andrew77

Hi guys, I'm new to Alexa but I've got all my Insteon lighting and scenes etc running great. My question is if I can control my home theatre stuff with voice commands. All my A/V gear is in a media closet downstairs. I have two Harmony Remotes (one for upstairs, one for downstairs) that that I point at IR receivers that send the signal to a IR connecting block. This in turn is connected to many IR blasters that trigger my apple TVs, blu ray, receivers, etc. and turn on specific activities like Watch Apple TV or Watch Blu ray. Is there any way with the gear I have to make this voice activated through the Echo Dot? (Or if I buy a little more gear?) Drew

I'll plug away at this to see if I can be more exact with the issue.

Thank you Paul, Worked like a charm. Some devices seem to be able to accept the command "Dim 20%" where others don't. Anyone have that pop up before?

This works great. When I ask Alexa to turn on theatre room, she always says "I'm sorry, I can't find a device called T-eatre Room" (I pronounce it properly) Any ideas?

I have the Big Room off scene working but I have to say "Turn on the Living room off" If I say Turn the living room off she says okay and does nothing. Right now I'm making a scene called Living room that will have all the devices in it. Then I'll tell Alexa to turn it off and just trigger that scene. Is there an easier way? Drew

Hi Larry, thanks for the reply. If I understand you correctly I should make a scene called Big Room Off in the ISY GUI and then trigger the scene from Alexa. That makes sense. You've touched on something I've been wondering about since I bought the echo. Can I turn on my tv gear by saying Watch TV? (I have apple tv, blu ray, receivers, projectors< etc, all hooked up with IR that I trigger with two Harmony remotes) If so, what gear do I have to buy for that if possible? Drew

Okay, I misunderstood then when he said Alexa allows this. Is there a way to input the names to do this? Or do i have to create scenes solely for voice commands? Would Routines be the best bet? I guess I'm hoping to be able to label the devices in the Portal with subsets like Big Room and be able to shut off sections of the house. i.e. Alexa Shut off the basement would then shut off Library, Basement Hall, Theatre room, Various lamps, all of which are labelled Basement under the room setting in the Portal. Drew

Hi guys, I've tried to implement this idea. I'd like to say "Alexa, shut off the big room" or "Shut Off the basement lights" and have all the lights shut off but she keeps saying there are many devices named this... In the portal I've named the devices like this for all lights in the big room Room=Big Room and then for each device Big Room Ceiling Big Room Wall Sconces etc... Did I misunderstand the post I quoted here? Drew

I'm finding Alexa App on the iPhone doesnt seem to update with the input I'm putting in on the ISY Portal Is there a way to refresh or speed that up? I' also lost on how to get Alexa to trigger scenes. I keep getting her saying "I don't know..." Drew

Hi guys, I have everything set up and I'm having marginal success. I can say "Turn on Theatre room" and it asks if I meant "Theatre room" then it turns it on or off. If I ask it to turn it on at a certain percentage it always says "Sorry, I couldn't find a device called "T-eatr Room" I also tried to tell it to trigger a scene but it didn't work. If I tell it to shut off Andrew's Office it asks if I meant Theatre room. (Theatre room was the first device I entered if that helps) In the iPhone app all I see is theatre room. Do I have to 'push' the portal input to the app somehow? This is what I've typed in. Am I doing something wrong?

Ignore that last post. I was looking on the Admin Console, not the ISY Portal

Isy Portal purchased and registered. Awaiting delivery of the Echo 3 ( I went with it because I have Amazon Music for free with Prime) I don't see an obvious difference in my admin console. When I follow the steps above (asbril's post) I don't see Connectivity under the Tools menu. This may be because he uses ZWave and or Google Home? I don't readily find a forum for the Echo Dot 3 at first glance. Drew

Thank you Jimbo. I used to have HughesNet and know how awful it is. I switched to Xplornet (better but not without its shortcomings) Drew

Point taken Sold! One last question. The ISY Portal. I live rurally and have the worst internet speed possible. Does the ISY Portal need internet access or does it run on my local network in the house?

