larryllix

There is a bit of a defacto standard attempting to evolve for 1wire over Cat5/6 cable and using the same as Ethernet RJ-31? 8 pin connectors but it can get expensive and inconvenient for certain wiring configurations. sheepwalk electronics tends to support this 1wire connector system with daisy-chainable connectors on each board to use store bought cables, if desired. The connections diagrams I found online never agreed with the sheepwalk electronics connections or each other for that matter.

Each 1wire probe/IC takes a custom designed interface to use that probe. There are no generic drivers to accommodate a line of them. The DS2438 battery management chip is used because it has a temperature sensor built in and an A/D converter that allows the use of an analogue humidity sensor's output. The DS2438 also talks 1wire to controllers. The DS2438 battery management chip is used in the SWE3 combo sensor board and offers temperature and humidity in one connection. Apparently the DS2438 chip uses a quite different interface style from the common DS1820 temperature probes people are using mostly so gives firmware writers a problem. CAI with their WebControl 8 board attempted to create a driver for the DS2438 chip but had many problems with it. They since discontinued support for the DS2438 chip on their 1wire port. Autelis (that Teken has) never supported the DS2438 chip AFAIK. RPi uses an adapter and can support the DS2438 chip. I have tried it and it works. WebControl 8 and Autelis both use a bit-banger interface (mostly software) and multitasking, timing critical, interfaces can be a problem depending on hardware timers etc. available to support the software interface. Rpi is mostly done in hardware and tends to be more reliable and more costly with interface cards and custom enclosures required. I explained the reboot problem previously and let me add that I was monitoring the WebControl stuffing date and time into my ISY every 8 and 10 seconds and not allowing any misses. Once I dropped the 1wire humidity sensor, CAI loosened their watchdog timing, and I loosened my watching noose, the problem basically went away. Many others never had a problem, not watching so closely, and not trying to add weird sensors using long cables. CAI WebControl board has a discreet set of 3 terminals to direct connect a humidity sensor. As I stated before I would not want to increase leads by more than about 5-6 feet due to noise pickup on sensitive lines. Untested. Shielding and other techniques would be in order for longer lengths. CAI has available a WebControl 32 board that implements 1wire in hardware also. No experience but they both use an easy to write PLC language with limited memory space but usually workable for any controller application. The Autelis may be a good compromise if not too many customisations are required at that end of your system. Teken would have to tell you about any logic that Autelis can do. If you are an adept programmer with Linux and Python experience, the RPi offers all the options for multiple applications but the learning curve is very steep and help can be very hard to find that applies to your 1 of 10,000 different distros, hardware, python versions and other options. I found most information didn't apply. All options are going to run you $120-200 or more to get up and running. RPi will require a spare keyboard and newer monitor with HDMI inputs to get going. You have to pick the complexity of setup vs flexibility as a tradeoff.

Thanks Teken. Yeah I confused the DS1820 with the DS2438 part numbers. Apologies for the confusion.

Need to look harder. Darn! I used the wrong prefixes....fixed They are very popular, everywhere and frequently sold in groups of 5, 10 or 100 pieces. http://www.ebay.ca/itm/1pcs-DS18B20-Waterproof-Sensor-Digital-thermometer-Thermal-Probe-ds18b20-sensor-/131559792384?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1ea1931f00 The Webcontrol rebooting was resolved by not attempting to support the DS2438 humidity sensor and finally increasing the watchdog time. It seems the board's limited memory space being shared was causing too much delay between 1wire and Ethernet comms and the board watchdog would assume a crash and reboot. This humidity sensor was never supported by Webcontrol or Autelis (never implemented it). The interface is very difficult to interface on the same 1 wire port with the other more common probes. IIRC, it used a faster bit rate and has many more registers internally. RPi does it, though. Humidity IC can be direct connected to the board and not via 1Wire. I wouldn't want to extend leads more than about 6-10 feet from the board. My temperature probes on 1 wire would be fine for less than 15-20'. The interface is very raw, right into the CPU pins, without filtering etc. Others use long cables with the 1wire successfully. I had my 1wire humidity sensor confusing the issue and haven't got back to lengthening my just temp probe cables yet. After reading more on 1wire slew rates, and scoping the lines, I figure I can make this reliable with a few simple parts and I was doing it wrong. The WebControl switches the line too fast, and causes echoes, while the well designed probes seem to have a slower slew rate and do not cause overshoot in signals.

Interesting unit! It seems there has been many different versions and they have changed their battery requirements a few times now. The Aeotec site shows the latest version taking two CR123A batteries. These are a 2/3 AA size 3v lithium battery. My old camera used those and something to beware of. They did cost over $15 a piece, years ago, making a battery change about $30 per year or sooner. I also found some bitching about the batteries dying while trying to setup the unit. I couldn't determine if batteries came with the units or not. YMMV.

