Was hoping the smartthings smart people could help me out again!
I’ve seen several secondary remote options listed on the forums, GE 45600, the Aeon Minimote, I have a pretty basic setup right now, and was curious if you guys might know which one would work better for the following:
In our bedroom we have a ceiling fan, which I’ve hooked up to one of the new GE speed control GE 12730, and will be installing a Linear WD500Z for the light control, and probably install a 3-way dimmer in the hall.
Ideally I’d like to be able to control the fan speed, lights in bedroom on/off and dim, and then the hall lights on/off/dim. Any recommendations on which of these would work?
A Minimote is ideal for this application. In fact, I have a very similar setup in our bedroom and we have two minimotes, his and hers. I wrote some code that allows for one button fan control, changing speed and on/off. The Minimote actually has 8 buttons: 4 physical buttons each with Press and Hold. For example, I use press to change the fan speed, and hold of that same button to turn it off. Similar things can be done with the other buttons for dimmers, and lights on/off.
I implemented an extended version of the Button Controller app, that offers more control options than the stock app. My version includes the fan adjustment, 2 dimmer level adjustments, and some other features. The app is called Scene Controller, and can be found here: https://github.com/bravenel/SmartThings/blob/master/Scene%20Controller
The GE 45600 has been discontinued by the manufacturer, can never be initialized by ST (although you may be able to bring one over that was initialized by a different hub), and lacks security and beaming support. Some people are using the Enerwave Sc7 successfully with ST, others having trouble, not sure yet what all the issues are. There is a newer GE, the 45633, but it appears it may only be a local controller, people are still testing it out. Not well reviewed at Amazon, no matter what hub you’re using.
So the Minimote is definitely the easiest choice right now.
Thanks to both of you for the responses! I think I’ll order up a minimote. And I will probably use your app, it seems pretty nice! This will keep me out of the doghouse with the wife for getting rid of her ceiling fan remote.
The fan adjustment may or may not pass WAF. What it does is step through a sequence of fan speeds: Off -> Low -> Med -> High -> Med -> Low -> Off. I did it that way because usually you want to start the fan on low and speed it up if you need it higher, as opposed to the opposite or some random initial setting. Turning the fan off with a Hold on the button resets every thing to off. Another alternative is to devote separate buttons to Low Medium High and Off. But that uses up all four buttons before you’ve even gotten to lights. If there is a set speed your wife likes, you could program the button for the fan to just turn on to that speed, instead of using the speed adjustment logic.
sometime i think minimote become more and more like a magic wand.
it can include/exclude device to/from ST.
it can do associate for 3way switch.
it can activate any custom scene.
perhaps we can make it as big switch button ?
I am thinking to use one in the car, like garage opener, activate away/home action, turn on outdoor light when i am back when it’s dark … since geofence or presence still not accurate as per comments from user.
Just don’t let your kids play with it. otherwise you may have a mysterious device missing from ST
@Billb1981 I have both the 45600, the MiniMotes and the 45601 (i think, it is the old LCD GE one).
I use all of them, hands down the MiniMote is the easiest and can do the most, I have 4 of them in my house at different places. The 45600 is very helpful when ST is slow, laggy or having internet issues because I have a lot of Zwave switches I can still turn on and off most of my devices with the 45600. I wouldn’t really need if I had more faith in ST, but it is a nice backup and easy grab when i want to turn off a light without wanting to grab my phone and wait for 2 mins.
Thanks everyone. I got the Minimote today and it’s pretty slick. I used your programming Bruce and it works pretty well. If I’m not mistaken can’t you just tell the fan to come on at say 50% using the new GE45600? That’s what I set it up and I believe it actually does that.
Sure, you can certainly have the fan just come on to a given setting. Just treat it like a dimmer, and set the dim level to 50. The fan adjust thing is overkill if all you want is for it to come on to a given setting. You can do that in the Scene Controller app.
