Virtual Wall Lighthouse

We have a new Roomba 880 and it is doing a great job cleaning our living room, which is why we bought it. However, our rooms are more cluttered than most with furniture, bird cages, and the like, and there are several areas where we do not want our Roomba to go (behind the TV for example, where there are lots of wires that can screw Roomba up). You can use these Virtual Wall Lighthouses as lighthouses or more as virtual barriers to put boundaries on Roomba and prevent it from going where it should not.The virtual lighthouse function works fine. If I put the VWL as a boundary into the kitchen (which adjoins the living room, where Roomba lives) and put it in Lighthouse mode, Roomba will also clean the kitchen.If you have a Roomba, how many of these devices you need will depend on your room configuration. Very happy that we added a third VWL. RJB.

I ordered this virtual wall because I thought I needed a third one to make it easier to control where our Roomba was going while it cleaned the floor. It was delivered on time but, when batteries were put in it didn't work. I changed the batteries several times to be sure it wasn't the batteries but that didn't work. It was a defective virtual wall. I wanted to send it back and get a replacement but, the rules for this purchase were I had to send it back, get a refund, then reorder.I have nothing agains't Roomba. I am rating this product based on it's performance. It didn't perform so, it gets one star.

I have used two of these that came with my Roomba 500 series for slightly over a year. Both the virtual wall and lighthouse features worked well. I agree that it should plug into AC power. I think C sized batteries would be better than the D cells that it uses.If I were only rating this item alone I would give it 4-5 stars. Unfortunately, I had to return the item because my 500 series Roomba failed just after the 1-year warranty. I had a 400 series that failed just after warranty due to the "circle dance". My 500 series failed because the two main brushes stopped turning with light use and thus it stopped cleaning. From what I have read this was due to a problem of an unsealed gear box with plastic gears. It seems hair would get in and cause the gear box to fail. It seems that the gear box has been re-designed but I do not think that there is any way to know which gear box one is getting when buying the product.I find that iRobot makes a poorly designed product with very poor customer support. I do not see how they are staying in business. I think the only option to use this product would be with a lifetime warranty.

Just to clear up some misconceptions. This works with the 560 IF you have the earlier version 560. You would know this if your Roomba originally came with lighthouses. If your Roomba 560 (or any other model) originally came with virtual walls then it will not work with a lighthouse. I purchased this for use with my 560 and it works just like the other ones (it's just black instead of the white mine originally came with). If you want more details, this review gives more detailed info. http://www.amazon.com/review/R2UMMKBLS4K7RJ/ref=cm_cr_dp_title?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B000UUBCNO&channel=detail-glance&nodeID=1055398&store=home-garden

I was a bit disappointed that it didn't come with the batteries. But the product is good and was what I needed.

Watch out for compatibility issues, which are not posted prominently.The following SKUs and models are compatible with both the Virtual Wall Lighthouses and Wireless Command Centers.Compatible (has RF)53501, 54001, 55001, 56001, 56201564, 570, 571, 572577, 580, 581, 587, 599610, 611, 625780, 785, 790, 799880, 889The below robots are not compatible with Lighthouses and wireless comand centers.Not Compatible (no RF)530, 560, 585, 595620, 630, 639, 650, 660, 669760, 770, 870All Original/400 SeriesAll ScoobasAll Braavas/Mints

I have the iRobot Roomba 880, and "Meesh" needed extra help defining rooms as I have her clean the entire main floor of our house. When I purchased the lighthouses I did need to reset all lighthouses so Meesh would "see" them all. EVEN THOUGH the lights turn on and it looks like they are operating like normal!Simply take the batteries out and replace them while your iRobot is on it's docking station. One lighthouse at a time, no extended time is needed with the batteries out. Just take them out and replace. Then move on to the next lighthouse. Once all batteries have been removed and replaced, start your iRobot and everything should be liked appropriately.

