When Indigo makes one device instead of several
This is the most common reason to reach for the plugin. You add a multi-sensor to Indigo and get a single plain device rather than the several you expected. The lines Indigo writes to the Event Log while it adds the device describe it in general terms, such as Routing Slave : Notification Sensor or Routing Slave : Binary Sensor.
Usually the maker has changed the model’s product number, so Indigo does not have that exact model in its list yet and falls back on a general description. The sensor itself is almost always fine.
Step 1 — see what the sensor says it can send
While Indigo adds a device, the Event Log has a line that starts retrieved command classes. It lists every family of messages the device says it can send — Z-Wave calls these families command classes. Here is a real one, from a Neo Coolcam NAS-PD07Z that Indigo made into a plain notification sensor:
Z-Wave Syncing - retrieved command classes: 20v1 5Ev1 98v1 9Fv1 6Cv1 55v1 86v1 73v1 85v1
8Ev1 59v1 72v1 5Av1 87v1 71v1 30v1 31v11 70v1 7Av1
Each entry is the family’s number, then v and its version. Ignore the version and look for these numbers:
| Number | If it is there |
|---|---|
31 | The sensor sends readings such as temperature, humidity, light level, CO2, UV or air pressure |
71 | The sensor sends events such as motion, tamper, door contact, water, smoke or carbon monoxide |
30 | The sensor sends the same kind of on and off events in the older way |
32 | The sensor measures power, energy, voltage, current, gas or water |
80 | The sensor reports its battery level, so a Battery Sensor device is worth making |
84 | The sensor sleeps between reports to save its battery, and only sends when something changes or when it wakes |
70 | The sensor has settings of its own that can be changed, such as how often it reports (see step 3) |
In the example, 31 shows the temperature, humidity and light sensors are there, and 71 and 30 show the motion side is there, even though Indigo only made one device.
Read the list as a description of this one time the sensor was added, not of the model. Neither 80 nor 84 appears above, so a Battery Sensor device would have nothing to show — but that sensor can run from either a CR2 battery or USB power, and plenty of sensors that can use both only list the battery families when they start up on the battery. If a reading you expected is missing, check the list again with the sensor on the power source you mean to use before deciding it cannot send it.
The How it works page lists every family the plugin can read.
Step 2 — make one device per reading
Following the example, make a Temperature Sensor, a Humidity Sensor and a Luminance Sensor, and choose the same native device in each. They sit alongside the device Indigo made, and each shows one reading. Getting started goes through it step by step.
Step 3 — if nothing arrives, the sensor is not sending it
The plugin can only read what the sensor actually sends. If the sensor was never set up to send a reading when it was added, it may not be sending it at all, and there is nothing for the plugin to read.
To check, tick Enable debug logging in Plugins → Universal Z-Wave Sensor → Configure, make the reading change, and watch the Event Log. Every message from the sensor appears as a line with CC=0x and the family number, such as CC=0x31 for a reading.
- If the messages arrive but the device does not change, the plugin is not reading them properly. Please raise it on GitHub or the Indigo forum with those log lines.
- If nothing arrives at all, the sensor needs telling to send it. Most sensors keep numbered settings inside themselves, which Z-Wave calls parameters — how often to report, and how big a change is worth reporting. The sensor’s manual lists them, and they are set from Indigo’s own Z-Wave tools, not from this plugin.
Remember to untick Enable debug logging afterwards, as it adds a line to the log for every message.
Step 4 — ask for proper support
The plugin’s devices are a stopgap. Choose Plugins → Universal Z-Wave Sensor → Generate Indigo Support Report, pick one of the plugin’s devices for the sensor, and click Generate Report. It writes everything Indigo’s authors need to support the model — the maker’s and product numbers, the families of messages it sends, and all its settings and readings — to the Event Log in one block. Copy the block and post it on the Indigo forum.
Once Indigo supports the sensor properly, switch over: point any triggers, control pages and action groups at Indigo’s own device, then delete the plugin’s devices for it.