[Kogan First] Kogan SmarterHome Smart Blinds Driver $69.99 Delivered @ Kogan

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• 

  deanylev on 28/12/2020 - 01:37

  +5

  These are absolute garbage from trying to use one for a few months. I ended up buying one of these Soma ones and Raspberry Pi Zero W to add Google Assistant and am much happier, but obviously a far heftier price tag

  • 

    cristobaljames on 28/12/2020 - 01:45

    50 cycles as in every month or so you need to recharge?

    • 

      deanylev on 28/12/2020 - 01:47

      50 cycles off a single charge, but you can keep it plugged into the wall (as I do). The battery is only really for if you use the included solar panel.

      • 

        cristobaljames on 28/12/2020 - 01:54

        If only the battery was more capable, my set up wouldn't work with cables unfortunately..

        • 

          deanylev on 28/12/2020 - 02:12

          @cristobaljames: Surely the solar panel would work in that case?

          • 

            cristobaljames on 28/12/2020 - 02:44

            @deanylev: Sadly not in the location I have in mind, would be a messy set up with me needing to drill through the frame of the sliding doors and run the wire up past the eaves.

            Perhaps the next generation will have a longer lasting battery unit that can last a decent amount of time.

            I'd love to have the blinds automated though on a timer, will keep my eyes open..

            • 

              deanylev on 28/12/2020 - 03:31

              @cristobaljames: One potential option is to use a battery bank, as the unit is recharged off USB :)

              • 

                cristobaljames on 28/12/2020 - 03:36

                @deanylev: Thanks, I'll keep that in mind :)

  • 

    Alialh on 28/12/2020 - 08:30

    +3

    $200 vs $69 makes a big difference
    Are you sure the Kogan ones were no good? People have commented positively on them before
    I’m looking to purchase like 12 lol

    • 

      Nick7 on 28/12/2020 - 09:37

      +3

      Yep we have 2 already and I brought 2 more yesterday. No issues at all opening 2x 2.4m floor to ceiling blinds after 6 months of use.

    • 

      10101010101 on 28/12/2020 - 10:23

      +1

      Try with one first. The biggest hassle is you need to have power points nearby. The motors are kind of noisy so I can't imagine what 12 going all at once would sound like 🙂

  • 

    ash2000 on 28/12/2020 - 08:49

    +2

    These are absolute garbage from trying to use one for a few months

    What problems did you encounter?

    I've had mine set up for 3 months, worked flawlessly out of the box pulling 5m of floor to ceiling verticals.

    • 

      deanylev on 28/12/2020 - 11:53

      +1

      From memory, the chain would slip no matter which plastic gear bit I used. Could be specific to my blinds, but have had no such problem with the Soma unit (which has a universal gear). Maybe I should have not spoken so authoritatively, good to hear they work for you :)

      • 

        ash2000 on 28/12/2020 - 12:19

        Ok, fair enough …. indeed, if it's not going to grip the cog/gear there is little point proceeding…….more of a compatibility issue than anything. I have just standard cord on mine, which seems to only require tension for it to work reliably.

  • 

    10101010101 on 28/12/2020 - 09:33

    +2

    I have the Kogan one and whilst a little noisy, it seems to work well. What were your issues with it?

• 

  herrod on 28/12/2020 - 01:39

  +2

  Here's a YouTube vid:

  https://youtu.be/KDOEMufAyfk

  And this comparo with AliExpress links. The Kogan price is pretty good then.

  https://youtu.be/_4BcvlIQTuI

• 

  AustriaBargain on 28/12/2020 - 01:50

  Doesn't work with HomeKit?

• 

  00 on 28/12/2020 - 09:06

  +1

  Kogan First puts its customers LAST

  • 

    ash2000 on 28/12/2020 - 12:26

    I think they put "First customers" marginally ahead of regular customers, but that is an extremely low bar to begin with.

• 

  blackwalnut on 28/12/2020 - 09:21

  So this only attaches to the cord not to the curtain itself?

