larryllix

The serial port usage is one of the main items that concerns me. I would have to buy a 2413S with serial port to support the ISY. If I have problems with communications it is already pretty difficult to take the 2413S and hook it too a PC to test it isolated from the ISY. This will become more difficult as time goes by. We went through this problem at work with IED (intelligent End Devices). Laptops used to calibrate and interrogate them needed a cable dongle to be used and become even less supported as times goes on with an expected 30 year life expectancy device. I think you know what I was thinking with the RaspberryPi. It would be a natural. I don't like dependence on hardware that is already obsolete or unique in industry. Otherwise I would own some Apple products.

I see you have RaspberryPi. Is there any support for that with Insteon? The ISY purchase has me concerned with obsolescence. The use of disappearing hardware makes future support and component troubleshooting harder.

I have no experience with Insteon as yet but perhaps a signal bridge technique would work. If signal bridges via powerline or RF technique work between phases why not between similar phases on different systems? The powerline signal bridge should just be a capacitor circuit that passes high or a particular frequency band from line to line. The Rf method using repeating devices (dual band) wouldn't care about phase relationship between the load and line side of a UPS/inverter. Another thought in logic is knowing your power is dead and cannot report to you via email or SMS. The house needs attention anyway if it persists too long. How to get notified without power is another thing. Too bad the PLM couldn't be backed up with a DC battery system. It would take some hardware hacking to diode-in a backup DC supply and not interfere with the AC connection. It would be easy to do with the ISY since it has an external walwart anyway. Just thinking out loud but the PLM DC input hack would probably be cheapest and easiest and run the whole thing (ISY,PLM,router,modem) off the UPS system. Of course the PLM would have to be plugged into the main house grid and rely on phase coupling or RF to get the wet alarm. Anybody know what internal voltage the PLM runs on?

I own a few dozen X10 modules that will eventually be phased out mostly. I see a chart on the ISY page that gives differences between these two models s 300 vs. 1000 devices, and 300 vs.1000 programmes. I feel 300 devices would probably not be a problem for a home user, like me. Is there a significance to the 300 programme limit? Is there other significant differences? Hardware? Upgradebility? CPU speed? What about the X10 module? Is this included or required in either model? What is it needed for? Is there somewhere that explains this? Thanks in advance.