Buzzhazz

Hmmm. Good point. I have a stash of products from a couple of previous sales that I brought with me. Hadn't realized that the Insteon shortage ran way beyond the PLMs. Perhaps it's time to just wait and see what happens when and if this chip shortage is over (assuming that's the cause of the shortage).

Rather than create a new and somewhat similar thread, please permit me to tag on here. I've previously been an ISY99/994 user for many years, but I was never a power user. I viewed the ISY worth the price just for Insteon device/scene management and to run what many here would consider to be a few pretty straightforward programs. Early last summer, we moved, and I left the ISY 994 with the new owners. With the common history of failure of the PLM serial modem and it's complete lack of availability, I decided to start fresh in the new home with Home Assistant. At that time, it was not clear how soon Polisy might become the new home for ISY. I purchased a Home Assistant Blue when it became available and set it aside. Now, nine months later, I'm in the new house and ready to start setting things up. I stumble back here to find the significant advances that have taken place with Policy to include IoP, and I am thinking I jumped the gum with the Home Assistant Blue. Home Assistant has many more integrations than Polisy has node servers, but Insteon sure seems infinitely easier to manage with IoP. I have the advantage now of starting from scratch! My new home will incorporate Insteon primarily for lighting/scene control and I do have three Schlage Z-wave locks I'd like to incorporate. There are a lot of smart devices within the home (Ring, Nest E thermostats, smart TVs, AV equipment and even SolarEdge), but like I said, I've never been a power user, and I'm not a fan of automation for automation's sake, so I'm not sure how fancy I'll get, but I do like to tinker, and I do intend to expand the Z-wave network where it makes sense to do so. Enough background. Just a few questions, some of which I think I know the answer to. The Polisy Pro is only slightly more expensive ($30) than the base unit, and for that reason alone, I'm leaning toward it. But I have data ports throughout the house and will connect Polisy with ethernet. I know Pro has BT capability, but can anyone provide a real life or even possible future example of how one might incorporate BT capability into anything? I am starting from scratch so I'll need a new PLM. I plan to use the USB PLM though I see Polisy supports several PLM models. Any reason NOT to go with the USB PLM? And along that same line, I see the 2413u is sold out at SmartHome and other places I've looked. Any insight on how long they will remain out of stock. The PLMs sure seem to be the Achilles' heel of any Insteon control system, ISY 994, Polisy, HA or otherwise. Along with the Home Assistant Blue, I purchased an Aeotec Z-Stick 7 Plus. The Zooz Z-7 add on to Polisy is dirt cheap, but I do like the smaller footprint of the Aeotec. Is anyone using the Aeotec, and if so, how is it working for you? Thanks in advance.

Good idea. Done. Thanks

Hi Michel (or anyone else who can chime in quickly) My portal license runs through Jan 2023. I'm not sure if I will meet the new owner or not, but if I add him, and delete me, does the license stay with him? It's no big deal if it does. Just curious about the mechanics. Conversely, if I don 't meet the owner and cannot add him, is the second best to revoke the portal in the admin concole and delete the ISY from the portal? We close tomorrow, so just trying to leave the new guys with a functional ISY without me having access to it.

Many months ago, I posted asking about forum members' thoughts on how to handle my current home's Insteon and accompanying ISY system when I move. Well, we're in the packing stage, so it's time. The prevailing wisdom seemed to be to just leave it in place and let the new owners have at it if they choose to do so. That's what I'm going to do. I'll print out a network topography and a hard copy of the current ISY manual. I'll leave a link to this invaluable forum I'll disable the few programs I have because I don't want to assume the new owners will want the same programs I'll change the logon information to the ISY defaults (admin and password as I recall?) I have an existing subscription to the ISY Portal which I only use to control Insteon with the Google Assistant. Do I contact UDI to administratively decouple the service from my ISY? Honestly, my biggest concern is not the ISY, but that the PLM will fail again (it's been several years) or that individual Insteon devices will eventually fail as I'm sure many of us have experienced over the years. Good luck finding an electrician who knows how to deal with an Insteon 4-way virtual circuit when the load bearing device craps out. I know it will be the new owners' problem, but I try to view it from their position. Once at the new home, I'll start fresh with a new system. I know nothing about Polisy other than at some point, I understand it will replace the ISY 994. In the new home, I'll have a mix of Insteon and Z-Wave (mostly for doors and maybe blinds). Should I build my new system around the Polisy? Thanks in advance.

Thank you. That's very helpful. I expect the Schlage locks will work, and as for window shades, it probably depends on the brand. I'll do my research.

