There are a number of Zigbee sticks on the market for setting up a (local) gateway for the smart home based on a single-board computer or mini-PC. One of the best-known examples is the Conbee II from Phoscon. At the Sonoff ZBDongle, on the other hand, is an external antenna accessible. The same chipset of the Sonoff ZBDongle-E from Silicon Labs is also in the SkyConnect. With the right firmware, these sticks will also be available for thread supply in the future. For the firmware, I see the SkyConnect (here is a first test report based on the current functionality) quite far ahead in the race due to the broad support provided by the Home Assistant.
The Silicon Labs microcontroller EFR32MG21 is also in the newly presented Aeotec Zi-Stick. This can be pre-ordered now for EUR 29.99 and is scheduled to go on sale in March 2023. Zigbee 3.0 is supported, but the manufacturer does not mention potential thread compatibility. As I said, if it were a software story, you ultimately have to see whether Aeotec is ready for updates. Exciting: The maximum transmission power is given as 13 dBm, other sticks are at 20dBm. But that shouldn’t be too bad, because that should also be enough for 200 meters in the open air and Zigbee is known to build up mesh networks.
The stick can also be used flexibly in combination with Home Assistant, openHab or Zigbee2MQTT to use smart home components from various manufacturers. If you dare to do it, you don’t have to use umpteen Zigbee control centers from various manufacturers.
By the way: Chipsets are not only installed on the “central” side (see examples above), which can handle Zigbee and Thread equally well. Although Zigbee and Thread both use the 2.4 GHz frequency, Thread does not work with every microcontroller. One example of the components is the IKEA Vindstyrka air quality monitor. It will probably connect to the Dirigera Hub via Zigbee ex works, but could be activated for Thread in the future and then also work with any border routers thanks to a Matter certification.
- Zigbee protocol
- Globally recognized 2.4 GHz frequency
- Zigbee compatible microcontroller EFR32MG21
- Rx Sensitivity: -99dBm
- Max. transmit power: 13dBm
- Range in free field: 200m
- USB interface with standard NCP commands from Silicon Labs. Simple connection via the serial interface on the server PC (PC/laptop/single-board computer)
- Many plugins for OpenHAB, Home Assistant, Node-RED and other DIY platforms, Node.js and Python libraries for your own applications
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