aLf

1) how can I best get multiple units to respond at the same time, i.e., 7 different switches on at sunset, off at 10PM? I tried a folder with the time as the criteria, but the trigger did not happen. 2) how to dim multiple LED's in the SWL's at the same time, i.e., sunset to sunrise regardless of switch status or position? 3) have a brown 8 button KPL that is not illuminating when the associated scene or unit is on. I'm sure the light is on behind the button(s), but the brown paper and plastic seems to be hindering illumination? aLf

I too was an early (too early) user. I (wasted) a months pay money on Smarthome X-10. If you wanted to see random turn on issues, it didn't even need the all too regular power outages of my area to turn on - power-line noise was enough. I too bought Insteon immediately upon their release. My random ON's became less, but the eventual power outage proved to be a surprise switch or two ON every time I came back to my vacation home. I can still remember running across the ISY-26. I also remember my first of many conversations with Michel. He told me what the little box would do. I really doubted his salesmanship. I bought one anyway and it has evolved into my current 994. Through those years (I'm old now), I have used it as more of an insurance policy than for its robust features. I ALWAYS looked at Insteon exactly like a previous posted noted. You have to think of ALL the stuff that can go wrong. The first thing I knew about Insteon was that it had its own mind. I wrote a program that based on home/away would look at status of every switch in my house every hour (you could write it for 5 minutes). That program would note any switch that was on when I wasn't home. If one (or many) were on, it would then send an "ALL OFF" to every switch. In addition, it would email me with the rogue switch and also a backup email when it returned to its proper state "OFF". I can't remember what I paid for my first 26, but it paid for itself in the first month. I can't tell you how many times my neighbor would tell me lights were on for days before. The scarf is another issue... I'm building a new house and have chosen Insteon to be present in some, but not all locations. I find the benefits FAR outweigh the problems. What I've seen of the recent versions is a product that is much more reliable. As with everything the Pioneers get shot, those coming along later reap the benefits. It is a shame that SH does not have a flash update for these, but then the only company that I've ever run across that continually updates their firmware - thus making it "state of the art" is Universal Devices. That said, I've never seen the (genuine) support by management as UD either. This forum is a wealth of knowledge. Don't dis the folks helping you. I feel like I may use 1% of capabilities of my ISY and Insteon. But then I probably only use 1% of my brain too.

New MacBook. I run Bootcamp. I just now got the Java app to work (Thanks Michel). Now that I can use the interface, it runs full-screen, but is so small you can hardly read it. This problem isn't solely within the ISY interface, it is with many Windows products - running in a basically Apple world. Has anyone found a way to get the UI to run full size? If there is, I'm sure that the rest of the Windows items will follow suit...

I think this is simple. As stated above. The program turns 4 items on during sunset to 10:30 PM. In the past if my wife happened to turn off one of the items locally, it would automatically turn back on. I can replicate it by turning an item off in ISY, and it will turn right back on. But if I locally turn it off at the switch, it stays off.

No, 4.3.26

I'm really not a "programmer" and your link took me to more variables than anything. I really want to just fix a simple "if" program. aLf

So if there have been changes in programming, where can I read up on it?

My PLM died this week also. Something in the air? I simply disconnected the old one, install the new, and then Restored PLM. All seemed well until I set my Christmas program to Enable. It is simple... For simplicity I'll just quote. I have the front door light to go on from sunset to 10:30 PM. And in another program to be off from 10:30:05 to sunset -;05 the following day. That said, lets use the off program. During that ime before the PLM failure, I could go and turn the light on at the switch and the program would immediately turn it back off - just as it should. Now, the light will stay on. Interestingly, I can swith the light on from ISY UI and it will turn it immediately off as it should. Same problem on the on side program, obviously turning it off, etc. Did I miss something in the PLM transfer? Why does it not work right locally? Regards, aLf

