oberkc

I understand that 220 Volts is standard power for houses in the US. This is known as Line-to-Line (L-L) voltage. Each line is 110V relative to a neutral. Each line alternates between postive and negative voltages 60 times per second (Hertz). When one line is +110V, the other line is -110V, with the maximum difference in voltage between the lines of 220V. You have a dryer boosterlinc? You have two phases. All electrical panels that I have seen have two rows of breakers, with every other breaker in a row being on the same phase. If the first row has breakers 1,3,5,7,9, etc... then 1, 5, 9, etc are on one phase and 3, 7, 11, are the other phase. I have no quick way of determining if two outlets in your house are on the same phase or not. Physical inspection of the circuits and panel is the only way I can think. Fortunately, I am not sure that you need to. See the next discussion on access points. I would not be overly concerned with reponse to remotelincs and more concerned with whether your access points are on different phases. If you are unsure, the instructions are included with the access point, and available online at smarthome. I recall that it involves installing one access point, putting it into the installation mode by pressing the side button, then installing the second one and confirming proper response of the first. If you are unsure whether you have done this, I recommend going back and re-doing. Failing to have this set up properly could contribute to communication errors. Having this set up properly means that you have one access point on one phase, the other on another phase, and that you don't have to be further concerned with electrical phases. That is certainly not my understanding. While filterlincs were designed specifically for X-10, I understand they work well for insteon as well (I guess intsteon and X-10 frequencies are sufficiently close). I have about 10 filterlincs in my house and they have helped improve my insteon communication. By the way, I have found that many of my TVs and my audio equipment can contribute to insteon communication problems. I filter most of my TVs and my audio equipment. It helps a lot.

Taking over an hour for this does not necessarily surpise me, depending on the number of devices changed, and the number of links in each device. Some single devices in my system can take five or ten minutes to write. I you believe that moving the PLM closer to the panel has helped, I start to wonder about communication problems, as suggested by Mr Kohanin. Is your PLM normally located close to a lot of other electronic equipment, such as computers and power supplies? Are these devices filtered?

I have never liked relying on this method. I always want to solve the root problem, rather than mask it with access points. I want my powerline communication to be robust. Were it me, I don't think I would take this drastic action yet. It sounds as if you have identified specific devices with problems. Before starting over, I would now perform a link compare, to make sure that the device and ISY agree with each other. If not, I would perform a factory reset on the bad device, then restore from the ISY.

I am not sure that I would assume that having other devices in the same box that are working properly eliminates the possibility of communication errors. It is still possible that the switches are on different circuits. I have also come to believe that some devices are simply better than others. When you say that there are no changes to your "system", do you refer simply to your insteon system, or to the broader electrical system in your haouse. You have added no other electronic devices in your house? Is this problem random, or at certain times of the day? Do you notice any relationship to this problem during the furnace running? Washer/Dryer running? Refrigerator? Absent of any obvious relationships such as those above, I would attempt some scene tests of problem scenes in an attempt to identify a marginal communication environment. Your whole description of your problem sounds to me like communication problems. No doubt others will also ask what version of switchlinc dimmer you have. Some versions apparently exhibit random problems. It may be useful to add this to your post.

I have noticed that buttons configured as non-toggle on are constantly illuminated at the on level. Conversely, buttons configured to non-toggle off are illuminated in the off level, always. I am not sure that this meets your needs, either.

Yes, I understand your problem. There is no way, to my knowledge, to selectivly deactivate certain buttons on a KPL. However, if you can live with no status indication on ALL buttons on your KPL, then you may have options. On certain versions of KPLs, and with later versions of the ISY software, you can define lighting levels for both on indication, and off (applying to entire keypad). If you set both on and off to 0, then they will come on under no circumstances. Hopefully, your versions of KPL are new enough. That is also my understanding. It sounds like we are both coming up empty on this one. On these same versions of KPL and software, you can change illumination levels for on and off through programs, it is subject to the same limitations (applies to entire keypad). Sorry I could not be more help.