I use the WebControl board as a cheap option. I would use it again for certain situations as I am familiar with it and it is easy to interface to the ISY. I use it to stuff in/out high/low for the day temps, humidity, wind speed and wind gust speeds into ISY variables. - I had no success with the 1-wire combo humidty/temperature sensor (24B38? Autelis doesn't support either, RPi does) for sheepwalk electronics. Support drivers have since been discontinued in newer versions of firmware. - it has a direct humidity sensor input that appears to work well directly connected. - it supports 8 x 1wire DS1820, DS18B20 etc.. temperature sensors on one 1Wire input very well, analogue &TTL inputs and TTL outputs - runs on 6-12vdc PS - it has hardware counter input good to 2 MHz. - it can do direct email on command and stuff 8 different variables/programs/device controls directly into ISY via Ethernet - supposed to control X10 devices but why would I want that with an ISY? - newer modules have been heat tested to 70-80 degrees C after some complaints about heat in boxes out in the sun. -watchdog built in will reboot if failure detected. - UTC based real-time clock with access, for time slice program execution or integration of event counts over time. Note: These DS18B20 sensors you can buy on eBay for $1.99 are 0.1 degree resolution and 0.5 degree rated accuracy. With a more accurate standard I am sure you could calibrate them individually by tweaking the curve in software. I believe these sensors are stable to maintain consistency. after a burn-in period. EDIT: corrected IC names.

After wire clipping the component pulls back before the solder process. I can see the hole in the pad very clearly in the picture. Next time I will have to come out there and help you inspect the soldering. Will I need a parachute?

Ok. Your OP stated "cold solder joint". Just a slip of the pen finger mind meaning typo attachment keyboard then! Oh. Now I see the finger you should have used!

When the sloppy line worker didn't clean the ends of the wires stubs the wave-solder machine didn't cause the solder to stick to the ends of the wires. I didn't see any cold solder joints, just an improperly prepared wire end that the wave of solder didn't stick to. It was shiny. You come along with your higher temperature soldering iron and burn the low temperature polyurethane/Polysol coating off the magnet wire and make the solder stick.

Further to his comments above, I believe LeeG uses X10 devices as Virtual Devices (VD?) he can easily see in logs and event lists to prove his testing results.

Right click on your program and select "copy to clipboard". Then paste it in here and people can help you properly with your application. Others here have experience with this EZIO40 unit and I know they have some quirks that need to be understood.

Awesome! Image the poor SOB getting four defective units from SH! Now I wonder if they were purchased - sequentially, - all together, or - each unit was sent out as a warranty replacement for the previous. Either way SH needs a kick in the Marrettes wirenuts.

I use two programs to do this based on how many MS units have reported it being dark. Note I use a lot of time delays between brightness changes as these types of operations tie my ISY communications up and prevent other operations for a long time. These two programs could be combined into one using Then and Else and run from one time frame condition such as If From sunrise + 10 minutes To sunset - 10 minutes Then ... Set SwitchLinc LEDs Bright - [ID 0027][Parent 0036] If $sHouse.Dark.Count < $cHOUSE.DARK_THESHOLD Then Wait 5 seconds Set 'Gathering Room / PotLight over Table' 20% (Backlight Level) Wait 5 seconds Set 'Gathering Room / PotLights over Chairs' 20% (Backlight Level) Wait 5 seconds Set 'Dining Room / Dining Table' 23% (Backlight Level) Wait 5 seconds Set 'Gathering Room / PotLight over Desk' 15% (Backlight Level) Wait 5 seconds Set 'Foyer / Front Porch Lights' 15% (Backlight Level) Wait 5 seconds Set 'PotLights over TV' 15% (Backlight Level) Wait 5 seconds Set 'Mudroom / MudRm Potlights' On 12 / Off 2 (Backlight Level) Run Program 'Set SwitchLinc LEDs Dim' (Else Path) Else - No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action') Set SwitchLinc LEDs Dim - [ID 0007][Parent 0036] If $sHouse.Dark.Count > $cHOUSE.DARK_THESHOLD Then Wait 5 seconds Set 'Gathering Room / PotLight over Table' 5% (Backlight Level) Wait 5 seconds Set 'Gathering Room / PotLights over Chairs' 7% (Backlight Level) Wait 5 seconds Set 'Dining Room / Dining Table' 8% (Backlight Level) Wait 5 seconds Set 'Gathering Room / PotLight over Desk' 5% (Backlight Level) Wait 5 seconds Set 'Foyer / Front Porch Lights' 5% (Backlight Level) Wait 5 seconds Set 'PotLights over TV' 5% (Backlight Level) Wait 5 seconds Set 'Mudroom / MudRm Potlights' On 7 / Off 2 (Backlight Level) Run Program 'Set SwitchLinc LEDs Bright' (Else Path) Else - No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action')