Lee: The 25 I see in the ISY window is (10% of 255) which is the max brightness of the SWL? (I have 10% set during the day & 1% at night)." What ISY window are you referring to that contains 25? Can you post an screen clip? 10% is certainly not the max, 100% would be max. My question is wheter ISY takes control of the "LED BRIGHTNESS" setting in the device, i.e. 10% would set it to 25? "My KPL's are set to 0 off (nothing) and 7 on at night (12 Day), what are those numbers?" If the KPL firmware is expecting an Off/On number that is the relative Off/On level of the LEDs. The device maintains a differential of 8 between the values regardless of the individual numbers so that Off and On are always visually distinguishable. What is the 7 and 12 in my case reference to? What ISY firmware? device firmware? device type (relay/dimmer)? The reason I ask is that by 4.0.5 I thought the references had been changed to either a number from 1-255 or a %. "The older models of SWL's & KPL's in the other house---do they not have any adjustment of the LED or buttons, even though there is an option within ISY? Depends on the device firmware in each device? Not all old devices can be set programmatically. There is a "LED BRIGHTNESS" setting in the GUI window even on the old SWL's, question is whether that is a usable feature? "Can you adjust the brightness outside of ISY?" Probably. Refer to the User Guide that applies to that specific device type at its firmware level. I don't have specific information as to what firmware level the various combinations of Switchlinc Dimmer/ Switchlinc Relay/KPL Dimmer/KPL Relay firmware was updated with that capability. SmartLabs/Smarthome does not provide a list of device type/firmware levels where each feature was added. Too old to find any leaflets on them, they are original equipment when Insteon came out. "I have one SWL I changed out last year (v27) that the LED when off many times is Off completely and sometimes on??? Is it a faulty SWL or is there a program setting the level I don't know about?" I have no way of knowing without some trace information when the change happens. The Find facility may help in locating Programs which affect the device. Where is the trace utility?

So? The 25 I see in the ISY window is (10% of 255) which is the max brightness of the SWL? (I have 10% set during the day & 1% at night). My KPL's are set to 0 off (nothing) and 7 on at night (12 Day), what are those numbers? The older models of SWL's & KPL's in the other house---do they not have any adjustment of the LED or buttons, even though there is an option within ISY? Can you adjust the brightness outside of ISY? I have one SWL I changed out last year (v27) that the LED when off many times is Off completely and sometimes on??? Is it a faulty SWL or is there a program setting the level I don't know about? Thanks.

I have some older SWL's. v38 and v27. In ISY there is an option to set LED brightness. Can I do so or is the hardware too old? Older ISY99i, running 3.3. Also second residence with 994 running 4.5. I have a program to dim the LED's at 1030PM, I also see that in the actual SWL, there is and LED brightness that shows 25 and the SWL looks bright even though I have the off level (in ISY) much lower. Thanks, aLf

Thanks, I got it to finally link. The problem was not using the Link pull down. Now another question (kind of off topic)... I made a scene, two lights in the scene along with a KPL button and a RL button. I went into the scene and set the "ON" levels and ramp rates. When I touch either the RL or KPL buttons, the scene turns the two lights on instantly and 100%? How do I set the scene attributes? aLf

Does the old "Silver" RemoteLinc not work with a 994 running the latest FW? I tried the above directions and I get a failure saying "can not determine Insteon Engine". Thanks aLf

I have an "off" command, ISY (or subsquent call to an INL) just misses stuff occasionally. It did the other night. ISY said it was off, they were on. I can then either go in and turn them off in ISY, go to the KPL button (that controls the INL), or as I found query (right click in ISY)---then ISY senses it's report as "on"---and immediately turns it off. What I thought was as a bckup was to 15 minutes after the program calls for them off, just do a query of the INL, that would accomplish the same thing a a right mouse click. I just wanted to know if my "QUERY" program was written correct. Here is the original program to run them. If From 10:35:03PM To Sunset - 3 seconds (next day) And Status 'Gate Outlet' is On Then Set Scene 'Gate Outlet' Off Else - No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action') I then wrote this as the "QUERY" If Time is 11:00:00PM Then Set 'Gate Outlet' Query Else - No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action') Do the guru's think that I did this the best way possible? Tim

I have a basic Christmas Light program. Last night the lights did not turn off at 10:30 as supposed to. The program is written so that to turn off if I question the status. I have had no "QUERY" in any of the programs. I wrote the following as a backup. Will this take care of my issue? If Time is 11:00:00PM Then Set 'Gate Outlet' Query Else - No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action') All I need is to have the 'Gate Outlet' checked and if not off, it will trigger the entire "SCENE" off? Thanks, Tim

