MrTinker

Have the new Insteon folks indicated anything about device availability? I have a few switches that have failed and would prefer to replace with same if possible and the timeframe is somewhat soon. I guess I could also cannibalize some other not as critical switches that are already installed and reinstall dumb switches. I just tried sending that question to support@insteon.com, but I don't know if that goes anywhere or if anyone will respond :)

I had to completely remove mono 5.16.0.179 to get by the precompilation errors (it would consume all available RAM/swap). This was one of the suggested options in the error thread to which you linked. I then used your script to install again. Thank you!

Just FYI, I recently had to order a new one on 17 Aug from Smarthome because my PLM died. I received a 2.4 revision.

Michel, As I recall, you'd mentioned setting the ISY in a vertical orientation may help with range with the new dongle. Was this for a situation where the ISY is in a basement and the z-wave devices are above it? Is there any specific vertical orientation? E.g. would the end of the ISY with the dongle be towards the top or would the front or back of the ISY face up? Would you be able to describe the general shape of the coverage in respect to the orientation of the dongle? One thing I'm trying to figure out is where to put the one plug-in z-wave device I have that acts as a repeater to try to cover the z-wave ceiling fan switches I'll be installing and whether I'll need more repeaters (I'm presuming I will).

Thanks Broyd. I did not see a way in the tool to actually see the current firmware the device has? So I guess it's just a matter of applying the latest firmware to whatever device you receive as preparatory step prior to adding it to the ISY z-wave network? For anyone else that happens upon this, I'm running the tool within a Windows 7 VM under VMWare on macOS (just assigned the z-stick to the Windows VM when I plugged it into the USB) and all seems to be working fine. I manually loaded the driver after since Windows wasn't able to do it automatically.

Michel, Is there any way to know whether a z-wave device will support OTA updates via the ISY at this time? Or is it just a matter of whether the vendor supports OTA updates and that means the ISY will be able to do them at some point in the future? Thanks, Eric

I received and installed my dongle (and purchased the needed Z-Wave module for the ISY since I didn't have a prior generation dongle). Where is the best place to ask some likely fundamental ISY + Z-Wave questions? Such as: As a starting point, i have picked up some Leviton VRF01-1LZ z-wave fan speed controls, an Aeotec Smart Switch 6 and an Aeotec Z-Stick Gen5. I got the Z-Stick primarily as a way to load firmware to the Aeotec devices I have or will get in the future. Is this needed with the new ISY 500 series Z-Wave dongle or would I be able to check/update firmware on such devices directly? EDIT: From the Aeotec support page for the latest firmware for the Smart Switch 6, it says: "As a part of our Gen5 range of products, Smart Switch 6 is firmware upgradable. Some gateways will support firmware upgrades over-the-air (OTA) and have Smart Switch 6's firmware upgrades packaged as part of their platform. For those that don't yet support such upgrades, Smart Switch 6's firmware can be upgraded using Z-Stickfrom Aeotec and Microsoft Windows." If the ISY dongle will not, what would be the best way to manage the process of updating the firmware on such Aeotec devices? Can/should the Z-Stick be added to the ISY Z-Wave network? I assume as a controller it cannot or should not, but just want to be sure. If not, then I assume I would need to move each Aeotec device that needed a firmware update from the ISY z-wave network to the z-stick and then move it back. Is this as simple as excluding it on the ISY and then adding it to the Z-stick, then update the firmware, and then remove/exclude it from the z-stick and add it back on the ISY? I'll probably have more such questions as I go along.

How long do you anticipate this phase will last before the new dongle is publicly available? Thanks! EDIT: Looks like from the update made to the Z-Wave dongle page on Orchestrated Home, it will be end of August.

How stable is v5.0.4? I haven't done anything with v5 yet. Looks like it's still alpha/beta? I should probably stay away Good to know it'll be there when I move to v5 though

Funny enough, I've been working on tweaking the temps at which the fan starts (low) and then changes to med. I haven't bothered to set a high speed automatically because I personally think it's too fast and medium (along with AC being engaged) will be as high as I need. I didn't even though of enabling/disabling programs so that adds an interesting option. I have a mix of 6 and 8 button KPLs tied to the FanLincs (depends on what else is in the room that I need to control) so I'd like the keep the operation of the fans from the KPLs as consistent as possible thus limiting the fan control to four buttons. I do have one (in my wife's parents' bedroom) that I haven't even created automated programs for because they "don't like it" and want to control everything manually. Using your method, the controls would be consistent and, as you did, I'd just need to work on tweaking the temps and timings for the automated overrides for all the other fans to try to make everyone happy (hahahaha). I'll probably still do the FastOn (for Fan Off) to set it back to automated immediately just for my own use. Too bad I don't have a way to automate the opening of windows in the house since it's hard to get anyone else to do it (free AC in the summer mornings/evenings here in CO but still people can't open a window, lol). Thanks again for sharing your thoughts and setup. I appreciate such input (even if I might not use it for the situation I'm inquiring about, answers may come in handy for something else down the road).

Not to revive an old thread, but ... did something ever get implemented that would allow for easy capture of the current temp as reported by the Insteon thermostat? I'd like a program to alert me when the outside temp is the same as inside (as reported by the thermostat) and I haven't figured out a good way to do it yet.

builderb, I'm going to try your method on one of my FanLinc/KPL combos. Are you using a variable (like I outlined above) to track manual/automatic mode or how are you doing it? I assume you're using the Control conditions for the KPL button presses in programs to capture when to override automatic? Perhaps you can share more of your config/programs and how you're doing it? I assume that your fan speed related KPL buttons are set for Non-Toggle (On)? When I was using button presses to override, I had also setup FastOn (for the Fan Off KPL button) to set the state variable back to 0 (ie automatic mode). You wouldn't have a visual clue that it was changed, but you at least have a way to set it immediately if you so wish. I don't believe most people would think to use a double-press.

Thanks builderb. I did experiment with that a bit, but I didn't put it on a timer (I was just changing it back to automatic at a particular time of the day, in the evening before people would typically be going to bed so it would be automated at night while we were sleeping). I guess the part I didn't like about that was that I didn't know whether or not it was in automatic or manual mode (which is why I then made the change to use what was the Fan Off button to instead reflect the state). Good to get other ideas out there though for others to think through how they want to do it

Ok, thanks Michel. I'm already doing that so it's good to have confirmation. I tried changing the Control conditions of the KPLs in the programs to Status conditions, but then they don't respond properly to button presses (the Then portion that changes the variable didn't seem to get triggered as the variable was not changing when I would press the button while I had everything on the bench). Thus it appears what I have outlined above is the best way to handle what I'm trying to accomplish. I'll see how it goes (so far it's been operating pretty well).

Maybe it's easier to state it this way: All I want to use the KPL button for is to set and indicate the status of a state variable (button light on = 1, button light off = 0). What are my options for doing this (with plusses and minuses for each method)? It would be nice to be able to use a scene for changing the variable (remote use cases).