Hi Mike,

 

This post of yours got lost ... anyway, apologies for the tardy reply.

 

Few comments:

 

The following code does not make sense:

If
      -(
      |     Status  'TheaterControls1A-Table' is not 50%
      |  Or Status  'TheaterMain1' is not 50%
      |  Or Status  'TheaterMain2' is not 50%
      -)
   And Status  'TheaterControls1H' is not Off

Then
       Wait  1 seconds
       Set  Scene 'TheaterPartyStatus' Off

Else
  - No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action')

 

If your TheaterControls1H is non-toggle off, then this should never change and, if it does, then we do have larger problems to worry about: that button should be in a scene and controlled ONLY but other non-toggle-off buttons.

 

With kind regards,

 

 

 

I have a couple KPL secondary buttons in my theater room that set a few devices to particular levels. I want those buttons to light if the scene is set, and turn off if anything about the scene changes.

 

I created these programs to do it, but I'm wondering if there may be a more effective way to do the same thing.

 

Here is one as an example.

 

I have a scene called "TheaterParty" that sets "TheaterControls1A-Table" to 50%, "TheaterMain1" to 50%, and "TheaterMain2" to 50%.

 

Here is the code I use to execute that scene:

 

If
       Control 'TheaterControls1H' is switched On

Then
       Set  Scene 'TheaterParty' On

Else
  - No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action')

 

The button is in non-toggle mode, so when the button is pressed, the light goes on.

 

Here is the code to keep the button status correct:

 

If
      -(
      |     Status  'TheaterControls1A-Table' is not 50%
      |  Or Status  'TheaterMain1' is not 50%
      |  Or Status  'TheaterMain2' is not 50%
      -)
   And Status  'TheaterControls1H' is not Off

Then
       Wait  1 seconds
       Set  Scene 'TheaterPartyStatus' Off

Else
  - No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action')

 

I found I had to include the "wait 1 second", otherwise when I pressed the button to turn the scene on, and my lights would ramp up, this program would kick in and turn the button light off. Adding the wait seems to give the lights a chance to ramp up to their proper levels before this program tries to turn the button light off.

 

Can anyone think of a more efficient way to do this?

 

Thanks...

sceaton,

 

Apologies for a tardy reply.

 

This means that you can now have the sub-buttons control the load for the KPL. This also means that now ISY has to keep track of the firmware version for each device to figure out what's supported.

 

ISY 2.5 will not have KPL 1.5 support. This feature will be supported in 2.6 (very early next year).

 

With kind regards,

Michel

 

From this thread at SH: http://www.techmall.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2230&whichpage=1 Trevor indicates that the new KPL firmware now allows:

 

1. Each button can have different on-levels and ramp rates when controlling the local load. For example, the A button can turn the local load to 100% ON, while the B button can change it to 50%.

 

2. Variable LED brightness, including OFF.

 

3. X10 feautures like All ON and All OFF.

 

I'm mainly interested in #1 -- Was this issue limited to the KPL in such a way that it's business-as-usual for the ISY and now that the KPL firmware is fixed, the sub-buttons will control the local load appropriately too?

 

This doesn't mean that each button can be directly controlled, right? In order to change LED status, we still need to add it to a scene by itself, then control that scene?

 

Just wondering what the new KPL firmware means in the ISY realm.

 

Thanks!

Digger,

 

Yes. ISY/ELK integration works based on a bit that's set in ELK. If that bit is not set, you will get into loop conditions + you can expect delays. Please make sure you have the latest ELK firmware/bootware AND make sure you have all the Future bits set for all your lighting devices in ELK RP.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

 

I have a few lights that when a door in opened or a motion detector is tripped the ELK tells the light to go on and after a specified time the ELK tells the light to go off (unless the ELK's timer is restarted by the dorr contact or motion).

 

At the end of the time period the ELK tells the light to go off and it does and then comes right back on. Sometimes it toggles on/off/on/off etc.

