Now I want to add old-school RF remote controls to a few lights. But the first RF remote kit I tried (433mhz) was not recognized by bond:
Worked with support but we were not able to make it work.
I have 2 questions:
Is there any way to make this remote work? Any steps I can take to see why Bond doesn’t recognize the remote?
Are there any RF remote kits with SMALL receivers that are known to work with Bond? I want to wire them into light fixtures so traditional large fan rf receivers won’t fit well.
I’ll order 1 or 2 others to try out that have FCC ID this time. My goal is to find a cheap/small-ish one that works with Bond and can fit into light fixture wiring space. After that, I plan to use that for several lights across the house and let Bond be my only home automation bridge.
Kind of off-topic, but if you suspect that you going start automating your home - plan ahead and decide on the automation system before you start buying hardware.
Many (including myself) started buying many random incompatible devices which was a waste…
I finally had some success with this fan remote kit:
It is much larger than I hoped
but still only about 1/4 - 1/2 the size of a standard fan remote receiver.
I am wiring it behind the light switch boxes in my house where I want Bond (and Google Home) to be able to control the light. This is working well for hallway light (4-way), garage light, porch light.
So far, the only issue is that it is impossible to get it to fit into a single-switch box easily. You have to pry, cut, to get it in. For 2 or more switch boxes, it fits well.
Of course, there is always risk with electrical wiring and you have to understand your house’s wiring and local electrical code. I don’t recommend this to anyone unless you are comfortable with taking on that responsibility seriously.
But for me, it has been a fun and interesting experiment that I wanted to share for any riskier-side enthusiasts. I finally got a long-wanted RF-based semi-smart home thanks to the Bond working with this remote kit.