RatRanch

Hi David, Nifty gadget! Does it require that a Linux computer be running all the time or can it run in an autonomous mode? -Jim

One more suggestion. Most browsers *except* IE will let you specify login credentials right in the URL. For example: http://username:password@192.168.x.x/devices to access ISY's Devices page.

KPL = KeypadLinc

Hi Michel, Thanks for your prompt response. AFAIK, the answer to both questions is no, so I went ahead and ran the FN command. It reported that several files with the extension UND were fixed and rebooted the ISY. However, I'm still seeing the same errors involving /CONF/A and /CONF/F in the log file. Anything else to check? I can back up the ISY and all devices are working normally, so the only concern is that the file system inconsistency might cause trouble in the future. Thanks, -Jim

Hi all, When my ISY-99i starts, I'm seeing the following log entries: 0 null Mon 08/31/2009 09:25:52 AM System Start 0 /CONF/A Mon 08/31/2009 09:25:59 AM System -110022 0 /CONF/F Mon 08/31/2009 09:25:59 AM System -110022 The error code appears to indicate missing or damaged files. Is this any cause for concern? If so, how to correct? Thanks, -Jim

Further to davidn70's comment, for a low power, small footprint solution, there are some wall-wart sized computers like this one appearing on the market lately. But at $100+, this would still be an expensive solution for just playing audio alerts. Is anybody aware of a compact, < $50 device for playing audio alerts that would be either Insteon or web controllable? -Jim

The ISP might be blocking specific port(s). For instance, we used to be on Cablevision, which blocked port 80 (the default port for web servers). The workaround is to forward another port, 8080 for example, and specify that port number in the url. For example: https://device.mypublicIP.net:8080/index.htm Typical routers will let you map any external port to any internal port. -Jim

Absolutely. You can incorporate schedules into programs and also into folders containing programs. Take a look at these two wiki pages: http://www.universal-devices.com/mwiki/index.php?title=Schedule http://www.universal-devices.com/mwiki/index.php?title=ISY-99i/ISY-26_INSTEON:Folder_Conditions If you get stuck just post more details about what you're trying to accomplish. Cheers, -Jim

You need to use a program. In the following example, 'All Lights' is a group of multiple Insteon devices. The first X10 line executes an X10 group command and the second is an example of a single device command. When mixing X10 and Insteon commands, adding a Wait between commands seems to improve reliability. If Control 'Bedroom Keypad - All Off' is switched On Or Control 'Rear Keypad - All Off' is switched Off Then Set Scene 'All Lights' Off Wait 1 second Send X10 'K1/All Lights Off (1)' Wait 1 second Send X10 'L1/Off (11)' Else - No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action') -Jim

LOL, same here! I don't know if replacement covers are available, but I did find that "laminating" a printed paper label between two pieces of good quality wide transparent tape looks just as good if you trim the edges carefully. And these homemade covers seem to stay put better. -Jim

Here's one that still has my wife scratching her head. I plugged a spare I/OLinc into an inconspicuous but easily accessible outlet. When I click the set button, it fires a program that waits a few seconds and then tells the bunny to announce "Seems like Jim's drink could use a refill". The delay gives me enough time to inconspicuously click the button, walk to the bunny's vicinity and "show" the rabbit my empty glass. Oh, and a tip to pass on. This text-to-speech demo allows you to create very high quality spoken prompts. The audio clips are delivered in WAV format though, so you'll need to convert them to MP3 format for compatibility with the rabbit. One free tool that I like is Audacity. Cheers, -Jim

Hi Brian, Glad to hear your "bunny" is received and getting a workout! Yes, there is a bug in the way firmware 2.7.3 encodes URLs (to be fixed in the next beta release). UDI has a hotfix available for this specific issue (a checkbox was added that allows you to turn off URL encoding). See http://forum.universal-devices.com/viewtopic.php?t=2684 -Jim

