Teken

Keeping in mind a symbol at times is much easier to see and understand then a phrase. As others also stated it comes down to use case and preference. For me I would only use clean defined phrases in an area of public use. For more specific use like a status board I could see myself using a icon & phrase. Doing the color filtering and the inline paint to give that added pop. If done right would look very nice. It's easy to cross that line of busy, gouty, to ghetto quickly. [emoji38][emoji23][emoji16] ========================= The highest calling in life is to serve ones country faithfully - Teach others what can be. Do what is right and not what is popular.

Agreed, and in the big picture I know this is something that will be purchased. But at the moment I'm going to sit this one out while I figure out how much I want to invest in this HA business. My time and finances are currently dedicated toward a full one Davis Vantage Pro 2 Plus . . . Once the above gets more hammered out and some best practices are noted I am sure this will move up the list of nice to haves.

OMG why did you just go and jinx us all . . .

I won't lie until I sounded out the phrase I had no clue why anyone would need a word like this . . . LOL: HBO . . .

Marcin & Michael, Both of you are my 2016 Super Hero's of the year don't ever forget that . . .

I think its a great option for those who don't care for the new form factor of the tap. You also have the choice of back up battery duration based on your personal finances. They don't show too much of the unit and that stupid video that was made needs to be trashed. I've not seen such terrible video skills in a long time - might as well been a drunk bum holding the camera. I waited until the end to see if he would ever zoom in to the back of the unit. But all he did was show the little LED charging status light. I wanted to see the power input port, bottom and the unit with out the Echo attached from a top view.

GregF, That just made my day thanks!

If you need some kind of middle ware the RPi for $35.00 USD is really hard to beat considering it now offers native WiFi & Blue Tooth. Along with faster processor . . .

My take is like yours which is a using a multi prong and multi price point device that suites the realistic needs of the end user. For me I guess because in the past I wasted so much money on toy like devices for that immediate gratification. Only to find out that gratification came with huge limitations or didn't actually offer the insight I wanted from the on set. You know what they say about getting older - you at some point get wiser. Maybe in my old age I've just come to the point where I no longer want a stop gap solution and hate wasting money on something I know won't make me happy. Having said this the Eve product does offer lots of advantages and features for a simple pound a nail in the wall! On related news: http://forum.universal-devices.com/topic/18217-netatmo-weather-stations/

After looking over the specifications for the Eve product line there are too many limitations for me. First this is a BLE product which requires a Apple TV for remote access and control. The device is intended as local access with Apple products which is fine for me but obviously not for others sporting Android. As you noted there isn't a easy open source method to integrate with this device. Since its Apple Home Kit certified it does indicate if you had the skill set you could integrate with said product. You are also correct (IF) it was 100'C I would have bigger problems to worry about! LOL . . . My previous reply was to offer insight about how well the 1 wire sensors are capable of being inserted and placed in extreme conditions. I have many of them inserted in the attic, soil, water pipes, and HVAC, etc. Placing one of these sensors in the attic would kill the electronics and the battery in short order. For normal weather monitoring it would be a great solution as its very clean looking and based on the specs its decent for its price range. Based on the video's and screen captures it appears on the surface they have some decent data tracking. But for just two of these devices I could have already bought an Autelis Bridge and be able to monitor temp / humidity with no more long term costs etc. The only down side is it requires running wires through out the property and home. The ability to mount a remote device free of wires is a huge deal for many of us as I am sure it is for you. But, given the above for me its a none starter mostly because its a BLE connected device.

Yes, this is why I went forward with a Autelis Bridge 1 wire hardware solution for extreme temperature monitoring and placement. Along with the simple fact I never had to worry about long term costs for batteries. With respect to the Eve device what are the specs for this particular unit? Meaning for example what is the range of measurement and what is the tolerances? I personally don't think I could accept anything less than -55 to +125'C with a resolution of 0.1 / 0.5. I often see humidity from various vendors indicating +/- 2 to10% and quite a restricted range of 40 - 85 RH. Will take a look at the Eve and see what they spec it out to be . . .

Interested to hear the same also. Since I first created this environmental weather thread my thoughts and findings are there are lots of hardware on the market. But many of them fail in the most basic category which I believe is basic 101: Which is accuracy of the data - given its 2016 I find that extremely sad and frustrating given the massive amounts of technology we have at hand. Several large chip makers have released extremely cheap, small, and multi purpose IC's which are very accurate. Yet we see one of the following scenarios. Either we see cheap devices with no accuracy - or we see decent accuracy with extremely high prices WTF ?!?! Sometimes I wonder if I won the lottery how I would turn this specific market upside down and produce my very own device which offered great value, accuracy, and open concept for all to integrate with. Quite sad really . . .

Most fans that I have used and seen make some kind of noise in the various modes. All of the fan lincs I have in place don't add to the noise of the fan at all. Am I to understand your saying the fan with out the Insteon devices normally makes no noise at all in any of the speed modes?

This would be easily handled by a KPL Dimmer. Keeping in mind the fanlinc actually controls the light fixture. So at the light switch the load wire would be capped off. To finish off the look and feel purchase the custom fan linc keys. NOTE: If you're on a limited budget you can also install a switch linc dimmer. Using one of the several functions of the Insteon protocol and the 994 Series Controller would allow you to activate the light and various fan modes. Which are on, fast on, off, fast off, dim. Using the power of the 994 Series Controller would enable you to create programs that monitor multiple taps to enable low, medium, high fan modes. The above is a novel way to do the same thing but isn't very intuitive to a lay person or to a stranger.