Hi guys, please be patient just a few questions before I start buying stuff. Can I run/control separate devices? Can I run scenes and programs? is there a limit to the number of voice commands I can program? Is there a way to talk into my phone to run commands with either Alexa or google home? Drew

Hi Larry, Thank you for the fast reply. I have a few questions You prefer Alexa over Google Home. Do they basically function the same and this is just preference or are there different benefits to each? If I buy the ISY portal can I use either or even both at the same time? (I know SONOS one has Alexa and is great for music but Google home is cheaper, just deciding what I want to get) Could I switch or add later on or is the ISY Portal specific? (Can you tell I'm crazy excited about voice activated lights?) Drew

Hi guys, I'm late to this thread but wanted to ask a few questions before I purchase the portal module. If I buy Google home and the ISY Portal can I then walk in to the house and voice control all my Insteon stuff? (after programming it to recognize the specific commands of course) Easy as that? I remember wanting to get my stuff voice activated and being turned off by a list of steps that were so convoluted I stopped at step 5 of 100 (An exaggeration but you get the point) If I can get this voice activated my wife would then not mash SWL and KPL buttons wondering why it isn't on as its fading up. (I swear if someone tries to bypass my 2 second ramp rate by double tapping something again I'll program it to flash all the lights on and off for ten minutes and then leave them in the dark until I get home, mmuuuhhahahahaha) (Is that evil?) Drew

Thanks for the replies guys. Just wanted to make sure I'm loading the GUI properly. Drew

Hi Techman, thanks for the fast reply. I've done what you've suggested and it seems to be right. But when I click the shortcut (or the start.jnlp file that downloaded) it opens up the ISY Launcher and just sits there. I seem to have to click the UUID to then get a drop down menu and then click Admin Console. Is this correct or should it be more streamlined like before? (I used to click the jnlp file and the admin console opened) Drew

Hi guys, I'm not sure if this is an issue but I believe in the past I've had problems due to this. (I'm not having any issues right now) I don't see an update button for my ISY. Is there a different place to update the UI? If so, a point in that direction would be greatly appreciated. Drew

Will I have to repeat this process each time I want to program a button on the remote or just to add it to the ISY?

Hi Paul, Yes, I use the 'Link a Remotelinc option. Brian, I'm not sure how much further I need to go. I have instead stuff in the barn thats about 150 feet away from the PLM (The only issue I can think of is the Barn is on a separate service but it still is controllable from the house and the ISY) I find that perplexing but I'm happy it is the way it is) Would that work? Drew

Hi Guys, Just wanted to check in and ask if the 2440 remotelinc are now obsolete as far as the ISY is concerned. A while back I tried to add my 2440 remotelinc to the ISY and it wouldn't recognize it. I'd like to get them working if possible as I have two of them collecting dust (I have four mini remotes as well) Drew

Hi Paul, I tried the reset option first. I pulled the tab out and then held it in for 10 seconds (maybe longer) Theres no beep as its an older SWL When I let go the light kept ramping on and off. I'm assuming the SWL isn't acting correctly. I'm going to replace it today but I just wanted to mention the odd behaviour, Drew

Hi Guys, Before I replace a Switchlinc I wanted to check with you guys on the behaviour of the current SWL The current one will shut off and ramp back up randomly (sometimes when I switch another SWL int he house, other times whenever it wants) Recently I've noticed the LED tree to the left of the paddle isn't lit and I have to air gap it to get it working again. It'll work for a bit but I'll notice the LEDs are out again a few hours later. The model is 2476D V.27 My next question is can i replace it with a new SWL 2477D. That being said every time I've tried to replace a device with another device I screw it up and have to re link everything. I'm hoping to avoid that this time. I searched the forum but haven't found a definitive description on how to do this. If someone can send a link that would be great. Drew