dth122

Sorry to disappoint everyone, but the Leviton X10 dimmer is in and working fine. It's not worth the time and effort fooling around to get one Insteon device working. Thanks for the help. - Dave

Insteon It's a HCA02. I tried removing it from the system completely but it didn't fix the problem. I agree that the problem is most likely lack of signal reception. That being said, it's not worth it for me to add a bunch of Insteon devices just to communicate with one dimmer. Switching to X10 is a much cheaper and easier solution. Of course it's an electric oven. Otherwise it wouldn't be relevant. I tried the dryer too with the same result. But I agree, these tests are not conclusive to rule out the phase issue. As I mentioned above... this is my only Insteon device besides the PLM, which is a 2413S. It's pretty far from the 2477D, so I don't think RF would reach it. The 2477D is brand new. I don't know if rev 7.6 is the latest, but I just got it from Smarthome so it should be. ISY software and firmware are the latest.

Still didn't work with the coupler/repeater removed and oven on. I swapped out the 2477D for a Leviton X10 dimmer and now everything is working well. (within the capabilites of X10) I think I'll skip Insteon for now. - Dave

I just tried turning on the dryer and oven (both electric) and neither seemed to improve the situation. So I'm not sure it's a phase coupling issue. The new dimmer is in the garage and probably 50-60ft (straight run) from the breaker panel, and quote some distance from the PLM, which is upstairs at the other end of the house. I don't really need any more Insteon devices right now, but I guess I could put one somewhere in the middle on the first floor just to test. Is one additional device likely to fix my issue? If not, I'll just get an X10 dimmer instead.

I have one of the Leviton X10 phase coupler/repeaters. Would that couple the phases for Insteon devices as well?

I'm having problems linking a new Switchinlinc Dimmer 2477D (rev 7.6) to my system. It's the only Insteon device I have at the moment. Everything else is X10. All X10 devices are working well. The problem is that when I try to link I get "Unable to determine Insteon engine". I've tried entering the address manually (with and without selecting the device type), and using the Start Linking feature. None of those seem to work. I have a 994i/IR PRO v4.0.5 and a 2413S. Any ideas as to what could be wrong? The 2477D is a replacement for an old X10 switch which was working fine, but I wanted to replace it with a dimmer. I figured the move to Insteon would be an upgrade but so far it doesn't seem like it. - Dave

I understand what you're saying, but I'm not sure that it's answering my question. I did some more testing and fooling around today so let me see if I can explain myself more clearly. First, all of my dimming and scenes are executing the way I want them to. The only thing I'm having problems with is the backlighting of button A on the KPL. I have an 8-button KPL and I want each of the buttons to control a scene. Five of the buttons (including A) are in a mutually exclusive group. The way I would like the backlight of the buttons to work is for one backlight to be lit at a time, depending on which scene is currently in use. I do not have any load connected to the KPL dimmer and it currently is not included as a responder in any scene. KPL A is set to Non-Toggle On and is in the mutually-exclusive group mentioned above. The problem I am having is that the backlight of button A seems to have a mind of its own. It does not behave as though it is part of the mutually exclusive group. If I press A multiple times in succession it toggles the backlight on and off, even though the lighting scene doesn't change. I tried adding KPL A as a responder in scenes controlled by the other buttons, setting it to both 0% and 2%, but neither of these values cause the backlight to turn off. Does that make more sense? Is there something I'm doing wrong? - Dave

I'm not using the dimmer in the KPL, so I can easily add it and set it to off in other scenes. Are you saying that if I set it to 2% in my other scenes, the key's backlighting will turn off? Also - I have KPL button A set to trigger a scene. If I add it as a responder to other scenes (with the intention of controlling the button backlight), will those scenes the control the dimmer or the scene that KPL A is set to control? The later would obviously be a problem. - Dave

I have a set of 5 buttons on an 8-button Keypadlinc set as a mutually exclusive group. For some reason, button A remains constantly lit regardless of the status of the other buttons. Is there any way to make button A behave the same as the rest in the group? - Dave

Has anyone integrated Insteon devices (or the ISY-99) with a Crestron system? If so, how did you do it? I know that I can use IR, but it seems that there should be a more efficient & reliable interface. Thanks. - Dave

PM sent. Yes - I think non-toggle is what I want. When I push the A-C buttons, I always want that scene to be turned on. Only the All (or All Off) scene on button D should turn everything off. - Dave

I have a question about setting up scenes on a KPL that I think revolves around my misunderstanding of mutual exclusivity and toggle modes. I have a KPL in 8-button mode. I want to use buttons A-C as scenes, such that when I push the button the scene fades, however necessary. (Could be fade in or fade out depending on what the previous scene is.) Then, I want to use button D as ALL that will toggle all of the lights on and off. Alternatively, I can use two buttons, one for All On and one for All Off, if that's necessary. I configured everything as I think is appropriate. Buttons A-C are in a mutually exclusive group and set to non-toggle. Button D is not mutually exclusive and is set to toggle. I didn't spend a lot of time characterizing the operation, but buttons A-C sort of work sometimes. Occasionally I'll get the scene I want, but usually I'll have to turn the prior scene off first. Button D works to toggle on/off all the time, but after using button D, buttons A-C don't seem to work at all anymore. I tried adding button D to the mutually exclusive list, but that didn't solve the problem. What am I doing wrong? Any help would be appreciated. - Dave

Thanks for the helpful and thorough response. This has clarified a lot of my questions. I think, in the end, the best thing to do is to switch around the way I have my circuits wired and put something else on the KPL dimmer. I can also fix it in an ISY program, and may do that instead. Good to know I have options. I think this is the key for me. I only have 1 KPL, so I'm kind of stuck here. The ISY is a great work-around though. Incidentally, when the ISY lists my KPL as v29. What does this mean? It's relatively new, but seems to behave as a "pre-v1.5" as you mention above. Did Smarthome juggle the version number system at some point? No... really need all 8 buttons of the KPL where they are. I guess I could add SwitchLinc in the middle somewhere, but I think that the two options above (changing the loads and ISY programming) will get me where I need to be without rewiring. Thanks. - Dave

Wow - a lot of activity in a short time to answer a basic question... To clarify: I've attached a seldom-used load to the KPL dimmer and consider button A the prime location for the main (most often) used scene. Hence, I can re-wire to remove the load from the KPL dimmer (and require adding another dimmer somewhere else), or figure out a way around this. I think using the programming is the best way. Is the issue with on level being the same in all scenes an anomaly in just the KPL dimmer, or all Insteon dimmers? Thanks for the help so far. - Dave

I'm currently using a KeyPadLinc in 8-button mode. Is there a way that I can use button A to control a scene that doesn't include the load that I have connected to the integrated dimmer? I've tried including the integrated dimmer at a 0% level, but then it forces that level for all of the scenes that dimmer is part of. If I could either use A without the integrated dimmer or if I could set the levels independently for each scene the dimmer is part of, that would solve my problem. Any hints? Thanks. - Dave