Hello Mark, It really comes down to the wiring and the controller that has command and control of the light fixture. You may find inside of the vent hood the wiring does not have all different modes because its being controlled by a IC. If you don't mind losing out on the various functions (assuming) the bulk of the controls isn't handled by a computer IC. Your next step is to gain access to the wiring harness for the lights. I've used the Micro On/Off module in mine to control the 3 speeds in my over head range. I didn't bother with the lights because they are rarely ever used in our environment. NOTE: The Micro Dimmer can only support 5-100 watts at 120 VAC / 5-200 at 240 VAC. If dimming is required you may have to use the ILL.

Marcin, Once again thank you so very much for taking the time to explain and illustrate the steps for a successful custom laser cut.

My comment was more from a standby consumption stand point vs load control and usage. Depending upon the type and model of Insteon device they consume from 0.45 watts upwards to 1.55 watts. Most of the newer Insteon switches consume less than 1 watt and hover around 0.45 - 0.65 watts. The plugin devices like the lamp linc / on-off module consume from 0.53 - 0.83 watts. The worst case scenario is to plan on 1 watt consumption . . .

Are sellers really asking more for the RPi 3 considering its supposed to be $35.00 for either one?!?

Yes, place them where they make sense and blend into the decor. Its easy to get caught up using lots of KPL's but sometimes it looks really busy and kinda ghetto. Since you have nine switches that need replacing due to the obvious Insteon linking requirement. Stand in the room and where each switch is and consider what you would like to control in the future. Taking the time now to plan ahead and understanding the small investment now will reap huge rewards down the road for you. Again, if finances are tight just do one room at a time until these nice to haves are finally completed. Very few people have gone balls out and replaced their entire home of every dumb switch / outlet. It took me three passes over the years even though I could have replaced everything in my home at once. But, the reality was I knew with 100% some areas simply did not require that kind of investment or costs. Rarely used if ever outlets made no sense in replacing with a smart outlet that was going to sit there and be wasted. Also back in the day the energy consumption of the Insteon devices were pretty high. Imagine a steady 100 watts which you have no control over sucking down the power in your home 24.7.365. For me I simply couldn't allow or accept 150 plus watts stuck to my home I had no control over which cost me money. Given the advancement in better power supplies and components most of the Insteon line up has done better in this area. But its still an area people need to consider along with liabilities . . . Do not replace any room, floor, zone, with a smart switch or outlet that is mission critical. As the results could be extremely costly and deadly if life and safety devices are attached. A perfect example is don't place a smart outlet on a fridge, sump, HVAC system . . .

Trust me most of us know this pain of *What the hell - I need to buy more switches* ?!?! LOL . . . Keep in mind this may not sound financially sound or even make sense when I say this. But, before you drop any money on the single switch linc relay / dimmers. I want you to consider how you can extend the control and function of your beautiful home now and into the future. Consider investing some extra money into KPL dimmers - The reason for this is it will allow you to control 5 to 8 different loads or devices virtually. I can't begin to tell you how many times I've thanked Smartlabs for coming out in solving the ability to control another remote load in the home! Keeping in mind the KPL can be assigned to do other things besides turn on a load / device. It can be used to control Sonos, Shades, Fans, GDO etc. NOTE: Best practices before you move forward is to do the following. Take photo's of all the new gear so you know the MAC code, production date, hardware revision. Hard reset all devices to ensure they are in a OEM state which will ensure no ghost links and programming are present. Go find a old lamp cord and cut off the end so you can add, test, link, at the kitchen table. This will save lots of standing and back ache when you have trouble shooting or lots of programming to do. It will also save you tons of time when you need to do a *Replace With* because a device failed.

I agree once you purchase five custom KPL kits the entire parts list for the laser unit is so over paid for its not even funny. Even if you bought three custom KPL's kits from SH that's $150.00 before shipping and exchange rate for people like me. So if you break it down using the three KPL kits it comes out to be something really stupid like $241.36 CDN! Yeah, pretty sure investing under $125.00 USD is the future moving forward for this guy!

Jon, The tape is only used for masking to protect the surface. The fill in is by the paint you can purchase from pretty much any hobby shop.

Yes, the rooms that have the 3/4 ways switches will be *virtually* linked together via Insteon. You will cap off the traveler wires in those existing walls. Best practice is to also take lots of photos and mark the wires for future use and trouble shooting. Also, always measure twice all wires to ensure the breaker you turned off is indeed the correct one. 120 VAC can kill a person given the right conditions . . . Ideally you should follow the two man rule having your GF / Wife at the ready to assist.

Marcin, Looking forward to the step by step guide and photo's. I don't think you fully realize the fire storm you have created with this project you started! LOL . . . I fully realize there may be a larger investment in the tools and supplies for the privilege of making ones own custom KPL keys. But given the massive amount of money Smarthome wants for just 6-8 keys at $50.00 a set. The initial cost will be paid back in short order over time. This may also push Smarthome to rethink the custom KPL keys too once the news comes out and the orders stop coming in! Ha . . . On Point: Is there a cheaper material available for the laser tape? It seems like a lot of money for such a product.

Hello Marcin, Can you provide some pictures of the card stock and how it was positioned to hold the KPL keys. Also, does the tray have any kind of center (home) position? Does the laser have any kind of very low setting like a flash light mode to show where the pointer is? Lastly, can the power output be adjusted from 0-500 mW?