jrainey

You are correct again Oberkc, but how it is to be programmed really depends on what you want to do. In the example suggested, manual control during the day is fully available if the light is activated by a switch. No change is required if you want to swtich it on and off at will. Remove the set to off line, and it will remain in whatever state it was set to when sunrise occurs. Between sunset and sunrise is a different story. Any action taken with the switch would be over written by the motion sensor program. The easiest way to address this (to my mind) would be to provide an easy method to enable or disable the MS program. An example: ManualEnableBackyardMS If Status 'Backyard Light' is Fast On Then Enable Program BackyardMotion Else Do nothing And it's partner: ManualDisableBackyardMS If Status 'Backyard Light' is Fast Off Then Disable Program BackyardMotion Else Do nothing Both of these programs would be enabled and disabled with the SunsetSunrise routine along with the BackyardMotion program. If then, during the evening, you want to go out in the backyard with your telescope, or just enjoy the stars with your significant other, and not be annoyed by the back yard light going on and off, you would hit the appropriate off switch twice, and you are ready to go. When you are done, you can hit the on switch twice and the MS is back in business. (You could also program this into a bedtime routine that you trigger every night just before you go to bed, along with whatever else you want to set up before getting some shuteye). As you said, there are many variations. As I am getting more into the capabilities of this system, I am getting more impressed, and more excited about the possibilities. I am aware of the point limitations, but I am curious about the programming limits. Can I tell how much memory a given program will use, and how much programming memory remains available? What is the per scan execution time? Can this be monitored? Looks like a load of interesting work coming up. Jack Rainey

Thanks Oberkc You are correct. An oversight on my part. In the SunsetSunrise program an additional line needs to be added to the then and else to turn off the light. If From Sunset To Sunrise Then Set 'Backyard Light' Off Enable Program BackyardMotion Else Set 'Backyard Light' Off Disable Program BackyardMotion Assuming that you want the light off during the day, and assuming that you want to turn it off at the beginning of the eventing if someone inadvertently turned it on. The order of execution might have to be reversed... i.e the set off might have to be executed after the program is disabled or enabled - would have to test it to make sure. Thanks for the hint on the formatting - didn't notice that stuff up there Jack Rainey

Hello everyone, I am really new with this system (5 days), and have been following this thread with great interest. I would like to suggest a strategy to handle this particular problem. If there are any errors, or if the approach will not work, please let me know. At this point in time, my understanding of how the system and all of its components is limited, and I am in learning mode big time. First step - set the time outs on both MS's to 5 minutes. As I understand the devices, once triggered and an on is sent, the timer is reset with every motion detected. An off signal will only be sent if there has been no motion for the timeout period (five minutes in this case). Second step - write a program to turn the light on and off as desired: If Status 'MS1-Sensor' Is On Or Status 'MS2-Sensor' is On Then Set 'Backyard Light' On Else Set 'Backyard Light' Off If I am reading the event processing comments correctly, when either of these sensors comes on, an event will be produced that runs the then portion of the statement. Once either or both of them is on, and event will be produced when the last of the two turns off (5 minutes after the last motion in this case), which will turn off the light. At present, I only have one motion sensor, so couldn't test with two sensors. I substituted the status of one of my few lights, and it worled as planned. Third step - Write a program to handle the Sunset/Sunrise aspect. If From Sunset To Sunrise Then Enable Program BackyardMotion Else Disable Program BackyardMotion Assuming that the above program is named BackyardMotion. I would suggest that the SunsetSunrise program be used as the standard program for setting up standard day and night scenarios, with the backyard setup being just one entry. Hope this helps. Jack Rainey PS - Can someone please tell me how I can put the code into those nice looking inserts that everyone else is using - I put the indents in, but they disappear in the preview and the post.

Thanks Rand, Did as you suggested - works perfectly. The goal here is to learn about the system - not so much to control the light. I went on to experiment some more. Deleted the MS from the scene - left the light in it. Modified the program to turn the scene (not the light) on and off. This works perfectly. Now I am wondering why the program can control the device through the scene, but fails when it tries to control the device directly. Thanks again, Jack Rainey

Thanks for the quick response guys. To answer your questions oberkc: 1) There are 2 access points - one 2413S and one 2443. Confirmed through LED response that they are on different phases. 2) All devices (except the 2420M) were added by manually typing in the address. (only 3 so far - two dimmers, one on-off) 3) All devices controllable through the ISY admin panel and the HTML interface - (I should have mentioned this in the original post - I tried this program on all three of the devices with the same results) 4) Kitchen Sink is compact florescent (on-off device) the other two are incandescent. All are 120V. To answer Rand's question - only one blink when motion detected. The detection is reflected in the ISY - sensor status goes to 'On'. Again - thanks for the quick responses Jack Rainey

Hello all, Newbie here I configured my first program today: if Status 'Back Patio Motion-Sensor is On Then Set 'Kitchen Sink' On Else Set 'Kitchen Sink' Off Tested in program summary: Run (If) Sets status false if motion sensor is off - turns off light if on Sets Status true if motion sensor is on - turns on light if off Run Then - Turns on Light if off - sets status true Run Else - Turns off light if on - sets status false If I trigger the motion sensor, the motion sensor status changes to On, but I get a communication error 'Cannot communicate with Kitchen Sink (16 43 17 1) .please check connections.', and the light remains Off. If the light is already on - no message Same behavior a minute later when the motion Sensor times out. I have the feeling I am missing something fundamental here - can anyone help me out Thanks Jack Rainey