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There isn't any way to access that data directly by the ISY - you would need some kind of PC bridge to monitor the RS485 stream and put the data into a variable. I don't have an Intellichem, but I strongly suspect that you could snoop the line and identify the pH/Chlor out from periodic status messages.

Hi Michel, From the experiment before I concluded that the KPL must have a problem (even though it seemed to be working fine and there was no problem setting it up originally), and so I bought a new one to replace it. The new one has the same problem. I was able to "replace device" with the new KPL, and it seems to be working fine with the "old" programming moved. I have two buttons on it that were not controlling a scene yet, and every time I try to add them to a scene I get the same error as before (Failed adding device to scene, [-200000/-19]). This happens if if there are no other devices in the scene. This is pretty frustrating - as long as I leave everything the way it is now things work fine, but I am unable to make changes to the programming. I deleted a scene with the idea of putting it back the way I want, but now I can't recreate a scene that was working fine. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks in advance.....

Thank you Michel. I tried a different KPL, and you are right that it works for the other KPL. I do have a couple of questions: 1) I have the program set to "do not automatically write changes to devices" - could you please tell me what it is that would be failing? This is only to satisfy my curiosity and help me understand what is happening. 2) Is the IGD message the UPnP message you are referring to? I already had disabled internet access, and double checked, but I still get this message occasionally. I appreciate your help.

I am trying to add a KeypadLinc button to a scene as a controller, and getting an error: IGD no response Failed adding device to scene [-200000/-19] In the event viewer I don't see anything happening. I am able to add it as a responder just fine. Sometimes I don't see the "IGD no response error". When this happens, I can see it writing to the other devices already in the scene to make them responders, and then it ends with "Finish: Adding to scene was Incomplete (3)". I've tried resetting both the ISY and the PLM. Any ideas what the problem might be? Thanks.....

Your best bet is to wait until you get the system installed and programmed - it will be a lot clearer after you see how the system operates, which takes a little getting used to.

Anything that you can talk to using Network Resources should be fine. I believe that the iTach device is rs-232 serial only, and so to use it you would need to also have an rs-485 converter (like the hexin unit that I mentioned in the earlier post).

Hi Michael, This was what we found when I was working with Rand on what initially seemed to be a PLM issue recently. I sent everything that he asked for, and would be glad to provide any additional information that would help. I have multiple backups that demonstrate the "missing links" (the links restored to the PLM or the devices do not match all of the devices that are known to the ISY). Marshal

Thanks for this!! I have found that the ISY database can sometimes "lose" links, and so when you restore the device or the PLM the necessary links for tracking device status can be lost. This is a much simpler way to put them back. We really need a utility to rebuild/correct the links database from the device/scene list.

As far as I know, the ISY serial port can't be used to connect to devices.....

The connection is: PoolController ---RS485--- Serial/Ethernet Bridge Device ---ETHERNET--- ISY I would expect that a lightning strike or something would take out the Pool Controller and the Serial/ethernet bridge long before the ISY. I don't worry about it - the pool controller is the most expensive piece of equipment anyway, and if lightning strikes it is doomed.

I'm not familiar with the Jandy system at all.... Pentair sells an expensive RS232 interface as well, but it is much more than just a protocol converter - it has a uP that presents a more "friendly" interface to other devices and has a published spec. The inter-device protocol is unpublished and subject to change (although it would be surprising to me if they did, since their smart pumps, panels, systems, etc. would all have to change simultaneously!) If you want to invest a little time, you can figure it out. Since RS485 is multidrop it is easy to snoop - just connect a PC and watch the traffic. Periodic transmissions are status. If you push a button on your wired controller you will see what it sends, and then you can reproduce the action by sending the same sequence. You don't have to do anything special with the Hexin converter other than connect 3 wires (+data, -data, and ground). RS485 is pretty robust - you can do pretty much anything and the worst that will happen is that devices won't be able to talk until you fix it. Even getting wires reversed won't hurt anything. I'm actually using an EM1500 (rabbit-based) bridge device which handles RS485 directly, but I was originally using a PC with the hexin converter.

I have set up my ISY to send commands to my Pentair Easy Touch pool control system. The Pentair systems use RS485 to communicate with their wired control panels. You can get cheap (<$10) RS232-RS485 protocol converters (search "Hexin") and use a standard serial-ethernet bridge, or use a bridge that handles RS485 directly. The interface needs to be set to 9600,8,n,1 To send a command to the Pentair system, use binary mode for the following sequence of bytes: 0;255;165;1;16;32;134;2;A;B;C1;C2 where: A = Pentair circuit number B = 0 for off, 1 for on C1, C2 = 2 byte checksum For example, to turn circuit 3 on: 0;255;165;1;16;32;134;2;3;1;1;98 The system is also constantly broadcasting system status (circuit state, air and water temperatures, etc.), and I have PC code for decoding this - at some point when we can set variables in the ISY I will write the bridge. One thing to remember if you want to do this is that RS485 is a multidrop bus, and so collisions are possible if two devices transmit at the same time. Nothing bad will happen (because of the checksum) but the message will be ignored. Since there isn't any way to currently check for an acknowledgement, it is probably good practice to send the command a couple of times with a short delay between "just in case". I have the commands for circuits 1-4 available for import into Network Resources is someone wants it (I don't think I can post them on the forum).

My PLM died (for the second time.... ) and I received a replacement from SmartHome. I connected the new PLM and have been trying to "Restore Modem" without any success. It manages to replace a few of the links, but then it stops - always at the same point. I would appreciate any suggestions about how to fix this..... It resets the PLM, and the event viewer shows it restoring some of the links, and then: 2010/02/05 20:22:00 : [ F 7E D1 1] Replacing PLM links (locally and in PLM) 2010/02/05 20:22:00 : [ F 7E D1 1] Replacing PLM links Successful 2010/02/05 20:22:00 : Replacing PLM links : Incomplete I'm seeing some other strange behaviors (such as not able to control devices), but I'm assuming that it isn't worth working on those until I can get the modem restored.... Thanks for any ideas.

I moved a few months ago and had to make this decision, and ended up installing a DSC PowerSeries alarm system. I've connected it with their IT-100 serial module to my home server, which is running MControl to interface with the ISY-99. I went this route because I am already running a home server, and between that and the ISY-99 I already have all of the automation control I need - I didn't want/need the capability or complexity of the ELK system. It was a lot cheaper, too!