dbwarner5

Think of it this way.... the KPL button is not directly connected to the light that it is controlling. So if a program turns on the light, the KPL has no way of knowing that, since in reality they are two different devices in your system. Previously, it sounds like you had a scene where the light and the KPL were both in the scene. This created a connection to each other, so that if you turned on the KPL, the light would turn on. No problem there. However, now if you have a program turn on the light, this is an independent device from the KPL and the KPL won't turn on. To keep them in sync, you need to create a scene with just the one KPL button in it. Then your program would turn on the light, followed by turning on the KPL only scene, and hence keeping them in "sync". Hope that helps you get the general concept so you can apply it to your goals above. Here are some of my KPL buttons.. I call them all KP's to recognize them as such. Sometimes when I press one, I want the others to do certain things, so sometimes I have multiple KPLS in the same scene.

The way I handled this is when I am writing a program that needs to repeat every year, (like a birthday greeting to my wife from ISY..lol), I just put in a ORs with 5 years of dates. Its quick and easy to do when you are there writing the program as the JAVA script mimics each new line.. Yes, I still have to update it, but not for 5 years......cheers!

hmm.. interesting. My Insteon switch on one is 6 button KPL, the other is a basic Insteon dimmer switch. Yes, the Hues are dimmable downstream from them, but I never dim the Insteon switches. They are only on via a Fast On to full power. I havent had problems with these yet that I am aware of, but I agree, it would be better if these were on/offs vs dimmable. Is this what you meant? This is beyond my technical skills / knowledge. Should I change these out for on/offs for long term issues? thanks.

That is my case. The lights are cans in the ceiling over the bed for reading /spot lights on each side. No optional power disconnect besides at the switches, and hence my reluctance and laziness not to hot wire the sockets by bypassing the switch. While the ISY automatically turns the switch back on, and hence giving power to the cans at all times, the stop-gap pull tab at the bottom of the Insteon switch allows me to safely disconnect power any time I feel the need to do so, quickly and effectively. As in most things in life, no perfect answer, just choices and tradeoffs. Cheers.

One additional point, to "manage" the blink, in the HUE app, you can set the power on setting. I have set mine to a very dim red. So when the Insteon switch is switched off manually, the power is cut to the hue, then the isy, turns the switch back on, giving power again to the hue, which will then cause it to turn on, followed by the isy turning the hue off, per my program. This "on" of the hue is a very dim, quick flash of red. Again, either way works. As lilyoyo1 has pointed out, option one is much simpler. Honestly, I actually set mine up under option two somewhat for safety, but also because I have been too lazy to open up both switches and rewire them.. lol...

There are two options you can explore for this. 1) Keep power going to the KPL but bypass the switch to the light so the the light has constant power (cap off the red wire from the switch and attach the load from the light to the black incoming to the switch, hence giving the light constant power while also giving power to the switch). Then use the A button as part of a scene or program to control the hue light. The positive of this is that the hue has power 100% of the time. The negative of this is that it has power 100% of the time and could be a safety issue, ie changing bulb etc. 2) Leave your wiring as it is, but write a program such that if the KPL light switch is turned off, the switch will turn back on and a command is then sent to the hue bulb to turn it off. Positive of this is the safety factor. The negative is that the hue bulb will "blink". I chose to use number 2. The program is simple. I am using resource command to turn the hue off., Mbed Doug reading On - [ID 01CD][Parent 01CF] If 'MBed Reading Doug' is switched Off Then Set 'MBed Reading Doug' Fast On Wait 2 seconds Resource 'Doug's Reading Off' Additionally, I have added a series of programs that will cycle the hue light through 5 different settings each time I press the on button at the switch. Here is an example of the first two and the reset program. Mbed Doug reading 1 - [ID 01C8][Parent 01CF] If 'MBed Reading Doug' is switched On Then Resource 'Doug's Reading on bright' Enable Program 'Mbed Doug reading 2 LD' Disable Program 'Mbed Doug reading 1' Mbed Doug reading 2 LD - [ID 01C9][Parent 01CF][Not Enabled] If 'MBed Reading Doug' is switched On Then Resource 'Doug's Reading on full bright' Enable Program 'Mbed Doug reading 3 LD' Disable Program 'Mbed Doug reading 2 LD' Mbed Doug reading reset loop - [ID 01CE][Parent 01CF] If Time is 1:00:00AM Or 'MBed Reading Doug' is switched Off Then Enable Program 'Mbed Doug reading 1' Disable Program 'Mbed Doug reading 2 LD' Disable Program 'Mbed Doug reading 3 LD' Disable Program 'Mbed Doug reading 5 LD' Disable Program 'Mbed Doug reading 5 LD' Depending on your needs / interests you could modify these programs so they are "time dependent" for cycling to the next one etc. Hope this gives you some ideas. if you search the forum for hues, you will see similar discussions.