 

I unplugged the PLM and went back to the PLC and it works fine.

 

Any ideas?

DEGoodrich,

 

I am so very sorry to hear it.

 

If you're planning to use ELK as your security system, you can use its inputs (16) to do as precisely what you are trying to do with EZIOSA/ISY.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

 

 

I figured out the poroblem.

I got another bad EZIO8SA!

This is my second one!

There are bad solder connections on the PCB.

If I plug in an external PS, and Hold the cable just right it will work.

 

Now I have two to send back!

 

I am goin to look at alternative ways to do with out this thing.

 

The ISY already does most of what I need.

 

DEGoodrich,

 

That's excellent. Please do keep us updated with your progress!

 

With kind regards,

Michel

 

As a quick comment, I am an industrial automation engineer, I program Allen-Bradley and Modicon PLC controllers and am getting into Siemens controllers as well. After spending all day with those programs, it is a treat to come home and play with the ISY-26!

 

 

Same Here! I have been having fun with this!

I have been programming Allen Bradley PLC's/SLC's for over 20 years now!

I finally great to be able to make thing in my house do what ever I want.

I already have close to 100 programs already. I am sure I will never stop!

DEGoodrich,

 

Thanks. I am going to forward this post to Paul at SHN and make sure you have the latest version.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

 

PLM version 3407Firm52 REV 2.4

EZIO8SA version 17

Frank,

 

Excellent idea!

 

Dim and Bright in programs simply dim/bright by an approximately 2.5 notches upon each invocation.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

 

Hello Michel and Mike:

 

Thanks for the replies. I guess that using two scenes might be best.

 

But I did find a workaround: I set the dimmed level to 50% for my Christmas group (scene). Then in my "on" program for my Christmas lights, I invoke the "Fast On" for that group, instead of just "On". this sets the initial on state of the lights to 100%.

 

Finally, in my "off" program, I invoke the group "On" command first at 11 pm; this then sets my lights to 50% (the group preset dimmed level). Then an hour later I invoke the group "off" command, thus turning the lights completely off.

 

************************

 

When someone gets a chance, I still need an explanation of what "Dim" and "Bright" do in programs, and how best to use them.

 

 

Thank you.

Greetings Frank!

 

 

you wrote:

In I2 (INSTEON 2), we can specify both the on level and ramp rate from the PLM.

 

I guess that I missed this somewhere. Maybe I was sleeping in class! But what is Insteon 2, when will it be available, and what effect will it have on the ISY??

 

They are out! For instance, KPL 1.5 has the I2 engine and so does the RL. The impact on ISY is that we have to now do conditional logic to figure out which version we are dealing with and then act accordingly. We have not yet incorporated full support for KPL 1.5!

 

 

Also: what did you think about my request?

 

If this is "normal", then I was wondering if you could change the device "ramp rate sliders" in the GUI to say "Applied Locally", the same as for the controller devices in the scenes. That way, several months from now when I've forgotten this again, I will see the ramp sliders in red and say "oh, that won't work without doing an air gap".

Good idea! It's already entered in our bug/enhancement database.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

DEGoodrich,

 

Would you be kind enough to let me know the firmware version of your EZIO?

 

Thanks and with kind regards,

Michel

 

Wow, you are fast!

Yes, I have done that.

Still, nothing.

When I activate an input, there is no activity either.

DEGoodrich,

 

I am glad that you got things to work again! Would you be kind enough to try the following:

1. Remove your EZIO8SA completely

2. Do a factory reset on your EZIO8SA

3. On Admin Console, issue Link Management->Start Linking

4. On your EZIO, click and hold the set button for 4 seconds till its LED flashes and then release

5. Immediately follow step 4 (after you've released the set button on your EZIO) with another click/hold of the set button on your EZIO for another 4 seconds and till the LED goes out/off

6. Wait for your EZIO's LED to come back on (this will take around 30 seconds)

7. Click on the Cancel button on ISY's Admin Console (Linking in Progress Dialog)

 

Let me know of the outcome please.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

 

 

I don't know what happened. I deleted all devices and updated to 2.5 RC1. Then added all devices back again. Now everything works, except my EZIO8SA. It appears in my network. I can control the outputs fine, but the inputs will not update on a change except after a "query". I used their utility to add the links. Then it works fine the first time the input is changed, but then the links dissapear, and it quits working again.

