jtara92101

I wouldn't expect high-quality wireless audio for $49. If you want to play music, play it through an AV system, with wired or wireless zone and proper audiophile golden-ears hardware. Don't forget the alkaline oxygenated cables. Your ISY can command your sound system.

What I meant is, up til now, Dot needed Echo, right? Or maybe it was just that you could only ORDER Dot through Echo? So, you could use a Dot without Echo, but you would have to find a friend with Echo to order one for you? Can Tap be used for things other than ordering more Tide or crackers?

Is it true this can be used without Echo? If so, then can it then be used to command ISY? The ISY connection is just through the cloud, right? I would not spend nearly $200 to fiddle with Alexa. But I would spend $49. And no big plastic thing that looks like Master Cylinder, either.

Don't need no stinkin' AP Style Guide!

edit: removed my dumb question "do you own an ISY", because it is answered in your first post! But I will ask some less dumb questions.... You say you have an "ISY system, with many switches installed", left by the previous owner. Specifically which model of ISY? It is likely ISY99 or ISY994. You don't really have an "ISY system". Those switches aren't ISY. They are *probably* Insteon, but might be Z-wave or even X-10. The Insteon switches can do most of what they do without an ISY. The ISY is handy for setup (saves a lot of running-around punching buttons). And it can use programs to do some things that aren't possible with scenes. Just want you (and us) to understand what you have.

If you do not want to do it yourself, find a company that installs and services Elk. I'm sure you will find one. Start there, rather than contacting random security companies who may or may not prefer to use Elk. These companies are just trying to sell you a complete new system that you do not need. Do these companies propose to re-used existing hard-wired sensors, or replace them with wireless? Since you have the bulk of what you need already installed, it would be foolish IMO to start over. You have a great system that is just missing a few things that you want. Have the things you want installed. Ah, I see my answer above in your latest post. I would reject out of hand any of the companies that propose to replace everything. And then reject the rest as well. What are the "key pieces" that you are missing? ELK does have wireless products if that is your choice for the additional components. OF COURSE you can get cell-phone backup, and OF COURSE you can set it up with a monitoring service. FWIW, a friend is preparing a 30,000 sq ft warehouse he owns that has recently come off-lease with Iron Mountain. They left a 200-zone security system. He told them nooooo prooooooblem, you can leave that behind! Follow his lead. I'd wager the most expensive part of any (wired) security system is the cost of installation. I'm a software developer and use a Mac. Sometimes I have to do some things with Windows or Linux. When i do, I just load-up a VM on the Mac. (I use VMWare, I prefer it to Parallels - for one, it is available for OSX, Windows, and Linux hosts, and if I do install a Linux box (as I have had in the past) I could actually move VMs between systems. I could run a Windows VM on my mac this week. And run it on a Linux box the next. You may not even need the Elk software that runs on Windows (see others comments). But if you need it or want it, my experience is that Windows running on VMWare will not bog-down your machine, etc. (unless running some intense task, which this is not!). It is helpful, though, to add as much RAM as you can. Do that, and you will not really even notice it is running. (And anyway, is this something just need for configuration and test?) While there is some software that won't run in a VM, most do. Sounds like there are those here who run the Elk support software in a VM with no trouble.

After reading Teken's comments, I rethought my plan for modifying my Espresso machine with a micro on/off. While the micro on/off does not seem to have the problem of the flawed SwitchLincs, it got me thinking that the PURPOSE of my modification is safety. So, while the micro on/off does not SEEM to have the problem, who knows if it has an unknown failure mode? My purpose is to help insure the machine is powered-off if I am not home. I have no interest in warming it up when I drive home. Do you know that there are GE ranges that have a network connection and can do this? What could possibly go wrong?! I've always been uncomfortable with the "delay" feature of ranges and microwaves. I shudder at suggestions in instruction manuals about leaving a turkey in the oven and then having it start cooking at a certain time! What were they thinking? Food safety, anyone? (Yes, if you leave a frozen turkey in the oven, for less time than it takes to reach The Danger Zone...) I don't like running the self-clean and then leaving the house either! So, no wiring the machine's on/off switch to the sense input. I will just wire the micro on/off in front of the machine's switch. It can disable the machine, but it can't turn it on. A lamp would be a different story. BTW, a few years ago, I came home, and all the lights were alternately flashing on and off. I hate to think how long they had been doing that and wonder what the neighbors thought? I forget what the problem was, I think it was a bad Insteon device. Thanks, Teken, for focusing on safety and making me think!