@hbskisurf to the point above, common practice is to include the same condition that enables the folder in the IF of the programs you also want tested when the folder becomes enabled. See the last two lines in this (old) wiki description. https://wiki.universal-devices.com/index.php?title=ISY-99i/ISY-26_INSTEON:Scope,_Precedence_and_Execution_Order#Statement_Execution_Order. (couldn't find the newer one easily and still had a link to the older one)

Similarly, to Larry, I have my doorbell linked via ELK to the ISY which notifies me and works in conjunction with an Insteon Motion Sensor that also turns on porch lights / spotlights and notifies me, etc. and lastly, I have a SEPARATE, not integrated, security camera system that is set up to email me pictures of motion at the front door. So essentially, I could not easily figure out. any integration between my camera system and ISY, so I get the notifications via ISY and have a special email set up that receives the pictures from the camera system. The ISY text notification, alerts me to motion, where I can then either look live on the cameras, or check the email for the pictures. This has me thinking though.. so what?.... so I need to set up an easy way to trigger my outside siren ./ strobes (elk/isy) if I dont like what I see, otherwise, what's the real point? I am not there and cant really do anything anyway.. lol. So in reality, it is just for curiosity and information vs any real actionable events... Welcome to any ideas that others are doing in this type of set up.

@asbril Another attempt to explain variables......Think of a variable as basically a holding spot for almost anything. The first step is always to create the variable. This requires deciding if it's going to be a STATE variable or an INTEGER variable. Only STATE variables will cause programs to run if they change. Integer variables can still be used as part of an IF, but they will be a "condition" that is checked when something else causes the program to run, such as being called by another program, or some other IF condition causes ISY to test its conditions. Generally, Integer variables are a way of keeping track of things. Example below: So the Integer variable below can change all day long, but will never cause this program to run. But if the time is 6:00am, then ISY will "check" this program for true or false, based on the value of the integer variable. The value of the variable in this case gets set by another program. So its a "condition" of the IF statement, but it won't cause the ISY to check the IF statement if it changes. This is different for STATE variables and hence the name. If Time is 6:00:00AM And $I_Alarm_Value is 600 Then Run Program 'Alarm Process LD' (Else Path) So switching back to STATE variables, once you have defined a state variable to X or Y, you can now use it in a program as a condition. The ISY will check the IF statement if a state variable changes its value --> ie its "state". In the body of any program, you can adjust the variable to change which will cause any programs that are relying on it to do something like run the THEN, or run the ELSE. This is the easiest use of variables. So as a simple example, if I Arm my security system (Elk), the ISY recognizes its condition and sets a variable AWAY to 1. I then have many other programs and folders that are watching the state of the AWAY variable. And when it changes, it causes those programs to run. In this case, some folders become false and stop running, other folders become true and start to run, etc. Other programs begin running like random lights during the evening hours, Water gets shut off etc. So essentially, by changing one variable, I can control the run pattern of many many programs all at once. In the example that Larry wrote for you for your MS, the variable is used in a slightly different way. Its a temporary storage of something. The start of the program stores the value of the light%, and then it can now change the light however you would like.. blink it, turn it on, turn it off, wait... etc.. Do whatever you want for as long as you want. Then when you want to "remember" what it was at, you have that information protected and stored as a variable. You then are simply setting the light equal to the value of that variable, which was created at the beginning. That variable will stay at that value until one of two things happens: it is changed by a program(s), or if the ISY reboots. When the ISY reboots, all variables are set to their INIT setting under the variables tab. To protect the value of an important variable, you can write a line in a program that will set the init value to the current value of that variable. This way, if the isy reboots, the value of the variable will get reset (init) to the value it had before the power failure. As others have said, variables become a huge part of isy programming. The more you understand and use them, the more you will use them. A fun and simple way to play with variables to learn about them is to set up a program that can "count" something, such as how often a certain light gets turned on/off during the day. If From 8:00:00AM To 11:00:00PM (same day) And ( 'Bar under cabinet' is switched On Or 'Bar under cabinet' is switched Off ) Then $I_Test += 1 Else $I_Test = 0 During 8-11pm, each time the light is switched on or off, the integer variable ITest will increase by one. After 11, the program becomes false so the variable resets to zero. If you try this using a STATE variable, you can then write a second program that when the variable becomes > 10, it sends you a text.. or turns on a certain light... something to give you the feel of how state variables can keep track of something and then trigger something else. Cheers and good luck.. keep at it.!!

