larryllix

One of my son's has a larger home with about 40 smart devices installed so far . He has purchased an Insteon Hub to control the Insteon switches and devices I gave him years ago. The rest are all WiFi, mostly wall switches. Despite being a 5 year university computer scientist, and travelling the world, selling his software package in a multi-billion dollar company, he refuses to accept an ISY994 from me. He does NOT want to do any code writing. He wants to plug things in and have them work with the least effort. He does use timers and schedules on Alexa, and that is the extent of it. He uses remote and vocal commands to controls lights, his pool, massive Sonos system, and a few other gadgets. He is not a HA guy and never wants to be, even though he gives me python3 and PHP advice. My WiFi bulbs have no buttons and require no approval to connect to. They are not accessible outside my LAN address so my neighbour cannot access them without that password. LAN apps can access them automatically, knowing nothing about them, except the protocol but like you posted, who would bother to attempt to hack them?

I see a lot of flaws in that due to two different types of users. I was referring to the remote control crowd. You can't compare the HA enthusiast with the "remote control crowd" although the lines are being blurred in order to sell product. The "remote control crowd" does not want a hub, they just want an app and a device and no setup. This is what made Nest and a dozen other brands of thermostats, and so many other products popular with the non-technical crowd. The "remote control crowd" does not want to push a button or link anything. That is too complicated and they may have to hire somebody to do it. WiFi Smart bulbs do not have any buttons to push. The five or six different branded apps just find the bulbs automatically, and offer total control. If this lay mentality had to dig into their router and find an IP address they would return the bulbs and find another brand. Plug and Pray made Windows more popular as they promoted and supported the trend. Sign of the times for the lay crowd. I love the freedom of control I have with ISY and think Insteon protocol is still the best of any system, but still have WiFi bulbs that Insteon will not allow on the market with their passive aggressive control. I have 148 devices showing on my DHCP router table. I can, and have, animated my bulbs and the WiFi traffic is insignificant now that my WiFi does almost a 1 Gbps. I am a HA type but WiFi is a means to an end that Insteon hasn't bothered to fill. I already have more than a dozen MiLight bulbs and Hue bulbs that became garbage without hubs.

Totally agree. Ethernet protocol also gives the remote control fan crowd cloud access, that they are so convinced is the best thing since sliced bread. Https is a crock security and only takes the next level of hacker to intercept it for full access. "You're such a septic!" Um...I think you mean "sceptic'" "Oh, OK....! Tanks!"

Yes, you have to create the scene in v4. Either we need a comparison chart for the two versions or V4 needs to be outlawed and stop all this confusion.

He thought a WhitePaper was documentation and tried to ridicule SmartHome with his lack of understanding.

Hacker group. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DEF_CON with Peter Shipley

Well DEF CON tried to show how Insteon is so insecure, and yet failed miserably on camera, attempting to show how easy it was.

IN Canada, HD and now Bestbuy stopped selling Insteon. Now Radio Shack (now The Source) dumped Insteon also. Bestbuy online has a third party selling some units but at $233 for a LampLinc, they won't be selling many. https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/insteon-2457d2-lamplinc-insteon-plug-in-lamp-dimmer-module-dual-band-2-pin/13360432 aartech.ca is about the only seller left to sell Insteon. We can blame the remote control freaks somewhat, as the WiFi devices take over, not requiring a hub.

Insteon shows all the signs of a company that will suddenly disappear, and then everybody will be saying "The handwriting was on the wall" and "What did we expect? You could see it coming a kilometre away". However, I hope this isn't true, and my HA system will definitely continue to exist and function, if they do fold up. Perhaps the technology patent will be opened up, multiple sourced, and Insteon will become the new protocol used everywhere, without the restrictive SmartHome patent mentality.

Not in V5 for sure. Possibly in v4, the old firmware.

Are you not using ISY to filter your notifications? I know this may not be exactly how you envisioned it but I try to let ISY control all logic as it is very easy to modify when I change my mind each week. This may be better posted in the Tag NS / Polyglot thread or flag @Jimbo, being much more knowledgeable on this subject and the polisher of the NS.

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.