Hey Michel: I thought I'd write this to the Forum. I have an "AWAY" program which runs obviously when I'm AWAY. It was set (to AWAY) a week ago (before the time change). It was running a program (under summary) for me which has been flawless for a long time. That program essentially turns every switch OFF when I'm away every hour. That program ALWAYS shows in my programs as "Running "Then". Tonight I went into ISY to look around (remotely) and noticed that the program although showed TRUE, was indeed running IDLE. To force it, I went into Main and ran a HOME callout via ISY, ISY then showed "HOME". I waited several minutes and went back to tell ISY I was AWAY (2-KPL's, and an APL in a Scene). My Programs Summary then showed the ALL OFF as Running "Then" as it usaullay does. As a subnote, I checked my LOG in EXCEL and the last time it ran as it should was at 1:30 AM Saturday morning, essentially a half hour before the time change. Coincidence? A Bug? I don't know. Just thought I'd point it out. Regards, Tim

Thanks again Lee. Just so I'm straight. The IO Linc would really not interact with the Dakota. It simply would be hooked to very basic window sensors and would activate when the prox showed open/closed. Then vis the Insteon network (and ISY) would trigger whatever I wanted, i.e. an email or turn on a light? How waterproof/moisture proof do you think the IO would be? The moisture, i.e. humidty is always high in the north woods. Does Dakota make any kind of prox that could be mounted on the gate and send a signal to the Dakota base? Regards, Tim

Lee: Thanks. I allready use the Dakota driveway alarm. I have a buried metal sensor near the road which will pick up any car, and as a backup I have motion sensors around the yard, including one nearer the house on the drive to sense someone (or animal) (or someone who is an animal) that gets by the metal sensor. They work great as intended, when they work. I have had MORE than my share of reliability issues with both the probe and the motion sensors. Maybe the bitter cold and moisture of Northern Wisconsin. That said, Is there a way to tie into the Dakota? As far as I know they dont have a prox sensor that would transmit to the Dakota base-do they? I presently don't use the base wit and IO linc, but could easily do that. I also could rig up some sort of NEMA box in a nearby woodshed to house an AP which could recieve the Insteon window prox? Would one AP be enough? And would the AP recieve it OK and then transmit back into the house (same circuit)? As stated earlier, I am open to ANY design ideas here. Using the Dakota would be nice if there was a way. On an unrelated subjetct. My PLM is ancient. One of the original Insteon releases. Would it be good insurance to replace it with a new and if so what model? I alos have two KPL's which are original and would it be as simple as new ones-replace and re-program ISY to be able to dim the bright buttons? Thanks, Tim

I have a driveway gate which would be nice to monitor and maybe switch lights on/off. It unfortunately is 400' from the house. It does have 110, but is switched from the house (Insteon and ISY) for lights and outlets. I'd like to see when the gate is open or closed. Any ideas without major re-engineering? I think the big issue is having an access point to recieve a simple window/door sensor, but the lack of unswitched power for the AP and trying to keep the AP dry would be a problem. I appreciate the design options you all will come up with.

Teken: I gave serious thought to selling it. In the end, I could not sell something to you or anyone that I know could cause the kind of trouble this thing could. Granted, someone will get this "like new" generator installed at their dream home by the dealer, but I can look my maker in the eye knowing I didn't sell it to them! If the manufacturer felt there was a compelling issue (which I don't believe they do), they would have insisted on pulling it from circulation. My morals and ethics are worth more to me than a few extra bucks. I truly believe had I not been home and this thing had run at the voltages it did, my home would have been seriously injured. I hope that anyone with this vintage of generator educate themselves as to what they have and at very least get the new style Voltage Regulator. aLf

HI Guys: I built the house new in 2002, I believe the generator went in in 2003. It only has 25 hours on it and the big share of that was exercising! The last time I ran it prior to this ( for actual backup use) was two years ago. I had a garage door opener and Panasonic Network Camera fail that time and I attributed it to the actual electrical storm that took the power out. I now figure it was over-voltaging then as well. I did talk directly with the manufacturer last month. They supplied the new VR at cost and I was billed $100 for the install. I then decided to just change out the entire generator to a new model. The new model not only is computer monitored for all faults, it is also a bit bigger (old-12/new-17KW). It also incorporates a whole house switch rather than the old style 12-breaker switch. I can't give any input yet as it is scheduled to be installed this coming week. Generac gave me a break on the price, however it still is very expensive to me. The price discount was not the big hit, my old unit is worth only $500 according to the dealer!!! I paid over 4K for it in 2003. What can I do? I don't consider the old unit trustworthy. This ordeal set me back a few hundred dollars and a bunch of time replacing switches in Insteon stuff alone. Your comments on watching other stuff is well taken. That said, at least I only had 12 breakers worth of stuff on line rather than the whole house. So far everything else seems fine. I'll follow up with a final read after the new unit goes in. There is another poster on the forum who recently installed this same unit. His posts relate to monitoring the actual state of the generator via Insteon. I have opted (for now) not to complicate the upcoming install with a "home brewed" Insteon ad-on. I will later and maybe one of you electrical guru's will ahve an even better way to accomplish that. (Please take a moment to read his informative posts and leave me feedback on any ideas). For now I just keep my fingers crossed that the install goes well, the unit works as advertised and my stuff stays protected. Textbooks are expensive, real life is even more costly... In the end my biggest problem with the whole thing is that there are tens of thousands of these units out there where folks feel "protected" and in reality their investments and homes are anything but. A voltage regulator is one thing, over-voltage or wrong voltage protection is an absolute must. They spend the money for a low oil pressure shut down, but ignore the bigger picture. Hence the $500 core value. Thanks, aLf

