I just purchased a Lilygo LoRa32 to test 433Mhz devices, but I’m having some issues with the range. Using the stock included antenna, the max distance from my devices is about 3 feet. I also purchased a 10dBi antenna, which seems to work about 10 feet. But definitely not a whole house.
My other issue is that my contact sensor (EV1527) is showing up as a smoke detector. I’ve tried a few and they do the same. Other devices in the neighborhood do appear, but they seem to all have unknown data in Home Assistant.
Send on /RTL_433toMQTT/Smoke-GS558/10248 msg {“model”:“Smoke-GS558”,“id”:10248,“unit”:14,“learn”:0,“code”:“c5010e”,“protocol”:“Wireless Smoke and Heat Detector GS 558”,“rssi”:-64,“duration”:1431996}
Send on /RTL_433toMQTT/Smoke-GS558/10248 msg {“model”:“Smoke-GS558”,“id”:10248,“unit”:14,“learn”:0,“code”:“c5010e”,“protocol”:“Wireless Smoke and Heat Detector GS 558”,“rssi”:-58,“duration”:1434996}
Is there a way to increase the range, and change the device type?
I’m no expert, but I can share a little bit about what I’m seeing with my LilyGo board. First off, I also tried that kind of 10dBi antenna with my RTL-SDR receiver and it was worse than the rabbit ears. I think cheap antennas are not reliable. I put that 10dBi antenna away and will not use it any more.
On my LilyGo board, with the antenna that came with the board, my range is very good. I’m able to pick up traffic from devices that are many meters away. My weather station is 50’ away and I get strong data from it. The LilyGo board picks up data from devices that must be much farther away as I don’t recognize them. My board is inside a bedroom closet on the second floor.
As for the device type, I think this code base is relying on whatever “rtl_433” says the device type is. I’d poke around the rtl_433 community and see if there’s a way to map one device type to another.
In my case, since my range is so good, when I enabled Home Assistant integration, I was inundated with dozens and dozens of sensors and devices in the area. I turned it off, and wrote a small Python app to only allow the devices I want to make their way to HA.
Well, I don’t know how far they are, I’m in a populated area. One is a BBQ. Some door locks. However, all the home assistant data shows Unknown for the values even though I see the values in MQTT explorer so I don’t know.
I’ll go back to the stock antenna and do more testing. thank you!
Just to give my 2 cents worth. I found that locating the LilyGo away from all the other things on my desk (I’ve got 2 or three ESPs doing various things) and clear of the computer, metal shelves and various cables improved reliability.
Also the orientation is important, so place the antenna pointing vertical, not lying down…