Recommended RF Bridges in 2021

Hardware
1

Hi There,

I’m looking to integrate RF devices into my Home Assistant configuration and reaching out to get some tips on what hardware & integrations people would recommend in 2021 based on experience.

I’m wanting to control RF capable devices like;

  • Ceiling Fans,
  • Reverse Cycle Air Conditioning
  • Motorised blinds (which I haven’t purchased yet but will likely be Somfy)

Constraints

  • I’d prefer off the shelf hardware (if possible) but willing to go DIY hardware should there be benefits outside of price.
  • Price wise I’m comfortable with midrange options that work
  • Ideally, I don’t want to have to login to the cloud to enable the hardware solution.
  • Range / signal reliability is important.

My Research so far:

Bond Bridge (if I’ve got this right)

Pros

  • There is a HA integration for this
  • Bond Bridge will work over a spectrum of RF frequencies
  • The bridge will learn my remote control functions…but are these all accessible via the integration?
  • I understand the Bond connect to the network via wifi so could be placed anywhere within wireless range

Cons

  • I think (but am unsure) the device needs to be logged into the Bond cloud account to connect to HA. I’d like to avoid this if possible

RFLink (From Nodo-Shop)
Pros

  • There is a HA integration
  • DIY/Cheap

Cons

  • Hardware seems to be frequency specific. It would be great to have a gateway that covers a RF spectrum
  • Its DIY - I’d prefer an out of the box solution
  • Do these need to connect to the network via a device with USB? Or can they connect wirelessly?
  • Will RFLink learn my remote control functions?

Appreciate any suggestions and tips others may have based on their experience.

2

Hi wol,

Not sure if you’ve had any feedback on this, or if you have had any success, but I have also been looking into RF (and IR, and Zigbee) bridges lately. There are a couple of other options that I could suggest you also look into.

The following RF bridges are generally in the 433MHz range.

  • Sonoff Bridges (RF, Zigbee)
  • Tuya Bridges (RF, IR, Zigbee)
  • Broadlink RM4 Pro (RF/IR) - This reportedly has 433MHz, 315MHz, and IR. HA has an integration that, once the device is configured for Wi-Fi connection, will allow you to learn codes directly in HA. (I have just recently ordered this, and have a friend who has it and has found it easy to use and pretty close to being straight out-of-the-box. Once I receive it and get stuck into configuring devices, I can jump back on and give some feedback if that would be helpful).
3

Sonoff has an IR Bridge ?

4

Hmmm, perhaps I thought I had seen that, but hadn’t actually. I’ll take that out. Do you have any other suggestions for RF bridges?

5

I have 2 Sonoff RF Bridges, and 2 Rflinks.

6

Do you guys have any updates?