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Thread: "Echo" in RadioRa2 install

  1. #1
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    "Echo" in RadioRa2 install

    I recently purchased a home with a large radiora2 install. I am encountering an odd issue where scenes are activated twice.

    For example, when I click a scene that is a "toggle" (e.g. it both lowers/raises blinds or turns lights on/off depending on the current state of the device) the lights come on... then turn off. The blinds go up... then come down. It appears that there is an "echo" in the system causing the command to be issued twice.

    There are two things i've found that fix this:

    - I can disconnect the main repeater from the network.

    - I can disconnect my ROUTER/internet access point from the network (I have fiber and it is a combined "modem"/router) - the network is simply switched without this attacked to it.

    So, it appears there is some sort of echo being caused by the router itself. I have access to free high quality network gear via an employer reimbursement program for WFH, so I'm going to try a straight replacement.

    Has anyone else encountered an issue like this?

    I would prefer not to resort to isolating packets with wireshark... but eventually I'll get there.

    Thanks,

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by xenity7 View Post
    I recently purchased a home with a large radiora2 install. I am encountering an odd issue where scenes are activated twice.

    For example, when I click a scene that is a "toggle" (e.g. it both lowers/raises blinds or turns lights on/off depending on the current state of the device) the lights come on... then turn off. The blinds go up... then come down. It appears that there is an "echo" in the system causing the command to be issued twice.

    There are two things i've found that fix this:

    - I can disconnect the main repeater from the network.

    - I can disconnect my ROUTER/internet access point from the network (I have fiber and it is a combined "modem"/router) - the network is simply switched without this attacked to it.

    So, it appears there is some sort of echo being caused by the router itself. I have access to free high quality network gear via an employer reimbursement program for WFH, so I'm going to try a straight replacement.

    Has anyone else encountered an issue like this?

    I would prefer not to resort to isolating packets with wireshark... but eventually I'll get there.

    Thanks,
    Do you have more than one main repeater? Ra2 supports up to 100 devices per repeater, with the ability to use two (for 200 devices). If it's just one repeater then the network will not be involved with scene activity at all.

    Check that your repeater's IP address is set to something appropriate for your network. You'd want to avoid having the repeater set up with an IP address that's also assigned to something else. The repeater can be assigned either as DHCP or static.

    I generally prefer using DHCP, with a static lease set up on the router. This way the repeater always gets the same IP address (and it's also never assigned to anything else). And if the network subnet needs to be changed then it wouldn't require reprogramming it on the repeater (or any other pseudo-static devices set up that way). Just update the lease and power cycle the device.

    And how are you activating the scene? With a button on a keypad or pico? Or via an app or other 3rd-party integration?

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by wkearney99 View Post
    Do you have more than one main repeater? Ra2 supports up to 100 devices per repeater, with the ability to use two (for 200 devices). If it's just one repeater then the network will not be involved with scene activity at all.

    Check that your repeater's IP address is set to something appropriate for your network. You'd want to avoid having the repeater set up with an IP address that's also assigned to something else. The repeater can be assigned either as DHCP or static.

    I generally prefer using DHCP, with a static lease set up on the router. This way the repeater always gets the same IP address (and it's also never assigned to anything else). And if the network subnet needs to be changed then it wouldn't require reprogramming it on the repeater (or any other pseudo-static devices set up that way). Just update the lease and power cycle the device.

    And how are you activating the scene? With a button on a keypad or pico? Or via an app or other 3rd-party integration?
    Thanks for your response!

    I'm not entirely sure if there are two main repeaters - there's a comms closet and I only see one repeater in it. There's a repeater in the master bedroom but it's an auxiliary repeater. Without counting the devices in the house I'd say it's probably pretty close to 100 if not more than. It's also an "inclusive" installation - I tried downloading the configuration but can't open in the essentials radiora2 software (sigh).

    This happens when activating a scene via a button OR via the IOS app. I'll explore IP address assignment and see what I can figure out.

    I'm wondering if what's going on is something like - the repeater is set up to be static and is colliding with another device on the network (given this configuration predates both me and the current router)

  4. #4
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    An update for posterity - the router had (for some reason) permanent DHCP leasing on for a 100 IP address range - which quickly filled up after we moved into the house. That explains why this issue started seemingly at random a little while after we moved in: it took a few weeks for the lease space to fill up (there are a lot of devices connecting to/connected to our network).

    I turned off permanent DHCP leasing and the problem went away.

    Thanks

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  6. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by xenity7 View Post
    An update for posterity - the router had (for some reason) permanent DHCP leasing on for a 100 IP address range
    Your terminology here isn't quite correct. DHCP usually offers a range of devices, on a subnet and a 192.168.x.x range can have up to 254 devices leased out on it. It's typical to set up a DHCP pool of a limited number of addresses from that subnet range. And then use the other addresses not part of the pool for devices that get a fixed static address. Or set some of the devices from the pool to use a specific address, a fixed lease. There's nothing "permanent" in DHCP terminology.

    So I'm unclear what you changed and how that might impact your Ra2 setup (and the rest of the network).

  7. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by wkearney99 View Post
    Your terminology here isn't quite correct. DHCP usually offers a range of devices, on a subnet and a 192.168.x.x range can have up to 254 devices leased out on it. It's typical to set up a DHCP pool of a limited number of addresses from that subnet range. And then use the other addresses not part of the pool for devices that get a fixed static address. Or set some of the devices from the pool to use a specific address, a fixed lease. There's nothing "permanent" in DHCP terminology.

    So I'm unclear what you changed and how that might impact your Ra2 setup (and the rest of the network).
    I changed a setting called "permanent DHCP reservation" - which was obviously, from the available parameters, giving every device a permanent address from a 100 address range from "Enabled" to "Disabled" - even cell phones etc.

    Hardly my area of expertise so maybe my guess as to what was causing the issue was wrong, but it certainly fixed it.

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  9. #7
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    I get that it's outside of your area of expertise. When you inherit someone else's setup it's important to grasp why some random stuff was done a particular way (or have someone that DOES get it do the digging). Otherwise you're playing whack-a-mole "fixing" one problem while others start popping up elsewhere.

  10. #8
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    What an oddly patronizing thing to say.

  11. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by xenity7 View Post
    What an oddly patronizing thing to say.
    You asked for help and took an end-run quick fix. Sorry I couldn't come across as more comforting to you. Oh well.

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