madcodger

Thanks, Teken, and I assumed as much. Very helpful actually. And here's to a good balance of work and free time in 2014 and beyond, for all of us! Joe

Hi, all. Just popping in here to start getting up to speed on all things Brultech and ISY. I have a 994 going in soon (after being a long time user of the 99i) and one enhancement I look forward to making is the installation of a GEM. It may be a couple of months or so before actual install given competing priorities, but this is an area of great interest for me. Joe

Teken, What a great, incredibly helpful post - thank you! I am happy to go to the Brultech sub forum and add my support. This seems like a great addition to the ISY and certainly one I hope to see advanced. The greatest challenges I have in getting it done are time and a growing list of home improvement projects. I'm done with purchasing older homes, after what seems like a lifetime of doing so. I'm sure there will be many additional questions as I manage to slowly progress my system, though. Thank you in advance for the help I'm sure you will provide, and which I will appreciate. Joe

Thank you. I actually have had one sitting on a shelf for months now, just too busy to get to it and with my 99 working well. I was just trying to figure out a way to create a "backup" unit with my 99. But I appreciate your help! Joe

Thank you! Excellent news, and I suspect it will pay dividends. And as others also note, you folks are amazing at customer support. World class, and greatly appreciated, I just wish you made more stuff to buy! There are many companies that could learn from you. Joe

Got it, and thanks. Off to 994 I go, sans spare. Gotta talk with Michel and see if they want my 99 back to recycle. I won't resell as I got the upgrade deal, but I don't need more stuff hitting the "spare parts drawer" - which is now up to about three cabinets!

Teken, I've been loosely following your posts on your system as I contemplate moving forward with my energy monitoring. Just getting around to installing my 994 with Zigbee (upgrading from 99) this weekend (I hope - time is always scarce). Are you still happy with your GEM? Any final pointers? Thanks, Joe

FANTASTIC! Except for the low priority part... Those [insert favorite adjective/expletive here] lights on KPLs are a huge WAF problem for many of us, and I've hesitated putting one in our bedroom because when we had them there in the old house I could almost read by the things. I have one in a box now that I'm still not sure about as it's on the boss' side of the room and she values her sleep. I think you would find this to be a feature that would be used more often than most of us realize once the WAF stories started rolling in. And FWIW, I absolutely love my ISY and tell that to many. But UI is not its strong suit. Mobilinc and other interfaces can address that for mobile devices, but for actual hardware this is an opportunity to make a difference, Michael. The capability is there from SH, but we need your help to make use of it. IMO, there's more here than you guys are yet realizing in terms of opportunity to make ISY shine (even more). You already own the "hearts and minds" of us geeks. Now how can you help us popularize your little device with the other "objects of our affections"? This might go a long way toward that. Just an old marketing guy's two cents...

Good plan, IMO. In fact, I don't think it's EVER happened on mine except from loss of power. And if ISY is the only thing on the UPS, it could potentially run for days as the power required is minimal.

Personally, I like idea of putting in a KPL instead of just a Switchlinc, with patio light on the KPL load. Then an inline linc for the motion sensor light, linked to a button on the KPL. That KPL button would likely be on most of the time (as it controls a motion sensor light) but could be turned off if desired.

LeeG, et al - Is there any way to just add these new KPLs to a system that has a 99i, just for minimal on/off control? I have my 994 from UDI and some new and replacement SWLs and KPLs from SH still sitting in their boxes as I've been too busy too install them for months now. It looks like I'll actually have a few days without urgent client needs over the holidays, and I intend to get those devices installed and to make the switch to the 994. HOWEVER, I would really like to have the old 99i fully programmed (to the extent it can be) and ready on the shelf as a backup controller in case the 994 ever goes down. And thus my question... Advice and info appreciated.

Well, if it makes you feel any better, I bought it and it's still on a shelf, uninstalled. My little 99 just keeps humming along and my free time remains scarce.

But not wireless, correct?

