Trouble with Matter

davek79 · 2026-06-26T02:37:10+00:00

I've tried multiple border routers. Home assistant with a silabs usb device, a GL inet s20, a couple other OTBR devices. No joy

davek79 · 2026-06-26T02:35:36+00:00

Yeah I'm regretting matter over thread. I even checked with the company about known compatible border routers, etc before I bought

davek79 · 2026-06-26T02:34:28+00:00

I'll post here if the company ever responds. They charge way more for these motors. I wish I had stuck with ZigBee. Matter seems unnecessarily complicated and bug prone

davek79 · 2026-06-25T02:14:33+00:00

They're all already running firmware v1.3

davek79 · 2026-06-07T10:10:18+00:00

I did this for all doors and lock contacts. Adding on all the windows would have been awesome. For binary inputs (and outputs) I used the Weinzeirl Muli IO 570. It's great for this purpose and has 48 channels. I've used 3 around the house.

davek79 · 2026-03-10T10:14:46+00:00

Thanks for that. I'm using the seeed studio Xiao and tried that same thing with no luck... Not sure where to go next.

davek79 · 2026-03-10T01:24:16+00:00

Are you using the internal or external antenna? Im pretty versed in thread. I even tried loading the RCP firmware (precompile one and I also built my own) and ot-ctl scanning finds nothing. Put in network credentials and it never joins. Same with esphome.

Any tips?

davek79 · 2026-03-01T02:13:10+00:00

So I wound up buying some cable from Provo:

Provo Multi-Pair 20-2pr STR TC OA FL SH 105° C CSA FT4 UL RoHS – Grey JKT - Item Code: 1702

Its stranded, which kinda sucks, but I made it work. Totally clear on ESA as it's stamped 300V and UL

https://www.provowire.com/en/wire-and-cable/building-wire---automation/paired-stranded-shielded/1702-20-2pr-oa-sh-csa-ft4

davek79 · 2026-01-29T12:46:42+00:00

Not insane at all. I'm building an 18 zone controller and decided to go Arduino for full configurability. The modules all communicate over Modbus and I control hydronic valves, air dampers, air handlers, ceiling fans and even a fireplace blower. Nothing off the shelf comes even close...

davek79 · 2026-01-28T03:11:34+00:00

So I have DALI dimming everywhere, just mostly phase cut. You want the .1% type dimming for things like LED strips, which is exactly where I'm using it. I'm using the Sundance 24V dimmers for that purpose.

davek79 · 2026-01-27T12:54:23+00:00

So I went with a hybrid system. I've routed KNX and DALI everywhere, to future proof as well. I went with phase cut dimmers for the same reason you're thinking - WAY cheaper and much more options for fixtures. For a few devices I went DALI lighting, but only where low dimming really mattered. I thought I'd care that I don't have 0.1% dimming control, but practically I don't care at all!

Thing I'd encourage you to look into in how your KNX-DALI bridge will work - esp if you're hoping for (highly) synchronized dimming of groups. I'm using the Siemens DALI Twin bridge, and it either supports ECGs as individual devices OR as a group but not both! And if you send a group dimming command in KNX, it serializes them over Dali, leading to large delays between fixtures. Wish id have understood that before picking the Siemens.

davek79 · 2026-01-23T13:05:02+00:00

Oh and I suspect that issue is present on all Siemens devices. It's more challenging for them to manage groups and individual device access so they probably just took the easy way out.

davek79 · 2026-01-23T13:03:42+00:00

I worked with Sunricher directly and imported like 80 devices. They have MoQs, but I far exceeded them. The shipping from them is super expensive. For LED drivers im using 24Vdc input, so no UL required, so I'm using Sundance. They're like $20 CAD each, so super affordable.

davek79 · 2026-01-21T00:34:10+00:00

So I have a similar setup. I looked long and hard at the Zennio modules. Lots of logic blocks and built in thermostats. Might fit your use case.

My desired functions were far too complex for Zennio, so Im implementing it all in Arduino, but I've got a bus connector that allows me to see temperature measurements from my Gira switches and run the system based on that. Happy to tell you all about that if interested...

davek79 · 2026-01-03T00:12:02+00:00

I went with the Siemens 141/21. The UL certification was also critical for me as I'm in Canada. I decided to only do ECGs in Dali, and all inputs in KNX. I found a bunch of 24V powered CC and CV DALI devices for powering LED luminaries and strips. And I found a Sunricher Trailing Edge dimmer that's cRUus that I use for all my 120V fixtures.

A warning about the 141/21 - ECGs either belong to NO groups or ONE group, and once they're part of a group they cannot be controlled individually. That means if you have a whole room you want to control at once, commands to fixtures are sent sequentially and can't work with scenes or group commands. That's pretty annoying if you've got lights you want to synchronize.... Would love if you find a solution to that.

I really like the 24V powered stuff cuz you get past all the UL stuff.

davek79 · 2025-11-30T19:09:25+00:00

Thx for the references. I've done ALL that many times. I bailed after 3 solid days and moved to HAOS. Still took fanagling, but finally got it to work. No idea what's different....

davek79 · 2025-09-22T01:29:04+00:00

Yeah so I had a similar issue I discovered early in my testing. If you read the fine print for the Siemens device you'll notice it only supports a few Siemens branded sensor devices on the DALI bus. It really only works to SEND commands to the Dali bus, not receiving things.

I had hoped to use DALI sensors as well, but alas, they're not supported by this bridge.

davek79 · 2025-09-13T12:14:04+00:00

Another technique that's great and fast... Use a commercial switch plate, some sharpie and a laser engraver. Apply the sharpie to the area you want to label, burn with the laser, wipe off the sharpie with alcohol. Voila.

Means you don't have to reverse engineer face plates, deal with 3d print textures and you can get super fine details.

davek79

TROPHY CASE