smorgasbord

Sorry guys, but I'm having newbie problems. I got the cable from Smartenit connect it to my EZICOMM (which has just been reset) and to my laptop and I see that it's using COM5. I then try Hyperterminal, configured thusly: But nothing works. When I type characters I get these weird symbol characters: What am I doing wrong? Should I use something other than HyperTerminal? I'm on Windows 10 but also have a Mac.

OK, just to update - I got my cable and now need to hook things up and run some software. I'm going out of town later tonight, so won't be able to pick this up again until Mon/Tues next week. Thanks for all you'alls help here.

Ugh, so I looked everywhere and I don't have the RJ-45 to RS-232 cable. Do I need to make one up from parts, or can I buy one somewhere?

OK, time to dredge through my boxes to see if I have a PLM cable....

I don't have a cable to connect my EZICOMM to a serial port. How to I buy/make one? I reset my EZICOMM by unplugging, waiting 10+ seconds, holding down the SET button while plugging it in and holding until it beeps. I tried both startup sequences in terms of applying power - no change in outcome. Even when I specify the type it changes almost right away to Unsupported. Thanks for all your help and suggestions, btw.

Still comes in as unsupported device. I do have a USB to serial, I have the SHN program and have used various terminal programs before. What I don't understand is how to wire from the RS-232 to the PLM thingy - it's got the RJ-45 port only. Do I need to build a wire to go from RS-232 (and which pins) to RJ-45, or something else?

OK, so I changed the ethernet cable (another very short one) and tried again, this time specifying the EXIO8SA type. Same results, unfortunately: EZIO8SAAdd.txt Something has changed since I was able to add the EZIO8SA some time ago. I have an ISY backup that has the EZIO8SA added properly, but it doesn't respond to my ON/OFF requests. If I remove it and try to re-add it, it adds as an "unknown" device. I'm OK trying to debug further, but I'll need to know what stuff to get and how to configure. Any help/pointers much appreciated!

I'm using the wall wart that came with the unit. I just measured it at 12.03 volts, so it's good. I did reconnect in the order you suggested, and still can't add it. Here's the log file: Log.txt At this point, do I assume the PLM is bad? Anyone want to sell me a working EZIO8?

OK, Did the Restore Device for the EZIO8SA. Didn't change anything. Is that done through the SHN utility? What do I need to be able to try that out? thanks!

Given the lack of support or replacement parts, are there other low voltage contact closure relays I could use with my ISY to interact with another system? I do have a few IOLincs, but getting more isn't cheap and that's only 1 relay and input per (now) expensive module. For instance there's the "Zooz Z-Wave Plus S2 MultiRelay ZEN16" unit. I don't have any Z-Wave in my ISY system today, what would it take to use that?

Also, the reply is often missing. Here's another sample, with the response being 0 (OFF) when the ON was sent. Then I did an OFF then another ON then another OFF, all without any response back from the unit.

I don't know how to restore the EZIO8SA and certainly don't have any configuration file saved. I do have the SHN utility, but I don't think I can use that with the PLM I have. My EZIO8SA does have the wall wart power supply and I'm using that.

So, is the thinking now that my PLM ("EZICOMM #5010k") has gone bad? What should I do to check it out? Buy a dual-band PLM on ebay?

I've never had a setup that worked. That's why I tried resetting the EZIO8SA. My post above shows the Event Viewer in Level 3 for hitting the "ON" button in the console. Here's the PLM-thingie: thanks!

In case it helps, here's the System Viewer after hitting the "ON" button in the console. Note the status is still "OFF."

Just to be clear, here's my (saved) ISY configuration with the EZIOSA8: And here's what I get when I delete and re-add the EZIO8SA: I can go back to the old configuration, no problem, but on the outputs, when I'm in the console and try ON or OFF, they don't change either on the screen or in actuality at the output terminals. Help, please!

I have that guide, which says that it responds to direct Insteon signals. So, how do I get ISY to recognize the EZIO8SA's Insteon's APIs? Apparently I was able to do it years ago since I did have the separate inputs and output in my ISY programming, but re-adding it (probably with new ISY firmware) didn't do the right thing.

I bought my EZIO8SA 9 years ago. Over the years I've tried to get it up and running and never did. Trying one more time. At first, the EZIO8SA was in the system and I could see in the inputs and outputs. But, when I went to turn an output ON or OFF, nothing actually changed. So I decided to reset the EZIO8SA by unplugging, waiting 10 seconds, holding the SET button and plugging in, holding the SET button until the buzzing stopped. Didn't help. Then I read another thread here where it was recommended after a reset to delete and re-add the device. After doing that, however, ISY is reporting it as "Unsupported Device 3.42" It doesn't matter if I let it determine the type or if I manually choose Compacta - EZIO8SA from the list. Ideas on what try next appreciated. Should I get off the ISY since it's outdated? I've been using it for years without any issues, just now trying to expand its use.