I just ordered one, but am sending it back. (Don't have it yet.) I realized for my use a micro on/off 2443-222 is a better choice. I wasn't thinking of that when I placed the first order. (Already got the micro on/off, my first order hasn't arrived yet...) My weekend project is building it in to an espresso machine. I will wire the sense line to the machine's on/off switch. I once left the house with the espresso machine turned on, and when I came back, it didn't work any more. It over-heated. I thought it was a goner, but then I realized it must have some thermostatic protection. I looked and looked and couldn't find it, but finally found a web site that showed where the tiny little reset button was. Whew! That was after letting it sit for months unused, wary of the high repair bill I thought was forthcoming. Never again! When I am away, the machine will be OFF. BTW, this is the machine: It is a luxury to be sure. But rather than losing value the minute I "drove it off the lot", my $800 investment now sells for about twice as much. And I'm thinking about what else I might build these (or the micro dimmer) into. My introduction to the micro dimmer was installing a flat LED light in a walk-in closet, operated by a micro remote. (The old light used a pull chain, no controlling switch). I think I can put a micro dimmer in the base of a torch lamp in my office. Hmmm, just looked - would require careful use of shrink tubing and tape and/or adding a metal cover to the bottom. There is certainly enough room in the weighted base for it, but open to the floor.

This is brilliant! All of the other solutions I have seen rely on installation of an app on the iPhone to check GPS, some augmented with checks for home network, iBeacon, etc. This turns everything inside-out. I've been using Locative, and I have noticed that sometimes it momentarily decides I am not home when I am home, and so then there go the lights... Probably in part due to the fact that I live in a highrise, and GPS consistently puts me across the street at the Red Roof Inn. (Which is still close enough for Locative to consider me "home", but a bit of drift and then it's too far away from reality.) To be fair, Locative has other uses, as it can be used to set-up multiple geofences with different actions. This script seems the ideal way to handle the specific issue of telling ISY if your device is home or not. No app needed on the device, easy to check if device is in Wifi range. Would seem to be minimal impact on battery life.

Wrong ones. Those are called "direct replacement" or "plug and play" tubes. They are meant for directly replacing existing tubes without modifying the fixture. They use (or is it "tolerate"? ) the existing ballast. You can use an existing dimmable fluorescent ballast with some of these. This is for lazy retrofit. Actually, it is probably the only LEGAL retrofit, since modifying your fixture will invalidate the UL listing. (Even installing the strips, let alone bypassing the ballast.) Edit: I take that back! There is a standard for LED conversion retrofits, and apparently ballast bypass is OK. Products can be UL listed as a conversion product. Installing your own strips still will invalidate the fixture's UL listing, if that matters to you. But if the place burns down, it WILL matter to your insurance company! http://ulstandards.ul.com/standard/?id=1598C_1 You want the ones that require you to bypass your existing ballast. If they are dimmable, they will be dimmable with a common dimmer. This is the kind you found. You don't want this: http://www.ledsmagazine.com/articles/print/volume-11/issue-6/features/led-tubes/how-do-plug-and-play-t8s-stack-up-against-ballast-bypass-led-lamps.html You want something like this: http://www.ledtronics.com/Products/product_new.aspx?id=LED48T8SM-170X2-XWW-120CAD In other words, works with normal household dimmer, like Insteon.

That's what I did when I moved, because I didn't think to reset all the devices before the move (I completely reset the ISY, though). Plus I had some communication issues. Just an extension cord with the socket end cut off and stripped. Tin the wires with a soldering iron for durability! Work from an outlet near your ISY to avoid communication trouble - the ISY needs to do a LOT of back-and-forth when setting-up a scene. I program the device initially while plugged-in, then move it to it's final destination. (Of course, as you add more devices, you will be programming them at some distance, but at least the initial setup gets done with little chance of communication failure.) Tip: DOUBLE check that you have unplugged it before rewiring to a new device! I caught myself doing it live a couple of times (I had a HUGE box of devices to go through) - but didn't manage to zap myself, whew! BTW, love that Wago connectors, haven't tried them. Looks like they are meant to be reusable. I've been using the Ideal push-ins, which aren't quite "ideal". They are smaller than wire nuts and so help with box fill. And because they are transparent, you can verify correct installation and full contact. On the other hand, you NEED to be able to inspect, because they have a tendency to back-out as you are re-positioning in the box. At the same time, they are difficult to disassemble. (Please throw them in the trash if you do! You CAN remove the wires without destroying the connector, but it involves twisting the wire, easier said than done when you are using a 4-port connector and #12 wire!) ​I've had to replace ALL of the electrical outlets in my new place, because they are all insanely flakey, almost none will hold plugs, they arc and spark, some had broken metal straps (so these were QUALITY outlets, since they actually had metal straps!) Since they are all 20A outlets, and I've been getting "commercial grade" anyway, that means I've been enjoying the sanity of screw-down back-wiring. (No push-in outlet wiring.) (I don't think push-in is popular for 20A devices, or perhaps even not permitted by code any more? At least I haven't encountered them, but I have avoided the cheapie "residential" stuff, instead shopping carefully online for decent prices.