Necesitaba un segundo aparato de pared virtual para evitar que la roomba se me colara en la cocina, así que compré este y lo puse en el sitio. Desde entonces ya no entra el bicho a hacer destrozos y se queda fuera limpiando como debe ser. Funciona correctamente.

Je l'ai acheté en complément de celui livré d'origine .c'est exactement le même !fonctionne très bien aucun soucis particulierje recommande

Il prodotto deve essere utilizzato con la serie irobot, nel mio caso il modello 886. Funziona egregiamente sia come virtual wall che come lighthouse. Il consumo delle batterie viene limitato ai soli periodi di attività del robottino pulitore per cui le batterie di fatto durano diversi mesi. Prodotto arrivato ben imballato e velocemente come al solito. Adatto a chi intende pulire più di due locali contemporaneamente.

Ich denke, die Funktionsweise der Lighthouses ansich ist klar.Ich möchte Ihnen 2-3 Tipps dazu mitgeben aus 3 Jahren Roomba-Erfahrung.Die Lighthouses kommen ohne Batterien. Selbige halten auch nur einige Wochen.Tipp: Ich habe in gute AA (!) Sanyo Akus und entsprechende Hülsen zur Vergrößerung auf Baby C Batterien investiert.Die normalen AA Akus können Sie in einem normalen Ladegerät laden. Die Sanyo Eneloops sind zudem derart gut, dass sie lange halten und keinen Memory-Effekt bekommen. Pro Lighthouse 4 Stück und 2 Hülsen anschaffen, dann können Sie bei Bedarf schnell wechseln und in Ruhe die Batterien aufladen. Kostet 1x, Sie sparen letztlich aber Geld und Nerven ggü großen C-Akus oder normalen Batterien.Wenn es blinkt, haben sie noch 7-10 Tage für den Wechsel mit den genannten Akus.Positionierung der Lighthouses:Man muss etwas mit der Platzierung seiner Lenkhilfen jonglieren, wenn die gut stehen funktioniert das ganze sehr praktikabel. Eine offene Wohnung oder einen sehr großen Raum sollte man in Zonen unterteilen, das verbessert die Reinigungsleistung deutlich. Roomba sollte in dem Raum stehen, in dem er am gründlichsten reinigen soll, bei mir ist das das Wohnzimmer. Denn nicht an jedem Tag findet er alle Lighthouses und fährt wirklich alle Zimmer ab. Die Zonen müssen nacheinander liegen. Sie können also nicht den Flur als eine Zone deklarieren und die einzelnen Türen in die angrenzenden Zimmer mit Lighthouses vesehen, sonst würde Roomba nur eines der nachfolgenden Zimmer anfahren und alle weiteren ignorieren. In dem Fall sollte z.B. in der Mitte des Flures die Zoneneinteilung erfolgen. Keine Angst, er findet schon meist in das dahinter liegende Zimmer.Die Lighthouses in den Türrahmen zu stellen, wie iRobot es empfiehlt, halte ich für wenig praktikabel.Mich stören sie da beim gehen - und zu oft verschiebe ich sie aus Versehen mit dem Fuß.Ich stelle sie unmittelbar vor oder nach den Türen auf. Ich finde, sie sind perfekt an Wandvorsprüngen platzierbar. Denn dann kann Roomba sie während der Zimmer-Reinigung nicht seitlich anfahren und verschieben. Ansonsten sollten sie nahe an der Wand oder neben einem Gegenstand/Möbel stehen, dann wird Roomba sie auch nicht anfahren. Ab und zu verrücke ich sie ein bisschen, denn die Zone, in der das Lighthouse absperrt, wird nicht wie der Rest des Hauses gereinigt, nur einmalig überfahren.

Excellent piece of equipment, I use mine to keep my Roomba out of the kitchen and two bathrooms where he might suck up some water (which would be bad...) I prefer these over the manual/ auto Virtual Walls as you do get the flexibility to choose between the Lighthouse and Virtual Wall modes, and also - the auto units flash a LED every few seconds, which isn't great in a bedroom.