A few additional comments of example uses..... 1) I too use the I_ to denote integer variables, but to save time, I dont bother putting the S for state variables, that becomes my default if it doesn't have an I. (I have many many more state variables than Integer, so just saves time, effort) 2) I have many program folders that I "Enable" and "Disable". To do so, I simply have a variable condition for that parent folder that is either a 1 (enabled) or 0 (disabled). Then I have a folder for all my enabling/disabling programs, which are simple: then $var=1, or else, $var=0, specific to each large folder of programs I am controlling. Then in MobilLInc on my cell phone, i have modified each program's screen via Advanced to show only Enabled or Disabled.(see attached screen shot) So with a quick glance I can easily override a set of programs, for example when guests are at the house etc. sprinklers, xmas lights, etc. 3) I have set up an alarm using an 8 button keypad next to my bed. Each left row represents the hours of 5, 6, 7, 8, each right row represents minutes 0,15,30,45. By selecting one button from each side, variables are set (500., 600, 700, 800 and 0, 15, 30, 45), then are added make a third variable Alarm set time.. ie 700+45 = 745.. This variable is then tested such that If( $var =745 and time is 7:45am,) then start the alarm process. 4) Garage door shut attempts. I use a variable to keep track of attempts to automatically shut a garage door, (twice) and then initiate a failure routine. etc. etc etc. As others have demonstrated, there is a lot of power of using variables in your programing logic.

@j.rieff see my post on this for some other experiences.. you can get it to chime or siren.

@j.rieff I had no problem in my upgrade.. see my post earlier in this thread.

RL in a switch box... I cut a piece of tin the right size and mounted it behind the RL, using the same screw holes. works great.

Regarding number 3... I too found my hobby at risk.. lol. My solution was based on the following: Bathroom has motion detectors which turn on the lights to various settings and time delays based on time of day.There are 6 different lights in our bath. Our shower has its own light switch. All are part of the scenes. So when taking a shower, we manually turn on that light switch (even if the light is on as part of the scene) and that disables the occupancy turn off program for 20 minutes, ample time to shower and get back out to where the Motion sensor will pick us up again. If I ever get into Tags, I think I would just put one on the door to sense movement to accomplish the above without the need for a manual intervention. Thanks for the ideas!

Just for clarity, the back up for z-wave is a separate step than the back up for the isy, of which I never knew before I did this upgrade. In the admin console, under z-wave, go down to tools / backup. I did a full, then a did restore afterwards and all was great. After the upgrade to 5.16b, I then restored the z-wave. Cant remember now if I for sure had to repopulate all the names, but probably did. sorry for that. In checking my prep documents, I did have two things I did that if I did have to rename my z-wave devices that helped. The first was "generate topography" under tools. This will give an alphabetical listing of all your devices. But the second which was easier, was to click on my lighting in the Main panel. Then click on the column Address to sort the table by the address which puts all the ZW- devices at the bottom, of which I took a screen shot of. This gave me the roadmap to rename everything the same and all worked. I dont remember having to redo programs or scenes. sorry cant be more helpful than that. see screen shots..Good luck.

@steveschwartz I recently upgraded and did not have any of these problems.. did you do a back up of the zwave per the admin console and then a restore? Mine worked fine. This thread in the beginning, along with several other posts (mineincluded) show the step by step and tips to make this go smoothly. I followed them and had no problems

Hi Michel, am not really worried about the final price, but as you pointed out earlier, there is always a value/benefit proposition. Without a trial period or decent documentation / screenshots, etc to understand what you are buying, one is much less likely to “take that risk” with $. However, well documented, or good trial experiences can lead to developers getting “module” type pricing like UDI has offered in the past. THe Polyglot “store” as it develops from a developers page to a consumers page will need to morph into a more user friendly / information and sales base to attract $ . Hope it succeeds. Am willing to consider helping in this regards if you want outsider input. Cheers, GO UDI!

Thanks @bpwwer As per our other discussion under OpenWeatherMap, the config files directions were missing on the git hub documentation on the cloud polyglot. Your follow up there got it to work, albeit with the 270 degree temperatures.. lol,, still reading high By the way . IF you could cut and paste what you shared in that dialogue into the GitHub documentation, I am sure that would help many others,. thanks!

