Best Z-Wave Controller?

[Deane Johnson]

I may have gotten back the same one I returned before.  One commenter on the Amazon site said he thinks they keep sending out the same broken one over and over again.  There have been several people have this same problem.
 
Is this what you mean by hardware master controller?  I don't want to order the wrong thing.  It's also pictured in post #4 in this thread.
 
http://www.amazon.com/Leviton-VRCPG-BSG-Handheld-Controller-Programmer/dp/B001HSYTNS/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1415851748&sr=8-4&keywords=leviton+z-wave+controller

 

[Dean Roddey]

AFAIK that should be OK, however I saw comments indicating it doesn't support locks. Well, what they actually said was that it doesn't allow you to associate the locks with the VRCOP; however, assuming that that's what they really mean, that's not an issue since CQC can do that anyway.

 

[ddennerline]

I would send the VRUSB back to Amazon and purchase one from AO. If using Windows7, RFIT 1.1.3.0 does setup a Z-Wave network correctly. I just setup a complex scene last night and linked VRCZ4.
 
For Windows 8.1, you can call Leviton support to ask if there are any OS settings that need to be changed for software to work. Also AO does provide support for the products it sells. As last resort, you could buy a copy of Windows7 for $99.

 

[ddennerline]

I would not order the Leviton handheld controller due to limited ability to configue, diagnose, and optimize network. Unless the hardware has been updated, this controller does not have encryption hardware, so it cannot support locks.
 
I agree carrying around a laptop is pain - especially when RFIT operations seem to be short range. Every time a use the Program Entire Network, I have to keep walking around and hitting the "Retry" button.

 

[drvnbysound]

I recall seeing an error type message when I used mine to create a new Zwave network at another house. Something about the ID of the controller not matching. I'll install the RF Installer Tool software on another machine and plug in the stick and see what that message is... I'm almost certain it will come up again. I'll report back as soon as I can.

 

[drvnbysound]

This is different than I was describing above, but the same issue as you saw:
 

 
I couldn't find the menu option I was looking for at first, so I went ahead and upgraded first. Anyhow, trying going to NETWORK > RESET RF INSTALLER USB STICK. That should fix your issue.

NOTE: The version I have installed above was 1.1.1.0. Once I upgraded to the latest version (1.1.2.0) it auto recognized the device. I've since put 1.1.1.0 back onto my computer to try testing this more. Upon re-installation of 1.1.1.0, again the software showed the message above. I simply closed the application and re-opened it, and it "discovered" the device properly.
 

 
Having said this, I doubt your device is defective (although I wouldn't rule it out). I'd imagine that this is a bug in their software that fails to properly discover the device.
 
NOTE 2: Notice the "Home ID" at the very bottom of the window. That changes for different networks that you configure with the device. You can see "Recent Networks" with different Home IDs on the middle-right of the window.

 

[LarrylLix]

Users on the UDI forum report that Z-Wave on the Vera to be slow to the point of uselessness for logic based on status feedback from devices. Some report status changes two full minutes after switches and locks are operated in the house. They do, however, report that the ISY994i with the Z-wave board installed updates almost instantaneously.
 
I don't personally own any Z-Wave devices so cannot report from my own experience but many other posters there confirm similar results with Vera.
 
Here is another convert,
http://forum.universal-devices.com/topic/14458-frustrated-with-vera-what-are-the-isy-z-wave-limitations/page-2
 
 
Hey! More of the forum tools just started working!  I just posted  a link.

 

[Deane Johnson]

Drvnbysound, one of the issues I have is that most of the choices in Installer Tool are greyed out, including New Network.  I assume that's because it hasn't recognized the stick.  Unfortunately, the "Reset RF Installer stick is also greyed out.
 
Before trying this, I removed Installer Tool and re-downloaded it just to make sure I had a clean copy.  Nothing changed.

 

[pete_c]

Another thing you can do relating to testing the software on current and older versions of the OS is just create VMs on your current desktop that run XP, W7 and W8 (32 bit or 64 bit).
 
Recently here have been flipping between 32 bit / 64 bit versions of Windows 8.1 and this is relating to some hardware programming tools which work only in 32bit mode or only in 64bit mode; which to me is a PITA.

