Hi All, ST and z-wave noob here. Not sure if I’m posting in the correct section but here goes.
I am beginning a z-wave system, primarily for the control of lighting.
My meagre kit so far consists of a Popp dimmer socket and an ST hub (v2)
I have associated my dimmer socket with the hub and can control my lighting.
My question. The Popp dimmer (UK model 123603) has a multitude of configurable settings. I need to change these to optimise it for some LED bulbs I have. I have no idea how to configure these parameters using the ST hub. From the little information I have gained by searching the web, it appears I need to add a device handler. Is this correct? If so, I’m thinking that perhaps the ST hub isn’t what I need (and perhaps I would be better off with Vera) as I have no coding experience or knowledge.
Hi, we all have to start somewhere, yes you will need a custom device type to set the options, I have taken a look at the manual here and can see the options.
I am not a coder either but I have knocked you up a custom device type that should work
to install this just goto your Smartthings device handlers page here if you are in the US or here if you are in the UK and then click on
then choose the from code tab and paste in the code from my github page above and then click on Create
you will see near the bottom of the code the resetParams2StDefaults() section, this contains all the parameters from the manual that are currently set to the default options
for example below for parameter number 1, the default value is 3, just change any of the parameters values between the for the desired value as per the manual,
once you have finished then just click on the set location on the right of the page
then select your popp device from the dropdown and click install
then all you then need to do is put the Popp device into inclusion mode by triple clicking the button and then click on the resetParams2StDefaults button as highlighted below
once the device comes out of inclusion it should have the configuration, however i have also included the listCurrentParams button, which you can click once you’ve put the device back into inclusion and the device will list its current configuration in the log window.
word of warning,dont be tempted to set the parameters and try to list the parameters in the same inclusion cycle as it takes a while to send all the commands and you will cause the device to not process all the commands in the inclusion time window
hope this helps you out. however be aware that i do not currently have one of those devices to test against, this has been written solely based on the manual and the default Smartthings Dimmer code.
WOW, thank you so much for your quick and detailed reply. This all looks quite complex, but I’ll give it a go! Will keep me occupied for a while I think!
glad it helped, the crash course on writing device types and smartapps is best from the information contained in the ST documentation just click on the documnetation link at the top of the IDE
and of course this community forum by looking at others code, also setting up github so you have a copy of the smartthings public repository is gold for just looking at code done by the pro’s
Hi, just wanted to give some feedback on this device handler now that I’ve been using it for a few weeks.
All works fine, although some parameters refuse to change - but that a wider issue apparently, not just an ST thing.
The ‘LED indicator’ toggle doesn’t work, well, it toggles between the options but if anything other than ‘Lit when Off’ is selected - I lose control of the switch. This isn’t a problem though, as I don’t need to change the LED indicator.
A further question. I have a job lot of these dimmers now, and was wondering whether I can put some to use as a simple on/off switch. I tried installing a ‘stock’ Z-Wave Switch device handler (from Templates in IDE) and although it works as a switch no problem, it isn’t reporting its status back to ST (I get ‘Parse returned Null’ in the IDE logs)
So…I’m wondering whether the Popp Dimmer device handler above could be modified to remove the dimmer functionality and allow me to install it as a switch only?
Ok glad its been working for you of a sorts however the fact its returning parse returned null when using the on/off switch should not happen. but it doesn’t surprise me as i did throw this together very very quickly.
so are you saying that if your press the on/off switch this toggles the state but doesn’t feed this back? but when using the dimmer functionality this works fine?
if so can you please just send me the an exact entry from the log including the before and after entries, as for the led indicator, i can just remove the tile and functionality from the handler
No, sorry for the confusion - I have no issues with your device type (apart from the LED Indicator niggle - but that’s not a biggie.)
The ‘parse returned null’ issue was observed when I tried using a standard ‘Z-Wave switch’ device handler (from a template) on these dimmers. I just tried it as an experiment. (They function fine, but don’t return their status - so my rules can switch them on and off, the app can switch them - but i just don’t get an updated status)
So, what I’m wondering is whether your dimmer device type can be modified so that I can use my dimmers as a simple on/off switch (ie, remove the dimmer functionality). Basically because I have more of these dimmers than I need, but am in need of some on/off switches (and wouldn’t want to use a variable voltage dimmer on appliances.)
OK now i see what you mean. right, first off i have just pushed a new version of the dimming version which is on github. I have removed the indicator tile and functions.
next I have modified the Dimmer to act as a switch, to be 100% sure it starts at 100% i have added the command setLevel(100) to the on Command block
this should work for you. both versions are available here
I’ll give it a go when I get home. (Although, one thing I do love about ST is I could do it all remotely, but that might be taking the P a little too much - since I’m supposed to be working!)