I’m wondering if anyone has experience with the Z-Station. I’m setting up a system in a family members home, and they have purchased things from multiple vendors that utilize different protocols. The Z-Station appeals to me as it would use fewer USB ports, supports all the major protocols, has external antennas, and can be moved away from the equipment rack and mounted somewhere with less EMI.
I’m currently using a Rpi4 with 8GB. I suppose my alternative to using the Zstation is a Zooz 800 stick for Z-Wave, a SkyConnect for thread, and another SkyConnect or Sonoff adapter for ZigBee? And a collection of USB extensions/stands for the various dongles.
Well Thread and Zigbee are expected to work on the SkyConnect, I believe there is a firmware issue currently that they are working on, but it currently can do either separately depending on the firmware flashed. I also know that USB 3.0 controllers can cause EMI issues.
I don’t have a horse in this race so to speak, just trying to navigate my setup situation as best I can. I’d definitely like feedback from anyone using one.
It is an issue with the SiLabs multiprotocol stack - however the owner of those components for Matter etc. Have said it’s very low priority. Basic function is prioritized… So read:don’t expect it anytime soon. Use two separate dongles.
You don’t really need any USB dongles to have a very robust setup.
While I can’t speak to the Z-Station, other than noting its negative reviews on Amazon and other issues I’ve read about their UZB stick, I personally think the Z-Wave JS UI software is excellent, and the Zooz products very reliable, so I’d go with them any day of the week. Since Z-wave doesn’t benefit from an extension cable the same way Zigbee does, no need unless range/coverage is an issue. So if you really hate dongles you can use the ZAC93 attached directly to the Pi header.
Zigbee, on the other hand, is degraded by interference with USB3 ports, so If I were adding Zigbee today I would probably get a Sonoff bridge running Tasmota to talk to zigbee2mqtt. Athom sells them pre-flashed, or get it on Aliexpress for less and flash it yourself, and put it anywhere you want in the house.
And if I needed Thread, I would take a close look at the devices I already have/need because increasingly there are Thread Border Routers built-in to many routers and smart speakers (in fact, one of the main complaints I see is having too many Thread Border Routers that don’t mesh with each other). The Nest and Eero options, in particular, are interesting because it’s always best to replace a lousy ISP router if you haven’t already.
Z-Wave USB controllers are also affected by USB 3.0 noise, maybe the Pi hat is not. Adding an extension cable is the first recommendation in the Z-Wave JS general troubleshooting guide.
