Teken

Just some clarification as it relates to breakers in general. Breakers, like fuses, are intended to protect the wire from burning up. It’s only because the same is designed and implemented by man that the human element is at play. GFCI on the other hand are designed to protect human. AFCI’s were designed to detect micro arching within the buildings wiring in hopes of reducing fire within an enclosed space like a wall. As with anything man has created many first generation of breakers were proven to be faulty by design. Anyone can relate to the first generation of nuisance tripping from GFCI / Breakers. Those who have used power line Ethernet or power line communication like Insteon can also relate. Any home that has 1990 versions of anything need to inspect and replace the same. As they offer absolutely no protection because they were defective by design depending upon the maker.

That’s funny you mentioned the protocol for Skylink. More than thirteen years ago I was at Canadian Tire and saw their MS in the close out bins. The three on hand in the raggedly box was going for $4.XX a piece. [emoji50] I of course scooped them up hoping to integrate them with the Insteon network. No dice, but later a few months I actually sat down and read the user manual. Low and behold the manual indicates X-10! [emoji2357] I cracked open the battery cover as I never saw any X-10 address dials but upon further inspection it was hidden under black foam! [emoji1787] Changed the house codes to whatever and sure enough the MS signal was seen and could be integrated via ISY Programs. [emoji106] Too bad I sold them off a year later in a garage sale. [emoji3525]

Appreciate you looking around for some options. Sadly, buying the same at $39.XX CDN makes more sense. No duties, exchange, or delivery fees.

I dunno if border services will accept crossing the border to purchase a outlet as essential. [emoji2357][emoji1787]

But of course I go to the Canadian HD side and the same isn’t even listed!! [emoji35][emoji107]

For those who don’t have a lot of history with Insteon. There was a time where various pieces of hardware was made by other 3rd party vendors. The most famous was the Motion Sensor by Skylink. Today I was looking at some Amazon suggestions that popped up. Low and behold tell me this outdoor on-off modules isn’t the spitting image of the Insteon hardware?!? [emoji1787][emoji2357] Other than the obvious white paint and external antenna it’s the exact same box?!? I have a project coming up and might order a few of these $39.XX specials and gut it out and replace the internals with Insteon so I can have a weather rated enclosure like the others on hand. [emoji106]

We have opposing views on some topics - it’s true. At the end of the day you always agree with me because I’m - Right! [emoji106] Don’t worry young Jedi still lots to teach you! [emoji1787]

[emoji1787][emoji2357] I’m pretty sure you know me well enough that I don’t go out of my way to argue with people just for the sake of doing so! I’m here to spread the love and information when and where I can. If it helps just a single person now or in the future - great! [emoji106]

He indicated he didn’t know how to identify if a problem exists. I offered some simple and basic tools almost anyone has and can do. If he wants to confirm at some point - OK. If not that’s OK too! [emoji106]

Simple - turn on the lights. Go to another part of the home and turn things on and off. If things are slower or don’t react as you expect you have a problem. Open the AC and do a scene test while the level 3 error logs are running. If the system shows 0 hops left you need to identify where the noise maker / signal sucker is coming from. You can even go old school like me and grab a AM-FM radio and tune it to a empty channel and listen to any injected RFI noise. If you turn on the radio and hear just a steady background noise. Turn on the LED do you hear a pop or more hiss?!? If you do that’s RFI being emitted in the air. If you still have a fluorescent tube light do the same. If you see the bulb flicker that’s EMI being injected into the air. [emoji106]

Besides dimming to a low level the true test is if the same dims smoothly up and down! Many LED may offer one or the other but very few do both well! That’s why I always say once you find that solid product buy a whole stack from the same carton. Keep in mind none of that addresses if the LED bulb will have any impact to your Insteon network. Whether it be a signal sucker vs noise maker or both! Test, don’t guess . . .

Did you just wake up?!? [emoji1787][emoji2357]

On a more serious note would like to see a show of hands as to who purchased the latest Nokia hardware?!? As such I would love to see the inside of the PCB to determine what brands of capacitors are in use.

You’re just relentless . . . [emoji1787]

[emoji2357][emoji1787]

As it relates to true security nothing is secure if allowed to be connected to the outside world. It doesn’t matter if it’s via the internet vs other communication methods it’s not secure. People allow outside access because they value convenience over true security. This is made worse when people don’t understand the basic principles of using one method over the other. Think Port Forwarding . . . Those who have taken the time to read and understand the next level is VPN. Yes this is more secure but in no way is it the silver bullet! The same fallacy is used and thought as the ultimate recipe to security: VLAN’s No . . . It’s software and any software can be broken think about any encryption such as SSL / TLS. On the polar opposite people still believe using certificates are the end all be all?!? Think Symantec utter fail and many others who are charged with being the root certificate authority! [emoji107] Every OS has been breached since released into the public domain. This will continue forever because people value convenience over true security. [emoji2357] If the systems are island (isolated) it literally requires a person to come on site to breach the systems. Obviously we aren’t going to suggest WiFi isn’t a vector it is! The conversation is about a hardline to a security alarm system, video security, etc.

When you ask the controller to repeat something in very short sequence / duration. If this condition exists for a very long time or (IF) other programs are taxing the system while this scenario is happening the end result is the controller can become unresponsive / bricked. As such it’s important to limit tight loop programs. [emoji106]

VPN . . .

Try harder . . . [emoji1787]

You’re playing with fire going this route. It’s best to use what Larry suggests or something like a strobe / reader board to call out a condition. The endless 1 second repeats will lock the controller up and your access will be limited if required. [emoji3516]

I don’t believe it’s just the colour blue as it is a type of UVC. I briefly reviewed their test data which outlines the time, distance, and various outcomes using this product. On the surface it appears to offer some reduction in the growth of some germs. Whether or not others see the same results highly depends upon the surface, exposure, distance, time, and number of bulbs covering X area. UVC has been used extensively in all industrial & medical fields. I can’t say very many of the consumer grade wands have been very well received in terms of performance. On a related note I actually received a reply from Tripp Lite!! [emoji50] They’ve forwarded my request to the science division so maybe I’ll be able to provide more insight about their new offerings. [emoji106]

Thought I could count you in my corner. [emoji3525][emoji2357][emoji1787]

I have no words . . [emoji2357]

I’m not sure where you got that information but you absolutely can. As I have been using that alternative firmware since it’s first release and now too. I have two controllers that have Insteon and ZigBee both of which restore fine when needed. Just wanted to offer that insight and clarification for those reading this thread. [emoji106]

Im going to be a punching bag today eh?!? [emoji1787][emoji2357]