RF_Burns

Hi Techman, The keypad was plugged into the same outlet as the PLM, so the maximum distance the power-line signal needed to travel from the PLM to the keypad was about 6 feet. It should not require the repeater function of other Insteon devices to travel that far. There is only that single outlet on that breaker. As an electronics Tech for 50 years and 40 years as the owner of an commercial two-way radio dealership (Motorola radio dealer), I was hoping there was some test function or test point (or device) to test for noise or even the presence of power-line signals to facilitate troubleshooting. I did put several keypad devices into linking mode to check the LED flashing rate indicating noise. However they flashed at a constant 1Hz or so rate indicating no noise. As mentioned before, all the Insteon devices talk directly to each other just fine. Only the ISY programmed functions (Sunset lights On, Sunrise lights OFF etc) do not work. I cannot see the front of my ISY994, so I forgot about the SD card. This system has been very reliable since we moved to this house 12 years ago. I'll try cleaning the SD card contacts. If the SD card has failed, is there a procedure to install a replacement card?

So, today I killed all the power to my house except one outlet to run the PLM and one keypad in a desktop housing. I ran the ISY and my internet modem from a portable inverter power unit to eliminate their switching power supplies from interfering. So the only thing operating in my whole house was the PLM and the single keypad and I could not talk to that keypad. Interestingly I could push button B,C,D,E,F,G, or H and the ISY would register that it was ON or OFF, but not the main button A (Main) "Cannot communicate". I'm guessing the rest of the buttons it is communicating by RF? At this point I am about to give up. I replaced the PLM, and tried a number of backups. It will not link in a new keypad, so maybe this new PLM is also a dud.

So we are back from our one month trip to Newfoundland. Got some Screech and kissed the cod! Interestingly while we were away, I got an Insteon water detector alarm emailed to me. So that came through by Insteon RF connection since that is it's only method of communication the water detector has. So the Insteon modem is talking to the ISY . I took a 8 button switch that is in a desktop case and plugged it into the same outlet as the ISY modem and they do not talk to each other. So I took that 8 button switch out to my shop, so it must talk through 150ft of #6/3 cable back to the main breaker box, then out to the switch it is linked with and I can control the switch... so I'm sure it is out of RF range and must talk through the wireline. Anyone know of a way to check for noise on the power line? Maybe some place I can probe with my scope on the modem or a switch module? Thanks.

Hi Guys, Thanks for all your help to this point, but I have run out of time. When we get back from our trip I'll revisit this issue. Bruce

I've tried restoring a single device and all my devices are in scenes, but no luck. At this point, one day away from leaving on my trip I purchased a couple of timer switches so at least my outside lights will come on at dusk and off in the morning. I have bigger issues now. I took the motorhome out for a longer test run and I have some backfiring issues!! I need to concentrate on that problem now ! Such is life!

The PLM is in the electrical closet with about 6ft of wire to the breaker panel. There are also 3 Insteon 2477 dimmers with about 6ft of wire from the breaker panel to them, so no more than 12ft of wiring from the PLM to these dimmers and they do not communicate with the PLM. Another reason I don't believe its noise causing interference is all the devices are programmed to communicate directly and everything that way works. If it was interference, then the devices could not communicate with each other.

Ok, so I reset the PLM and restored from the second from last backup in case it was corrupt. I didn't get the "could not open file" error this time, but still after Restore of ISY and Restore PLM, I still have no communication with any devices. One thing I get after rebooting and logging into the ISY, while trying to read each device the ISY tries to write to it which shows ERR 1 on the progress bar. This takes about 20 minutes to go through all the devices which also shows the error window "can't communicate with device". None of the instructions mentions this is going to happen.

Thanks for that suggestion. I have one from last September that I just tried. It got to the 13% point and then failed with the error: Could not open file /conf/network.cfg Failed resetting the PLM -200000/-30 hmm

My programs stopped working. I pulled up the ISY admin console and found the ISY could not talk to any devices. The ISY was talking to the PLM however (Checked status). We are going away for a month starting this weekend, so I purchased a new PLM and backed up the ISY. Installed the new PLM following the instructions here: https://wiki.universal-devices.com/index.php?title=ISY-99i/ISY-26_INSTEON:File_Menu#Replace_Modem_(PLM) When I logged back into the Admin Console, the ISY tried reading the Devices and on each one it did an update before (or after) posting an Error that it could not communicate with the device. So when it was done, and all devices showed a communication error, I did a Restore Devices. This only displayed a couple of devices before quitting the routine. The ISY still cannot talk to any devices. Unlike a previous user with a similar problem back in May, I did not change computers... same laptop I have been using with the ISY for years. I can still see all my devices and thankfully they can still talk to each other directly. I'm using firmware 4.8.0 which has been working great for a 5 years, so didn't upgrade. I've had Insteon and ISY for about 20 years and I was in electronics for 40 years, so I'm not a newbie. But Chemo has left me with some brain fog so small technical details elude me. Anyone who can point me in the right direction would be appreciated. Thanks. Bruce

So this morning I tried again, The admin Console loads up but gives an error "I/0 Error Proxy Device". I can turn ON/OFF the couple of switches I tried, but it does not display the current status of any device and all the switches I checked show the initial level as 0% and the Ramp Rate as 9 minutes. So its like it cannot read the current status and settings. Any ideas?

Gary, That does sound a bit strange. I don't have mine setup for remote access... no do I have anything fancy like Smart speakers. Just a few Insteon switches and keypads. I haven't done an update of the ISY firmware for a while. ISY finder reports I'm running firmware 4.6.2

Sorry guys, I was typing the fist sentence of my new topic and suddenly it posted to the forum! Fat fingers I guess.

I know there is likely another posting that cover's this, but after 2 hours of searching and trying things I still can't find my issue. Please bear with me, I've had an ISY99 now upgraded to an ISY994 that has been working fine for a few years... and still is. I haven't done anything with it for the past couple of years while battling cancer. The treatments has left me with "chemo brain" that messes with your memory and desire to even get things done. Anyway, I finally got around to adding a couple more keypad switches. When I try to get into the Admin Console to set them up and program them, I get as far as logging in and it starts loading... then flashes a couple of switches that are now dead... then I think an error and the program crashes. The fact that I get into it and I get past the log in says to me I'm connected and into the ISY. It crashes while loading the devices, or maybe checking their current state. I've checked the Jave version and it is up to date. The only thing I've changed is my virus software, but I get into the ISY so I don't think its that I can get into the ISY Dashboard but it locks up so I was able to get a screen capture of the errors. Any ideas?

Finally did a factory reset on both. One restored fine, but the other reported "Cannot communicate" I tried several times with no luck. I then did a second factory reset, but same error on restore. Looks like I'll need to replace that switch.

Yes, they are both set as Controllers in the Scene. They show up as Red in the Scene, which I understand means its a controller. I have buttons B, C, and D set on each switch as preset Dim levels and those buttons work on each switch. Only the Main button won't trigger the Main button on the opposite keypad. Thanks