Hi Brian, You raised a couple of good questions. There were indeed a lot of complaints about Violet's servers. When we first installed a Nabaztag/tag in December, 2007, the server reliability was terrible. There were often complete outages lasting several hours. This situation has improved a whole lot since then, especially during the past six months (which may have something to do with assumed capacity upgrades made in connection with the North American rollout of RFID support). Nowadays, aside from the occasional unavailability of specific data feeds, like weather forecasts, Violet seems to have addressed the reliability issues. FYI, there are some open source projects that allow Nabaztag to be operated independently of the manufacturer's backend--see OpenNab and Nabaztools, for example--but I haven't tried any of these. Regarding performance, I haven't seen any command from ISY to Nabaztag or vice versa take longer than a second or two to execute. For audio alerts, I like to keep the clips as short as possible to minimize lag. Please post details if you can get the proxy function running on the ISY. I had considered that option but couldn't figure out a workable approach. But I don't think you even need to bother with that since your BDLCAM application would be sending alert messages to Nabaztag, not the other way around. The message proxying would only be a concern if you need to receive events from Nabaztag. Look forward to hearing how your project progresses! Cheers, -Jim

Thanks Rand. It's my pleasure to contribute this to the Wiki.

How To: Interface ISY-99i with Nabaztag ("Internet Rabbit") Nabaztag (Armenian for "rabbit") is a Wi-Fi enabled ambient electronic device in the shape of a rabbit that can provide information about the weather, read email and play audio content, among other things. There are some fun and useful ways that Nabaztag can be integrated with a home automation system. Nabaztag has programmable colored lights, motorized ears, sounds, and text-to-speech capabilities that can be utilized by ISY to notify the user of device/scene status or events. The latest generation of devices, Nabaztag/tag and Mir:ror, also have the ability to recognize RFID-enabled objects and notify ISY when these objects are detected. ================================================================================ Part One: Sending commands from ISY to Nabaztag You will need: 1. A Nabaztag or Nabaztag/tag "rabbit" 2. An ISY-99i series device with firmware 2.7.3 or later 3. The Networking add-on module for your ISY-99i Every Nabaztag has a unique serial number (a.k.a. mac address). To send commands to your Nabaztag, you will also need to establish a "token" for the device. Go to http://my.violet.net/object_ecosystem'>http://my.violet.net/object_ecosystem and activate the "Violet Ecosystem". After entering your Nabaztag's serial number, the site will issue a token string. The Nabaztag API allows you to control the rabbit via HTTP GETs. The full API documentation is at http://doc.nabaztag.com/api/home.html. For each action that you would like Nabaztag to perform, you'll need to create a Network Resource on ISY. Go to the Configuration->Networking->Network Resources tab on the ISY Admin Console. Click the Add button to add a new resource and select "http GET" as the protocol. Enter "api.nabaztag.com" in the Host field and set the path according to the examples below. To tell Nabaztag to play a sound, use the following format for the path, substituting [myserial] and [mytoken] for those specific to your rabbit. The urlList can refer to any MP3 audio file, but for best results the audio sample should be short, and ideally hosted on an internal web server. For testing, you can also send these commands from any web browser, prefacing the path with "http://api.nabaztag.com". Example - playing a sound: /vl/FR/api_stream.jsp?sn=[myserial]&token=[mytoken]&urlList=http://www.a1sounddownload.com/freesounds5/buzzer.mp3 Nabaztag's ears and lights can also be controlled through the API. Example - moving Nabaztag's ears and flashing its lights: /vl/FR/api.jsp?sn=[myserial]&token=[mytoken]&chor=10,0,motor,1,20,0,0,0,led,2,0,238,0,2,led,1,250,0,0,3,led,2,0,0,0 One way we're using this capability is to have Nabaztag make an audible announcement whenever a vehicle enters or exits our driveway. ================================================================================ Part Two: Sending commands from Nabaztag to ISY You will need: 1. A Nabaztag/tag "rabbit" or Mir:ror RFID reader 2. One or more RFID tags ("Ztamps") 3. An ISY-99i series device with firmware 2.7.3 or later 4. In internal web server and public IP address The latest generation of Nabaztag rabbits (as well as a dedicated RFID reader called "Mir:ror") can perform various actions when an RFID tag is recognized. Since each tag has a unique identifier, the set of actions performed can be specific to each tag. Because of limitations in Nabaztag's API (no support for authentication or self-signed certificates), it's necessary to set up a proxy server to enable secure communication between it and ISY. This can be accomplished using any common web server. If you have a Windows computer, you can install an ASP script here and configure it according to the comments contained therein. If you're running some other web server, you can probably figure out how to set up an equivalent program by inspecting the sample script. To set up a new tag, you'll need to wave it across Nabaztag's "nose" and then configure it at the http://my.violet.net website. Select the new object and give it a meaningful name. Then select the Application(s) that you want to associate with this object. You can select multiple applications for each object. The one that allows Nabaztag to interact with ISY is the App called "Send data to an URL (Call URL)" in the /dev section. Go to the Define Application Settings pane and enter a URL in the following format: http://[myPublicIP]/[pathToScript]/nabazlink.asp?cmd=/rest/[any REST command]&object_name=${object.name}&ztamp_name=${ztamp.name}&ztamp_serial=${ztamp.serial} Example to run an ISY program: http://mywebserver.somewhere.net/nabazlink/nabazlink.asp?cmd=/rest/programs/0017/runThen&object_name=${object.name}&ztamp_name=${ztamp.name}&ztamp_serial=${ztamp.serial} You can issue any valid ISY REST command, but for maintainability, I find that it's easiest to call a program on the ISY. We stuck one Ztamp to my wife's car keys and another to mine. When she leaves the house, she swipes her keys on Nabaztag's "nose" and the rabbit reads the weather forecast to her and tells ISY to open the garage door for her car. I always leave for work last, so when I swipe my keys, Nabaztag opens my garage door, plus shuts off all the lights in the house and runs the "house unoccupied" program on the ISY. Enjoy your Bunny! -Jim

