JTsao

Thanks for the suggestions - I am going to start to investigate this as well as moving all of my node servers to PG3

OK this happened again - all email to text messages sent after 6:30PM or so did not show up until the next morning and they are out of sequence - hoping this problem fixes itself because there's really nothing I can do...

The reason that I use the Virtual node server is related to getting Harmony remote controls to trigger a program on the IoP - the ISY994 had IR input capability which doesn't exist on the IoP - the Harmony Companion remote has dedicated remote buttons for home automation that are somewhat limited in what they can control - I have to use the Hue Emulator node server on the Polisy to get the remote to turn lights on and off - but the Hue Emulator node server only really supports turning scenes on and off - this does not trigger programs, but if you put a Virtual button into the scene, then you can trigger a program from your Harmony remote - kind of a hassle to do something that was easy on the ISY - I really believe that UDI should add native IR support to the IoP via a USB IR receiver, but that is the subject of another discussion...

Is there a non-destructive way to move this from PG2 to PG3? If I delete and add to the same slot and create the same switches with the same numbers, will the IoP programs still require updating?

It's in the title - for some reason, my IoP programs that send me a text have not been doing so over the past couple of hours - I ran some programs manually and did not get any messages through - I am using the default server and emailing to #@vtext.com to convert messages to a text EDIT: This morning, messages from last night seem to be arriving, (although some are out of order) - about 12 hours late - not sure what happened, but only my phone (Verizon) was effected, my family (T-Mobile) was not

Good tip, setting parameter 1 to value=2 (1 Byte) turns off the LED

I like them - ended up buying several and am using them mainly for controlling some lamps, plug in lights and fans - some are part of lighting scenes and work fine with Insteon equipment except for a small delay turning on/off - I like the fact that they are small and only cover 1 of 2 outlets - range is not an issue - I have them working in a few locations around the house - the only bad thing is they emit a blue light which is noticeable if it happens to be on in your bedroom at night

Wow I just learned about the Bond Bridge - the thing I like about it is that it allows to use the native RF controllers that came with my ceiling fans (Casablanca and Minka Aire models) - that would allow for accurate control of 3 speeds. I was running Fanlincs and the speeds were always off. Over the years, the Fanlincs failed (5 of 6) and I ended up replacing them with an Insteon On/Off switch paired with a capacitor which left me with a single speed fan. (I have two switches wired in each room per fan, one for the light, one for the fan). I just installed an Enbrighten Z-Wave Fan Control in 1 location for $40 - but I could have purchased the Bond Bridge instead for $100 for 6 fans and started using all of the RF controls that I already have sitting in a box. Darn it. is it necessary to buy the Bond Bridge Pro? Or does the regular Bond Bridge suffice to control multiple RF ceiling fans?

I use the Hue emulator V2 with Harmony hub remotes - you are limited to the dedicated home control buttons and can really only turn scenes on/off or adjust. With the Virtual node server, or by using a device, this can be used to trigger a program. I also use the Harmony Hub V2 Node server, but it is also limited - the main benefit I see is to run a program when an activity is started. As far as I can tell, the iTach only goes from IP to IR, not the other way around, which is what would be required for the discussion at hand here. I see that LIRC is a Linux software package that can send IR and possibly receive - it looks like there are instructions for building your own IR to UART receiver - this would require tying up the Polisy Serial Port and require building your own hardware - this requires further study but I'm not seeing an upside yet. BTW there is one other device that can be purchased, that I am aware of, to receive (and send) IR signals and send them to a computer via USB and it is called the USB-UIRT - I used to use this with DVR software known as SageTV to control set top boxes for video capture. The thing I am trying to accomplish by suggesting use of the Flirc is to replace the IR capability that was in the ISY994, which I found to be very useful - because I could use any programmable IR Remote, any button, and have the ISY994 run a program. I can't seem to easily do that anymore and I don't like the idea of buying a super expensive remote to control the ISY via IP. The Flirc is a nice, low cost, very small dongle, kind of like one of those very small USB drives that barely sticks out of the USB port - in my mind it would be a very convenient way to get IR into the Polisy/IoP but I don't know what is required to connect the key codes to running ISY programs.

I don't know how to write a node server, and there's not any IR sensors that I am aware of, from a reputable vendor, or anyone else for that matter, that would even qualify to make a node server. It would require an IR to IP conversion product of some kind. The Flirc has been around for a long time and is well supported. I was hoping UDI might be interested in adding native keyboard support to IoP for this (and possibly other) purposes. As the Polisy is a headless device, would it be possible to use the previously unused keyboard as an input device to run programs? From the outside, it seems like this would not be too difficult - get a character from the console and put it into a queue for the IoP to process and programs could be written like "if keyboard F1 is pressed then.... set scene 'Lights' On" - any thoughts?

It's in the title - the Flirc is a low cost USB device that can appear as a keyboard to the Polisy - it accepts learned IR commands and can translate them into key presses - any chance this could be used with the IoP to support IR? (in fact IoP would only have to support initiating actions from keyboard input - the Flirc would do the IR part)

I agree about preferring a hard button remote vs. the iPhone and would love to have a replacement for the ISY994 IR input. What happens when a USB keyboard is plugged into the Polisy? There is a USB device known as a Flirc, that converts learned IR commands into keystrokes. It has low cost and I can't imagine it being a stretch to get a Linux based microcomputer (the Polisy) to process keyboard entered commands. Any thoughts?

