23
Mar, 2024

I'm testing the Zigbee 3.0 indoor siren Frient SIRZB-110

Who's fried?

I am aware that this is particularly subjective, but Frient is a mark that I like very much. I already have several equipments of this brand, I never had any concern of losing Zigbee link or pairing. The batteries last a long time, so I imagine that the circuits are well optimised and well designed.

The Danish seller is starting to find his place in the connected equipment market, his choice for the Zigbee 3.0 is to be welcomed.

It should be noted that by looking a little, we make Coptic that the manufacturer is another Dane who is called Develco, the address of both seems to be the same, probably two names therefore.

Where to buy this mermaid, at what price?

The siren I am testing was lent to me by Domadoo, so I pay tribute to them first, especially since they are the cheapest.

On the day of this test, the prices recorded are as follows:

I open the box and check the received model

There is no real number or model of this siren.

On the back, I find SIRZB-110, I imagine it is the reference.

This siren seems to like to be permanently connected to the sector, the wire is really very short, it will have to be put very close to a socket.

There is a built-in battery that should be able to take over if the current is turned off.

The documentation shows that a wall mount seems ideal, it seems well thought out.

I'm trying a Zigbee2MQTT integration

The documentation indicates that you have to press the single button for 5 seconds, it was quite simple to find.

So I put Zigbee2MQTT in pairing mode, I plug in the siren, the LED flashes green/orange …

I deduce from this that I do not need to press anything, the pairing is ongoing. It takes a few seconds and the new siren looks good.

It is well recognized in SIRZB-110

The battery seems to have been delivered empty, and I checked it with first tests, sounded the siren, disconnected the power supply and turned it off. I'll let her plug in 24 hours, we'll see tomorrow if she's back up.

The screen of the controls is quite complete, I will be able to test it little by little

I'm testing the Alarm command

My eye first lands on a command that seems to trigger or stop the siren.

It is rather strange, the support on Off or on Start do the same thing.

I watch on MQTT Explorer if something is published, Nothing!!! Strange, I try to understand, finally, I see an explanation in the doc:

I confirm that the Off does not turn off the alarm, I found this discussion unresolved on the issue.

I'm a little disappointed, no simple siren command so. I'm dropping it for now, I'm going to test the other … commands

I'm testing the options in the "Squawk" paragraph.

The operation of this section is strange.

  • strobe is useless, positioning on True or False does not change anything.
  • Level must be on low, all other positions do not produce any results when pressing Apply.
  • Support for Apply when the option is on _is _armed System produces two weak beeps. I don't know what else it does.
  • Support for Apply when the option is on _is _disarmed System produces two beeps a little less weak. I don't know what it does either.

The documentation explains:

I test the options in the "Warning" paragraph

The choice of mode allows in theory to choose different melodies

  • But in reality, Mode has no effect, it is really disturbing, on this alarm, even the stop does not stop the alarm.
  • Level does not affect the sound level, it is he who varies the melody but there is little choice.
  • Strobe and Strobe Level are useless, have no effect, the siren is not equipped with a strobe.
  • Honestly, at this point, I wonder if it is the Zigbee2MQTT integration that is completely next to the plate or if it is that the operation of this alarm is not perfect.

I am testing the ‘Max duration’ option

This option works perfectly, it is the one that makes it possible to set the alarm ringing time. At this stage, I have not yet figured out how to stop it.

I retest start/off of "Alarm" 

Full of perseverance, I re-test this command, which I rely on Off or on Start, the reaction is the same, the siren starts beeping the number of seconds I put in Max duration.

Conclusion on tests from Zigbee2MQTT

Well, I don’t see anything well-functioning at this point, the reactions to the commands are unexpected and I can’t do what I want. I have not found where to change the volume of the siren or how to cut it when it rings.

I test by acquired consciousness via HA

Here is the HA screen, it seems quite empty, I immediately notice that there is no choice of melody or volume, this confirms my first tests on Zigbee2MQTT, these commands are not integrated.

The order Alarm displays two icons, it looks like an On and an Off but both do the same thing, i.e. trigger beeps during the time specified in Max duration.

Hopefully not to find useful commands, I search, I will see what information is hidden in sensors, it is just the return of Max duration, so also useless, let it deactivate.

And now how I trigger the siren in Home Assistant

I therefore have no pre-programmed command that allows me to really trigger the siren, the small beeps that launch by pressing Alarm will not scare anyone away, the volume is low and they are only beeps.

I test the siren by flying it via a Publish MQTT

Zigbee2MQTT and Home assistant do not have the commands to trigger the alarm, I do not admit defeat, I will try to publish an MQTT command directly.

I help myself with the documentation Zigbee2MQTT which sometimes gives interesting indications, even if in the end no developer has integrated them in the Zigbee2MQTT/HA links.

First important info found in this documentation 

I search the information found by Zigbee2MQTT, I find the firmware is 1.9.3, it goes wrong…


Here is the information for sending the direct order in MQTT:

The first tests are failures, the reaction of the siren is identical to that previously tested via the Zigbee2MQTT interface, i.e. next to the plate. The indication as to what firmware 17.1 should be and not 1.9.3 is confirmed.

I'm trying to figure out how this mermaid steers ….

It is a Develco product, I will search on their website.

I find:

  • Smart Siren Datasheet
  • Smart Siren Technical Manual this document dates from 2020, it does not give me any useful information to control the siren, the firmware is not addressed. I just see that an OTA update is planned while in Zigbee2MQTT the siren does not appear in the OTA section.

Some small web searches:

All the other pages do not provide anything.

Conclusion

At this stage, I consider that this siren is not compatible with Zigbee2MQTT. Or at least its integration no longer works, it may have worked with a previous firmware.

The manufacturer’s documentation is 4 years old, it is really old in the home automation mode.

I understand that Deconz also has problems, even though this page I note in passing that Zigbee2MQTT is not specified as compatible.

Out of curiosity, I went to see the Amazon comments, 1.5/5 on 4 comments!

I would therefore avoid this siren, which seems to be the most expensive of the Zigbee sirens.

Comparison of Zigbee sirens

To go further and help choose, I made a comparison of several Zigbee sirens.