Hi all! I have followed with interest many posts on the forum re: backup generators. I was always from day 1 afraid of the generator and Insteon living together. I had a very bad situation a few weeks ago which I want to share in hopes that someone else can benefit from this. We had another power outage (dozens per year). I had a Generac 12KW unit, vintage 2003. I kept it off as long as possible only to manually power it up after 8-10 hours of no electric. I went into the house to find some VERY bright lights and things making sounds I never heard before. Within a minute, two loud POPS were heard along with bright flashes. Two SWL's blew-big time. I also lost several bulbs on various lights. I IMMEDIATELY shut down the generator. The SWL's were burned really bad and trashed. I disconnected the Generac from the house system and found it to be 300+ volts on the high side, 150's on the low side. Had I not been home to shut it down, I wonder how bad it would have become? That said, the culprit was the voltage regulator which I'm told is on a new revision number. At very least you need to check yours to see if it is old or new style. More important though is that that unit has NO over voltage protection, unbelievable... After changing the VR, it works good now, but my faith is lost. I am trading it in for a new model, a 17 KW with a whole house switch. The new unit is computer controlled and one of the many safeguards is over voltage. Expensive lesson. A gentleman on this forum has a good post on monitoring the newer models. I will unless someone else has a better option, go with his In line linc solution. In a nutshell, all I want is an email from my ISY if the generator comes on. Any other ideas? Thanks for any input, aLf

I have one single TriggerLInc which I want to install on a door. I read the instructions and am a bit confused. I don't want the TL to turn on any light, instead I want to write a program that will "sense" the opening of the door by ISY and just send a simple e-mail. If so, what is the easiest way to set the TL up? Also will the TL talk with an AP which is pretty much on the other side of the house? Thanks, aLf

I have several Panasonic webcams installed. They offer a "motion detection" mode. When I'm home I don't want motion and have that option set off. It was a pain to continually arm and dis-arm them. I have a network module callout that when I push a KPL button upon leaving/arriving home (also can be done via Mobilinc), sends the CGI transfer code to each camera to turn the motion on/off. This same KPL button also sets my ISY to home/away mode. It has been very helpful. That said, a guy on this forum, Burak? made the code. Maybe he could post as to how he made this code and how to modify it? One thing I've always wanted to do was modify it so as to incorporate WeatherBug data, i.e., sun data to turn the motion off during very sunny weather. I have more clouds and shaddows from the clouds setting off motion than I do people or animals. The CGI transfer codes could be written to do things such as turning a PTZ camera to a certain spot upon a light switch push, etc. Depending on your camera, if it is Panasonic, they offer a very good booklet (downloadable at:)http://panasonic.net/pcc/support/netwkcam/download/us.html. If you dream up something good, please come back and update us. aLf

oberkc: Not at all. I (and I hope everyone) appreciate the in depth ideas. I wish I could visit first hand to see specific bulbs and get a (feel) for the color and warmth. You must have spent 1,000's on the bulbs? When you say you had to change power supplies, is there anything wron with running a supply WAY below the normal wattage? I have two exremely reliable and built tough units from Roberts Step Lighting that run all my outdoor stuff. The bulbs are for the most part 3155 & 3156 10-20 watt knife bases. There is a bunch of them and they add up to the max of each transformer. (If) there is an LED version, I would expect a 20 watter to go to .5 watts or so, that would equate to probably dropping each load to almost nothing. Would I have to cahne the trans? I agree that a base of info (maybe another thread) listing various bulb types and suitable LED's that others have found would be very valuable. Thanks again, aLf