I’m trying to figure out which Broadlink device should I get in order to get the most out of my Hass.io configuration. I mean, I’ve got many Mitsubishi Kirigamine Zen A/C in my house and I would like to control them via HomeAssistant.
I’ve read there is a specific component wich is capable of doing this. Also I have got many 433 MHz radio-controlled sockets and a LG WebOS Tv which actually is controlled via WiFi, using the specific component but I would like to control it also via IR.
I’ve seen on the broadlink site that there are 3 devices available right now:
RM Mini 3
RM Pro+
RM Pro
The only difference, if I have understood correctly, should be between the RM Pro+ and the RM Pro, which come respectively with 433 and 315 MHz on the Pro+ version and the 433 MHz only on the RM Pro.
Now my questions are:
What is the best choice between the 3 versions of them?
Is the RM Mini 3 version compatible with Hassio? (I’ve read on the component page that you should write the version you’re using, between:
Some users are claiming configuration issues but it should work, right?
Are the radio versions compatible with Hass.io? (so the RM Pro and Pro+) If so, will the FM modulation also work or only the ir side will work? Will I be able to send and receive any FM code via Hassio?
Right now I’m using a cheap 433 transmitter with the switch component, which works ok (only the signal is a bit weak) but if 433 would work also on the RM Pro and Pro+, letting them be able to receive and send any data packet, I will choose them.
The RM Mini 3 is great! It does exactly what you expect it to do, it doesn’t look bad, and if you buy it from China, it’s almost as cheap as you could make it yourself.
The RM Pro however… is not great. It costs more, for starters. But, the IR sending ability seems to be less. With the RM Pro and the RM Mini in the same spot in my house, the RM Mini will contact my IR device basically every time. The RM Pro, much less often. I think the RM Pro wants to be mounted on a wall so the top of it faces in to the room or something. I had better luck with it standing on one end then when resting on it’s base.
For the 433Mhz stuff, it works okay if you use the real app (which means no Home Assistant integration, or, at least much more difficult as you jump through the hoops of converting eRemote codes to HASS codes). From Home Assistant, I can’t seem to get it to learn any 433Mhz stuff. 315Mhz is even more difficult, as it rarely even works from the real app. I think it has something to do with the “frequency sweep” step. My house has lots of 433 devices. Getting them all to shut up long enough to record a 315Mhz broadcast is almost impossible. So my guess is that the frequency sweep almost always finds 433, and therefore doesn’t even look at the 315Mhz bandwidth. If there was a way to say “listen on this frequency for a learned code” I think the integration over all would be better and easier.
So, for me, I have several RM Minis. The Pro sits in a drawer unused. And I have OpenMQTTGateway running on a handful of hidden (thankfully, because my builds aren’t nice to look at) arduinos to handle 433 and 315 needs.
For me it’s the other way round.
I’d originally ordered the Mini and swapped it quickly for the Pro.
The device is only about 10 feet away from my TV and for teh TV and the soundbar the IR works fine.
Also, the 433MHz stuff works fine for me - I use it with a bunch of Etekcity switches and it reaches much further that I thought it would.
Recording the codes was not an issue, it worked for me via HomeAssistant in the dev-service tab with the command switch.broadlink_learn_command_192_168_X_Y
You need to keep in mind, though, that these devices will - other than for recording a code - NOT listen to commands being sent, i.e. you push a button on the original remote and HA will NOT register what happend and/or change that state of the switch.
I think I will stick to the RM Mini 3, since I already have the 433MHz cheap module but it works just fine. Learning codes via the dev tools really doesn’t excite me
