JMC

Is there a reason why Weather Bug does not report a negative number for Irrigation Requirement? Right now my Irrigation Requirement is 0 and Water Deficit Yesterday was -1.3 inches. Tomorrow, after the midnight update, Irrigation Requirement will still show 0 instead of the actual value. I'm assuming the actual value is stored somewhere in the module. mike

Thank you very much. mike

How do I get a device into a scene as both a controller and a responder? mike

What is ISY Finder? When I updated to 3.3.6 I also downloaded the Java applet that allows the admin console independent of a browser. Now, every time I launch the admin console I also get this small window called ISY Finder that contains the IP address of my ISY. Is this normal or did I screw something up again? mike

Thanks Lee, when I double checked I noticed that when I installed the KPL, the device I removed was a 2477D (dual band). I guess it had been carrying more of the communication load in that node than I realized. I put it back on that node, replacing a 2476D and all is fine. Just to be safe I linked the 2477D to the KPL manually and then added it back in to the network using the "keep existing links" option. That found the KPL (the address label was correct) and added it to the network automatically. The only times I manually link anything is to make sure that a controller reacts when a responder is activated by its own switch. mike

I installed several new devices and one, a 2486D (6 button) can't be added. The attempt fails with the "failed to identify insteon engine" error. Since the device seems to be operating normally from the keypad, I'm wondering if the address label is wrong. The other new devices have all added and are working with the ISY just fine. Is there a way for an ISY 99i to detect a connected device and report its address? I would really hate to remove and return it if a simple address search could fix the problem. mike

I downloaded v3.3.6 and found that the firmware now displays as: Insteon_UD99 v.3.3.6 but the UI shows: Insteon_UD994 v.3.3.6. My equipment is the UD99 Pro. Is this something I should be concerned about? mike

Some time ago it was recommended that users stick with Java 6 (latest version) for ISY. Is that still true or will Java 7 work properly? mike

Disregard my comment above re irrigation variables. I did an Irrigation - Reset Variables and the display now shows realistic values. mike

I just checked my weather module and see that Evapotranspiration, Irrigation Requirement and Yesterday's Water Deficit all had the identical value of -214748.352. I'm still running the V1 irrigation module. Again, firmware is 3.3.3, UI is 3.2.6 mike

Great news Michel, I would like to participate in testing, Alpha or Beta. mike

Thanks Michel, I"ll hold off. On a slightly different note, are there any plans to accommodate multiple zones with different irrigation requirements in the near future? mike

Maybe I want to make that request. How do I find out what is in v2? mike

MIchel, How do I determine what version of the irrigation module I am running? I bought it originally in January at the same time I updated from ISY 2.8.16 to 3.1.13. mike

I installed 3.3.2 on 9/20 and over the next few days I noticed my irrigation is running less frequently. I found that the evapotranspiration is accruing much more slowly than in my previous (3.1.17) version. I didn't see mention of a change to that algorithm in this forum or in the release documentation. Prior to installing 3.3.2 the Water Deficit Yesterday value would accumulate between .4 and .45 inches with 85-95 degrees, 20-25% humidity and 0-5 mph wind. With 3.3.2 the largest value I've seen for Water Deficit Yesterday has been .12 inches with approximately the same weather conditions. Actually I believe 3.3.2 is providing a more realistic evapotranspiration figure than 3.1.17 did. Before I adjust my irrigation program parameters to account for the difference in calculation I would like to be sure I am looking at things correctly. mike

I'm considering buying 3 of these items to provide control inputs to my ISY-99i to control a 3 zone HVAC system in my home. Are there any known surprises I should be aware of? I'm using firmware version 3.1.17. mike

HI Michel, I meant ET. If I'm understanding correctly ET could be seen as a snapshot of the rate the water deficit is accumulating whereas the Water Deficit Yesterday is the accumulation for the 24 hour period. I've been watching the ET fairly closely for the past few days and its becoming apparent that wind speed is a very major factor in that calculation. In fact in the past few minutes I've seen that a change in wind speed from 3mph to 7mph (temp and humidity remained constant) resulted in an ET change from 0.3723 inches/day to 0.4481 inches/day. I'm still nervous though that the daily Irrigation Requirement is going to cause more water to be applied than is actually needed.

