Time for an upgrade. I decided to purchase the SwitcheOn two outlet unit. The SwitcheOn does not require refilling a sim card, that's a relief. It's an annual charge of $50 for the service. I just downloaded the App and I'll get the unit hooked up as soon as it arrives. There seems to be much more control; including temp sensors, on-off set by date, times, temp, or a simple flip of the switch on the app. I like the simple flip the switch.
Install and Activation
With booster shots scheduled I was on a tight time line. Mary and I had a short list of things to do while we were out. First stop, the airport. I had my drill ready in case I needed to start a pilot hole for one of the two screws needed to secure the Switcheon. I used one of the previous holes from the switchbox install, and as I figured, I needed one new location. Easy peasy, hole drilled, box mounted. I plugged in the power and then the extension cord to the plane for the Reiff pre-heats. It worked like a charm, as advertised. A simple scan of the QR code and the app is communicating to the box. 3 Tango Charlie is ready for winter operations.
We did make it to the designated location for our booster shots, on time. We also managed to hit a hardware store for a flag pole, the grocery store for cookie baking items, and the FedEx store to ship a few boxes. I'm ready for lunch and a nap.
10 comments:
This is timely. I’ve been using an old GSM cell switch for my preheater and it has stopped working. I have a nice stopgap in place, but would love to find a more permanent solution. The FAQ for SwitcheOn claims that reception is good even in a metal hangar. With my old GSM switch, I had to run an antenna out the door and, even then, signal was marginal. Realizing that your environment is not the same as mine with respect to cell towers, etc, how does your SwitcheOn work inside a closed metal hangar?
Chris, My Switchbox needed an outdoor antenna and I assume the Switcheon would too. However, I didn't even try the antenna in the box, instead hooked up the little mini outdoor antenna. Seems to work fine, I'll be heading over to the airport to test it again. The switcheon doesn't give a confirmation that it's on or off, something I will have to get used to.
Fair enough. I thought that the FAQ was pretty bold with its claims that the built-in antenna worked well from inside a metal hangar. I'm curious if that's actually true. Your comment about the lack of on/off feedback from the box is disappointing and a little surprising considering that even my ancient GSM cell switch did that.
I’ll try the antenna that came with the Switcheon today and report back. I got an answer from the Switcheon distributor on switch status confirmation.
“When the app shows the switch is dark green, that means it is on. When it is light green, that means the command has been sent to turn on. Light grey, the command to turn off has been sent. Dark grey, it is off.”
That's excellent and more in line with what I expected. Good to know. My current setup uses a smart WiFi outlet and I'm mooching off of a weak WiFi signal from a friend's neighboring hangar (with his permission). It works great and seems to be very reliable so far, but it also means that I'm dependent on someone else's cellular-fed WiFi set-up.
I really appreciate your PIREP on this, Gary!
Chris, The small popsicle stick looking antenna that came with the unit did not work for me. Instead, I used the antenna I had from the switchbox unit. It picked up a signal and it worked flawlessly.
Thanks Gary!
Designer of SwitcheOn here..
About 10% of our users need antennas beyond the little white one we include. That's why our recommendation is to try the little guy and only get a larger or external one if it doesn't work.
The other thing with external antennas is that every extra foot of cable and every junction reduces signal. So, it's a balancing act between the gain of moving the antenna and the losses from the extra cable and connectors.
If you tap the (I) in the bottom right corner, you can see the signal strength of your box. It reports in dBm, which are negative numbers (blame Ben Franklin). -110 or better (closer to 0) usually works perfectly. -110 to -120 works most of the time, but might occasionally drop offline. Worse than -120 is a crap-shoot. It might be reliable if it's consistent, but more than likely, it will fall offline several times per day.
Anything worse than -110 we usually recommend a larger antenna.
If you or anyone else has any questions or needs help figuring out the correct antenna setup, we're here to help. Tap "Contact" at the top of the website and we'll get back to you right away.
We guarantee that we can make the device work or your money back. So far, knock on wood, we've not failed to make one work.
Great information! Thank you!
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