ScottAvery

What, then, is the point of the first version? By this description the second should work for everyone whether or not you had a PLM.

This begs the question, what is the accepted pronunciation of "ISY"? I have spent the last several years saying "Aye Ess Why", at least in my head, since I never actually have had to speak it aloud. But now with the prospect of having to say it to my Echo, it seems like "Izzy" would make more sense. Or does it even matter? Could I pronounce it "Bob" or "The House?"

This example is about bonding, not grounding. What is the better grounding you propose? By code my ground is directly below the entry point of the utilities, on the other side of the wall from the main panel. 3 feet, maybe? How do I improve it?

Westom, Is the proposal in fact to install a new grounding rod, new bonding, and a type 1 SPD? Which whole house item specifically? what "earthing" solution do you propose? edit: typo

Thanks for sharing, Barry

Or for that matter, what about running lightweight Linux VMs on an existing device? I planned to look into Tiny Core Linux, or similar, to create a minimal image that I could duplicate and spin up as needed.

Is this only for Z-Wave or have you managed to connect from Echo to Insteon with your set up? I have only a couple Z-wave devices, primarily locks. lighting is all insteon. any hope of connecting to a wink relay?

If non-toggle, are you using another button for off? Or program is toggling?

Has anyone integrated model train control with their ISY other than an appliancelinc to the power supply? Wondering if there is a simple way to add speed control. I have seen a raspberry pi control program but have not looked into the hardware required. Considering a project like this: http://www.ulvr.com/john/train/

I just got some indoor LED bulbs and tried on both a dual band lamplinc and an old powerline only lamplinc, and both jump from off to about 15% when bringing up the scene with brighten. I will try to find the newest switchlinc dimmer I have on a hardwired fixture and see if it is any different.

I'm really looking for the effect of the ramp up if it is not excessively difficult. It seems as though Ergodic's solution will work.

I have long been delaying my implementation of a user friendly interface. I bought Roomie years ago but found it so cumbersome for ISY (it loads SO many objects by default) that I didn't do much with it. Ideally I would like to mount touch screens in key locations, and have voice control. I also wanted to be able to incorporate media control. I initially implemented a Apple-friendly solution for my wife will tinkering with more advanced options for myself. I set up a SiriProxy server on an Ubuntu VM with ElvisImpersnator's guidelines last year but SiriProxy got killed off before I got too far along. I have bought single units of all kinds of devices to tinker with, but have not commited to any platform. I have a kindle, a nook, an ipad 3, ipad mini, iphones, android phone, windows phones, a bunch of windows PCs, a Mac Mini, an apple tv, an airport express, a roku3, ceton echo, windows media box with hd tuner, several logitech remotes (a couple with RF hubs), global cache wired and wifi IR devices, the ISY, a windows homeserver with iTunes running 24/7. Oh, and 70-80 insteon devices. Lots of options. I have been looking at CAI. Arduino and RaspberryPi for tinkering as well, but have not had a project to buy one. Maybe for window blind control some day. I was hoping that Microsoft would actually produce an interface since they are so committed to the smart home. But I have not seen anything. Apple HomeKit looks to be only for an entirely new ecosystem... so shoot the early adopters in the face, shall we? I have been eyeing the Dell XPS 18 as a nice fully functional PC in a giant touch screen format that I could mount in a picture frame to look like a digital photo viewer when not in use as a controller. I just have not seen good windows software to put on it. I'd like to run it in a kiosk mode. To sum up these random thoughts, I was wondering what those who have gone down this road would recommend? I am okay with having two solutions, but don't want to have to maintain a whole bunch of different configurations. Thoughts?

ergodic, I appreciate the tip on source of lights. I googled the transformer you mentioned and found that it was YOUR thread where I read about the leading edge/triac dimmer concerns. What are the specs on the transformers driving your incandescent lights? I am not completely enamored with LEDs due to the way they dim in the first 15% or so. If I did LEDs I would want to use the ISY to control the dimming. My thought was I could set the local on level and have a scene set for brining the lights up to 15-20% with the fastest ramp rate, then invoke a second scene by program, listening for the on command, with slower ramp rate up to maximum. Does that scheme work?

I have seen some users describe their dimming landscape lights but am unable to find the threads with search. Last I recall mentioned using magnetic transformer, and that there was a concern about the triac dimmer type. Are there in fact readily available transformers that are compatible with one of the INSTEON dimmer device types?

Looking for advice on how to control landscape lighting with INSTEON and ISY. I am planning to use low voltage with multiple transformers and groupings. I would prefer to be able to dim through the ISY, whereas most "dimmable" transformers I see have internal dimming and timers. I have a pile of switchlincs, inline-linc dimmers, and even micro dimmers I could put to use if I knew what was an appropriate transformer to purchase and pair with any of those dimmers. I would probably be looking in the 200 to 400 watt range for each transformer. I would be fine with purchasing an enclosure to hold everything if the transformers were not in outdoor rated enclosures themselves. Any suggestions?

oy, it seems I also have new communications issues. The new plm fails to connect to some of the devices to run diagnostics, even ones with dual band comms.

I have tried restores on several devices. The E2 link you are looking for is not in the ISY link table, so it is not restored. What is the most painless way to remove and re-add 60 devices and still get the new PLM link added? Will I have to trash all my scenes and recreate those as well?

It was not deleted, just replaced and restored. Do I have to delete all devices and re-add them?

Now you are on to something. That link does not exist. I traced the four E2 entries to other devices with scenes in common with this switchlink.

the full entry reads 0 : 0FF8 : A2 00 2B.96.C# FF 1F 01

The first (0) record is the new PLM.

I did make the mistake of plugging in the new one while ISY was on, but I followed the recovery instructions in the how-to on this forum and power cycled the ISY and re-restored PLM. probably three or four times by now.

I have had to replace a dead PLM and subsequently all my programs that listened to fast on or fast off are no longer working. I have recreated programs, recreated the affected scenes, deleted and re-added devices, restarted ISY-994i and re-restored PLM to ensure catching the new address... no luck I do have timer based programs that still work. The new plm also seems to lose contact with devices more often than the old one. no other changes in the house. any ideas? I do not have a valid backup, so if I have to start over it will be a long process for about 60 devices. thanks! Scott

I notice you have separate pumps for your pool and spa, so maybe things would be different for me with shared equipment. Would I have to send separate signals to activate valve actuators and switch to spa mode (reduced intellichlor output)? I am not yet intimately familiar with the way the Pentair functions.

I couldn't find a direct rs485 gateway other than some industrial units with industrial pricetags.