Aeon Labs Z-Stick

Monk

Monk

Active Member
OK - so I bought a new Aeon Labs Zstick last week only to find that backup & restorals are not supported - should have done some research. I bought it as a backup for my original WD stick which does support backup & restoral. I do not want to go backwards here. In a recent incident, it was the restore function that saved me. Can someone recommend a decent USB Z-wave controller that works with Homeseer and supports backup / restore?

I would ask on the HS forum but they don't appear to offer a solution other than going "serial". I refuse to buy a device that depends solely on serial ports to function.
 
I was under the impression that Aeon Labs was in process of adding the backup/restore feature set (since it's part of the Z-Wave library), so I would hold on to that stick for now. I'll confirm with Aeon Labs just to be sure. The Z-Troller does look like the best solution otherwise, just get a good Serial->USB/Ethernet adapter.
 
Dan (electron) said:
I was under the impression that Aeon Labs was in process of adding the backup/restore feature set (since it's part of the Z-Wave library), so I would hold on to that stick for now. I'll confirm with Aeon Labs just to be sure. The Z-Troller does look like the best solution otherwise, just get a good Serial->USB/Ethernet adapter.
Click to expand...

Thanks Dan - I can hang onto it for a bit! My current controller is pretty solid - just bought this as a backup.

Nope - won't catch me buying serial anything. I cannot think of an example where any modern-day (recent manufactured) device is still coming with a "serial-only" interface. (Opening can of worms on this maybe)
 
Big can of worms, I just bought tons of equipment which offers serial connectivity ;)

I did contact Aeon Labs's Engineer, so we'll see what they say.
 
Dan (electron) said:
Big can of worms, I just bought tons of equipment which offers serial connectivity ;)
Click to expand...

Yes but you have to read the fine print - a "serial-only" interface was stipulated. Betcha your stuff is loaded with RJ45's used for it's main purpose...:p
 
Monk said:
Thanks Dan - I can hang onto it for a bit! My current controller is pretty solid - just bought this as a backup.
Click to expand...
We worked with Aeon for quite a while on this and verified at the CES show (last month) that they are no longer working on this. The problem is that the Z-Wave "installer" library is required for this feature and they could not successfully fit that onto the stick.

Nope - won't catch me buying serial anything. I cannot think of an example where any modern-day (recent manufactured) device is still coming with a "serial-only" interface. (Opening can of worms on this maybe)
Click to expand...
Actually, the Z-Stick is already a "virtual COM" (serial) device... Aeon simply added USB>Serial converter inside the stick. So, you DID, in fact, purchase a serial device! :) FYI - this is a common practice in the industry. Many technology interfaces (Z-Wave, Insteon, X10) are designed as serial devices with embedded USB converters.

Lastly, we used to sell our "HomeSeer SmartStick" (a version of the Wayne Dalton WDUSB-10 stick) with the "installer" libray on it. That device is the only USB interface (that I'm aware of) that supports backup/restore. We discontinued that roughly 2 years ago.
 
Thanks for the update Mark. I am surprised that there are so many Z-Wave devices on the market, yet from an interface point of view, choices seem to be extremely limited.
 
macromark said:
We worked with Aeon for quite a while on this and verified at the CES show (last month) that they are no longer working on this. The problem is that the Z-Wave "installer" library is required for this feature and they could not successfully fit that onto the stick.


Actually, the Z-Stick is already a "virtual COM" (serial) device... Aeon simply added USB>Serial converter inside the stick. So, you DID, in fact, purchase a serial device! :) FYI - this is a common practice in the industry. Many technology interfaces (Z-Wave, Insteon, X10) are designed as serial devices with embedded USB converters.

Lastly, we used to sell our "HomeSeer SmartStick" (a version of the Wayne Dalton WDUSB-10 stick) with the "installer" libray on it. That device is the only USB interface (that I'm aware of) that supports backup/restore. We discontinued that roughly 2 years ago.
Click to expand...

Thanks.Mark!

Yes - I bought my original Stick from Homeseer - wish I would have bought 2.
 
Can someone reccomend a USB Z-Wave stick that supports backup / restore?- I would continue to patronize Homeseer as in the past, but they don't offer one.

Thanks!


Monk said:
OK - so I bought a new Aeon Labs Zstick last week only to find that backup & restorals are not supported - should have done some research. I bought it as a backup for my original WD stick which does support backup & restoral. I do not want to go backwards here. In a recent incident, it was the restore function that saved me. Can someone recommend a decent USB Z-wave controller that works with Homeseer and supports backup / restore?

I would ask on the HS forum but they don't appear to offer a solution other than going "serial". I refuse to buy a device that depends solely on serial ports to function.
Click to expand...
 
Monk said:
Can someone reccomend a USB Z-Wave stick that supports backup / restore?- I would continue to patronize Homeseer as in the past, but they don't offer one.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
If you buy a Z-Troller with the Trendnet USB>Serial cable we sell ($15 extra), you'll have the best option available. It has much greater range than any USB stick we've ever carried (including the Aeon Labs and Wayne Dalton ones). In fact, you might want to just switch over to the Z-Troller and keep the other stick as a back-up.
 
Monk said:
Can someone reccomend a USB Z-Wave stick that supports backup / restore?- I would continue to patronize Homeseer as in the past, but they don't offer one.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I purchased a ControlThink ThinkStick (now rebranded by Leviton) and updated it to 5.02 using WD/ACT's firmware which includes the installer library. I did some research before hand and found out that they were both 100% copies of the original Zensys design. So, while ControlThink/Leviton only offer version 4.27, the WD/ACT 5.02 download from HS' website worked perfectly. I've been running it this way now for about a year. Backups and restores DO work.

Cheers!
 
manxam said:
I purchased a ControlThink ThinkStick (now rebranded by Leviton) and updated it to 5.02 using WD/ACT's firmware which includes the installer library. I did some research before hand and found out that they were both 100% copies of the original Zensys design. So, while ControlThink/Leviton only offer version 4.27, the WD/ACT 5.02 download from HS' website worked perfectly. I've been running it this way now for about a year. Backups and restores DO work.

Cheers!
Click to expand...

Came accross a ThinkStick that was 4.30 - would not accept the 5.02 download although backup / restore DO work - not sure about beaming.

Where did you get yours?
 
Does the software download (labeled beta and staing only for those with shlage locks) from HS' website give you an error? The only "issue" that I had was that it didnt recognize the serial number of my device but wrote anyways...

Oh.. Just realized that I used Controlthinks firmware upgrade software but pointed it to the WD file. There was a key combo in the software the allowed you to load a bin instead of using the included file.

Let me know if you require further help.
 
Does the software download (labeled beta and staing only for those with shlage locks) from HS' website give you an error? The only "issue" that I had was that it didnt recognize the serial number of my device but wrote anyways...

Oh.. Just realized that I used Controlthinks firmware upgrade software but pointed it to the WD file. There was a key combo in the software the allowed you to load a bin instead of using the included file.

Let me know if you require further help.
 
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