1. Get it back to a normal 3-way, with the wires properly tagged NOW. Hire an electronic if you must. "properly tagged" means nothing more than sticking a piece of "coding" tape with an appropriate color on the ends of that white wire that (allegedly) does not cary neutral. The coding tape tells an electrician "this is not really a white wire, nothing to see here, move along!" Maybe this will help. See case 2. http://users.wfu.edu/matthews/courses/p230/switches/3way/variations Sounds like your electrician forgot to code the white wire, or else the tape long ago fell off or the homeowner (who would that be? ) thought it was an unnecessary piece of fluff and removed it! By "upstairs", do you mean at the switch, or at the lamp? You can always install a micro-dimmer at the lamp box, assuming you can get hot and neutral to the box. But then you don't have your fall-back to conventional 3-way when/if you remove Insteon.

Why not just get the tubes? Seems like a lot of trouble on a DIY project to perhaps save a bit of money, when you can just go out and already-manufactured tubes for cheap? You just have to bypass the ballast on your fixture. Example: https://www.1000bulbs.com/product/153509/PLT-10021.html?utm_source=SmartFeedGoogleBase&utm_medium=Shopping&utm_term=PLT-10021&utm_content=Direct+Wire+-+4100K+T8+Retrofit+LED+Tubes&utm_campaign=SmartFeedGoogleBaseShopping&gclid=CJyXos3b6c4CFY5rfgodFc0IhQ Just make sure you get ones that are dimmable. (Note the one above is not dimmable.)

That's what you need to look for! Yes, those are compatible. Don't get your hopes up on dimming at the low-end. They will probably cut-off at 20%. It's just not possible to achieve "architectural" dimming (typically defined as 5% or less) with this setup. Some of the screw-in bulbs are getting better, in that at least they don't cut-off at 20% or 10%, but instead, maintain their lowest-possible dimming below the cutoff down to maybe 5%. I dunno which strip light drivers might do this as well.

Not really a UDI question, just figured this would be a good place to ask advice on Insteon micro-dimmers. I currently have one that I use in a walk-in closet that had a glass globe lamp (banned in closets now by building code!) with pull-cord. I installed an LED flat-panel lamp and put an Insteon remote on the wall just outside of the closet. Looks and feels totally built-in, no more hazardous glass, lamp out of the way, and now has a switch instead of a pull cord. I have another proposed use now... I live in a historic property built in 1927. (It was the tallest building in San Diego from the time it was built until 1964. It is 15 stories - San Diego wasn't much of a high-rise city until very recently!) I put a brushed-copper faux finish on my kitchen backsplash (looks pretty convincing) and decided to give a bit of a nod to the building history with cast brass outlet plates. I choose brown outlets so that the colors all go together, and, as well, historically would have been bakelite anyway. (But of course not Decora style GFIs and USB outlets, so a bit of a Steampunk effect... Here's what I picked FWIW. The design is maybe 40 years or so older than the building, but from pictures I have seen they were going for a baroque Italian Renaissance revival look anyway... http://www.houseofantiquehardware.com/electrical-faceplates-victorian-gfi-abh I have them, and they are really stunning in person! This looks so good that I got another idea... I can't use these throughout, as I have Insteon everywhere, and I doubt that the brown Insteon keypad button backlights work very well in brown... Plus, not going to pop for $20/switch/outlet for plates! So, for the bulk it is white outlets/switches and white Lutron screwless covers. But I'm thinking of one more nod to history in the bathrooms. Actually, just one, as the other has the switch on the outside of the bathroom, and it's the bathrooms that have the most "olde fashioned" features (old white octagonal floor tile, etc.) I was thinking of using a pushbutton switch, as you can get reproductions of the old pushbutton wall switches in various forms. (My grandparents had these!) I was thinking I could use the sense wire(s) to at least turn lights on and off to a preset, but it turns out that it's possible to even dim if you use a momentary pushbutton or pushbuttons. And, lo and behold, I did a search, and you CAN get the pushbutton switches in dual momentary form! There is a discrepancy, though, between the description in the Insteon manual and the diagrams there. The diagram for dual momentary shows a single switch momentarily connecting the two sense lines. But the text reads as if it would be two momentary switches, and one can be used for on/brighten while the other is used for off/dim. I would need to install the micro-dimmer in the switch box for this to work. I might also be able to kill two birds. The bathroom has two lamps - one over the lavatory mirror, and one overhead. The overhead "doesn't work". Unclear to me what that means, as I haven't tried to get it to work myself. But I'm thinking if there is good power at the canopy, then I could install a second micro-dimmer there, and control it remotely. Has anybody used micro-dimmers in this fashion, but two momentary pushbuttons on the sense lines? I would use this: http://www.kyleswitchplates.com/antique-style-low-voltage-dual-momentary-push-button-switches/ with this: http://www.houseofantiquehardware.com/electrical-faceplates-victorian-single-push-button-abh?sc=9&category=128 There is an ambiguity in the description of the switch, though. It says it "sends a 12V pulse". That doesn't make much sense! I will need to query the seller further or get ahold of product literature. I just need two momentary-contact switches. (They also come with two independent toggles for controlling two A/C circuits.)

