Unsure if this is a HW or a Installation question but i try in this Category.
So i want to have my HA installed on my server in the garage away from the house.
This is a bit of a problem because the HA Skyconnect cant reach the house from the garage.
In the house i want to install a 27" touch screen connected to either a small PC or a PI.
i want to use this as a info screen and also to “controll” HA like in kiosk mode.
i am thinking maybe it could be possible to have the HA Skyconnect attached on this pc and somehow forward the HA skyconnect to the server so i can get Zigbee2mqtt to work correct.
Option 1. Get a reeeeaaallly long usb cable, run it to your house from the garage, then hope the voltage hasn’t dropped enough to prevent your sky connect from working. Option 2. Get a network coordinator for ZigBee, instead of a usb one, and place it in your house. If you want to add ZigBee devices in the garage, you can use the sky connect as a separate network if routers can’t bridge the gap.
No, that is not how ZigBee works with usb devices. I suggest you use option 2 above.
Also the zigbee network is a mesh. so maybe if you add a routing device or 2 on the side of the house closest to the garage your mesh might reach. Where the coordinator is matters less than the health of your mesh.
If you have the Skyconnect already, simply install Zigbee2MQTT (and optional mosquitto) on the computer connected to your 27" touch screen.
Zigbee2MQTT does not have to be installed on your HA machine, it can be installed anywhere, as long as Zigbee2MQTT and HA can reach the same MQTT broker.
Depends on the OS. If the small PC is Windows, there are multiple serial to network software packages available. If the OS is linux, ser2net will do what you want. If the OS is Pi, ser2net will work there as well.
Once you configure the USB device for ser2net or similar, simply put the IP information in the Zigbee software, either Zigbee2MQTT or ZHA supports this option.
I use this to connect my Zigbee coordinator which is plugged into a Pi4 along with a Z-wave controller. Both use ser2net without issues for many years.
