Connect AWST-8800 to multiple devices?

I have some older AWST-8800 switches. If I want to connect the one in the attic to my Homey it doesn’t work. However, it does seem to be connected to the ACM-100 since that responds.
The ACM-100 is connected to Homey as well

Do I have to reset the AWST-8800 and connect it to Homey only?

The AWST-8800 is a transmitter, it cannot be reset. Homey can be taught to learn the transmitted code, and so can dimmers and switches. You do not need to reset the dimmer or switch to learn the switch to Homey. What you might wanna try is to restart Homey and try again.

Or did you use the same code to learn the light to Homey? in that case Homey may ignore it because it knows it as a light. You do not need to learn both the switch and the light, you can react to the light going on and off the same as you would react to the switch.

I am aware it is a transmitter only. Currently I have 3 of them connected. Just not the one in the attic. So far the only difference seems to be that the one in the attic is directly controlling the AMC-100.

So currently I can control the AMC-100 (and with it the light) in the attic from both Homey and the AWST-8800. However, if I want to add the AWST-8800 to Homey it doesn’t work. During inclusion it tells me to push a button and it doesn’t get included.

That’s a pity, because I wanted to connect a flow to that switch to not only switch off the light but the desktop PC and some other devices as well.

Homey cannot know the AMC-100 also listens to the remote. The only thing that can prevent Homey from learning is:

  • Homey is no longer responding to 433MHz incoming signals - happened to me a lot and reboot always fixed that for me. It was the reason I abandoned KAKU in the end.
  • Homey ignores the signal because it already learned the same code as the identification for the AMC-100 so it ignores the code during pairing

You are saying the latter is probably the case as Homey also knows about it. So if you push the buttons, does Homey see the AMC-100 state changes? The latest version of the app should do that if the learned code is the same. In that case the remote cannot be paired separately AFAIK (and doesn’t need to be - the AMC-100 behaves the same as operating the switch)

If you insist on pairing them both: unpair the AMC-100, pair the remote, and the re-pair the AMC-100 using an entirely new code. Downside: the state of the AMC-100 will not match in Homey if the remote also operates the AMC-100 without Homey being aware of it. That can only work if you also sever the direct link and have Homey do that as well.

I Advise against that as it will mean that the light won’t work if Homey does not listen to 433 MHz anymore. And that happened to me a lot. Sent Homey in for repaires and replaced the unit a coulle of times but Athom couldn’t fix it.

But back to my original point: You can create a flow that if the AMC-100 turns on, the computer should turn on as well. If that is not always wat you want then you cannot accomplish that unless the AMC-100 and the switch use separate codes.

Ran some quick tests…

  • Homey is still listening to 433Mhz as other AWST-8800 switches do work
  • Currently I have 3 AWST-8800 switches connected. The one in the attic is the only one I cannot connect
  • The AWST-8800 in the attic is the only one that is connected to the AMC-100 directly
  • If I switch off the light using the AWST-8800 this is not reflected in Homey. Which is logical since the AMC-100 is a receiver.

I don’t really get this one. How can I figure out what code is used? Downside is that the AMC-100 is hidden somewhat.

I’d prefer to have the two devices work as independent as much as possible. That way I can assign all sorts of flows and actions to either switching on or off the AWST-8800. And one of them may or may not be switching on the light.

I hope range is not the issue. But that would be weird as the AMC-100 is even further away from the Homey than the AWST-8800

I haven’ t used the lastes versions of the KAKU app, but I read it was recently changed to reflect the original behavior:

You cannot pair receiver (the AMC-100) to Homey in itself, as it just listens to signals it has learned. So Homey needs a code that is programmed into the AMC-100 receiver.

The app I knew had two ways to accomplish that:

  • Homey generates a random code that is learned to the receiver.
  • You learn Homey an existing code (i.e. that of the button) that the receiver has previously learned and responds to.

I am thinking that you used the second method. So the code transmitted by the remote is the one that Homey identifies with the AMC-100 receiver.

The old driver behavior was: If Homey “heard” the code corresponding to the receiver ( the bulb) it assumed a remote was used to operate the bulb. So then Homey changed the state of the bulb to reflect wat it assumed must have happened. That would enable you to what I suggested - consider the bulb and the remote to be the same thing.

Maybe the KAKU app that you have does not have that behaviour. (The old one in the community store does.) But if it doesn’t I suggest you use the other method: Change the code that Homey identifies with the AMC-100.

First you need to remove the AMC-100 from Homey. If I’m right you can then pair the remote to Homey. You can then add the AMC-100 to Homey again, as long as you let Homey generate the code.

If you want to keep the AMC-100 state intact you can unlearn the remote from the AMC-100 by putting it in to programming node and sending the remote OFF code. Then you need to create flows to operate the AMC-100 with the remote.

I’m going to reset the AMC-100 to factory settings. Then I will first check if both the AWST-8800 nor Homey can control it anymore.

Then I’ll first try to connect the AWST-8800 and then the AMC-100

Edit: tried and didn’t work. So, it does seem to be a range issue after all. Perhaps not that weird as the ACM-100 (not AMC-100 by the way) is powered and the AWST-8800 only has a battery.

But did you remove the old ACM-100 from Homey? because that was the only thing that mattered? The fact that Homey couldn’t control it after the reset tested the reset but changed nothing for Homey.
.

Euh… Oops… Forgot that part.

Will try it again. Resetting the ACM-300 (I noticed it to be an ACM-300 by the way), removing the ACM-300 from Homey. Then first add the AWST-8800 and only after that add the ACM-300. Right?

Yep. If I am right that should fix it.

Unfortunately it didn’t. I am pretty sure this is a range issue. Now, I am not going to buy a 433Mhz range extender for this deprecated stuff. For now I will use the AWST-8800 to control the light directly and connect the ACM-300 to Homey as well.

Just for the sake of my understanding: each KaKu device has its own ID, right? So, it should be possible to add any device to Homey? As long as it is listed in the list of devices of the app of course. Because that was the initial question: can an AWST-8800 be paired with an ACM-300 and for example ACM-100 at the same time? And thus, can an AWST-8800 be paired with an ACM-300 and Homey at the same time?

Only transmitters have ID’s, receivers usually have memory to store about 5 ID’s of transmitters that they can listen to. So receivers can be linked to both Homey and 4 other transmitters. You can have virtually unlimited ID’s in Homey, either ones that are learned from transmitters or generated by Homey itself, so with regard to Homey there are no relevant limitations beside range and the lack of 2 way communication.

If you want to make sure it is a range problem, you can also temporarily move Homey closer to the transmitter. (e.g. by using a battery pack rated 2A or more output if there’s no socket nearby).

Ok, clear. I am not going to put a lot of effort in it. For the time being things work ok. And in due time I will most likely switch to Zigbee.

Thanks for your help!