If you could post the fingerprint/raw description from the IDE and some logs with notes as to which catchall messages correspond to the various actions… I might be able to take a stab at it before I get mine.
Just to be sure I post the correct information, the fingerprint/raw description is the one that appears under the Live Logs? Or do I have to dig into the Device Events?
Also, which handler should I use, The image on the OP with the log was taken with the Iris Smart Button handler, other handlers display differently on the log.
The raw description should be listed in the Devices entry for that device. Otherwise you can dig through the location events to find the initial join event which should also list it. It will look something like this in that case:
The one(s) that start with “desc:” are the ones I’m looking for.
As far as the logs, whatever handler you were using in the screenshot in your earlier post should do just fine.
Since the raw description isn’t showing in the Device entry, you’ll need to find it in the Location event list. Head to the Location link in the top nav bar, then click on “events” next to your location. You’ll probably need to change the filter to “all”.
This should be enough for a start at least. It won’t fingerprint correctly, but changing the device type manually should still work.
Do the lower, numbered buttons produce any output?
Ok. So what we should be able to do with this remote is this:
You should be able to pair the bottom buttons to the bulbs after pairing the remote and bulbs to the hub, similar to the way the Lutron remote works as a parallel controller. These are likely using the group/scene commands and aren’t supported by the ST hub, so we can’t use them as generic buttons.
The top on/off button could be used as two discrete buttons. This could be built as either a generic button controller, or we could set this up to look like a no-load light switch which could then be mirrored by one of the various smart apps, similar to some of the z-wave companion switches. (This might already work if you try the Zigbee Dimmer DTH)
The color (temp?) control and dimming control in the center could probably be used as a control for color/dimmable lights in a similar fashion by setting this up as a virtual Zigbee RGBW bulb which could then be mirrored using other smart apps.
Any ideas as to which way would be best here?
I’m not sure if I’m way out of base here, but I think the remote might be useful for things other than just lights, even if the lower buttons don’t communicate to the hub, a 6 button remote for US$12 seems like a steal, I do agree that its original intended use of controlling lights seems obvious, but who’s to say this remote can’t be used for other purposes.
In any case, I believe the first step is having a basic handler, and working up from there, correct?
EDIT: So I have both the remote and the bulbs paired with the hub, and tried pairing the lower buttons with individual bulbs. So far 2 buttons turn individual bulbs and 2 turn all the bulbs on, this is kind of weird.
This is true. As a generic button controller you could control pretty much anything. It would be less intuitive to use the 4-way for buttons, but it would be doable. The problem is in the way the remote handles those presses.
The color control (left/right) sends a hue and saturation along a sliding scale from 0x0000 to 0xFFFF (or whatever the sane limits are). So we’d have to determine which direction the remote is moving and determine which button is being pressed from that. This would rely on a reliable “last state” value, which has proven to be a very unreliable thing to get from the platform lately. This could result in unexpected behavior.
The level control (up/down) sends repeated move level commands while held and a stop move command when released. The stop move command is probably what we’d want to trigger the action on (just using the move command would likely result in a lot of repeated button presses and would require some debouncing) Again, this depends on reliable “last state” and reliable message sequencing to know what button was just released and could be… unreliable.
So this is not really the ideal remote to use as a button controller, but it is doable. I’d be willing to help either way, just wanted to put that out there for the community in case anyone else had some input.
I’m now leaning toward the virtual dimmer/hue concept for my own uses. Would be good for the non-techies in the family to control Hues/Gardenspots/Lightstrips
So I gather you’re seeing more potential with this remote than at first?
Oh it has the potential to be useful, I just see it being problematic as a generic controller. Likely to be a bit finicky. I’ll see if I can bang out a DTH for it. Hope the simulator is behaving this week…
Thanks, any input you need from me, don’t hesitate to ask.
EDIT:
Found this post which has the remote fingerprints.
New development, Playing around with the remote clicking 3xI and 3xO alternating, the LED suddenly starts blinking at more or less 1 Hz The LED blinked for 29 or 30 times, it still didn’t show in my ST app but it’s interesting none the less.
Didn’t have much time to play around yet, but this should get you going with at least the on/off button:
Thank you Mitch, I’ll try it out, I hope I can get it connected, as well as my bulbs, since at the moment I seem to have no way to control my lights.
I realise this is an old thread, but did this get anywhere? because i have an identical looking remote that seems to work in a similar way but i’m having no luck getting either the remote or the light (in this case a CCT changing LED downlighter) to connect.
I never got my Bulbs to connect to SmartThings after the first time, after that, a power surge fried them all so now I have 2 remotes and no bulbs. AFAIK the development never got anywhere regarding the remote. maybe pairing it with the Hue Hub like the bulbs could work, but I don’t have a Hue Hub either.