BTW, to help other C programmers coming to ISY, I think it would be worthwhile considering the "If-Then-Else" in programs as a "WhenIf-Then-Else." In other words, the program is automatically invoked when any of the "If" statements have changed status. That is, as long as the program is enabled. If you want to have an If-then-else section inside an existing program, then you should put that into a new program, disable that program, and call that program (Program Run (If)) when you want.

I know the rule is to not use surge suppression power strips, but how can one test to see if the power strip you're using is filtering or not? Many devices are dual-band so I don't know if they're using RF instead. It's really hard to find anything that doesn't say "surge protection" on them, even the $6 cheapies advertise it. Maybe the cheapies can't actually protect and so don't actually filter? Can anyone give me an Amazon link to something suitable? I've got about 4 IOLincs that I need to connect (if I have to use small extension cords on them due to outlet spacing, I will). Thanks! EDIT: I found this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B083K4CHPV Can anyone confirm Insteon suitability?

The system I'm using to close and open relays sensed by the IOLinc has 1/10 second (100msec) granularity. It did appear that 100msec was detected, but I didn't need it to be quite that quick so I set it at 200msec. Seems OK so far. EDIT: After a few days, I've found that I needed to increase the time the contact is closed and/or time spacing between the contacts. I'm now at 0.4 seconds close, then 0.4 open, then 0.4 close. I haven't experimented enough to see if I can have different timings for close and open and still detect the double-tap.

OK, so I caved and created the 4 programs as described, adding the dimmer set to low on FirstTap and dimmer set to high on SecondTap, and I also added a DoOff program. Works well! But, I'm still not understanding how the Wait and condition re-evaluation works. I also came across this old post doing something very similar without variables:

OK, I think I see what you mean by "separation of concerns." You're using the 4 programs to set a sTapState variable that is then used by other programs doing the actual On/Off. Separating those makes the logic easier - one set of programs for a variable and then just one program to turn the light on according to the variable. I think you're doing this because ISY doesn't operate like a typical "C" compiler. For instance, calling another program doesn't transfer flow to that program or wait until that program finishes before doing on to the next line after calling the program. I think I got that, but.... I'm also struggling with the "Wait" functionality. The Wiki says (edited for clarity): I assumed that the reevaluation driven by a Wait statement occured after the wait. But, that doesn't appear to be true. This program doesn't work: KitCab FirstTap If Control 'Kitchen Cabinet Pucks / IOL1 Sense from LT KitCabPuck' is switched On And $sTapState is 0 Then $sTapState = 1 Set 'Kitchen Cabinet Pucks / Kitchen Cabinet Pucks Dimmer' 35% Wait 2 seconds $sTapState = 0 Else - No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action') What seems to be happening is that the program terminates at the Wait (or I guess the Else clause is getting executed). So, @jfai's separate routines for seeing the state variable work because the state variable isn't changed until after the Wait. Not sure I'm getting this....

Two of the four programs are based on the iolink.sensor control (sensor status being changed). Since I assume the ISY is single processor/single threaded, only one of those programs can be running at any one time. So, either "First Tap" or "Second Tap" gets run, and then the other program is run. Since the program has a conditional, I imagine they run pretty quickly, though. Can you explain this more? Is it a debugging thing or something else? It seems pretty straightforward to have a program that gets called when the iolinc sensor changes state ("control") and then that program done one thing for first tap and another thing for second tap. I've seen that the kind of programming I'm used to is different than what ISY supports, so perhaps there are considerations of which I'm not aware. thanks again.

@jfai, thanks so much! That's 4 programs, two of which start with the same iolinc.sensor event, which means at best they run sequentially. What about this dual-program: KitCab GetTap If Control 'Kitchen Cabinet Pucks / IOL1 Sense from LT KitCabPuck' is switched On Then Run Program 'KitCab DoTap' (If) Else KitCab DoTap If $sTapState is 0 Then $sTapState = 1 Set 'Kitchen Cabinet Pucks / Kitchen Cabinet Pucks Dimmer' 40% Wait 2 seconds $sTapState = 0 Else Set 'Kitchen Cabinet Pucks / Kitchen Cabinet Pucks Dimmer' 85% $sTapState = 0 I'm assuming that KitCab DoTap can be reentrant. Thoughts?