Hi there. I have beginner/moderate Zwave experience, but ran into a complex issue.
I have a winch (hoist) that I need to automate. When a sensor senses movement, the winch (via relay? I don’t know much about relays…) must trigger “up” for a certain amount of time. The winch has a wired remote control for up/down. Down the road I also want to trigger the “down” command to lower the winch as well.
Any thoughts on how to get started on this project? The winch is installed and I assume I will need a sensor and some type of relay… I have seen relay info for garage door openers, but those openers already have the intelligence to trigger up/down whereas in this project I must differentiate between up and down in the commands.
Look for forum discussion on window coverings and motorized Windows. Both of those are using winches with various safety precautions.
I would start with the quick browse lists in the community – created wiki and look in the project section for window coverings. You could also look in the DTH (device type handler) section. That should at least give you a place to start.
And if you just want to go straight to a possible answer, see the following. Be aware, however, that the author is no longer an active community member, so if there’s a problem or question with that code you will likely have to get help from other people
Thanks for the info on the Aeon motor controller, it looks like that could be a piece of the puzzle. I did some research on the motorized blinds and it is hard to sift through the material without endless references to self-contained units like Somfy, and I’m not sure the winch’s hand-held, wired remote integration (NOT a hard wired switch) situation is going to be reflected in any of those scenarios. Here is what it looks like, to give a fuller account:
UPSTAIRS: Ceiling-mounted winch connected to heavy, floor-mounted batten door. Winch has up/down rocker switch on a wired remote control that currently doesn’t reach downstairs.
DOWNSTAIRS: Sensor that senses movement toward the door, triggers the winch “up” for a determined amount of time.
For these reasons I see less of a connection between motorized blinds than I did when you first mentioned it.
Yeah, my bad, I didn’t realize you already had a motorized winch installed, I thought you were getting ready to install one.
In that case, yes, the Aeotec is likely your best bet as it works well in a double throw set up. You’ll probably have to add a new sensor, but it doesn’t sound like that would be problematic. So the sensor would talk to the smart things hub, smart things hub would talk to The Aeotec and you’d get power to the right direction. You also be able to add additional sensors upstairs if you wanted.
A lot of people are using the aeotec device for different things in the community, I just sent you to that first device type handler because it was set up for what it sounded like you wanted – – one throw up, one throw down. The point being that you should be able to get help if you need it.
Whenever you install one of these microswitches, though, you always have to make sure that you are to code if you have a remote control that operates out of sight for the device. Because when once you put the Aeotec in you could be sitting in another city and accidentally hit the wrong button then have the winch operate. Sometimes existing devices which have hardwired remotes don’t have the same safety features as ones which are designed to be operated out of sight.
Really good points, I appreciate the input for sure. My understanding for the Aeotec is that it wires into a high voltage scenario. I think I need a smart relay to wire into my low voltage (?) wired remote for the winch. Am I mistaken? I very well could be, but I think I’m getting closer to the prize here…