I just moved from a condo that I leased for 18 years. I took the Insteon with me. The selling homeowner thanked me! And that's what I would recommend, though it's too late now. IMO, the new homeowner is better-off with standard switches, the setup is too complicated for the average homeowner, and the reliability is less as well. There really is no plus if you are selling. The one plus for the buyer is that they get dimmers. (I put in regular switches.) Dimmers that are awfully expensive for simple dimmers!

Not what you want to hear, but the only reliable connection for those pins is the one it was designed for - soldered-down to a circuit board. With the relay soldered-down to the board, and flat bottom for support, it would be very stable. Whether in free air or glued-down legs-up like a dead bug, anything you might jury-rig is going to be unstable. Solder would be best, until the thing is mechanically disturbed, then the solder joints are GOING to eventually break, as you will only be able to tack-solder wire s to them. (Not really enough room there to twist a wire around the pins.) What is it that you are mis-using that relay for? SRSLY, it would be useful to know what you are using it for, and how you plan on mounting it. I would get a relay that is more suitable for your usage and mounting arrangements. For a PROTOTYPE circuit, you could stick it down to a pref-board, if the hole pattern permits, inserting the pins through the holes in the board, and glue down for good measure. Solder wires on the back side of the board. Probably #30 "wire-wrap" wire. Then EXPECT it to fall apart. Which is no big deal, if it is a PROTOTYPE circuit. Why not make a circuit board? It's easy enough today to make a design and send it off on the Internets to have a professional circuit board shipped to you. (I wouldn't recommend screwing-around with any do-it-yourself circuit board scheme you might find at Fry's etc.) If you will have multiple of these, and perhaps some additional components, connector(s) etc. you can incorporate all of it.

I'd suggest doing some searches on creating REST servers in Python. I think you may want to look at using a "micro framework". It looks like Flask is popular: http://flask.pocoo.org/ Like I said, I don't write much Python. I would do this in Ruby myself, but only because I am more familiar with Ruby. Python is certainly more universal. For Ruby, I would use the Sinatra micro-framework. Flask looks similar.

I do understand. Just pointing-out for the benefit of others that the Apache server, PHP, and CGI are all unnecessary. Might save somebody else a LOT of trouble! With the http server module, you can write a tiny dedicated server in just a few lines of code. You would typically use some port OTHER than port 80. (So it would not interfere with any existing web server running on the same machine.) You just write a small Python script and run it. It listens for HTTP connections on a port. Was not suggesting you buy a small computer. You found your always-on small computer! A stand-alone server just to run your REST service would divorce it from the complexities of Apache.

You do NOT need Apache! You do NOT need CGI! You do NOT need PHP! You need Python. Period. You can create one or more HTTP servers using the HTTP server package. It's only a few lines of code. Your Python program is the server. You might need to get the http module online using a package manager. I'm not a regular Python user, sorry. Your router with ddwrt is perfectly suited for running Python scripts. Unsure about ddwrt, but much of the OpenWrt UI is WRITTEN in Python.

There are MANY, MANY "cloud"-based (whatever that really means...) services for running little REST servers, periodic cron jobs, etc. etc. Some are for a specific language/environment (for example, services that offer nothing else but running Sinatra servers, or nodejs servers, or...) some are more general. e.g. a low-end VPS, or Virtual Private Server. You probably don't want it on the cloud, though. Then you'd need to have your router redirect a port to the ISY, and open your ISY up to the Internet. Yes, you can use HTTPS. No, still not really a good idea... And then you are dependent on the Internet. Better to run it on a local device. An always-on computer. A Raspberry Pi. Your router, running open-source Linux-based router firmware.

