What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

Hanger Bot down

jim skala

Member
Around January 1, my Hanger Bot disconnected (RED dot shown in app). When I went to find out why, I found that LINK Aviation now has Hanger Bot. I have been trying to contant them for almost two weeks without success.
Has anyone else had this problem?
(I use my Hanger Bot for controlling the oil heater on two planes in the hanger.)
 
I down-loaded the SwitcheOn app -- neat demo. Maybe their temperature report might be more accurate than the HangerBot temperature report. HangerBot relays WiFi to the IoT plugs, but the signal is weak, and the plugs need to be pretty close to work. I also needed to put the HangerBot close to the door to be able to connect at all. But would SwitcheOn be any better?

SwitcheOn wants $50 per year after the first year. I don't remember what HangerBot wanted, but if it is more than $50, I will get the SwitcheOn. Then, how to get rid of the HangerBot. My hanger is not close to a Dipsy Dumpster...

My HangerBot is back up -- I don't know if LINK did anything to make that happen, but they never responded to me in any way. It came back peace-meal. First, the HangerBot connected, but the plugs were in-op. The next day, the plugs were working again. Weird.
 
+1 on the Switcheon. I really like mine and it is inside a steel hangar and I have no problem with reception. No sim cards or cell accounts to configure. Switcheon handles all of that.

Keith
 
We have crappy cell reception at the airport and the Switcheon device only gives me about 1 bar, so I added a cheap 50-ohm cellular antenna from Amazon on a magnet mount on the outside of the hangar and as high as I could reach it, which helped. Sometimes it takes a bit before a command hits, but the Switcheon keeps trying until it’s successful and I’ve never had it fail…it always fulfills the command.

Note that the temp sensor senses ambient hangar temp only…the sensor is in the control unit itself. I like that because when I turn it on, I can see the temp of the box rise as the now-activated electronics heat up. That confirms for me, along with the switch turning green, that the unit has activated.

The cell connection process is great. It’s all done through the app including the annual renewal (free for first year). You don’t deal with any cell companies at all. Also, my iPhone provides a notification if the Switcheon goes offline (such as power failure) and then again when it comes back online.
 
Last edited:
We have crappy cell reception at the airport and the Switcheon device only gives me about 1 bar, so I added a cheap 50-ohm cellular antenna from Amazon on a magnet mount on the outside of the hangar and as high as I could reach it, which helped. .

Would you share a link to the antenna you bought?
 
Back
Top