So it sounds like your PLM/ISY is located remotely from your computer. Out of curiousity, how do you connect your ISY and computer? Do you have an access points on the same circuit as your PLM? My experience suggests that TVs and stereo "junk" can cause communication problems for insteon. If you have a PLM in the same circuit as electronics of this type, I would be very tempted to filter them. I filtered all audio/video stuff. If you continue to suspect that there are communication problems between the remotelinc and ISY, I believe it is worth finding out why.

I hope you forgive my confusion, but how did you set this up? Did you use a scene? A program? I am also not certain what it is you are trying to achieve with your button illumination. It sounds like you don't mind if the KPL main on light is illuminated, but that you want the off light to be suppressed. I am unaware of any capability to define backlight levels for individual buttons, but the backlight dim setting of the KPL reduces the brightness for on, and eleminates backlight for off. Of course, this affects all buttons on a given KPL. On some versions of the KPL, there are variable backlight setting controllable by the ISY. Regarding the use of a KPL button to turn off when all of the lights in a scene are turned off, I do something that sounds similar. I use a program. Let's say I have three lights in a scene, light A, B, and C. The are all in a scene as responders with a KPL button as a controller. All are locally controllable, and I want the KPL button to turn off if I happen to manually turn them all off individually. I also want the KPL button to be on if ANY ONE or more of these lights are manually turned on. I set up a program something like: if light A is not off or light B is not off or light C is not off then set KPL button on else set KPL button off Perhaps a program like this would work for you.

Sounds good. Regarding X-10 motion sensors, I use several. I have found, however, that the better reciever interface is a useful addition to ensure reliable reciept of signals.

I would be afraid that your updated program would not work as intended. What happens if the light is turned off before the 5-minutes countdown ends? Does the condition then become false? If so, would the countdown cease and the fan remain on? What about two programs/ The first something like: If ( Control 'Front Bath Light' is switched On Or Control 'Front Bath Light' is switched Fade Up ) And Control 'Front Bath Light' is not switched Off Then Wait 5 minutes Set 'Front Bath Fan' On else The second something like: if control 'front bath light' is swithed off then wait 15 minutes shut fan off Of course, if they leave the lights on, the fan continues to run.

Nice x 2! I like it.

I have never manually entered an address, including for a remotelinc. While I don't doubt it works, it is prone to typing errors (and other issues). I am concerned that the problem you are seeing is a marginal communication environment, and that your may continue to see problems like this. Yes, you may be able to command other insteon devices. This may be a case where it can communicate with some devices, but not others, including the PLM. Is your PLM on the same circuit as your computer equipment? Is your computer equipment on a filter? As an experiment, you can get an extension cord and plug it into an outlet where you have known good communication between your remotelink and other insteon devices. Run the other end of the extension cord to your plm and plug the plm into the cord. Try the automatic linking again. If you have success, I would take this as a circuit with a lot of interference or signal degredation. Your satisfaction with insteon is at risk if you don't solve this problem, even if you successfully enter your addresses manually. Hopefully, I am wrong.

Don't forget, there is on, then there is fast on (double tap). If you simply set the on level to 20%, a single tap gets the reduced level and a double tap gets a full level. This might also prove more intuitive for visitors, spouses, kids, etc.... If you go that route, then you could create a single program If Control 'Master Bedroom Light' is switched on Then Wait 20 seconds set 'Master Bedroom Light' Off Else No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action') If you want to continue to use an off tap as an on command, this may take two programs, but I have not thought much about it.

Interesting idea. I am curious what happens when the second program turns the fan off (after 15 minutes) but with the light still on. Does the first program immediately turn the fan back on (after 5 minutes). Is this as you want?

There may be a different way of looking at things....if certain devices within a scene are defined as off, even when a scene is on, the scene (as a whole) is still on. I would think that the KPL should be on showing that the scene is on.

The most important thing, in my mind, is to understand what it is that you want the system to do before programming. It looks like you have given good thought to this. Have fun!