 

[Deane Johnson]

I find it curious that I am right where I started at the beginning, after working on this on two different computers with two different operating systems using two different Leviton sticks.
 
Unfortunately this side issue with Z-Wave is messing up my forward movement in getting my CQC system set up and running.
 
I'm thinking to get it off dead center, I should order the Leviton hand-held hardware controller and try it, despite it's limitations.  With only 11 nodes, re-networking with a new controller later on isn't much of a task.  I can get it overnighted from Amazon and get moving during the weekend.  I did try the Vera a couple of months ago, but was a little turned off by the "untouched by human hands" what happens behind the curtain stays behind the curtain approach.
 
BTW, I very much appreciate the comments and suggestions I'm received in these posts.  

 

[pete_c]

Deane,
 
The chit chat on Homeseer these days is the new Homeseer Z-Troller. 
 
That said the newer Z-Wave stuff (hardware) is using an upgraded firmware along now with newer Z-Wave devices (doing stuff a bit differently).
 
It will still talk to the older Z-Wave devices. 
 
That said it appears that the fixes in controller firmware and new devices make it seem like you will want to use newer Z-Wave devices rather than older ones.
 
Z-Wave Plus

 

[Deane Johnson]

Deane,
 
The chit chat on Homeseer these days is the new Homeseer Z-Troller. 
 
That said the newer Z-Wave stuff (hardware) is using an upgraded firmware along now with newer Z-Wave devices (doing stuff a bit differently).
 
It will still talk to the older Z-Wave devices. 
 
That said it appears that the fixes in controller firmware and new devices make it seem like you will want to use newer Z-Wave devices rather than older ones.
 
Z-Wave Plus

I have an old Z-Troller and it's very nice.  I like it.  Trouble is, it only works with HomeSeer.  That's the only access.  You can build a network with it, but you can't update a VRC0P without Homeseer, nor can you interface with it for control of your devices except through Homeseer.  With Homeseer, it would seem to be the way to go.
 
Your comments and link regarding the new generation of Z-Wave protocol is one reason I'm thinking I should try to do something quickly to get going, then plan on upgrading in the future as the dust settles on the new improved Z-Wave.
 
I'm still troubled as to why I'm having trouble with Levition software and stick, but I've grown weary of fighting with it at the expense of time away from other things.  

 

[pete_c]

Personally here do not think that the Z-Wave new generation protocol and devices dust will settle until maybe next year some time (we can utilize Thanksgiving next year as a maybe?).  That is me.
 
Leviton is a large company and things will move slower there while they watch and wait on the beta testers (well purchasers of the new stuff).

 

[Dean Roddey]

In terms of lock support, I don't think it matters if your only real use for the remote is to use it to add modules to the network and then replicate over to the VRCOP. That shouldn't require security or beaming because the unit is never doing any secure operations to the locks in those cases. Once the unit list is in CQC, it can handle any associations or configuration required since it does support the security and beaming stuff.
 
If even just basic enrollment of a secure device into the network requires a secure exchange, then my theory above would be incorrect. But I don't think that's the case. Devices aren't purely secure or not. Each command class the device supports can be secure or not, and many support non-secure communications for most of the command classes, only  securing the sensitive ones like lock state, configuration, or association. So I don't think that enrollment would have to support security exchange, would it?

 

[Dean Roddey]

Well, thinking about that some more, I guess maybe there are reasons it might require a secure exchange to enroll. Locks are going to be on the outer perimeter, where anyone could walk up, force it to enroll in their controller, and unlock it. So I could see how it might be done that way. OTOH, if the lock refused to enroll until it is removed from its previous network (either by the old controller or by doing a hard reset on it which you couldn't do from the outside), then that would make it safe enough without having to use secure exchange.
 
And, I guess that, in order to enroll for later secure communications, it would have to do some sort of key exchange with the controller, so that would probably require secure exchange to do that during the enrollment process, so that would argue for enrollment having to be secure.
 
So, maybe it does, maybe it doesn't. If it does, then a non-secure controller wouldn't even be able to enroll it and would prevent the locks from being supported at all.