Customer Reviews

Intermatic HA09C Home Settings Wireless Handy Remote Control

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I added this to my already growing Z-WAVE network. It really works great as do all of the other Z-WAVE products I have purchased with the INTERMATIC logo on them. This remote has a green and red LED which alerts you to its sending status of a "command" and additionally the "acknowledgement" alert that the command was received and carried out. I especially like this ridiculiously basic feature. The Intermatic HA07C Master Controller lacks any LED's, which I think is just dumb when you consider the 6 button remote HA09C has them, and the HA07C Master Controller lacks any backlighting at all which makes using it in low light conditions difficult to impossible to see the command being sent or acknowledged. That is why this controller is so great. The only drawback to the Handheld HA09C is its inability to control more than 6 scenes or groups of controllers. I currently have 7 scene/groups and I have to run over to the Master Controller (which controls 12 scenes/groups) to turn off # 7. Couldn't they just make a handheld controller that would work the same amount as the Master controller?? That seems like smart seemless intigration to me. Also the instructions for pairing this unit to the master are horrible. There are several situations where the instructions are lacking details and I had to call their customer service to get the real instructions. They explained that they are aware of the horrible instructions and are in the process of getting their engineering department to revise them. Over all the unit is a 5+ stars after you get it programmed. The instructions get a 0 star!

I have had two of these in operation for about 18 months now and recently purchased two more. These are great for use on a bedroom night stand. I set up mine to have the top three buttons activate different dim levels for a small table lamp (lamp controlled by a Z-Wave dimmer module). That way if I want to get up during the night I can activate the lowest light setting so as not to disturb my spouse.

Z-Wave is RF based so there is no need to point this remote in any direction. Mine work well throughout my 1500 sq. ft. Z-Wave equipped house.

Ken

I have a small network at home and uses 3 of these remotes. Some things are not quite obvious for someone coming from an X-10 background, hopefully this review will help those people.

In an X-10 network, each device has an ID, and remotes broadcast command to that ID. Any remote that's configured to (for example) send OFF to device A-3 will turn off that device. And configuration is usually done by setting a physical switch on the remote.

On a Z-Wave network, however, you need to tell the remote which button controls which device. If you're not careful, this can lead to button 1 of remote A controlling your kitchen light, but button 2 of remote B controlling the same device. This can lead to frustration and confusion if the remotes are swapped.

It also means that for every remote, you need to add the devices you want to control to each button.

You can do things not possible with the X-10, however. For example, you can have button 1 control your kitchen light, button 2 your family room light, and button 3 control both.

Another nice feature is that you have feedback. If you try to turn on a module that is not plugged in, the LED will flash to indicate an error.

I'm still expanding my Z-Wave network at home. The only thing that's slowing me down is the comparatively high price compared to X-10, and the lack of home brewed alternatives.

I recently acquired two of these to work with my system, which includes two master controllers as well. These work wonderfully. I programmed them by just having the master remote transmit its settings to it and they learned the functions in that manner. It was very convenient and easily fits in your pocket.

This remote and system is RF based, Z-Wave technology. The remote has six channels and can control up to sixteen devices. Your system can only have one primary controller and it seems all the secondary controllers you want. I am very happy with this handy remote.

I recently acquired two of these to work with my system, which includes two master controllers as well. These work wonderfully. I programmed them by just having the master remote transmit its settings to it and they learned the functions in that manner. It was very convenient and easily fits in your pocket.

This remote and system is RF based, Z-Wave technology. The remote has six channels and can control up to sixteen devices. Your system can only have one primary controller and it seems all the secondary controllers you want. I am very happy with this handy remote.

The reviewers who chastise the company for the unclear instruction manual are spot on. I write such manuals for a living and this manual violates the cardinal rule for good instructions: "Write the instructions from the point of view of the consumer. In other words, pretend you know nothing and are going through each step for the first time." I won't bore you with examples, but I was not amused after investing three hours with this remote without success. Then get this. I call technical support and the very patient rep there (kudos!) spent another 90 minutes taking me through the steps one by one, all the time replicating the steps on his own remote. Result? Neither HE nor I could get our remotes to work. That's when I bail out: when a rep hits the same insurmountable wall I do. At least my lamp module and base controller both work! And I've discovered using the base as a remote isn't a problem. The remote is HUGE, especially coming from X-10 super-small world. If you expect a handy, tuck-away remote, forget it. If you don't mind having around another TV-remote size remote, then this might work for you...but good luck with those instructions. :-)

If you have the Intermatic HA07C remote and want something smaller, this is handy. You can actually hit two Buttons on the HA07C and two on this remote and the HA07C will program this remote within seconds. The down side is the size. It's still pretty big (not as big as the huge HA07C) and weighs in at 5.2 ounces with batteries. The other disadvantage is that it only has 6 channels so it won't control channels 7-12 that your HA07C covers.

I bought a window AC unit without a remote, so I use this as a replacement. Works great! You can control multiple AC outlets (with the adapters).

I was using this as a secondary controller and ONLY needed to copy the master controller's contents. Apparently, I found myself confused and not doing it correctly so I kept failing. All I needed to do is on the master controller hold down INCLUDE until the copy flashed, next press the ON on channel 1, then press & hold the INCLUDE on the HA09C remote until the red & green lights flash, followed by pressing the OFF on channel 1 of the HA09C remote and make sure the green lights up for 2 seconds. That's it!

But, for whatever reason, I tried to add the individual modules first (fail because I already have a master controller), then I thought I had to do this set up (above) for every channel to copy each channel instead of on set of commands to copy the entire contents over. THANKSFULLY, I was able to comment on someone else's review and get feedback to fix my error.

It's really an EASY setup if you know what instructions to follow exactly. It's working perfectly now.

At $13 I had to at least give it a shot. At $13 I'm not disappointed. You could probably get me to pay $25 if it came down to it.

Other reviews complained about the instructions, but for a z-wave device they weren't that bad compared to other z-wave items. I've seen worse. The more you play with z-wave in general the easier it gets.

I dropped my review to 4 stars simply since the remote is a little bulky and not as small as I think they may have been able to make it. It also lags a little bit on sending commands. It takes about a second to activate the commands to the switches unlike my Harmony 890 which sends its commands instantly.

We bought two to use in our vehicles as we leave and return to control our yard light, porch light & foyer lights. They serve their purpose well.