OP II and Somfy RTS

[gf5300]

OK,
I would like to control my Somfy RTS blinds via touch panels, HAI room controller keypads and HAI's media center interface. The control of the blinds would be both individually and through scenes.
Somfy offers what I think would be two solutions for interfacing:

1. 5 Channel Universal RTS Interface (dry contact, IR and RS232)


2. RS232 to RTS Interface. This one only does RS232 and X10 but can control 16 blinds vs 5.

The interface would be installed very close to the OP II. The IR function really has very limited if not zero use since I have so many keypads in the house and I can control the system when watching TV through media center.
I really don't know what the benefits of a dry contact interface are. Maybe somebody can educate me on that topic.

I would like to verify that either one or both of this units will integrate with OP II and maybe somebody can steer me in the right direction as to which one to purchase. Bear in mind that the 5 channel would be roughly twice the cost since I would have to purchase two units.

Attached is the pdf's for both units.

Again, thank you all for your expertise and time.

 

[smcdonal]

Hi,

I'm not sure if this helps but I've been looking for the same information but for the Elk. Just so you are forewarned, I'm a complete beginner at this stuff so please take my comments with a grain of salt.. I just put in my order for an Elk and light switches (Brandon@AO was very helpful) so I don't even have experience to back me but I'm looking forward to setting it up! I just wanted to keep this topic going and no one else was responding. So here's my 2 cents worth...

I have 8 RTS controlled blinds in the house and my goal is to be able to do some basic control of them via light switch commands over UPB before I lose the two remotes I currently use to control them. Some problems I kinda foresee are the potential signal delays, the lack of a third "stop" button when using a light switch toggle to control them, and the lack of ability to establish the blind state (position/in motion?).

I'm going to try the RS232 to RTS module as I believe it should work. I'm going to try interfacing with it using the RS232 port but I figure in the worst case I'll have to add an X10 interface to the Elk. I see no reason why at a minimum the X10 control wouldn't work. I believe the 5 Channel Universal RTS Interface should work as well but I'm not all that interested in it as it will only control 4-5 blinds and costs quite a bit if you have more than 5 blinds. I think I did see older posts that mentioned the 5 Channel Universal RTS Interface (dry contact) working with an Elk... not sure about the OP II.

Of course this is all theory for me at this time. My plan is to setup the Elk and light switches first to hopefully give me a better idea of what's involved and any limitations I might have. I'll then re-assess if the RS232 to RTS module would still work for me given my learnings. My guess is that I'll be at that point in 3-4 months... hopefully... unless my sanity goes in the process.

Thanks!

 

[gf5300]

sau,
Seems like our setups are pretty much the same but with different controllers.
I think I will be experimenting within 2-3 weeks with the RS232 interface so I will keep you informed of my progress.
The biggest problem I have is that I really have no clue how to interface an RS232 device with the OPII. I assume this is done through PC Access but I haven't been able to figure it out. Maybe somebody out there can give me some advice.
I will let you know how it works.

 

[smcdonal]

Hi,

I've been reading all the Elk manuals for the components I purchased and I went back through the Somfy RS232 to RTS manual as well. I'm pretty confident I can create an Elk rule to trigger on a UPB link to send "text" messages through the serial RS232 interface to the Somfy device. I also decided to focus on the rs232 method of interfacing as I think it will have a lower command latency than doing via x10.

Anyhow, I gave the Somfy rep a call to get more information and perhaps bounce my theory off him. He told me to either use the 5 channel dry contact interface or wait until summer until they release a "new" 16 channel rs232 RTS module. He told me that although he had no direct experience with the existing rs232 to RTS module, he said that other Somfy reps had told him they had many complaints of reliability issues with it. I asked if this was due to complexities with using x10 but unfortunately he couldn't elaborate further. He did say that the "new" rs232 16 channel RTS was demo'ed in some window covering show in the USA a few weeks ago and they were just waiting on manufacturing. He said that if I could wait until summer he strongly recommended that I do.

Steve

 

[AnthonyZ]

The Somfy rs232 protocal is super easy. They use ESI controllers (much like Draper, HD and others). I've attached the doc's I have.

 

[gf5300]

Sau,
Thank you for the info. I think I will take the rep's advice and wait until the "new" interface comes out. I will keep you posted on my progress.
AnthonyZ, thanks for the literature.

 

[gf5300]

sau,
I think this (attached) would be the new interface (16 blinds). The rep said 6-8 weeks before is available.

 

[smcdonal]

Wow! This looks like a huge step up from their previous devices. It sure would be nice if the ELK serial module supported this natively...

Anyhow, thanks for then info!

As for me I'm still setting up the M1 on my bench and I'm about halfway done installing my UPB light switches (22 out of 51 switches...). Life with 3 young kids doesn't leave much time for tinkering around unfortunately.

Steve

 

[smcdonal]

Hi, sorry to bump such an old thread but I just happen to find my way back here after a few years and one more kid. Just wanted to confirm that I was able to integrate the ELK M1 serial interface to the Somfy 1810872 URTSI-II Universal RTS 16 channel device. I was able to use the power pin from the Elk M1 serial interface along with the required rs232 pins to connect over cat5 cabling to a custom rj45/db9 dongle. This allowed me to put the interface in the middle of my house for better reception. Now I can trigger blind events from additional buttons on my UPB light switches instead of having to find the remote.

Short version: ELK M1 serial interface can control Somfy RTS blinds
Longer version: The state of UPB devices saddens me. I still have regular Somfy motor failures.

 

[bluelake321]

I too have regular Somfy motor failures. For such a pricing and high end option, they are not reliable at all. Has anyone found a better option? Somfy has not been any help, and unwilling to provide firmware files or parts for the motors.

 

[smcdonal]

I too have regular Somfy motor failures. For such a pricing and high end option, they are not reliable at all. Has anyone found a better option? Somfy has not been any help, and unwilling to provide firmware files or parts for the motors.

I looked briefly into alternatives but it is hard to find the rich automation integration options Somfy provides. If I had to do it over again, I would probably have gone with 120v motors, but I'm only assuming they would be more reliable....