Another idea might be to pair a temperature probe specifically designed for spa use with an EZIO or I/O Linc. -Jim

My Nabaztag Internet Rabbit patiently awaits the opportunity to interact with ISY via her http API -Jim

Early EEPROMS had a limit of 10,000 read/write cycles but more modern parts are typically rated at 100,000 or even a million cycles. So I doubt this would be a big concern for a typical scenario where scene parameters are modified only a couple of times every day by a properly designed (and tested) program. -Jim

I think what John is reporting is just a little interface quirk. The Add and Save buttons are disabled until you explicitly select "Regular Email" (or another entry) from the list of email providers. -Jim

Did you check to ensure that none of the devices have X10 addresses assigned (maybe just do a factory reset)? Also, it might be worth testing with your ISY powered off, to eliminate any possibility that a program might be interacting with the scene.

Hey Dave, I'd be pleased to put your app through the paces. I have an ISY-26 and iPhone, both running the latest firmware. There are about 30 Insteon devices in my house, including some KPLs, LampLincs, OutletLincs, SwitchLinc Dimmers, ApplianceLincs and an EZIO 2x4. Cheers, -Jim

Clarence, If you have an Intel Mac, you can get it now. See http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/javaformacosx105update1.html. -Jim

Mark - we iPhone users really appreciate your work on this. Thank you! -Jim

deepdish, Are you using an iPhone or iPod Touch? From my experience with iPhone, this hasn't been a big problem because there is no need to re-enter the ID/password unless you reboot the phone, which should be rarely. -Jim

Michel, I'm pleased to report that Apple finally caught up with the rest of the world and officially released Java 1.6 for Leopard. The INTEL MAC ONLY update isn't appearing under automatic updates yet but can be downloaded from Apple. Hopefully a PowerPC version will also appear soon. -Jim