ahwman

Very cool! Where do you set up the Alexa trigger name? I don't have an Echo yet but am doing my homework ahead of time so I know what I'm getting into. Currently I'm using a pair of RedEye WIFI to IR devices and set up a program for each IR command in my ISY using the network module. Based on my reading, the ISY portal will use both the lighting API and ISY skill for non lighting functions. However, it appears it will be a bit clumsy for my situation as I would have to say something like "Alex, ask my home to run Monday Night Football". Are you using virtual devices of some sort? Thanks for your time, Chuck

"Echodeal" didn't work for me...

Would you please elaborate on how you set up the channel changes using Alexa? I assume like myself you're using a WIFI to IR device and sending http get requests from the ISY network module? Or are you using some other method? Thanks, Chuck

I wish I didn't see your post, as it looks like it's going to cost me $300 I didn't plan on spending just yet!

Thanks Michel. As much as I'd like to try the emulator I haven't been able to get it working so I really can't make an objective decision. I'm hoping others who have used the emulator and eventually the ISY portal would be willing to offer their experiences for the benefit of others like myself. Thanks again for all you do as I can truly give UDI an A+ for customer service and dedication to it's products... Chuck

I'm trying to understand the main differences between using the Hue Emualtor to link up with the ISY and Echo versus the ISY portal in terms of benefits vs drawbacks... I'm not too keen on the idea of another ongoing fee which would apply to the portal, however I also don't want to get caught up in a hacked together project requiring a lot of set up and programming. I'm just trying to do my homework before moving forward in either direction... Thanks, Chuck

Great information. Thanks for sharing...

That did the trick! Thanks so much. For some reason I didn't remember being able to query battery powered devices...

I recently noticed a low battery message reported from my ISY for an Insteon motion sensor. I promptly replaced it with a brand new sealed battery. That said, my ISY still reports that the battery is low. Must I reboot my ISY to reset this message? Thanks, Chuck

My gut tells me this won't be possible until the introduction of virtual devices in ISY. I hope I'm wrong...

From what I understand you will in fact be able to do as you wish. Remember that there are two layers to this. Alexa can understand basic lighting commands and pass them onto the ISY using natural language such as "Alexa, turn off kitchen lights", however when you wish to launch programs, you would then need to access the ISY skill which would require the additional wording such as "Alexa, tell home to run program xxxxx". At least this is my understanding... Chuck

That's very good advice. I wish I could get the hue emulator working properly as I'd probably just stick with that and save myself money and increase security...

Wow, that's crazy - a whole other world. Thanks for the explanation. That said, does this poentialy expose us in terms of security from the standpoint that our ISY would be accessible to a third party?

I played around with the IFTTT iOS app today and though it's interesting, I fail to see the benefit of it when it comes to the ISY as we already have this ability thought ISY logic. Obviously, I'm missing something?

I previously used Prowl for push notifications, however once in a while the Prowl push server would go down, so I lost a little confidence and decided to migrate to MobiLinc Connect. I'm not farmilar with IFTTT, can you give me a brief understanding of how it works and if this will be integrated in the ISY portal or is it something else? Thanks so much, Chuck

It's unfortunate for us MobiLinc Connect users since the Echo will require the ISY portal, forcing us to abandon MobiLinc Connect and therefor lose push notifications - which is an important component of my overal system...

Thanks for the update. That said, any idea how multiple Echo's will be handled? I'd like to place one in my family room and one in my master bedroom. I'm assuming that both will operate independent of each other without any awareness of the other. If this is the case, is there potential of both picking up the same command and causing issues? Thanks again for the info, Chuck

Yes, I did some research and I love the idea of being able to create a virtual device. Actually, I'm quite surprised this hasn't been implemented yet. I hope it makes it into v5 final firmware release...

I'm not familiar with ISY virtual devices. How are they set up as it sounds interesting..,

I understand Michel. My comment was in no way directed towards you but more the reality of how this will work. I appreciate your help and clarification. Chuck

So the proper syntax would be "Alexa, tell ISY to turn on program TV on"? If so, that kind of takes the convenience out of voice control since the syntax is not natural. Versus simply saying, "Alexa, turn on the TV"...

Michel, Let's say I have an ISY program called "TV on" which in turn sends a network request to my WIFI-IR device via my ISY and wanted Alexa to launch it. Would this require saying something like "Alexa, tell ISY to turn TV on"? If so, I'm thinking some commands could get lengthy. Is this because the Echo would be using the ISY skill for anything other than lighting commands? Thanks for the clarification, Chuck

You're correct Xathros, the geofence should have nothing to do with MobiLinc Connect as I've also been using it for years via direct ip. That said, it's still a shame to think we can't use both portals as I like the push alerts via MobiLinc Connect. I'm going to reach out to Wes the creator of MobiLinc and see what's what...

Michael, I'm currently using the MobiLinc Connect portal to connec to my ISY. That said, it looks like we would need to purchase the ISY portal to take advantage of the Amazon Echo functionality. Would that conflict with the MobiLinc Connect portal? Also, will we be able to launch ISY programs as well? Thanks so much for all that you good folks do! Chuck

Thank you. Just wanted to be sure...