You don't need anything as complicated as setting-up an Apache server and PHP just to run a Python REST service! The standard Python library include a module that you can use to build simple services in just a few lines of code. For Python 2: https://docs.python.org/2/library/simplehttpserver.html Or Python 3: https://docs.python.org/3.4/library/http.server.html I haven't used this myself, but I have written simple services in a few lines of code in Ruby (using the Sinatra mini-framework) and Javascript (nodejs). Here are a couple of links showing simple examples. https://www.xplatform.rocks/2014/04/28/create-a-lightweight-rest-service-using-sinatra/ https://blog.nodejitsu.com/a-simple-webservice-in-nodejs/ The approach is very similar for all 3 languages. You use a powerful HTTP server class/module to create a server, and with only a little bit of code you can create a server that can easily examine requests and make replies. There is no need for a standalone web server.

Both MobiLinc portal and ISY portal are reverse-proxies. The ISY connects to the service. You connect to the service. There is no inbound connection to the ISY needed. If you connect to the ISY directly from MobiLinc (NOT using either portal) then you either need a VPN (recommended!) or you need to expose the ISY inbound to the Internet and port-forward on your router. You can get a free/cheap dynamic DNS service that will update a DNS entry every time your provider changes your IP address. You'll need this for either the VPN or non-VPN solution. But with portals, there's no need to expose an inbound port at all.

Yes, I suppose you can say Insteon was dual-band from the start. But only the access point and battery-powered buttons were available in RF. The access-point was a nice hack to bridge the phases without having to wire something into your panel. (They did also have a bridge you could plug-in to a 220 outlet...) But wired switches and buttons used only power-line technology. The reliability is great now with the latest dual-band switches and buttons. I suspect there is really no need for the power-line transmission any more. Power-line control operates by injecting "signal" (e.g. NOISE) into the line. Devices are tuned to isolate Insteon's noise and extract the signal from it. As far as your other electronics equipment, this "signal" is NOISE, which is (in many cases) to be eliminated!

Review the multitude of posts here about "noise makers and signal suckers" and see if you can make some sense of it! My take is that Insteon power-line is flawed technology which they finally have realized since going dual-band. The problem is that one person's signal is another's noise! You'll need to block noise from the inverter from entering the system, while at the same time, prevent the filter from sucking the Insteon "signal" (e.g. noise...) Good luck with that! ---- Please don't do what my business partner did more than a decade ago when I was involved in high-frequency trading. (I wrote the software, my partner had the unfortunate task of dealing with any failed trades manually... Imagine a job where the only thing you do is dealing with failure!) Anyway, for obvious reasons, we both had backup power. We went about it in different ways. I still have my Minuteman E2300 with external battery pack. It can let me work at software development for maybe 8 hours (perhaps with Internet, perhaps without...). I ran my refrigerator off of it for a day during a big blackout in San Diego a few years back! BTW, this is a reliable workhorse you can probably get on eBay for a song. (A lot less than their newer models!) I've replaced the gel cells a few times. (I realize this doesn't address your whole-house problem, but might still do in a pinch if you are willing to bust-out a couple of long orange cords!) My partner got a much smaller UPS, good for maybe 15 minutes. And a Honda Generator. The one time he used it was for a scheduled outage in the new housing development he moved into. The power company was completing the wiring, and required shutting off the power to the whole complex for a day. He worked happily for a couple of hours on his Honda generator. Then a contractor working on the house across the street knocked on his door, saying he was painting, and hadn't known about the outage. He had heard the noise from the generator, and wondered if he could plug-in for a few minutes to mix some paint with an electric drill with a mixer attachment. No paint was mixed. And no trading was done for the rest of that day! Fortunately, Home Depot has a liberal returns policy. Generator promptly died, and for good, upon applying power to the drill. Lesson: if you will be running motors on your backup equipment, make sure it is designed to run motors! (Can deal with the power factor and surge). My refrigerator complained a bit (but worked), but not the UPS. It's a sine-wave UPS BTW. ---- BTW, I (at least try) to keep the noise from my UPS and all my computer equipment with a big-*** multi-stage FilterTec filter. They make some nice filters.(Hmmm, can't find them! I'm thinking maybe they were acquired by API Technologies? That's where searches lead me...