RichGer,

 

No need to mention the importance of remote upgrade as we agree with you 100%.

 

If you have McAfee please read this post: http://forum.universal-devices.com/viewtopic.php?t=179.

 

If you have NOD32, then please disable HTTP firewall while upgrading.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

Cannot upgrade remotely

All other functions work fine remotely

freezes ar 7-9% with a:

 

"javaio.IOExceptions An established connection was aborted by the software

in your host machine " error

 

Using Highspeed cable @ 1.5 mb/desond or better

Tried both VPN and port forwarding.

Have used both methods befdore to this site with no priblem

Tries at 4 pm and #AM to make sure network load was not an issue.

 

Remote upgrades are very important for me as a dealer /Installer

Have you set a release date for the final version of 2.5?

Yes, 12/10/2007.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

Frank,

 

As MikeB suggested, I suggest a scene but this will only work if you know before hand what the "dimmed" level is. The reason is that INSTEON does not allow sending a group command with an on level!

 

With kind regards,

Michel

 

 

Hello all:

 

I need some advice on the following:

 

I have 4 LampLincs that are running the Christmas candelabras in my front windows. I have them on from sunset to 11pm at full on. I then want them to drop at 11pm to a "dimmed" level for the next few hours, since they are pretty bright.

 

Do I have to make two separate scenes for the candelabras, one at full on, and one at a dimmed level?

 

I notice that there is an Insteon scene program command in the ISY called "dim". But when I pick that option, it doesn't say "how much" it will dim. So I'm confused on how to use that feature for a scene.

 

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Frank,

 

You do need an airgap either way. Currently we mimic the on level by sending an on command with the level. That cannot be done for the ramprate. In I2 (INSTEON 2), we can specify both the on level and ramp rate from the PLM.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

 

Hello Michel:

 

I'm currently running 2.4.15.

 

I just noticed something that may have always been this way, but I'm not certain.

 

When setting the ramp rate of a Togglelinc dimmer or LampLinc, although I can change the local ramp rate slider, it will not change the dim rate when the light is turned on or off from the ISY GUI.

 

I knew that you could not change the rate at the switch via the GUI without an air gap being done, but I thought that I remembered that the GUI ramp rate slider would change the ramp rate when the device was directly controlled by the GUI. And by "directly controlled", I also mean not as part of a group, but directly from the lighting view.

 

If this is "normal", then I was wondering if you could change the device "ramp rate sliders" in the GUI ton say "Applied Locally", the same as for the controller devices in the scenes. That way, several months from now when I've forgotten this again, I will see the ramp sliders in red and say "oh, that won't work without doing an air gap".

 

 

Thanks

Hi AD8BC,

 

Each device in a scene takes one link. The link calculator uses an average of 10 per scene!

 

With kind regards,

Michel

 

 

ISY PLM Link Calculator

The Insteon PLM can hold 417 total links which leaves for much larger setups than most think. Use this calculator to verify

that your design will work with the PLM. This tool is using an average for scene nodes so the total is a close approximation.

 

In the calculator, what assumptions are used for number of links per scene? I have quite a bit of scenes with only 3 or 4 devices, but I noticed that each time a scene is added it adds 10 to the link table. Is that the assumption?

gwarthur,

 

Thanks so very much for the feedback and update. Release 2.5 will surely add a lot more features/ehancements.

 

With your permission, I am going to add a link to your post in our Communication Error section.