All devices must be installed in the ISY first. This is done on the Admin Console. There is a convenience icon on the tool bar. After that, using another icon on the toolbar un the devices tab you can create a scene, name it, then drag devices and drop them into the scene answering questions that pop up. This connects the devices in the scene by installing link codes in each and every one of them involved and now do not require ISY to communicate for that scene attributes. Battery devices MUST be in linking mode or this will not talk to them and you will see lot of red icons on your Admin Console. Scenes can be treated just like a single device. You can modify scenes easily from your ISY and set ramp rates, dim levels etc. like radio station preset buttons. Just turn the scene on or any controller can do it. Insteon devices can hold about 256 scenes each. ISY simplifies this complicated process without it.

If a conversion app was written on a PC where the backup file was unzipped, massaged, rezipped, and then restored into the new firmware anything could be done during the conversion process. Individual trigger boxes may confuse the looks of the program trigger enable box. I could live with either. May be harder for programing the device/variable trigger engine list though, either way. Now you may have triggerable items and yet they don't need to trigger anything. eg. a State variable that is used in a program condition has a program If on it's checklist but doesn't trigger that program.

Now you need an MS or another unit so you can tell which way the traffic flowed and cancel that 15 minute lights on when letting the dog back in. Every battery operated device should have a heartbeat.

Does anyone have any experience with mounting a rifle on a IP cam mount with full axis control? I am using a mirror so I can look down the sites via the camera and I have a workable solenoid connected to an IOLinc but the view from MobiLinc always moves in reverse to what is intuitive and it takes a long time to change the aim in the direction I want it to go. We don't need no stinkin' alarms! Intruders see the gun move and they all run back out the door. Imagine that? It may take a lot of duct tape but who says Insteon isn't for security?

I like the addition of another section. The existing "If" section would be named "Trigger" to stay backward compatible with existing programs. The new section would be labelled "If" or "When" or "Condition" to take the place of the second, disabled programs, usually required, or folders performing the same thing but more obscure, and usually with time frames and device statuses in it. Same as apostolakisl above but different format and may force stricter code format. Will be interesting to see what v5.x brings.

The door sensor at the top of the stairs is always going to be problematic in this scenario. The door could be left open. If the door is left open, any timer, to turn the lights off, will eventually turn the lights off. Now the person at the top of the stairs will not be able to turn the light on again without shutting the door and reopening it to trigger a light cycle again. Not intuitive. The MS needs to see the person at the top and the bottom of the staircase. The door sensor seems useless for this logic. or a door closer but they are not recommended at the top of stairs for pushing kids down the staircase.

Time frame conditions are usually a little tricky in ISY logic at first. Time nodes will trigger re-evaluation of the complete logic statement and run the appropriate Then or Else section. To use a time frame as a condition and not trigger a program section it must be placed in a program that is Disabled (=no event trigger). Since your button presses demand triggers of a program, that program must be Enabled (=event triggered). This requires two programs to accomplish both conditions, enabled and disabled. Program 1 -------------- If control of button is switched On Or control of button is switched Off Then Run (If) program 2 Else -- Program 2 = disabled . We don't want sunrise to trigger else on it's own ------------- If time from sunset - sunrise (next morning) Then turn lights On Else turn lights Off

X10 becomes way too slow for a stairwell just for the reason you stated. The PLM seems to have problem coordinating Insteon and X10 signals so they don't interfere with each other. I have Insteon MS and SwitchLincs connected together by an ISY setup scene and no delay can be detected, I have only two X10 MS units left out of about 11 units. I am so glad to see them go after witnessing Insteon.

While not being that familiar with the Network resources AFAIK they cannot run lines of code but you are suggesting there may be an equivalent GET command that generates the same network string. Sounds very promising. Do you understand the protocol structure generated from the wget command syntax?

Thanks. Isn't wget a linux shell command? I doubt ISY is going to run it. ISY resources don't run code.

Are you indicating that ISY knows the URL supplied by your DDNS service? I don't know how that could even be possible. Port 80 is not a secure protocol and uses http: Ports 443 is a more secure protocol and uses https

Yeah, so does NetGear routers (now through No-IP), except that after a few months they decide you should pay for the free DDNS service and then the games begin. Maybe I need to harp on Netgear to honour their advertising??