  • 

    ash2000 on 28/12/2020 - 12:24

    Correct. The box mounts (and tensions) and the end of the cord loop.

• 

  Chopel on 28/12/2020 - 12:43

  Do I have to purchase the solar panel separately?

• 

  robberbutton on 28/12/2020 - 12:49

  Bought 2 of these in the last sale. Got rid of them after a few weeks. Ridiculously noisy, chain constantly slips, had to reset and reconfigure repeatedly. Absolute garbage.

  • 

    10101010101 on 28/12/2020 - 13:56

    +1

    Mine has never slipped. You probably didn't position the bracket tight enough.

    • 

      robberbutton on 01/01/2021 - 16:05

      Tried half a dozen times on each blind. Both had the same problem - tried tighter, looser, super tight - nothing worked properly.

• 

  Name on 28/12/2020 - 18:29

  Had 5 for about 6 months now (bought at $65). No issues on 3 of the blinds. 2 kept having issues but it was more that the blind was too tight / hard to raise up. Going down no issues.

  I had slipping on all blinds when I first got them which required resetting the start stop positions all the time. Then read online that it's likely not tight enough. I made the chain tighter and changed the cog and haven't had issues with slipping since.

  I still need to adjust 2 of the blinds to make them easier to raise.

  But they're great units for the price. I just bought another 4 at this price. .

• 

  EnergicAU on 28/12/2020 - 19:00

  Got two and been using them for last couple of months. Def worth the price and ingor heavy full length blinds that span 2 panel doors and 3 panel doors and they do them with no issues.

  Needs a plug which luckily I do have otherwise it's gonna be an issue if you don't have a plug nearby.

  Would Def recommend

• 

  Gurras on 28/12/2020 - 21:08

  Can anyone tell me if I can set these up with day/night cellular blinds?
  If so, would it be 2 separate actions or could it go from fully open all the way through the night blinds and to the fully closed day blinds? Does that even make sense?
  Can you just do it manually?
  Also, mine don't have beaded chain, just string. Would they still work?

  • 

    DoaAn on 28/12/2020 - 21:21

    String should be ok as there are different cogs included for different types, as long as the string is the continuous loop type.
    Otherwise it’s literally just a motor which pulls on the string in one direction to raise and the other direction to lower.
    Whether it works for your type of blinds depends on how your blinds work.

    • 

      Gurras on 28/12/2020 - 21:44

      Thanks, I downloaded the manual and seems string is ok as long as it is a loop, which mine is.
      My blinds go from fully open/lifted and the blockout night blinds rolls down (with the day blind bunched up underneath) and if you keep pulling the strings loop in the same direction the night blinds retracts upwards and the transparent day blind extends up from the floor, now with the night blind bunched above the day blind.
      I see I can set a stop point when fully raised and fully lowered, I guess I need to know if I can set a stop point in the middle, or at least just raise and lower manually.

      • 

        DoaAn on 28/12/2020 - 23:51

        To raise or lower manually, you could use the remote (haven’t seen app but maybe that too). Press up/down then stop when you want it to stop. Also has same buttons on the actual device.
        Not sure if you can set a midpoint. I haven’t received this one yet and my current one isn’t the Kogan brand & can’t connect to any app so may be slightly different.
        I use a BroadLink pro connected to my Home Assistant to raise/lower for certain number of seconds then stop it. Allows me to set it to open, 75%, 50%, 25% and closed positions. Not perfect but mostly works right.

        • 

          Gurras on 29/12/2020 - 09:52

          @DoaAn: Thanks again, will give one a try.

• 

  10101010101 on 29/12/2020 - 08:04

  Ordered another one last night for a different room with a much heavier and larger blind. Hopefully still works well

• 

  Chuppa on 07/01/2021 - 20:09

  How have those that bought found their blind motor? Good, bad?

  • 

    10101010101 on 08/01/2021 - 01:06

    +1

    Installed my second one on a much heavier and wider blind. Seems to work ok.