There is no IR on the ISY-Polisy (IoP). I was using IR on the ISY994 but now on IoP I am using only the dedicated home control buttons on Logitech Harmony companion remotes to control lighting and fans via the Hue Emulator Node server and the Virtual Node server. In my case, pressing a home control button turns on a virtual switch, which can cause a program to run. The switch has to be in a scene that is associated with the Hue Emulator (Notes->Spoken="1"). I am also using the UD Mobile app more in my house for controlling things.

I can't speak for everyone but having moved to ISY on Polisy (IoP), z-wave is significantly improved (over ISY994) and is now a good option. I now have about 20 z-wave devices, along with my 50+ Insteon devices. In the grand scheme of things a decora switch looks similar enough if it's Insteon or Enbrighten (z-wave) - I have both. Will probably use the same types of switches in a room, but room to room, doesn't really matter...

I would agree that the USB stick is not as good as a PLM, but I have been staying with it since my switch to IoP and overall it seems OK - one thing that happened to me, that may or may not apply to others switching to IoP and trying the stick is that it seemed like the device links were not all what they should have been for a lot of Insteon devices after the IoP change and the restore PLM operation - After checking a lot of device links vs the ISY links and doing a lot of "restore device" operations, things improved (a time consuming task)

Running IoP now with improved z-wave, I have been buying some z-wave on/off modules (Minoston) to replace the Insteon 2635-222's because I had 3 of these things break - as documented in these forums, the plastic is weak/cheap and breaks off the unit under normal operation - I have 5 others that aren't broken and was taking pictures to sell all on eBay, but I just noticed the only broken ones were REV 1.1S - I have two other versions, REV 1.5 and REV 1.1 and these are NOT broken and the plastic feels a bit stronger - has anyone else noticed this? Is REV 1.1S the only bad batch of these? Do the other REV's break?

I came across this (but it's out of stock) https://inovelli.com/red-series-fan-light-switch-z-wave/ Also, GE makes a decora switch fan control (GE Enbrighten) FWIW - I had several Insteon fanlincs paired with Casablanca fans - these fans came with their own remote control - as the fanlincs failed I used an insteon on/off switch to turn the fan on and installed a ceiling fan capacitor inline to set the fan to a good speed for all conditions I should point out that my house has two switches in each room, one for lights and one for the ceiling fan - this may not be the case for everyone - In the instance of my outdoor fan + fanlinc failing, I had to install the remote RF unit that came with the fan as I only had one wire going to that one

Updated and everything seems OK. Question - how do we know if the Polisy requires a re-boot after updating? I have been rebooting after updating in the past, but now with IoP running, I don't really want to reboot unless it is needed. Is it better to update via SSH + "sudo pkg update sudo pkg upgrade" vs. the web page? (because there is more feedback via the SSH terminal about the update vs. just a couple of beeps). If you type "pkg info | grep -i ISY" before and after the update and see that the ISY, PG3, Polyglot2 and udx versions have not changed, does that imply that each of those things does not have to be restarted?

I have been checking almost daily for Polisy updates via the System->Check for Polisy Updates menu and have been appyling the updates as they come out. There's been a lot of updates recently, but I don't think any of them have caused any problems for me yet. I just checked and now it says 100 packages available for update. Is anyone else seeing this many? I have never seen anything close to that amount and am concerned that something might break. Has anyone actually applied these updates?

In my opinion, Insteon is still the best option for in wall switches - I plan to continue using mine for a long time. Also, with ISY on Polisy, you can upgrade to a much better Z-wave controller (Zooz USB stick) - with this controller Z-wave works much better - I am in the process of adding some additional Z-wave equipment including a motion sensor, in-wall outlet and plug in smart outlet - some of this type of Z-wave equipment may be a better option going forward than the Insteon counterparts - for example the Insteon on-off module plastic always breaks and I think the battery life on a 700 series Z-wave motion detector will be longer than the old Insteon MDs - not to mention, supply chain problems preventing the ability to buy the Insteon parts - so far all of my old Z-wave locks (300 series) and other Z-wave plus equipment has been working WAY better than with the ISY z-wave module

That's good news - I ordered one - looking for a low cost alternative to the Insteon On/Off module - the plastic on those things is really flimsy and several have broken - with IoP+Zooz stick, Zwave is now a viable option

On Amazon, the referenced plug is about $27 - much cheaper than the Aeotec smartswitch 7, but I am not 100% sure if all z-wave devices will work with the Zooz stick and IoP

In my experience, both of the ISY z-wave modules (300 and 500 series) had poor range and performance compared to the Zooz USB stick that I am now using in the ISY on Polisy - some communications issues with older Schlage Locks and other devices never were completely resolved by using Aeon repeaters with much shorter distances than 50 ft - but now I have much better range and communication

FYI you can also type "sudo cat /var/udx/logs/log | grep bios" to filter the logfile for the section of interest

Is there an updated admin console available for 5.4.1? After this update, I cannot get into the admin console - it says I need an updated version (my admin console is apparently 5.4.0) UPDATE: nevermind - I cleared the java cache and re-clicked the admin console link on the Wiki and now I can get in - sorry for the false alarm