Sub-Routine

My guess is that since you are calling Set 'Master Bath Light' Off, a direct command, the MBL will use the last called ramp rate. If you are using several minutes in the Set Scene 'Slow Master Bath Light' On then it will take that same amount of time to ramp the light off, and you may think nothing is happening. You could use a Fast Off instead of Off or create a new scene with a quicker ramp rate. If you check the light's status in the ISY applet after the double-off it should state 'Off' as soon as the light begins to fade. Rand

How can a ControLinc's button have a Status? AFAIK, they only send messages when pressed. They never stick On or Off. I think you want to watch for a button press (If Control...). Then you will have six options to react to, On, Off, Fast On, Fast Off, Brighten, Dim. These options are available in the Beta release of v2.5. Again, I don't know how a ControLinc button can have a status, it has no load and cannot be switched in any manner other than manually pressing a button. To look for a Status you must query a device that has direct control of a load (SwitchLinc, InlineLinc, LampLinc, etc.). Hope this helps, Rand

2.4.12, please and thank you Chris You know I am jonesing for the On Never and the Program Summary sorting AM/PM correction. Run at Reboot will also be a welcome addition. Thank you, and have a nice weekend, Rand I love the smell of Insteon in the morning!

what you guys accomplished this week? I know there were at least a few issues I know have been resolved. I hope we have been giving good feedback. Thank you, Rand

Chris, I thought you would have warned everyone about my Sunday fun Do not create an "On Never" condition for any Folders or Programs in version 2.4.11. I really need a way to comment out lines

Well... C Martin did call it 'Problems'... so you could say that he gave it the benefit of the doubt. I too had problems with the initial install. Even after things have 'died down', I can't communicate to the switches from the console. The schedules are working though. I did not see this with any of the previous upgrades. I will continue playing around with it. You are correct, but I did want to sneak in at least some good things in about the release As far as your switches are concerned, I have had to do a Restore Device on some. Michel said that it is the PLM losing links. Another glitch in the Program Summary. Programs that ran in the noon hour are incorrectly labeled AM. Programs that ran during the midnight hour are correctly labeled AM. Also, when the list is sorted by Last Run/Finish Time items that occurred at 12AM are listed after items at 3AM. Sorting by military time should be used, even if the display is in standard time. Thank you, Rand

I wouldn't have called this discussion Bugs... Some of you may be too anxious to restart the Administrative Console after updating. The ISY can stay busy for quite a while, depending on the number of devices you have. I am guilty as well, wondering why I can't Log In until I notice all the activity on the ISY and PLM. All my schedules worked overnight, but that happened in 2.4.10 once When the ISY rebooted after the 2.4.11 install I did notice that many of my Programs were run although Program Summary stated none were enabled at the time. The only glitch I had was that my Dawn scene was called after my Evening scene although it was evening. Not a big deal as at least the lights were turned on. I like the Run at Reboot option in the Program Summary page. Unfortunately the state is not updated until the Console is quit and restarted, and, as noted above, I'm not sure the states matter. I see the new [Applied Locally] tag in scenes. Nice. No pop up when changes are made yet. I will mess with some new Programs and report back... Thank you, Rand

I can't give the Beta all kudos, I keep changing back to 2.4 during weekdays so that my timers all function. I do have a good time creating programs with the beta The ISY is the best Insteon programmer/controller I have seen. Of all the software and all the hardware in the small bit of world that I see. I think the developers are actually using the device, unlike some other software/hardware publishers Oh, but many moons ago I promised myself I would not get overly enthusiastic about the ISY That promise is hard to keep. I want to build a shrine to Universal Devices. Michel and company are indeed doing a wonderful job! If any one or more of you people ever come into O'Hare Airport I hope to be able to buy you a beer and a hamburger, let me know so I can find some free time. I know all the good bars. Thank you, Rand

That is a good idea, though it should not be considered an annoyance. The ISY makes it very easy to change scenes or create new scenes. As I said, I am calling only lights unlikely to be changed by users. I am not including any room lights in the quick on scene or the fast on devices. B forbid I ever again put timers on the Kitchen or Dining room. That trial lasted for about three days and four nights many years ago. She is happy with the ControLinc Living room, but, like I, am still figuring out a KPL for the Family room. I bought a RemoteLinc and it's still a tossup. The timers are effective 90% of the time. Rand

