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paulbates

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Everything posted by paulbates

  1. See that's another difference: You organise your folders, and Scott organizes them
  2. Yes fair enough. I listed IFTTT because i did set up geofencing on it, but now thinking about it I have since migrated off of it for ISY Portal and don't have any active IFTTT any longer. Using it would take choosing where functions should be implemented For network resources, I've drawn the line on only getting iot devices that support a local API, so I'll not have issues there. I plan to turn the router over with ISy and IoT as the local IP addresses matter, but no cloud dependencies. Paul
  3. One thing you can do is have a "house" email account for as much technology as possible. My Venstars, alarm system, rainmachine, IFTTT and pushover all use the same gmail account that is used strictly for administration. I need to change my ISY Portal account to the same one. The account password can be changed in the presence of the new owner and the administrative handover is done. If things like mobilinc and Nest are authenticated with an email account, that could be done as well. Alexa would be the only thing that this approach won't work for. Paul
  4. The other advantage of @PhanTomiZ's second option is that you won't be using power 100% of the time for the step down transformer. Probably not a ton of power, but a tad greener. Another way to implement his option 2, instead of the on/off module and having things laying around plugged into each, you could replace a receptacle with an on/off outletlinc and plug the transformer into the wall. It doesn't have the flexibility he mentioned but it might make it a cleaner install. Paul
  5. Dashboard had been around for a very long time. Its always been a separate download in the download instructions for new FW versions. I think the origins of it was to have an operational / runtime environment separate from the build and configure role of the Admin Console. But things like the JSON based Home Automation Dashboard (HAD), Mobile Apps and third part public domain Home Control packages took over big chunks of the control space. The dashboard does have some specific jobs that the Admin Console can't do, like setting up user provided SSL certs, and configuring the smartmeter option - ADR / AMI, if you have the specific ISY accessory board for that. Not sure about the FW update message. My guess is in the dashboard, it is just a message, and the AC is the place to go to do the upgrade. Guessing again, but I'm not sure what the future of the dashboard will be when the admin console migrates off of java. The specific configuration roles listed above might be wrapped into a single web app, and let mobile apps, etc provide a "remote control" capability. Paul
  6. My comment was more around core operation of the standalone 2441TH working with the HVAC system, even if insteon was not linked. I could not get the 2441s to operate correctly as a thermostat, despite being shipped multiple 2441TH replacements. I had a 22 year history with other thermostats on the same HVAC systems: Beginning with the original Honeywell contractor thermostats (non automated) and 7 years with RCS TX15 Thermostats (x10). The 2441THs locked up, changed modes on their own or went into continuous heat calls, where we'd wake up in the middle of the night with the house over 90 degrees. We debugged it over several weeks and fortunately it was not winter and I could turn them off. SH eventually threw up their hands and gave me refunds for them and I reinstalled the RCS TX15s while shopping for something else. I ended up with non Venstar non insteon thermostats that I'm really happy with operationally and features/function. I know this doesn't happen to most 2441 users and glad they work for most. However there's a very long thread around here about this specific problem and how others attempted to address it by soldering on the units or putting filters on the 24VAC lines; its a design problem. Its worth looking through the reviews at SH. To the OPs point, the Heat Pump version appears to have been withdrawn, there are only 3 reviews and the newest one is 3 years ago. Paul
  7. I use 2 of the Venstar Colortouch T7900. I've had the Colortouches for 4 years and very happy with them. It does need either Venlink (ISY V4 Firmware) or Nodelink (ISY V5 Firmware) running on a computer for the ISY to support it. The alexa support is native, just load the Venstar alexa app. There is also a mobile app from venstar to control it from your phone. I'm insteon like you. But, if you have z-wave, there are a number of z-wave thermostat choices that integrate directly with the ISY, no separate computer to support the interface. Finally, all thermostats have their plusses and minuses, best is a relative measure. Paul
  8. I had the problem with the 2441 series where noise from the HVAC units down the 24vac lines either numbed or stunned the 2441 until it was restarted. In my case it was igniters for the heat, but the behavior was similar. It would spontaneously become uncommunicative and unresponsive, and then could be brought back to life. I'm guessing a power blip through the HVAC unit could cause the same thing. My point is, I think the advantage of getting the Venstar branded stat is that they are an HVAC company at their core and consider the entire HVAC design spectrum when engineering their products. Paul
  9. Like Larry, I have program set to only run on startup. Among other things, it sends a notification that the ISY rebooted, which typically only happens when Power out I reboot the ISY Manually There was a case with ISY V5 firmware where the node profile required a reboot I've not witnessed this for quite some time Below is a picture showing the SystemStartup Program I created in the Summary Tab, set to start. Since I don't have a backup power system for my house, nothing automated is going to happen when the power's down. Note I also Disabled the program so it won't otherwise run Paul
  10. The locativ app continues to work and will send ISY Portal geofencing calls to the ISY. I've only used it on the iphone and with the original Portal occupancy sensor, not V2. That continues to work for me The locativ service has been discontinued and offline for sometime, but is not necessary for use with the ISY as described above. When your phone crosses a fence, its sends a message to the portal. I believe that the test button is associated with the discontinued service and won't help prove that anything is working. I found that I needed to set a larger geofence, ~ 150 yards + radius at least, for consistent results. Paul