 

Thanks so very much and please don't hesitate to contact us (we would surely like to reduce the amount of pain and misery).

 

With kind regards,

Michel

 

If I have been following the forum discussions correctly, the version 2.5 beta - released as a series of version 2.4 updates - has been out and receiving constructive user feedback for several months. I am wondering if its stability and maturity are nearing a point where you will set a date for its release.

 

After going through a prolonged period of pain and misery while I learned the quirks of Insteon devices and the ISY-26, everything seems to be running reliably. The trick of stacking the first Accesspoint with the PLM seems to have made a huge improvement.

 

So having reached a sort of truce with my system, I am hesitant to jump down to the bottom of a new learning curve unless there is the promise of serious added value. 2.5 seems to have that added value; I am very intrigued about being able to write conditional statements. This moves the ISY to a new level of intelligent device control. I just don't want to take a chance on a potentially unstable beta.

 

On a completely different and unrelated subject that probably should not be posted here, you might want to put in your FAQs someplace, thanks to a tech at Smarthome, that if an Insteon device is controlling a light with a CF bulb, the voltage spike that it sends back to its controller when it is switched off can trigger the device's internal switch to immediately turn the Insteon device back on. This happened at my house: I have two identical lamps, both with the same type of 34W CF bulb, each plugged into separate lamplincs. I happened to be in the room when it came time for the ISY to switch one off. I heard its relay click and saw the lamp blink , but then it remained on. This still happens from time to time. Rarely a problem turning it on, but sometimes I find it on long after it should be off. Yet its twin has no such problems. I figure that either the lamplincs have different sensitivities to reactive 'flyback' voltage or there is enough variation in CF bulb construction that one puts out a bigger jolt to the lamplinc than does the other. Without this factoid, you might assume that the problem was with the controller. -GA

Digger,

 

This might have nothing to do with the KPL/PLM. Do you have the latest firmware/bootware for ELK? Also, please make sure all the devices have the Future bit set under lighting in ELKRM.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

 

 

On a completely different and unrelated subject that probably should not be posted here, you might want to put in your FAQs someplace, thanks to a tech at Smarthome, that if an Insteon device is controlling a light with a CF bulb, the voltage spike that it sends back to its controller when it is switched off can trigger the device's internal switch to immediately turn the Insteon device back on. This happened at my house: I have two identical lamps, both with the same type of 34W CF bulb, each plugged into separate lamplincs. I happened to be in the room when it came time for the ISY to switch one off. I heard its relay click and saw the lamp blink , but then it remained on. This still happens from time to time. Rarely a problem turning it on, but sometimes I find it on long after it should be off. Yet its twin has no such problems. I figure that either the lamplincs have different sensitivities to reactive 'flyback' voltage or there is enough variation in CF bulb construction that one puts out a bigger jolt to the lamplinc than does the other. Without this factoid, you might assume that the problem was with the controller. -GA

 

Interesting..... I put a KPL back in last week and have the load tiggered by my ELK (when front door opens and its dark outside turn light on for 4 minutes, restart timers if zone still violated). The light turns on and turns off 4 minutes later but then turns back on right away and off a few seconds later and back on and cycles for about 5 minutes. I did see in the GUI for the ISY a communication problem which I thought was the PLM being so weak and that it was retrying and waiting for an acknowledgement. Maybe its the light itself?

MikeB,

 

Please change the null to Query. Yes, you may safely delete this program the only adverse impact of which would be that the status of your devices might be +/-5% off from their actual state.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

 

I still have this program called "Schedule 1" that at 3:00am runs "Set Scene 'My Lighting' null".

 

I thought this was a nightly poll, but I'm not certain...

 

Can this be deleted? What is its purpose?

 

Thanks!!

AD8BC,

 

Thanks so very much for the offer; it'd be a pleasure and I can actually learn something new.