If regular schedules are on I know what the settings are. As I stated, these are all common area lights. I don't think it will hurt anyone to return the common lights to known values for the day/time. If it does they can use another controller to modify the devices they are using. If unexpected guests arrive I might want to change the schedule. If it's just someone coming home the wait command should be perfect. Rand

I was going to roll my own for this situation. I already created programs using Fast On. Any of our outdoor light switches and several inside switches will start a program that will quickly turn on all my indoor and outdoor lights used in my normal lighting scenes (evening, midnight, dawn, daytime.) It will also trigger a few key lights to fast on as well, and of course a fast on back to the scene initiator switch because more than likely this switch would be dimmed in any of my scenes. All the lights in these scenes are common area lights; outside doors, the sidewalk and driveway, hallways, foyer. I've got that going so far. After an allocated delay I will simply call the scene normally used during the current day and time. Wait with a wait random time added, 10 minutes + random 10 minutes perhaps. This could be unique to each switch. I haven't messed with that yet, but I don't believe it will be very difficult. I am rather sure that I would want to sometimes be able to override the normal scene resume... Rand

I'm sorry, I still see the scene/device node changing to the first device on the list when I change between Status and Control. Rand

Yes, I see. I am still thinking of my Timers as being simply that Sure, here is the Program: The subject in the email notice says On Alert. The body of the message says: Probably easy enough to fix... Thank you, Rand

Interesting. How do you use the status to detect that it was dimmed below 30%? Are you looking for a status of 30% and it triggers as you dim down to this level? Why did you choose this method for an area 'all off' instead of something like a double-off press? I used the Status instead of Off because sometimes users hold the paddle until the stairwell light dims so much that they believe it is Off and they release the paddle. Sometimes the light is still on by a few percent. I selected 30% because that is the lowest light level I have assigned to that fixture in any group it belongs to. Rand

I think that is the reasoning for the From and To commands. I am hesitant to test them with the simple timers I have because I wouldn't want my midnight timer overriding a switch press. The WAF will go lower than setting the DVR to record on both channels at once if the stairwell keeps dimming when she needs to use it in the middle of the night. That being stated, I am sure there are a lot of opportunities to use this feature, I just need more time to experiment. There is a column for Ststus on the Program Summary page. All my programs are idle whenever I look, but I am sure they run for an instant when they are scheduled. I do have a Trigger to turn off all the basement lights when the switch at the top of the basement stairs is dimmed below 30%... Okay, the Status column apparently stated Running for an instant after I pressed the switch. It did not run long enough for me to get close enough to see exactly what it said, but all the basement lights turned off just as quickly. Rand

I appreciate the chance to test the latest Beta. You folks are doing a great job! Good News! Immediately upon restarting the ISY after the upgade it appears that all the schedules since midnight were run, as well as one trigger. This looks good for the Power Restore requests. All My Old Schedules appear to be functioning correctly, at least in the last few hours. Fast On is now activating Programs! I am going to find some good uses for this. Is there a way to comment out lines in a program? For testing purposes without driving my better half crazy... I am really liking the Program Summary and Program Details pages. It would be great if double-clicking a Program in the Summary page would bring up the Program Details page for that program. Never mind, I just noticed the Edit button... Didn't we use to see the next scheduled run time? If it's not asking too much I find it easier to see on the Summary page which Programs have not been saved. Could Save Changes be added to the drop down box? Neither of the two My Old Triggers I have function. Recreating them, in a new folder if that matters, restored the functions. The Triggers worked when transfered to 2.4.9, Timers did not. When selecting File->Restore PLM: Gone are the useful requesters that notified me which devices failed. Now I again only see the Request Failed pop up. It doesn't seem to take long enough to restore much of the PLM. Restore Device on some individual devices has fixed some of the status updates I was missing. I haven't tried File->Restore Devices. A Trigger to Notify when a device is switched On incorrectly relates that the status has changed from on to off. When I Query My Lights the progress bar appears to follow the progress correctly. When I Query a Scene the progress bar only appears, for what seems to be, one device. The requester disappears while the system is still busy. Two-prong LampLincs are not accompanied by a part number. Neither are the InlineLinc dimmers I have. To maintain consistency I suggest the EZIO part name be placed in parentheses rather than be followed by a colon before the product description. Thank you, Rand

