door bell 1/4 mile away - part 3

With my plug-and-play harness made for the Shelly Plus 1 module I was so eager to get it working at the front gate. I actually wasted some time trying to use the wireless network bridge AP 1/8 mile away hoping I can avoid adding a PoE AP which will add power consumption. The signal is simply too weak down on the ground even for the iPhone to work.

There is also added power consumption consideration of the Shelly Plus1 module which adds to the smaller solar panel for the gate opener. It is about 42 mA which I think with the existing panel it should be fine except during prolonged snow covered days in winter.

The much anticipated low cost TP-Link 2.4GHz PoE access point arrived today. I set it up in the house and it wasn't too hard. Only at time upon powering up, there is no internet. I suspect it is the router that is having a hard time having some many devices including no less than 4 access points, and about 45 network clients. 

I thought it would be a quick and easy thing to get all these things to play together. It turned out changing the wifi network connection of the Shelly was extremely as you have to do it through Bluetooth to communicate with it using the iPhone. The apps (two) simply could not discover the module no matter how many time I tried.

I have to bring the new AP and the Shelly module back to the house to try to make them play together. Even that took some perseverance and over an hour of trying different things. I powered down the Shelly module before disconnecting the TP-Link PoE AP. I then bring everything down to the front gate to do the installation, and power them up in sequence so they don't waste time hunting for something not there.

the Shelly module fits nicely into this cavity inside the gate opener controller

all the wiring is done inside the controller so no one will ever know

I powered up the PoE AP first and let it boot up and working. I verified it with the iPhone to ensure it has internet access. I then connect the power to the Shelly Plus 1 module. That way it would connect to the SSID of the PoE AP immediately without hunting. From my tests I knew it takes less than 20 seconds.

I launched the Shelly app and it operates the gate opener as I expect it to. At this point the iPhone and the Shelly module are both connected to the same wifi of the AP. The proof of the pudding is to test the functionality back up in the house or other places of the property using different wifi connections that are scattered through out the property.

Back in the house, the iPhone connected to the router in the house. The gate opener operates 1/4 mile away as I designed it to, through the maze of my network system, which entails wifi, ethernet, fiber optic network, ethernet, wireless line of sight network bridge, ethernet, and then wifi. 😱 More over, the most important link is out onto the internet and through the "cloud".

I bought the indoor version of the PoE AP as I don't want anyone to know it's presence. I mount it to the door of the network and solar power shed I built. Once I feel comfortable with its operation reliability I will hide the SSID for security reasons.

this little shed is getting to be quite full; all four ports of the PoE network switch are now used

I noted the power consumption of the new PoE AP. To my relief it draws only about 100mA measured at the 12V node of the power delivery system in the shed. However it actually powers off 48Vdc produced by the DC to DC inverter that supplies the PoE switch.

I think this should complete all the functions I want to have up at the front gate. Now with a visitor comes, I can be notified, see who is there, and let them in without the need to give them the gate opener combo, but open it remotely.

here is a screen grab video on the iPhone of the remote operation from the house

Since I purchase of the Shelly Plus 1 wifi control module I discover they have a more DIY module that can do more called Shelly Uni. It is sold on Amazon where I found the Plus 1. I would had bought the Uni instead had I know about it. However without first tried out the Plus 1 to see the app and design, and most important their cloud support I would not know if this is a brand that I would rely on.

the Uni is so compact but not for most uninitiated 

What the Uni has over the Plus 1 are:

• Two switch output instead of one
• Two digital inputs instead of none
• One analog (ADC) input instead of none

The Uni is $16 versus the Plus 1 of $21. What you pay for the Plus 1 is the nice housing and more user friendly screw terminals rather than having to do soldering yourself.

the features of the Uni

I am thinking of getting a 4 pack of the Uni as I can find countless applications for it. I can use one up at the front gate to monitor the voltage level of the storage batteries of the solar power supply system. The two digital input are useful for countless uses, as the extra one switching output.

I went ahead and ordered the 4 pack Uni as with 10% off the first order it is a no-brainer decision. I can have endless fun playing with them. I like Shelly products over other selections of IoT because each module is standalone wifi module without the need for a proprietary networking hub.