You've bailed us out enough to have earned many, many days of absence. We just hate to hear you used some for illness! Feel better. Joe

GREAT idea! Would probably have great WAF, too (though predicting that is a challenge for many of us). What about something that gives a dashboard on an iPad, which would allow for an easy place to turn off the alert, as well? It could be sent to all the iPads/phones in the house, and the person who completed the task could turn off the alert. I would gladly buy that for a reasonable price if someone offered it via a third party (sort of like a 3rd party plugin used with HomeSeer, etc).

Okay, and good luck. As others suggested, a good multimeter is an inexpensive and helpful investment. A basic wiring book, generally available at home centers, is also very worthwhile. Do be careful.

Agree w/ LeeG that odds of having 6 fail simultaneously is extremely unlikely. Could well be an open connection (no power because wire became disconnected somewhere) and that's my personal guess. The breaker would not trip in that situation, so resetting it would have no effect and the symptoms would be as described (or as I understand your description). Most people on this board are hobbyists who are experienced with home wiring, with a few pros as well. So our advice often involves poking around in our wiring because we're comfortable doing it, and have a fair amount of knowledge that we may take for granted when advising others. If you're not comfortable and knowledgable with wiring, I'd advise you not begin to learn by trying to track down an "open". Call an electrician (perhaps a different one) because you may well have a loose wire.

So, this falls into the "if you need to ask, you don't need to be working on it" end of things. Go call an electrician. Learn a bit more about electricity and wiring, then perhaps get some additional tools, and then perhaps tackle a project or two.

Maddbomber83, Thank you! I need to wrap up a couple of projects before starting this one, and want to do essentially same as described by others here. Will follow thread, and contact you soon. Greatly appreciated!

FWIW, I think there is a small market for someone to create a "plug N play" Raspberry Pi ready to talk to the ISY and provide temp (and hopefully humidity) readings without the need for the user to learn how to actually program a Raspberry Pi. I think I saw a similar comment in this or a similar thread, as well. I really need temp / humidity monitoring, and have a few minutes here and there to run some sensors on a weekend, but just don't have time to learn programming right now. A few minutes on this and a couple of other boards via Tap a Talk is the extent of my HA time these days. If any takets, feel free to post or PM.

Madbomber83, Very helpful posts - thanks!

Hi, Lee. Sorry for delayed reply - I missed your post (using Tap A Talk). The unit I use is just a plain old Oregon Scientific temp sensor. Don't know if this specific unit is still made but it's a THR138 and I feel confident they and others still make a similar model. it has a little LCD display on the front as well. Was probably $30 or so, and I probably bought it on eBay or at Lowes, who used to sell them before switching to a different (seems cheaper) supplier. It sits on the top shelf of an LG refrigerator behind the milk and other liquids, and talks to a USB RFXCom unit that's plugged into a PC 15 - 20 feet away. I seem to recall greater distances from a Subzero in my previous house, but can't swear to that. Joe

I've absolutely had issues with SH in the past, but newer devices seem to work well. And as for what they have or haven't done re: other manufacturers, those are biz dev / strategic growth issues that they have every right to make with their own product line. We may not agree with them, but they're hardly ethical issues as far as I can see. If you have a beef with them, just state it and complain openly. No need to state your complaints in the form of a question. This ain't Jeopardy...

I believe the OP is asking for exactly what I've been hoping for - a wireless thermometer (and for me, hygrometer) that can communicate with the ISY. Think "temperature part of Weatherbug" for inside the home, and forget Insteon for this. Would likely require external receiver, probably connected via USB or similar. Would allow for monitoring of freezers, frigs, etc as well as other temp / humidity items that ISY could then react to. Most who used Homeseer or similar have had this for years, and it would be a big plus for ISY. And to answer your question, the wireless thermometer does have transmitter, antenna, etc., all built in to a unit smaller than a deck of cards.

Not so fast, Lee... I have an Oregon Scientific thermometer reporting to Homeseer via Rfxcom about 15 ft away (and a wall oven and microwave are between the frig and the antenna). Works great! And I'm thinking of trying another one in another frig about 25 ft away, on another floor. Now if only we could read these on an ISY or Elk! Joe