MikeB

Jeff - I think I just realized why you're doing this with a program. If you make your KPL secondary "All On" button a controller of the scene you want it to turn on, it needs to be in non-toggle ON mode for it to work. If you want to keypad button to be off all the time, I guess you would need a program to trigger your scene on when pressed. However, you should still be able to do the "All Off" button without a program to reduce the delay and eliminate dependence on the ISY/PLM.

Hey Jeff - Great write up. However, unless I'm missing something, I don't believe you need a program to do this. Why not make the KPL secondary button that controls your scene a CONTROLLER of the scene? Still set it to non-toggle (off or on, whatever your intent), but when you join it to the scene add it as a controller instead. All the other lights and slave devices would still be responders. This has a couple advantages: 1 - Not dependent on the ISY/PLM. If your ISY/PLM goes down or gets disrupted for some reason, this button will still function. 2 - Quicker response. Since the above method would not be executing a program, the lights would go on or off almost instantly. I personally use programs to run my 'all off' KPL secondary buttons, but that's because I don't keep the buttons in non-toggle mode - I want them to be lit if a light is left on, and off if all the lights are off. I use these to turn entire floors off in my house when exiting, going to bed, etc.. Here's an example of my programs. I have a scene called 'Floor2Off' that contains all the devices (both load bearing or slave devices/buttons) that are on my 2nd floor - all responders. Here is my control program: If Control 'MasterBedroomControls1H' is switched Off Then Set Scene 'Floor2Off' Off Else - No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action') This program turns all my 2nd floor lights off if I press the my KPL secondary "Floor 2 Off" button (called MasterBedroomControls1H). Since it runs via a program, there is a second or so delay - but not too bad. Here is my Status Off program: If Status 'MasterBedroomControls1H' is not Off And ( Status 'AndyBedroomCloset1' is Off And Status 'AndyBedroomLamp1' is Off And Status 'Bathroom2ndMain1' is Off And Status 'Bathroom2ndMirror1' is Off And Status 'Bathroom2ndVent1' is Off And Status 'MikeyBedroomCloset1' is Off And Status 'MikeyBedroomLamp1' is Off And Status 'SpareBedroomCloset1' is Off And Status 'SpareBedroomLamp1' is Off And Status 'Stairway1' is Off And Status 'AndyBedroomControls1C' is Off And Status 'AndyBedroomControls1D' is Off ) Then Wait 1 second Set Scene 'Floor2StatusLight' Off Else - No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action') Because you can't control a KPL secondary button directly, it must controlled by making it a member of a scene. The scene called "Floor2StatusLight" contains ONLY my KPL secondary button. The above code ensures that if all my 2nd floor lights are off, that my "Floor2Status" button is also off. Here is my Status On program: If Status 'MasterBedroomControls1H' is Off And ( Status 'AndyBedroomCloset1' is not Off Or Status 'AndyBedroomLamp1' is not Off Or Status 'Bathroom2ndMain1' is not Off Or Status 'Bathroom2ndMirror1' is not Off Or Status 'Bathroom2ndVent1' is not Off Or Status 'MikeyBedroomCloset1' is not Off Or Status 'MikeyBedroomLamp1' is not Off Or Status 'SpareBedroomCloset1' is not Off Or Status 'SpareBedroomLamp1' is not Off Or Status 'Stairway1' is not Off Or Status 'AndyBedroomControls1C' is not Off Or Status 'AndyBedroomControls1D' is not Off ) Then Wait 1 second Set Scene 'Floor2StatusLight' On Else - No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action') This code checks to see if ANY of my 2nd floor lights are on. If they are, it lights up my "Floor 2 Status" button so I'll know to turn it off before bed.

Well, that's an odd one Mike.... you'd think that if your entire group is coming on that it must be SOMETHING coming from the ISY... Is there a RemoteLinc or ControlLinc that's part of this group that could be flaking out? Maybe a switch with a physical paddle issue that randomly clicks on?

This might be a long shot, but do you have an Elk integrated with your ISY? I've seen reports of Insteon lights going on randomly from Elk users in the past...

This is the method I would go with. I have a ISY-99i/IR Pro as well, and telnet works fine here. From a command prompt, type: TELNET (your ISY IP address) 126 ..without the parentheses of course. This should bring you to a login prompt. Type your username and password, and you should be in. If you're doing that, but getting the error message you quoted above, maybe something else is wrong...

Jeff - Unfortunately, I don't believe there's a way to use the RemoteLinc All On/All Off buttons for anything else (I don't own a ControlLinc). That's one of my biggest gripes with the RemoteLinc - I have no use for those buttons at all, and wish they would be user-definable. You'll love the IR integration, works extremely well for me. Also, if you haven't noticed, you joined in on the cusp of a new firmware release (beta) - get ready for even more features!

Also check the 'On Level' of the device. I had a similar problem the other day, which was caused because the switch somehow had an 'On Level' of 0. (!!) A normal 'On' command uses the current ramp rate and on level of the device, a 'Fast On' command turns it to 100% immediately.

If you have questions/complaints about the PLM, and want to post on UDI's forums, why don't you consider posting about it to the Everything Insteon group which I believe Steve Lee from Smarthome monitors? I'm not trying to 'start a fight' with you, Digger, I'm simply stating that I think frequent queries are a mistake. I stand by my statement that less powerline activity = a better, more reliable Insteon system. In respect of the original poster, and UDI, this is my last post on this thread.

