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

oberkc: If you could, with the experience you must have in changing the entire house, maybe give some of us tidbits and suggestions on certain bulbs/manufacturers/applications that you have found. Any ideas on cost mangaement? What kind of impact if any have you seen with Insteon? Thanks, aLf

IOGUY: Should I aso change it to an IP in the .150's as well (outside the DHCP of the router)? aLf

LeeG & all: TRust me, i am willing to do whatever (you) experts believe is "prudent". I was advised previous to , at initial implementation to set static on ISY and to do the IP/Mac bind. I am not opposed to "trying" something new. My understanding is that if you have a static IP, in this case .14 assigned to ISY and ISY says its IP should be .14, nothing else owns or can "lease" the IP. I'm no expert, far from it, but I'm trying to learn as we go. My reference to 80% is not good. In reality anything less than 100% is not acceptable for a unit of any kind that I have to ask someone to re-boot. That said, I find it questionable a to why the controlled re-boot (my neighbor induced) works every time. I am sure that regardless of the power interupt, there is nothing else getting to the .14 IP other than ISY. To me it falls into the PFM category of a millasecond making the difference in success or not. Again, I only asked to see if there was a better way to skin the network setup-cat. As the original poster asked---Is there any sure way to re-oot ISY remotely? I'm not wild about the ols plug-in timer working every day at a preset time as I can see the recipe for disaster re-booting this thing 365.25 times a year! I was looking more for a network controlled item that would allow access to the 120v that powers ISY. IoGuy: If one does not assign a static IP in ISY and allows it to determine via DHCP its own IP---How does my MobiLinc know the IP address? Presntly MobiLinc requires in the setup to know what the (internal) IP is for ISY. Not that other peripherals equate. But I have six Panasonic cameras on this network, all are static IP's set in the cameras as well as the router. As I stated earlier, the only difference is they are .150's (outside) the DHCP range. Is my only issue here to change the internal IP address of ISY to a .150 number outside as well? I'd love to hear from an expert as to how to set up this network properly. Thanks, aLf

It is inside the DHCP range. 192.xxx.x.14 It is hard in ISY and the router. In addition I have the option to add it as a strict bind to the Mac address of ISY. Keep in mind that most of the time it comes up as advertised. aLf

Hi Michel: I had looked at the router previous to the conflict and noted the corect (inernal) IP address, 192.xxx.x.14). I lso looked at the email I recieved that morning (while ISY was not allowing access) and it too showed 192.xxx.xx.14. This tells me that ISY was assigned that IP (also same IP I have set static to Mac bind) and was able to send an email from the ISY device (traceable through "Properties in my Outlook). While I'm gone only the six cameras and vOnage are available to the router----they all functioned properly. Then the only thing we did was unplug ISY & PLM and pronto we were back? I'm not posting this any reason other than to see if there is a comon thread anyone else has found. I'm all for using the help provided by the router and static, etc. Is there any way around having to worry about this? Thanks Michel & Everone else. aLf

Xathros: I have it assigned as a static in the router (and also as a IP/Mac address bind). Then in ISY I have set the static address per UD instructions. It boots back up 80% of the time like it should, BUT it's the other 20%.... I know that theboot cycles of every product are variable. I d know that almost every "controlled" boot, i.e. unplugging brings it back almost 100% of the time. aLf

Michel: You are aware, I know. I have had the same problem since day 1. Last week mine did the same (always when I'm away for a long period). My problems always come when after we have a power outage (happens often). I'd say 100% of the time my entire network comes back up... Consists of the modem, router (Draytek) and 6 Panasonic cameras and Vonage. My ISY however only comes up 80% of the time. The other 20% I have to physically have a neighbor go over and I have him unplug the power from ISY and the PLM (not sure if PLM is needed). Then ISY comes back and my world is good. (Michel) after the problem a week ago, we have had a couple outages and ISY did just fine. There is really no good reason for the lack of it coming on line. I have troubleshot it through the Draytek router and see that ISY (static IP) is seen at the router and therefore portforwarded. ISY does continue to run programs including it's ALIVE e-mail to me every morning at 7. It is however unable to talk with me remotely until the unplug/reboot (even through MobiLinc)??? The green light is on when the neighbor gets there and all appears good. I too would like to find a good (remote way) to reboot it. My neighbor is a nice guy and he does get a Chritmas gift every year, but I still feel like I'm imposing on him. Any clever re-boot ideas? aLf

Kind of Cheesy (but I'm from Wisconsin). Use an Appliance link with an LED of some sort plugged in that flashes (only thing I can think of is a flashing Christmas tree light). Make a simple program that monitors the TRiggerlinc, when gate open turn AL on. When gate closed turn AL off. aLf

I have a network call-out that controls a Panasonic network camera (was written for me). I have to change a parameter in it to modify certain operatinal times. My question is... How do I copy the code from the network modue to an editor (Notepad works for me), I have the new code and can insert it but then need to re-paste it into the network module. Help is much appreciated. Thanks, aLf

Is there any need to worry about "upsetting" ISY and the network of switchs by querrying. With a vacation home and being away, I always tend to not mess with the system while away. Does querry cause any undo stress and leave me open to a possible lock-up while away? aLf

I'd have to think that three other programs including a manual formula would lend one to believe that three the same and one different (ISY)---well you do the math. Again, I'm not making a mountain out of this. In fact, I'm happy with it just being close. The fact is something is off.