  11. Ideally upnp should be shut off at the router, if there’s a setting for that. Then it doesn’t matter what individual devices on the LAN do. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
  12. I've had insteon devices disintegrate, one part at at time... some features work while others don't As an example, I had one of my oldest inlinelics that was still linked to the ISY and keypads. Still worked for ons and off. At one point I was replacing keypads and wanted to update the link. No go, it could not be updated. So I'm wondering if its something like that Paul
  13. Jim If a program is disabled, it will not automatically run. Typically you do this when you call the disabled program (Run If, then or else) from another program. It will run if called from another program, even if its disabled. If you look through your garage door programs and find statements that say Run if, (or then or else) <program name> chance are that the program listed there should be disabled. Paul
  14. Java is a platform installed on your local computer, 1 version at a time. The admin console will continue to run on whatever version of java you have installed on your local system. To larry's point, most browsers already do not support Java. Not a problem for the ISY. The best way to run the admin console is through the ISY launcher directly from your os desktop or folder.
  15. Ed, Yes, this is unusual and you've done a lot of investigating. I recommend submitting an online ticket to UDI and include a link back to this thread there so they have some background. They are really good about following up Paul
  16. Ed If the answer to 1 was yes, and 2 was 2 no (PLM Links as you did it) ... and the links were 0 (or low), it would be a problem reloading the PLM with links which can happen. We've proven that's not the problem here. It makes it hard to guess what's next, and is based on how the programs are triggered. Some of the basics: If your programs are day / time driven, is the date/time correct? Its right on the top of the admin console and set by the NTP settings in the config tab What state are the programs in? There are runtime color indicators for the icons to show program true / false state. They should show something. If you go to the programs tab, right click on any folder or program, and pick "Status Icons / Detailed". are any of the programs fully or partially colored? If no, that's odd When in the programs tab, flip to the summary tab. Click on the last runtime column heading so it sorts descending. When is the last time anything ran? That may be a clue, if you can remember what happened then Paul
  17. Ed.. can you confirm this: You can control insteon devices from the ISY and they respond Your ISY does not recognize changes from insteon.. eg does not change to on/off when an insteon switch is turned on/off Also, can try this: Go to Tools menu, diagnositics, ISY Links and press Start? How many links are counted up? Paul
  18. Hi Matt, welcome to the UDI Forums! Are you talking about UPNP check box? UPNP discovery is not necessary or desired, from a security perspective. There are 2 ways to access your ISY from the internet Modify the firewall rules of your router so that port 443 (TCP) from the internet points to your ISY (currently 192.168.1.195). You'll want to be sure that your ISY is always given that same local address. Some router's DCHP feature will assign a different address when its refreshed. This is not often in my experience, but it can happen. When it does happen it can be a real pain to figure out. To get around that, you can reserve a dhcp address for your ISY in most routers. We can discuss how to do this if you are not familiar with it, and the actual procedure steps vary from router to router Also, the subnet mask (255.255.255.0), gateway (192.168.1.1) and DNS (192.168.1.1) should be filled in and them being empty could also partially explain the symptoms. Your router's DHCP server should be providing that to the ISY with the address. Do you know how your router is set up to provide addresses? Subscribe to the optional ISY portal. With this model, you pay for the ISY subscription, and login remotely to the ISY with your portal credentials. I do this and personally I think its safer as I open zero ports on my router. The ISY is not directly exposed to the internet this way. The portal comes with additional features like Alexa / google home integration, IFTTT supporet and geofencing. I think thing the empty fields described above might still prevent this from working Paul
  19. Rest specifically is here The general developer docs are here Paul
  20. I removed my garage door for just this concern. I don't think its worth the risk of having key / high risk items cloud controlled...only convenience items like lights, tv, attic fan, etc. A potential annoyance, but no damage done. Paul
  21. Hi and welcome to the UDI Forums! I believe you need to ask alexa to "discover devices". If that doesn't work, I think I read that you might need to use the alexa mobile or web app to forget all devices and then "discover devices" Paul
  22. No, during normal operations no led blinking of any kind. Don't know about the key beeping on pressing, mine doesn't and that's not a feature I'm using. I do "beep" the on/off keypad from an ISY program, that works..
  23. Hmmm. Nope... you are right. The relay was the last one I put in and I thought I remembered changing the LED. However, @v.44, does not have it The dimmer manual mentions "blink red" and "bink green" behavior, the relay does not mention it. .Paul
  24. The couple I've bought in the last 2 - 3 years have had that feature. Its a "rolled up" indicator of Insteon group clean up. It will flash 1 - 3 seconds after a press: Green means the keypad heard back from all responders; red means at least one did not respond. While its great for proving that a scene is solid, in day to day use its distracting and annoying for family members (why does it do that?). I turn led notification off in the in the control panel once installation has proven to be done.
  25. I have 3 of the Insteon MS's outside. I change the batteries proactively in late march and early September so I don't have to do it in the snow

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