Good question. I was actually thinking about something similar a while back when people were discussing ways to have different on-levels for different times of the day. If SwitchLinc Dimmers didn't require a soft-reset to apply on-level changes, I was thinking a good way to accomplish this would be to have a way in the ISY to program new on-levels into devices a couple times per day. This wouldn't work, however, because of the needed soft-reset. Even if it did work, I wonder if this would potentially decrease the life of the switch...

Hey Andrew - If you check this thread: http://forum.universal-devices.com/viewtopic.php?t=769 ..you'll see it's a listed feature for the upcoming v2.7 firmware. A beta for this firmware should be released soon. It's awfully quiet on these forums, which usually means they are hard at work!

I'm not really sure what you're referring to, but my best guess is these threads? http://forum.universal-devices.com/view ... highlight= http://forum.universal-devices.com/view ... highlight= There are no queries at all in those programs. For example, with the 'entire floor status LED' program the only extra powerline activity is actually turning the status LED on or off, which happens only when: - All lights are off, and the first light is turned on. - All lights are off except for one, and that final light is turned off. One of the major features of the ISY, in my opinion, is that it always KNOWS (in a good working Insteon system) what the status of every device is. There really should be no need to query, except for the occasional missed command (caused by simultaneous button presses, etc.), which is why they have their 3am query - just in case. If I depended on even 10 minute queries to know the status of my lights, those programs would be useless to me. That's why it's recommended to fix the source of your comm issues rather than run queries. Now if you think that Smarthome needs to release an improved PLM to fix your particular issues, that's fine - and the topic of another thread. My point is that frequent queries is not a substitute for a good working ISY/Insteon system. If you have a substantial Insteon system, and run queries every 10 minutes, button presses during those queries may be slow to respond, and commands may be more likely missed. If it's working for you, then run with it - but it's not good advice for the majority of ISY users.

Could you possibly have a speed issue at home? Michel or Chris could tell us exactly what happens, but I'm assuming the remote PC simply downloads and runs a Java app when you connect to the ISY. As a test, I just opened my ISY from a remote connection running on a 3Mbps/768Kbps DSL line. My home connection is a 6Mbps/768Kbps cable connection. The ISY has never been opened from this remote connection (so the Java app wasn't cached), but it only about 5 seconds before I got my logon screen. I can't imagine anything wrong with the ISY would cause only remote connections to be slow.

Faster internet connection? Mine takes a few seconds longer than connecting locally, but not much.

Digger - I replied to your post because I don't think scheduling My Lighting queries to run constantly throughout the day is a good idea. If you are having communications problems, that will simply multiply it and possibly interfere with normally working functions. If a user is having problems with the ISY recognizing status changes on their devices, they're far better off fixing the issue (reducing noise, relocating AccessPoints, fixing broken links, replacing bad devices, etc.) than trying to mask it unsuccessfully with 2 queries every hour. If the PLM does have a lower signal output / sensitivity than the PLC, I'm 100% behind efforts to try and get that rectified. However, that doesn't mean people need to live with comm issues in the meantime. Many people (most people?) on here that I know of have good communications to and from their PLM, so it can be done.

Excessive queries of all your lighting, especially on large setups, creates excessive powerline traffic which can cause actual button presses or scheduled events or triggers to not work properly. If you want reliable communications, your goal should be to reduce noise and eliminate excess powerline traffic - not create more. Also, if you have poor powerline communications in your home, I can't see how extra queries are going to help - it'll only make your problems worse. You could have devices whose statuses are accurate, but then you run a query, communications fail, and the ISY no longer knows the correct status. If you're having communication issues, solve it - don't try to mask it with extra queries that are only going to make things worse.

To expand on that further, you could get the black tabletop enclosure to help cut out the light. I don't have one myself, but my understanding is that the black KPL buttons DO NOT let light shine through like the white buttons do, so it might be more appropriate in your bedroom. http://www.smarthome.com/2486pbk.html

As far as I know, later PLM firmware versions have only shown improvements. As for replacing a problematic PLM, I would contact SmartHome and politely explain the issue you are having (lockups during heavy use, etc..).

Check out this thread: http://forum.universal-devices.com/view ... highlight=

I'd use the PLM with the latest firmware, so 61.

Hey Frank - I normally add devices by address. However, with my v1.5 KPLs, it does not work - the ISY gives a 'Request Failed' error. Adding the KPL by the 'Start Linking' command works fine. The v1.6 KPLs, however, don't seem to work at all. At least some of them.

Check the device in the ISY. If it shows as a "LampLinc', then that's your issue. Apparently some v1.6 KPLs are being incorrectly identified as LampLincs. I have one here doing the same.

YES

I believe your problem is that your STATUS OFF program should have ANDs and not ORs. Your STATUS ON program is turning the LED on, but then since one of your devices is probably off the status light gets turned back off.

That's right.... with a separate AC adapter, I bet you could go quite a distance.

It's not any kind of safety issue. Low voltage, no worse than POE. I'm not sure at what distance the voltage drop would be too much. If someone knows the power output of the PLM and the power requirements of the ISY-99, this page should help figure it out: http://www.demarctech.com/techsupport/poecalculate.htm Keep in mind you could always get an RF IR extender as well, and relocate your ISY to a more reliable location. I just saw one at my local Best Buy for $45. Or, if you're going to run a Cat5 anyway, you could use a hardwired IR repeater.