Yes see first page of this post for directions, step 7 under Install. it should be 5.16b to match the firmware., Install: 1. Backup your ISY (File | Backup ISY) - Do not backup from a version 3.1.6, or 4.1.1 system (there were bugs in those versions that caused the backup to be corrupted) 2. Make sure you have done everything in the Prerequisites section 3. Download firmware - ISY 994i Series including Z-Wave support - ISY 994i ZW, Z, or ZS Series (Z-Wave/Zigbee and/or if you do NOT have a PLM) 4. Login to the Admin Console and choose Help | Manually Upgrade [the name of your system] 5. Choose the file downloaded in step 3 6. After the upgrade, You must clear your Java Cache 7. Launch the 5.0.16 Admin Console and/or Dashboard by going to the following link: - https://isy.universal-devices.com/start.jnlp

and willl there be a "trial" period? What I am finding so far, is that documentation, screen shots, and implementation is highly varied and generally pretty poor. Its a try and see type approach currently. So without trying a module for 7 days, or 30 days, I will be very hard pressed to make purchase decisions based on what is shown in the "store" currently. But could definitely see it becoming similar to apple apps store etc.

So this thread has gotten me a bit confused. When and why does the z-wave dongle need upgrading? Are there any notes around this? The z-wave prerequisites on this thread (page1) says that 4.55 is adequate. I am on 5.16b, with z-wave Version 4.55.00, boot loader version 1.03, and Wave (21100) See below screenshots. Z-wave devices seem to be working as expected. Thanks,

To help you get going on the remote link, you would set up four separate scenes, each with the keypad button being a controller of the other two switches, and setting the light level in that particular scene to the level you would like. Then you can turn them on or off at that level. The alternative is to use a program that watches for the Remote link button to be pressed on and then turns on the light to the level you would like. Either way will work. Scenes are quicker to execute than a program, which is reliant on isy cpu time, vs scenes which are actually stored locally in the switches and does not involve the isy to execute.

yes, you could do either via programming with an ISY. Quite easy once you get the idea of it.

I recently had an issue with the portal/polyglot/Isy communication whereas I had to delete my ISY from the Portal and re-add it. As a result in this whole process I lost close to 100 verbal Alexa commands from the portal.NOT A GOOD DAY. This has led me to the discovery that there is no decent way to export and reimport your “Alexa file”, putting at risk the key interface I now use with Isy. My ISY is the BACKBONE of my home automation, however Alexa has become the daily user interface for it. I have seriously not touched a light switch, fan switch, stereo switch, fireplace switch etc, in months. To not be able to back up this part of my automation system is a serious hole, that I just learned the hard way to deal with. I cant stress the importance that Alexa has become to my successful ISY interface and therefore why backup of this link is SO CRITICAL to have. Likewise, I also use a large amount of “Routines” in the Alexa app. When the Isy/Alexa interface went away, any Isy related calls from these routines also went away and had to be redone. This is yet another but different hole in my whole automation process that is Amazon based. **UDI, @Michel Kohanimcan you add to your improvement list, a way to export a users Alexa / google home / etc settings from the portal, in a way that they can be re-imported? You currently have a CSV export which I have done now to at least have a manual list to reference. For others who may find themselves in this land of purgatory of a lost Isy on the portal, this was the process I finally figured out to recover my Alexa commands. Starting from zero would have been weeks of “remembering” all the things I had done. Process for recovery: 1)open the Alexa web page interface on a browser and do a copy from Alexa web page and paste into a spreadsheet. Do this for both scenes and devices. This will give you the total list of “devices” and spoken commands that Alexa has, of which any Isy related ones wont work. 2) use this list to reenter them into portal. The list has Isy addresses so confirmation of the same scene / switch is easy. 3)once the new ones are in the portal, delete the old ones from Alexa’s web page via web browser BEFORE doing any discovery. This makes it easy as ALL the Isy related items need to be deleted 4) After all the old ones are deleted, then ask Alex to re-discover and all the “new” commands from the Portal will go back into the Alexa. 5) lastly, any routines in the Alexa app on your mobile device will need to be revisited. Ones that relied on an Isy variable need to be redefined, as wil any calling an old Isy device. The routines will all be there, but often with blank fields after the above delete. Current best back up process is to export the CSV file, but ALSO, do another copy paste from the Alexa web page for both devices and switch, as their format is a bit easier for reading and re-entering manual per above. Let me know anyone if you have a different / better experience or suggestions for future. Thanks,

last update: was able to go to the Alexa web page and copy and paste into a spreadsheet the list of Devices and Scenes. Reentering them in the portal became manageable with this list as it has the spoken name and the isy address of the scene or program. Variable a bit trickier but doable. had to go and repopulate any routines that called old scenes variable and devices. Process for recover: 1)copy from Alexa web page and paste into spreadsheet 2) reenter them into portal 3) delete the old ones from Alex via web browser 4)re-discover..