Z-Wave + integrated blinds/shades: Custom Graber Virtual Cord Shades

Devices & Integrations Connected Things
#320

Hi ZebraBlinds,

I’m about to place an order for some composite blinds with tilt motors. I have a question about the measurements. I am planning to do an outside mount just above the molding. I have measured the height from the bottom of the window pane to the top of the molding above it. Do I need to add anything to that measurement to allow for the mounting brackets?

If it matters, I am getting the 2.5" valence with standard return. Thanks!

Ken

#321

If you are going to install the blind above the molding you should add 2.5 - 3" to the height. The balance won’t matter.

#322
  1. We currently don’t offer side tracks mainly since its quite expensive through us, it’s simply not worth it. What I would recommend is sourcing side tracks from your local home depot or lowes and cutting them down to size. As long as they are 1" wide it should be good.
  2. I don’t have an example of a sealed hembar, but I can take a picture of the fabric wrapped ones and send it to you. Size wise both wold be the same.
  3. The remotes can be paired directly to the shade without a hub or using a hub. These are meant to work as standalone units as well.
Graber Virtual Cord Shades: Z-Wave+ (Coupons)
#323

Thanks for the quick reply!
I don’t mind cutting side tracks to size I’ll just have to find some that work well.

I found some pictures of a sealed hembar and I think I understand now.

#324

Help. Bought my first set of blinds. Great product, have the 16 channel somfy controller. Can control the blinds on rts channel using the somfy controller.
Not sure how to control it with smartthings. It’s added as a zwave controller in smartthings. If I click on or off nothing happens?

#325

Ok, since these are RTS blinds with ZRTSII setup has a few additional steps. First go through this video to pair the channels up and the zrtsi properly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9mcPuM53Eg

Once that is done this thread has device handlers and a whole bunch of great info on the ZRTSII and ST: My Somfy-SmartThings Integration

1 Like
#326

Thanks. Got it working. Didnt hsve a remote to setup the stops though. Will order one with next set of blinds. :grin:. 1 down 6 to ho

1 Like
#327

UPDATE:

All solar and roller shade orders will experience delays. We have requested status updates on current orders and will email customers as we are updated. Cause of delay is a major change in the fabrics and colors starting June 1st.

#328

An update on the products:
Graber’s Solar Shade fabric line has been completely revamped with new fabrics as well as pricing differences here and there (mainly lower prices on roller/solar). This also seems to be the cause of delay/backorders on old orders.
All back order notices should have been sent out by now, if you have any questions just PM me here.

Discounts: Have been updated on the discount thread with manufacturer rebate info.

#329

UPDATE:

All roller/solar shades currently have an extended lead time. Manufacturing time has increased from 5 - 10, to 8 - 15 business days.

Exterior Solar Shades are seeing some massive delays (one or two orders have been pushed back by 2 - 3 weeks). Will update as I know more.

1 Like
#330

Hi All,

I have the Bali cellular shades connected using a battery pack. Mine came with two battery packs.
I’m looking to hook up a plug-in transformer.

Looking at the battery pack, it seems to put out 12v (per pack).
I have a bunch of 12v adapters lying around.
I was wondering if I can just snip off the end and hook it to a micro-usb male connector.

A few posts above in this thread @Ashutosh1982 posted a picture that shows the output of the transformer to be 15v and 1.5A!
I’m not able to understand how the motor works on the battery pack at 12v, but the transformer puts out 15v.

Ultimately I’m trying to re-use/recycle a powersupply that I have instead of having to buy one more.

Has anyone done this? If so could you please guide/advice?

Thank you,
Ashwin.

#331

Usually for the motor to initially start moving it will require a burst of 15v at 1.5A and it drops down to 12v. I would highly suggest using the official Dc Transformer since from our attempts, the motor starts behaving weirdly and forgetting its settings; also you will loose warranty if you end needing to use their warranty.

#332

Hi Neal, Thanks so much for that information.

Do you sell the power supply on your website? If so could you please provide a link?
I checked the accessories section and didn’t find any power supplies.

I have only one powered shade (about 72" wide and 60" in height), so I presume the power requirement is fairly minimal.

Thank you.
Ashwin.

#333

We do sell it by itself although there are a few conditions imposed on us, I’ll PM the details.

#334

Update, Update, UPDATE!!! :grin:

Newer roller/solar orders are shipping out in normal times, some old orders with older fabric are experiencing slight delays still.

Also, dual roller/solar shades are directly available on our US site (no custom quote needed). You can find the dual roller/solars here, for Canada due to some changes coming up in the backend it will only be online in a weeks time (so you need to request a custom quote for now):
US: https://www.zebrablinds.com/smart-homes/smart-motorized-electric-shades?categoryfiltsmart=Dual+Shades

Finally, discounts etc will be updated in a few mins.

#335

Neal - On regards the issue with the shades going up and down 3 inches only and watching the video of how to solve it, would that require to repair the shades with one of the controls, right? I pair all my blinds to the smartthings hub and the remotes lost the control over the shades so, if I need to recalibrate the motor, I would need to repair. Is that correct?

#336

You would have to pair the remote one by one. The easiest way to do this would be:

  1. Pair the remote to ST
  2. Pair the remote to a shade
  3. Set the limits
  4. Reset the remote by pressing the pinhole button and holding it until all the lights stop flashing
  5. Rinse and repeat. The remote should just pair back up as the same device it was previously (that’s how it went for me anyway)
#337

how do you pair the remote to Smartthings? I’ve been trying clicking the pinhole button twice fast without being able to get discovered.

#338

Ok, to pair the remote to ST if the shades are already paired to ST. Put ST in to inclusion mode (add a new thing), and then press and hold the pinhole button until the lights start flashing (let go when it starts flashing). The remote should show up in 10 - 30 seconds.

#339

A couple questions about the Overture Sheer shades:

  1. My understanding is that the shades must be completely down before the vanes start to rotate open. How does this correspond to 0 to 100% on a dimmer? Is 0% fully up, 80% fully down with vanes closed, and 100% fully down with vanes open, or something like that?

  2. Does virtual cord work with the Wink Hub 2? I assume it will, if it works with ST and is using standard Z-Wave. If you’ve never tested it, do you have any reason to suspect it would not work?

  3. Is the light gap larger than usual due to the motor, or is that standard for sheer shades? It looks like the non-motorized Overture Sheed shades on your site actually have an even larger gap on one side (1 1/16"). However, other sites (admittedly with other brand sheer shades) indicate there will only be about 1/2" on each side. For examples: https://www.blindschalet.com/lightfiltersoftsheershades.html and https://www.blindsgalore.com/product/401009/comfortex-shangrila-soft-horizontal-shades-eternity-linen-light-filtering

Thank you!