Ok, just spoke with him – he’ll jump in if I screw this up, but essentially, this is how the 2-Channel is setup and I believe this is how all multi-channels are setup, but I can’t verify. I’ve only tried this on the Zooz powerstrip and it acts the same.
The “master” switch will turn on/off both channels (ie: you press it and Channel 1 and Channel 2 will turn on and off). However, if you toggle both channels, the master will reflect either an on or an off state (ie: it is not independent). So, if you have both channels off, then the master will show off, otherwise it will show on if one (or both) of the channels are on.
It makes sense, so I see I can’t use it as a master power switch. As the button toggles the children, which in my setup is a problem. I don’t know how I can prevent the doors from opening when both of us are away. I was going to setup a WebCoRE piston to toggle the Parent to off when we leave, can’t be done now.
I’m trying to understand your question here as well. I have one of these Dual outlets as well. Why not tie webCore to each child(channel) individually? The parent should only be used if you want to force both switches on/off simultaneously.
i.e. when you leave turn off channel 1
The problem is that the children act as momentary buttons because of the timer. So any on or off command is just for a second. I have tried doing this with WebCoRE, same result, the doors open when the door is closed, or close when open. The Parent just does the same with both doors. If you have one of these, turn the timer on for each channel for 1 second and test it.
I could be doing something wrong, but I don’t see where as only things in the equation is the Smart Plug and two dumb relays.
I can test when I get home…but I’m still not sure where your problem lies or why you are concerned with the parent device at all. Think of the device as 2 separate outlets and think of the parent as a “virtual device” that let’s you control both outlets but is otherwise useless.
Now if you build your automation with that in mind, I believe it should do what you are asking. There shouldn’t be any need to include the “virtual parent” at all…correct?..or am I just totally misunderstanding your setup.
OK I want to be very clear. My Smart Plug is setup to when I press the on button the smart plug stays on for 1 second then goes off, just enough time to trigger the relay and open the garage door.
Now that being said! if I press the Parent button both doors open, so I can’t use the parent as a total off button. Now if I set the child switch in a piston what happens is when the off command is sent it is really an on command as the switch has reverted to off already do to the timer. Remember switch on for (ONE) second then off, so switch is off. I wanted to use the Parent as a per say Master OFF. Do you see the problem. Setting the child in a Piston or the Parent only results as an on command, not a power shutoff as I want. Again my thinking might be flawed, but my test bear my theory out. Now just having the child off if possible is not my second line of defense, the Parent was.
You actually want it to be ENABLE/DISABLE. I don’t know if the firmware allows different functionality through DTH. It’s perfectly doable with webcore where you can Enable/Disable the device based on your schedule.
Might not be to your liking, but I set up two virtual buttons that send a signal to each child device and I do not use either master or any child directly.
I am not sure what you mean, but can this idea work with one virtual button for the Parent? If yes can I see your Piston, and give details on the button?
You can import it using the code on top and adjust it for your liking. It includes beeping through Bigtalker/Landroid. It does not include a disable, but that’s trivial to add if needed.
Piston will close the doors when you leave, if not already closed. It will also open them when coming home. It will only open mine when both come home at the same time. And I do not use built in timer.
OK thanks, that will not work for me, as I want the timer. I do think the timer is causing the problem, as it reverts to off after one second. So I am stuck just receiving a SMS and Push when the doors open and we aren’t home. Mind you this hasn’t happened, but want to be safe. If I get the SMS or Push I have a camera in the Garage and I could see the open doors and shut them remotely.
OK have a slight problem. I am using the alternative DTH. I am using this to control two garage doors. I am using 1 second delay. Below is my problem.
When I open my garage door and close it everything is fine
If I open my wife’s garage door or close it there is the problem,
The Parent channel flashes on then off then on and the door opens or closes, but the Parent shows on even when it is off.
So not sure if it is something related to the DTH, Or a quirk with ST.
If I hit the refresh button on the outlet it reverts to the state it is actually in. Which is closed.
For some reason the status isn’t being refreshed. So I added this piston, not sure if it will work, but any input would be helpful.
Hey @joelw135, just to make sure I am understanding, you have the Auto Off feature set to 1 second for both channel 1 and channel 2. When channel 1 turns off from the “Auto Off”, the Main tile shows ON when it should show OFF. Is that right?
I’m wondering if it is a timing thing with the handler and if it makes a difference if it is 2, 3, or more seconds. I’ll run some tests tomorrow and let you know what I find out.
Correct, the Parent shows on even when child is off for channel one. I changed the timing to 2 seconds, then 3 same result. But I can try it again this morning. Thanks for the support.
OK increased the timer to 2 seconds, and this time it seems to work. Or at least I tried opening and closing a few times. Thank you for the input. My Garages work great using this and the two cheap relays.