I have to believe the Random is from start time to +X minutes. So if you want X/2 minutes before until X/2 minutes after set the start time X/2 minutes before and use a Random X. Personally, most of our lights are on the same schedule whether we are home or away. I suppose controlling some lights randomly might confuse some burglars, but I can't imagine anyone spending days analyzing our lights before breaking and entering. I wish I could have that problem. I just know never turn all the lights off. We love the dimmers because some lights are always on enough to find our way at night. Better than Random: Our only at home child is now 21, some lights change anytime of day or night. Random 1440 Rand

Thank you. I know you don't mean it but it's sure nice to hear! Yes. Of course you can count on Rand. Not that anyone always makes the right decisions , but Can we also use the colored text to fix this?: http://forum.universal-devices.com/viewtopic.php?t=315&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0 That's still got me a bit confused, but I know we can blend it in somehow. That will make all the windows line up.

All the LampLincs (9) here keep on truckin' Rand

MikeB, Part of the problem with Dim/Brighten a scene is that all devices step to the next of 32 levels. Some devices may change as much as 3% and others only 0.39% So, Yes, you are most likely to be happier with a new scene. Along with Set All Devices I would like to see a slider to modify the levels of all the devices in a scene using a percentage. Perhaps 0-100% slider with a toggle next to it to select Dim or Brighten. Dim would start at 100% and brighten would initially be 0%. Using Dim for example: Set the slider to 50% and devices that were 79% become 39.5%, 64% becomes 32%, etc. Dim and Brighten All Devices In A Scene was next on my list for Group Commander. I think after you get the ratios correct among the devices in a scene it could come close to being a mirrored dimmer or brighter scene. Something logarithmically related to light output versus power level would be more accurate. That could keep the ISY team busy for a while I'm not sure if anyone would have a use for the same function with ramp rates, that is already proportional to the level. Thank you, Rand

Any schedule for the 4.9.5? My weekend has some free time Rand

The blue devices in My Lighting are responders only. LampLincs and ApplianceLinks, InlineLincs, EZIO outputs, etc. The violet devices are controllers, most of which can also be responders. I would request that controller only devices be red. ControLinc, RemoteLinc, EZIO inputs... I like it. The same could be done in the scene nodes. Thank you, Rand

"Grasshopper, It is the Insteon protocol which you must master. Once Insteon is understood total control of all devices will be possible. Master" Personally, I think the protocol has been captured very well on the ISY. And just keeps on getting better. Good Job! Thank you, Rand

Now you are getting me confused. I like the the slider functions as they are. Once I figured it out, with some help from this forum, it seems natural. I don't need any more labels. I only have to glance at the tree on the left to know what value I am changing. This is an Insteon feature and I think the ISY uses it to the best possible advantage. Perhaps a better explanation in the documentation is all that is necessary. --- The Local Level and Ramp Rate are poked into the devices when the sliders are changed, and the lamp level is changed. At first I thought I was just changing the level. I didn't realize only the buttons at the bottom just changed the level. It should be explained, perhaps with a pop up, that pressing the set button on the device will then lock-in the new local lamp level. I was working on programming the level/ramp rate equivalents: Select a ramp rate and the program will set the proper lamp level for an x seconds local ramp rate and then instruct the user to press the set button twice. Then the ISY was introduced I usually change the local level/ramp rate by using the ISY to poke in the new values and resetting the power, often with the circuit breaker to change more than one device at a time. And it's not often enough to be a bother. Thank you, Rand

I quite like the way the scenes are implemented and controlled in the ISY. It does take a few minutes to understand but then it make perfect sense to me! I think of scenes as all the lights (devices) that should be grouped and then I add controllers as desired. Each controller can set it's own levels and rates for that group of devices. Keep in mind that the same responders can be added to any number of groups. Rand