larryllix

Welcome to the UDI forums!! I do not own any contact sensor Tag, but I have seven of other types. All my Tags have an enable/disable for almost every parameter for each Tag. You only need to click on the parameter in the CAO webpage app and select an option. IIRC the Tag NS has an option to change options also, selected by pulling down the correct menu in the program line design section in the admin console. This may be shown and selectable in the device page in the admin console.

Smarthome must have bought thousands of poor quality caps and now have realised it, starting to admit it, and trying to backpaddle furiously. Hopefully it won't put them in the ground.

Renaming can only be done via the Admin Console and that only functions with java. That means PC or Apple, no cells. The scenes to create 3-ways are added later by drag and drop, in the Admin Console, with the final named devices.

Put a piece of tape on each switch plate with the Insteon address written on each. as you link them into ISY, rename them clearly and rip the tape off.

Welcome to the UDI forums! What does "controller crashed" mean? Was it an Insteon Hub? How old is the unit? I wonder if the Hubs have power supply capacitor problems also?

@Michel Kohanim With the advent of HTML/CSS/java/PHP coming I can see more knowledgeable users constantly examining the code dropped into their browser, modifying it, adding more features, and submitting them for addition into the finished product. Many versions of admin console may be on the horizon. Is there a plan to accommodate the influx of suggestions and sort them into approval ratings. I see PolISY exploding exponentially with cool new features as there are so many people that can write webpage code to twist ISY's looks into anything our little hearts desire. We have some very talented and creative people here. ISY lives and is hiding inside Polisy!!

No. If I am reading this correctly, early users will not have a cute browser webpage to set up the Polisy box. They will need to use SSH (a remote terminal program) to connect into the Linux o/s box and edit files the hard way. Of course this can be done by most people with enough prompting and training but it will be a temporary situation nd not worth the effort for the more knowledgeable ones to train everybody, when an easy solution will be soon on the horizon Anybody getting confused and left behind will just wait for the newer tools to come..

I would be sure that the planar position of the Tag would be important for RF radiation patterns. Perhaps a few turns of wire around the Tag with the loose end acting as an antenna extension? Steel or aluminum construction may make a difference also. They would both "Faraday cage" the electro part, but steel would also "Faraday cage" the magnetic potion of the electromagnetic radiation. Neighbours will think Christmas packages are coming and you want to make sure the parcel will fit. My latest Tag purchase of Tags with Lux detect motion by changes in lighting.....weird but it works. Maybe a plastic back panel on the mailbox with a Lux unit facing forward? As long as your mail comes in the daylight.

Finally found a frequency range for these Tags on the FCC website. 431.04-439.36 MHz which puts the wavelength at about 27" +/- 0.5" Sound like a metal mailbox length for standing wave problems? I have a plastic mailbox but I am guessing this may be a clue. EDIT: Most of the rural style mailboxes I have found on homedepot.ca are 20-22 inches in length. Shouldn't be a factor.

Metal cans can be a problem for RF in so many ways. The shape could be a bad ratio of length to width even, causing standing waves to go nuts. Even just the length could tune or detune the wavelength. Try padding one end with steel wool. LOL

Thanks SG! Have you read my post above? Can you try the calibration I showed the screen shot for above? It is found on the Tag webpage for your tags. I would be really interested to see if this improves your reception. I know you had a lot of problems when you first tried one in your mailbox and don't know how you resolved it, even to 80%. I have never had to calibrate my frequency offsets for my tags, but apparently it can become critical if a narrow bandwidth is selected as the frequency may wander around a bit, based on temperature. IIRC the narrower the frequency the further range you will get but the freq. can become flakey and need seasonal calibration. Long time! Here is a screenshot for setting the bandwidth first for a longer range.

Sorry. SmokeGrub was the other I was thinking. We have our answer above.

I had trouble with getting a position from the earth's magnetic poles when screwed to a flat metal garage door. 45 degree twist in position fixed it, and it never fails now. I have it sticking above the top of the garage door so there is no metal against the back of the Tag. At the opposite end of my house, in the garage, I have a freezer and the Tag works fine inside the freezer. OTOH, @asbril (I think) @smokegrubhad a lot of problems getting his to work inside his mailbox at the end of his lane. IIRC eventually he got it working. I am not sure what the solution was.

Have you done the frequency calibration of your tag? Many people report these working fine inside freezers and fridges. I didn't think it should work either and I don't see how the signal gets through a thin and compressed magnetic gasket slot, but it does somehow.

Yes. I think these boxes try to translate each word separately and then make the best sense out of the words they can. When you use phrases like Turn on XXX YYY as well as just Turn On XXX, the interpreter is never sure whether it just didn't hear the YYY, or not (mixed in with ambient noises) so they do their best, amounting to guessing. This is compared against previous commands remembered, which adds to the confusion because some have, and some don't have, the YYY word.

You have the same Bedroom Fan words in all commands. Try using Bedroom Fan high/medium/Low/off so they are all the same word count and consistent adverb usage.

My routers would act up at 44c measured by a CAO Tag placed on top of the plastic router case, both my Netgear and Asus units.. Opening the door to the cabinet and waving the router around somewhat or blowing into the case would make the problems disappear, every time. Both my AC1900 routers are mounted vertically now, and the antenna output powers turned back. WiFi range increased dramatically after lowering the power output. Before lowering the transmit levels, my wife's iPad (very poor WiFi) would work no further than 15 feet from the router on 5Ghz. After the adjustment down, it was good almost anywhere in the house on 5GHz.

Obviously this limit needs a user notification. How many threads gave we seen with the same problem and we just guess? Sent using Tapatalk

Alexa can respond with a whispering voice to a whispered request now, why not accents and other languages, like they do now? I am starting to see how these units can match the cognitive skills of a human soon. Sent using Tapatalk

@asbril might be interested in that one!

Watch your plurals also. Alexa is very sensitive to 'lights' vs 'light' lately.

I agree. Both systems have good and bad but to compare two cars, one that has already arrived, with one that is just starting, is a silly argument to point out that one hasn't moved, and imply there is something wrong with it.

If you focused your anger issues on Zwave you would be able to find many more problems. 5 years ago Zwave devices were not even compatible between brands and had to be polled. A very lousy HA system. I don't have any Zwave. I am waiting until they mature as a protocol, and make nice looking wall switches that fit into existing boxes, and work more than 30 feet away. Zwave hasn't progressed in 10 years.

Zwave is only coming up to Insteon standards where devices work with each other. Yes they have progressed more in the last 3-5 years because they had so far to go. We will just have to wait to see what each comes up with. I don't see that many new toys I need yet and the ones I want are not either protocols because Insteon filled all my basic HA needs. I am not big on remote control, other than vocal. That isn't HA.

I would likely, at this point, restore your original DHCP for your ISP. I don't think that resolved it. However I would look for a new power supply for your ISY, in your spare parts box, and try that. Is your ISY in a restricted air space, making it overheat? I have had two routers go berserk on me in the summer heat, even in an A/C house.