Somfy RTS remotes triggering flows in homey

I’d love for Homey to be able to receive somfy RTS signals originating from an RTS remote. The reason why I’m asking this is because, as we all know, RTS blinds have no position reporting (as the 433mhz protocol is one way), yet that can be mitigated by writing a homeyscript that calculates the position based on running time of the motor (Inwrote such a script). Yet, that also means that, in order to keep the right “state” in Homey, I cannot use the remote anymore as Homey would have no idea the motor is running. However, if the signal used too trigger the motor front he remote can also trigger, either a script or a flow, in Homey, that problem can be solved. I already tried using the 433mhz signal capture feature that was added relatively recently but that doesn’t work (apparently Somfy RTS signals operate on a slightly different frequency from 433mhz).

Would this be a possibility?

Very difficult I think. Somfy uses “rolling code” for security reasons: it is copy-able, but unusable; just re-sending the signals doesn’t work.

You’ll need Somfy io enabled gear instead (yeah very pricey, I know).

How about a different approach:
Often we only use the same 1, 2 or maybe even 3 “half open” positions. To make Homey aware, you can stick a small magnet on the bottom of the screen, and stick 1, 2 or 3 contact sensors on the preferred positions to the window/door frame.

With the included magnets, the sensor’s “open” distance is only around 5mm and up; stronger magnets should increase the distance between the blind and the window frame, im order to trigger the contact sensors without the need for a very precise minimum distance.

Now this can be used to stop the movement (up or down), and makes Homey “aware” about the position through the signals from the contact sensor, even the direction of the movement.

Maybe it’s a bit too “houtje-touwtje” for you, but it might bring other ideas as well :smiling_face:

I bought this system for a couple of reasons:

  1. Io is being phased out (replaced by zigbee motors)
  2. Io requires a seperate hub which seems too redundant for me as Tahoma is basically a Homey competitor and I didn’t want a forest of hubs in my appartment.
  3. Even if I did use that hub I hear it is unreliable as it only allows itself to be '“Pinged” every few times in a certain time frame which can throw off automations
  4. RTS has a direct (and official) integration with Homey
  5. It only has two wires sticking out which fitted best for my wiring situation (I have it hooked up to a pendulum adaptor on my track lighting, which only has two wires).

It is annoying, though my script does actually do a fairly good job (even if it is sometimes a little imprecise) I just would like to able to use the remote I pad 75 euro’s for. (The ultimate goal I want to achieve in terms of automation is to trigger it based on lux values in my room. Even if my large window is north facing and much of this is more ‘interest’ than ‘practical’ perhaps). I have been thinking of adding a shelly power meter to my blinds so then I at least know when they are active. Yet, that won’t be able to ascertain the direction it is moving in.

If I remember correctly, Homey’s default frequency is slightly different to RTS.

Homey listens on 433.89MHz but RTS transmits on 433.42 MHz, so it won’t be able to hear the signals from the remotes. When Homey sends RTS commands, it first adjusts the frequency to 433.42 MHz, sends the signals and then switch back to the default 433.89MHz.

The default frequency means Homey is compatible with most other device, such as KlikAanKlikUit and LightWaveRF (433.92 MHz which is close enough) , etc.

I’m not sure if anything has changed in the later models, but that was the case for HP2019.

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If homey can pick up the remote’s signal when put into programming mode (required for pairing RTS blinds to Homey) why couldn’t an app be built that does the same thing but listens to the commands itself instead? It stands to reason that Homey pro can listen on that frequency if that is the pairing procedure and just needs to be configured as such.

Homey doesn’t listen in pairing mode, it sends a pairing command to the RTS device that has been put into pairing mode by the remote. An app can’t keep the radio frequency changed for listening, it just sends commands on the required frequency and Homey switches the frequency to the required one and then back again for transmission.