 

Thanks again and with kind regards,

Michel

 

jgraziano,

 

Thanks so very much for the OT! I have always wondered how these systems work and now I can surely appreciate the enormity of what's involved in programming them.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

 

Michel, are you in Encino (where the contact address for UD is)? If so, next time I get out to Riverside, if I can get the OK from the customer, I will offer you a first class tour of one of the facilities that I programmed and commissioned (I can't mention the name of the customer here but it could be one of the hubs of one of the three or four shipping companies you use).

 

You are an expert in home automation and I will show you all about industrial automation.

jgraziano,

 

Thanks so very much for the OT! I have always wondered how these systems work and now I can surely appreciate the enormity of what's involved in programming them.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

Scott,

 

Great. Thanks ... please keep me posted.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

Hello Michel,

I now have the rc drop installed and the ezrain linked. The ezrain required me to mount a ladder to remove it from its weather proof enclosure. I am now waiting on the smarthome package with access points before going further. Thanks,

Scott

Hi Brignolo,

 

Here's the link to our Wiki site: http://www.universal-devices.com/mwiki/ ... User_Guide .

 

The document will be included in the next drop.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

 

Is there any release date planned for a detailed User's Manual for 2.5?

Bill,

 

My pleasure!

 

I cannot even fathom what's it like to program Modicon and Allen Bradley controllers! It must be really involved.

 

Please do let me know if this solution worked for you.

 

Thanks and with kind regards,

Michel

 

I will try that after work!

 

Thank you sir.

 

Also ordered a pair of Accesspoints today. I do have some intermittant issues I want to see if I can take care of.

 

Other than those particular issues, it is working great. Got all my groups programmed, got some timers in for the outside lights to come on 20 minutes before sunset, to dim down at midnight, come on 30 minutes before sunrise and turn off at sunrise. I will be eventually adding motion detectors to brighten the outside lights for a few minutes when activated.

 

Also, all lights on/off works well, including LED follow.

 

As a quick comment, I am an industrial automation engineer, I program Allen-Bradley and Modicon PLC controllers and am getting into Siemens controllers as well. After spending all day with those programs, it is a treat to come home and play with the ISY-26!

 

-- Bill

Hello Scott,

 

You are 100% correct; we shall rework the packaging as you suggest.

 

Here are the known issues/bugs with Linux/Fedora 7

1. Cannot backup your configuration

2. Cannot change the location once the location has been set once

3. Cannot close Safari/IE (MAC has the same issue)

 

As far as your EZRain, please make sure you can link to EZRain first. We have had issues linking to EZxxx devices. I just want to make sure you can link to it before spending all the money on APs (or while you can return them). Is it possible to move your ISY/PLM on the same phase as your EZRain and test it?

 

With kind regards,

Michel

 

Hello Michel,

I have ordered a kit from smarthome to get insteon access points so I can get sprinkler system linked. This also has two lamplincs so I can replace two x10 modules.

I rechecked the box for the isy and there was a serial cable packed in the bottom. I would suggest that loose parts such as cables be packed where you run into them getting to the main piece of hardware. I did not look under the false floor until today. Was not a problem as I have serial cable parts available from my job and have made many cables in the past and I have a new way that makes it much easier to configure the cable as straight through or crossover.

I was noticing some reluctance of the administrative console to close down operating under linux. This was not noticed under win2000.

I await the kit from smarthome and the rc drop. Thanks!!!

Scott

AD8BC,

 

Some rules:

1. Adding delays below 3-4 seconds might work intermittently especially if you have devices you can communicate with intermittently

2. Instead of using a Program, create a scene called 911, and put all the devices that you want turned on/off in that scene as responders

 

Here's my setup:

If
       Control 'Entrance KPL A' is switched On
   And Control 'Entrance KPL A' is not switched Off

Then
       Repeat 65 times
          Set  Scene '911' Fast On
          Wait  3 seconds
          Set  Scene '911' Fast Off
          Wait  3 seconds

Else
  - No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action')

 

With kind regards,

Michel