Fakro ARF - missing zwave database parameters

I have had two Fakro ARF roller blinds for a couple of years now and they have always had a quirk, which is their sitemap icon shows open when they are closed and closed when they are open. The reason is that they report 100 for open and 0 for closed, opposite to the convention assumed by the icon.

There is a device parameter to reverse the position reporting but as I have rules that use the position, invoking the parameter would mean amending the rules and it has never bothered me enough to get to that. However, since OH3, there is a bit of odd behaviour that I need to fix. In the morning, the blinds receive an UP command, regardless of their current position and even though they were already open, showing position 100, and don’t move OH sets the position from 100 to 0. So it’s time to use the position reversing parameter and alter the rules to match.

The problem is there are no device parameters in the thing. I checked the zwave database an sure enough there are no parameters listed against this device. I used to be able to configure the device using HABmin under OH2 so either the database has changed or OH3 is using a different version of the database.

Is there a simple way to find and restore the parameter records in the database so I can once again configure these devices?

I see there are no parameters but the entry supposedly had not been touched since OH 2.4. There must have been an issue during the database migration to the new site last year. I will look into correcting this later today. The Association Groups are missing too.

EDIT: The official manual attached in the database does not have the needed information. I will need to research elsewhere.

EDIT2: I do not see where we ever had any groups or parameters defined. Other systems using openzwave do not list it either.

I do not have the same device but another blinds control. The setting for reversing the control and a seperate setting to invert the percentage value can be found in the channel settings:

  • Log in to the administration GUI
  • Go to things
  • Select your blinds control device
  • Switch to the channels rider
  • Click on the blinds control channel

You should now see a blue link “Configure Channel” below the channel information. Click on it and you should be able to change the settings.

I can’t find anything in the Fakro manual that defines the parameters, otherwise I would have tried to propose an update to the database.

As it used to work in HABmin, I’m assuming there’s a version somewhere.

Is there anything I can do to read something off the device?

Thanks for that, I didn’t know that was there. I’m guessing that inverts the percentage at OpenHAB level rather than reconfiguring the module. Sounds like an ideal solution.

On initial investigation, I can’t use that because my things are configured in text files. I’ll have a look to see if I can include the reversal in the file.

That is one of the reasons I let the system discover the things and they are then consistent to the bindings. Everything else is in text files here as well :wink:

I’m starting to think there is a case for that with zwave. Text files do make for a very quick upgrade path though.

I’ve stopped using the built in upgrade tool after having issues (albeit back in OH2 days). I now just do a new openhabian image, wait 45 minutes and reload my text files and I’m back in business. If it turns out to need more work, I just chuck the previous SD card back in until I have time.

Apparently there are some settings built in to the ARF. I got this PM with more information from the past.

both options (invert percent and invert control) are a binding feature from the linked blinds_control channel:
image

I also got this warning.

We had a lot of problems in the past with these Fakro stuff

@stefan.oh Thanks for the pointing me in the right direction. I have managed to configure this through text by adding a channel defintion to the thing:

{ Channels: Type blinds_control : blinds_control [ config_invert_percent="true" ] }

I guess one could also set config_invert_state if necessary.

Sadly that same solution isn’t working for my Fibaro FGR223.

The FGR223 has normal Configuration Parameters. (Parameters tab in DB)

There isn’t one to reverse the percentage without affecting the physical outputs.

Perhaps the manufacturer did not provide that feature in their firmware for that device.

It appears not, which is why I’d like to be able to do it in the channel config (having learnt of that feature today).

That is only because the manufacturer provided that though.

The ability to invert the percentage is provided by Fakro but I can’t configure it because the database has no parameters. Fortunately @stefan.oh provided a solution which exists in the blinds_control channel type within the zwave binding and so works without changing the module configuration.

So all good with the Fakro blind. The Fibaro blind module doesn’t have the option to invert the raw percentages leaving the module like the Fakro one does but that’s ok because I didn’t/couldn’t use the option in the Fakro module anyway and still managed to make it work by inverting the percentage when it arrives in the binding.

So I should be able to invert the percentage from the Fibaro in the zwave binding in the same way as the Fakro because it has nothing to do with what the manufacturer put in the firmware. But when I configure the channel the same way, it doesn’t work. I’m thinking it’s probably something to do with the channel id.

Why not? What is the problem you are having?

The binding provides exactly the same blinds_control channel for the FGR223 and it therefore also has exactly the same configuration options available since the config is associated with the channel, and not the device.

Exactly - I realised it was nothing to do with the manufacturer/firmware.

User error - sorry. :man_facepalming: It was a channel id issue. The FGR223 has three blinds controls channels, one deprecated and two in use. The one I wanted was blinds_control1. The text config had quite happily inverted the percentage on the deprecated channel (blinds_control) but that’s not the one I’m using.

In the case of the FGR223, it needed to be:

{ Channels: Type blinds_control : blinds_control1 [ config_invert_percent="true" ]  }

All working now. Thanks.