And adding extra layers of complexity is what I am trying to avoid. It would be nice to have a dynamic evolving list of what z-wave devices DO or DO NOT work with ISY but that might be a sizable task.

It would be a new ISY with Z-wave that I'd be starting with. I'm not familiar with Polisy at all, so I guess I better become familiar if it's going to "take over for the isy."

Thanks Lilyoyo1. I did read your very through post before I created this one and it answered several other questions I had. I was confused about hub/controller and still am about multiple controllers. For example Brand X of window shades might come with a controller that allows my wife to use an included remote to operate the blinds, but I might want to also control them with the ISY based on time of day or sunset sunrise for example. From what I gather, that may or may not be possible depending on whether the blinds allow primary and secondary controllers. Do I have that right? In the case of the Schlage locks, I'd only being using the ISY as a controller, so hopefully that would be an easier setup with the thought that I'd use KPLs to control the locks. I still have very much to learn in the Z-wave arena. I'm fairly tech savvy but not like many here.

I've been using an ISY-994i for several years in my current house. We're building our retirement home, and I intend to leave my current ISY with the current home along with some reference material and links to this sit and the Wiki sight. And I'll hope for the new owners that the PLM or an Insteon device never fails again in the event they aren't technically proficient, but I digress. When we move to the new home, I want to buy another ISY with Z-wave capability. My only experience with Z-wave is reading about it. My thoughts are that I want to add 2-3 Schlage locks and some Z-wave compatible window shades and of course Insteon devices for lighting control. I'm pretty confused, so my first questions will probably be dumb ones. Will the ISY be the Z-Wave hub or is it simply a controller? Will that be the ISY or do I need some other dedicated hub that the ISY can control? Are the terms hub and controller synonymous in the Z-wave world? IOW, when researching window shades, I see I need a hub for the shade motors (the Samsung Smartthings hub was mentioned as an example). I told you it would be a dumb question. More to follow. P.S. I've read through several topics and the Wiki pages, but nothings really clicking for me. If someone wants to take the time to explain how they would set up the equipment described above, I'd love to read it.

Here's an update: I originally posted that I was using brand name LEDs in my two sets of lights that were flickering. That was not accurate. During replacement of those bulbs with Philips Warm Glow lights, I discovered I had used TCP branded BR30s and NewLeaf A19s for the front porch, both provided at a discount through the energy company. You get what you pay for. When I replaced the bulbs, the flickering issue was resolved, and I love the warm glow effect as the bulbs dim. On what APPEARS to be a related note, I created a new scene last night to turn all the lights off only on the main level. Two Insteon dimmers would not take the update, and the ISY Write to Device effort would time out. I tried for a long time last night and again this morning. After I replaced the TCP bulbs with the Philips bulbs, I decided to try again. The Writes too almost immediately. The two switches in question were physically located near the KPL where I had flickering lights and on the same circuit. It's anecdotal, but is it possible that the cheap bulbs were somehow (even when off) interfering with the Write process? Thanks for the advice! You guys are great!

Good background. Thanks. I have some of the bulbs Bumbershoot recommended waiting for me at Home Depot. I'll report back. When I read things like this, I have to wonder how much extra the KPL would have cost the consumer to build the switch using a better micro-C. Rhetorical question I guess.

Thanks. I'll experiment. I hate being the guy who starts a new topic about things that have already been covered, but I apparently did it anyway.

Hi all. I'm the kind of user who comes here once in a blue moon because I'm an amateur ISY user. I don't get really fancy with anything, and once things work like I want them to work, I disappear from here until I have an issue and need the advice of the many experts here. I'm back. I have a porch light controlled by a 6 button KPL. And I have hall lights controlled by an 8 button KPL (with two other Insteon dimmers linked as a virtual 4-way for the hall). All the bulbs are dimmable name-brand LEDs and are the same type of bulbs I have elsewhere throughout the house. Whenever there is Insteon traffic, the porch lights and the hall lights will flicker during the duration of the traffic. If I turn on a switch or adjust a dimmer, the flickering is brief. If I create a new scene on the UD Admin console that takes, for example, 20 seconds to write to the devices, rapid flickering lasts for the duration of that time. I haven't tried replacing the KPLs yet. I'm planning on selling the house this summer, and I would hate for a potential buyer to notice this and think there's a serious electrical issue. And frankly, I'd also hate for someone to buy the house, and think they have a serious problem after they move in. Has anyone else experienced this, and more importantly, found a proper remedy?

Will do