As I understand it, your program is simply setting on levels and ramp rates for the scene 'movie lighting'. This program, as written, will not actually turn your scene on or off. I understand, also, that certain versions of devices will not accept these changes without resetting them. If it simply your desire to design a scene with these on levels and ramp rates, go to your main tab of the admin window. Select your movie lighting scene. You should see on levels and ramp rates for devices in that scene. Use the sliders to adjust to your desired levels. These will be your setting for that scene. Your program, then, would simply be: If Status 'Theater Ceiling' is not Off And IR 'IR_001' is Pressed Then set scene 'movie lighting' to on Else - No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action')

If you are refering to the remotelinc, the answer is yes. Two caveats: 1. You need an access point to recieve the remotelinc signals and put them on the powerlines 2. The remotelinc needs to be put into program mode when making changes

As one who is yet to understand the details of program status, how long does Ampoff program remain true, and under which events or conditions would it become false?

I can only speculate about Mobilelinc, but I would have assumed that it is just a fancy, finger-friendly shell in place of the admin panel. It would surprise me very much if it re-defined scenes in ways different than programmed at the ISY admin panel. Out of curiosity, I will follow this topic on the mobilelinc forum.

I have a question. Do you want one KPL to indicate that you are in school mode, and a second button as an override? Do you want the override to stay on indefinitely, until you manually turn it off, or do you want it to reset itself each day? My intial reaction, were I doing it, would be to use a single button as indication and override. I would set up a program to turn the KPL on at a set time each afternoon (sun - thurs at 200p for example) indicating that school mode will run the following morning. If I did not want it to run the next morning, then I would simply turn it off each evening beforehand. I believe also that I would have a program to turn the KPL off on Fri and Sat afternoons. As you suggested, you could have a folder that contains your morning program with the folder condition to include the KPL button being on. Without knowing why, my temptation would be to create a scene to include desire devices as responders, then create a simple program: if KPL button is on and time from 0600 - 0900 (or whatever time you want) then set school scene on else set school scene off While simple, it does not account for holidays or extended breaks (Christmas, summer, presidents day, etc). One would have to remember to turn it off each day, rather than turn it on. Of course, you could disable the program during extended times, but that is inelegant. Perhaps a better option would be to simply have a manual KPL button. Leave it on always, unless there was a scheduled break from the M-F school schedule planned. The program above could be modified as follows: if KPL button is on and time from 0600 - 0900 on m-f (or whatever time you want) then set school scene on else set school scene off Please understand that these programming suggestions are not precise. I cannot recall the exact programming verbage, but I am hoping it can spark some ideas. I am sure there are other good options out there that others will suggest.

Controllers are, by definition, also responders. Like the others, I have no explanation why this is not working, but have the same thought process as sub-routine. Restore the device. Perhaps, also, you can compare the links table to see if you have something amiss. In addition, what happens when you turn on the scene from the ISY admin table? Does the KPL respond as it should? If not, is it possible that we have some communication issues between the PLM and KPL? Perhaps a scene test on this scene would be enlightening. Troubleshooting is fun, huh!?

Based on your latest description, I think I understand what you are seeing. That is not what I would expect, either. I would expect to be able to set the kit or dining KPL main ramp/dim levels based on buttons H from that same KPL. I would also expect your main buttons to react to scene commands, based on the way you have your scene defined. Unfortunately, I will not have time to compare and confirm with my admin screen until later this afternoon. I would like to confirm that I don't have similar issues. I can tell you, however, that I have a couple of 6-key KPL where the main and secondary buttons are part of the same scene, and it works flawlessly. Unfortunately, I don't recall having any 8-key dimmer KPLs where a main and secondary button are part of the same scene. I may have to experiment. Hopefully, someone can offer suggestions before then. I am also guessing that it may be important to know which version of ISY software you are using.

If, in the admin console, you choose the KPL H button on the left, you don't see, at the right of the screen, where it manages the KPL Main device? If you select the scene in question, do you see both devices listed below? As I understand it, you should see KPL H button as a controller and KPL Main button as a responder. If you don't see both, add the missing one to the scene.

I use only X-10, but based on reading these posts, reciept of an X-10 off command does not halt programs based on X-10 on commands. I consider this a benefit of the X-10, at least for motion sensors.