected to a serial2usb chip e.g. the FTDI FT232RL chip in the RFXCom receiver. I can confirm that the connection between my HomeSeer software and the RFXCom breaks after at random intervals. The issue can be solved by unplugging the RFXCom receiver and connecting it again. Searching the Internet reveals that this is a quite common issue for serial/usb units - not isolated to the TL-MR3040 router.

I ran the setup, with the router (connected to power) for more than 8 hours yesterday without any problems. The setup has also worked flawlessly during the night (connected to power) and the RFXCom receiver connected via a hub (not connected to power). The OpenWRT site suggests connect a passive USB hub to make the connection stable.

The USB LED on the router is flashing all the time when the RFXCom is connected directly to the router and a connection is established to HomeSeer. As soon as the connection dies the LED is permanently switched on. If I connect a hub in between then the LED is permanently switched on when the connection to HomeSeer is working.

A lot of the testing last night was done with the router powered by the battery - is an underpowered USB port the root cause? I will continue to conducted some testing with the router powered by the battery and the RFXCom receiver connected to the router via a hub (not powered).

Any suggestions?

It is very seldom that we have a power outage but last night we actually had one ... and the router and RFXCom receiver continued to run It would be awesome to have this setup working.

Best regards,
Henrik

[hleidecker]

Hi,

The end ...

The TL-MR3040 setup was unstable due to issues with the USB connection - it worked for 24 hours at best. Tried a similar setup with a Raspberry Pi running Raspbian , but after three days the Wifi connection died ... so

I bought the MCX-610 and it is working (also with Key Fobs) with the RFXCom receiver (connected directly to HomeSeer).

Best regards,
Henrik