I think I've figured out that Allowable Depletion represents the percentage of the Water Applied per Irrigation Cycle which is actually available to the grass or plants, with the remainder being lost to runoff, etc. Following that assumption I set my absorption factor to 100% (Sand) and Water Applied per Irrigation Cycle to .5 inch. I'm using Coastal plains for my Irrigation Region even though I'm about 125 miles inland in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Using the above settings, with daily temperatures in the mid 60's, relative humidity approx 70% and light winds (0-5mph) the EvapoTranspiration is still over .4" per day. That is way too high and would result in .5 inch being applied almost daily and the ET calling for more irrigation while the soil is still very moist from the previous session. Incidentally Michel, I was able to work around the lack of rain data from WeatherBug with a rain sensor that can send an X10 On when it detects rain in excess of 1/4". I simply send an Irrigation Cycle Complete once each day that rain is detected. It's definitely a kludge but it is better than not having any rain data at all. mike

I've been quiet on this topic since January because there hasn't been any rain for me to confirm what was/was not working. When I reported the lack of rain data from KAUN (Auburn Municipal Airport) to WeatherBug in January I did not receive any reply at all. I did notice, however, that KAUN was removed from the list of available stations. I checked the surrounding stations and found that CTRSH (Mesa Verde High School in Citrus Heights) was reporting rain data so I switched my station to CTRSH. When rain finally started again in March the rainfall counter on my WeatherBug module remained at 0. I checked the various area stations and none were reporting any rain data, even those which had been reporting it in January. I have a query in to WB asking if they can confirm that I will get the rain data I need if I subscribe to WeatherBug Plus. I figure the answer to that query may also answer whether the lack of rain data we see is accidental, a bug or other glitch, or is deliberate. Incidentally, the data for the KAUN area came right up from NOAA at this site: http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/wxtabl ... on=-121.06 The Forecast Weather Table interface provides options for getting different formats and locations. It does appear to only update hourly though, but it should still be plenty good for calcluating irrigation requirements. mike

It's not your fault Michel and I don't intend to uninstall anything. Even without the rain data, the Irrigation module is very valuable for most of the year. Northern California has very long periods with no rain and the module can properly calculate the irrigation requirement. It would be nice if the Irrigation module could support more than one zone though. Differences in soil even on a single property, or the difference in irrigation requirements between lawn and fruit trees for example, seem to call for that functionality. Incidentally, I just rediscovered the similar thread under WeatherBug Not Reporting Light... where I posted some more. mike

The admin console freezing was resolved by removing Java 7 and reverting to Java 6. My main problem lies with finding a WeatherBug station that reports rainfall. I've checked every station in about a 40 mile radius of my location and none are reporting rainfall even though it has been raining steadily with significant amounts for the last 24 hours. Not having rainfall data would seem to seriously degrade the irrigation module. I do have an old rain sensor which my ISY sees as an X-10 on/off and I have my program set so that when the rain sensor no longer reports rain it will reset the irrigation variables and also report an irrigation cycle complete. Hopefully that will give the irrigation module a workable restart. Has there been any decision about providing multiple zones and soil types in the irrigation module? mike

TJF1960: Thanks a lot, that appears to have been the problem. When I went to download 6.30 I noticed the Java site is no longer offering Java 7 like they were last Nov. when I first downloaded Java. Now I wonder what else might start working better...

My Admin Console periodically becomes unresponsive and I have to close and re-open it. I'm using ISY 3.1.17, Opera 11.60 and Java 1.7 32 bit on Windows 7 64 bit. The problem happens most frequently when I am looking at the Climate module. I've also noticed that the Climate data does not update on the console while it is running. Whatever temperature etc. data is displayed when I first open the window remains there until I close it. I can then re-open it immediately and the updated data will be displayed. Right now I'm attributing it to an incompatibility issue with Opera but I would like to be sure.

I'm experiencing a very similar problem, WeatherBug is reporting 0% light and 0 rainfall even though it has been raining steadily for 2 days. I saw Michel's suggestion to upgrade to 3.1.17 (from 3.1.13) and did so but with no change. The other data, temperature, wind, etc. all appear normal. I've tried 3 different stations in my area (KAUN, KBAB and KLHM) all with basically the same results. The light level is not critical to me but the rain is, the Irrigation Module can't properly calculate the irrigation requirement without the rain data.

I've noticed that the Admin Console will cease functioning if I leave it pointed at Climate for longer than 60 seconds. It appears that if the Climate window is open when the WeatherBug updates, the window stops functioning and I have to shut it down and restart a new window. I'm wondering if that is a known issue or possibly due to my using Opera for a browser?