DAlter01

Thanks all, lots of programming options it seems once one understands what the different programmer words actually do. In reading through the manual I couldn't find that kind of detail/explanation. Did I miss it in the manual or is it mostly a trial and error process to learn how the different program words work within the program?

Does "switched bright" or "switched dim" compare the current setting of the device to the scene generated setting of the device to allow me to determine if one or more of the devices on the scene has been manually adjusted?

Just so I understand in case of future issue, if I used a dual band device to couple my phases wouldn't I use up some (or one) of my hops? With a large house wouldn't the risk of running out of hops potenitally be an issue where using the hard wired phase coupler allow me the freedom of using that hop or hops for reaching the devices by RF when/if the power line connection failed/had noise, etc.?

I am trying to set up day and evening lighting scenes that are triggered on and stay on based on motion. When there is no motion for a couple hours the scenes should then go off. That is easy enough to accomplish except that when I manually change the lighting level within that motion controlled scene it keeps getting reset by the ISY to the programmed light level whenever motion is detected. My objective is that when I happen to do a manual change to the light level (after a motion on event) I want the light level to stay at that manual level until the no motion time out event. The scenes each have 25+ lights so putting in code to check each device for a "dim" level would be cumbersome. I'm not creative enough to figure out how to do this through programming. Is there a way? One idea I had was to put in a dummy switchlinc that gets turned on via program by the motion detectors with that program having a timer to turn off the switchlinc when there wasn't motion for x hours. Then, I would use that switchlinc to be the control in a program to turn on and off the lights when that switchlinc comes on and off. This way, I don't think my manual changes to the light levels would be changed by the program. But, to do this, I think I have to put in multiple switchlincs to handle the transition from day scene to evening scene in order to obtain a new control on event for the evening scene. If I try it with just one switchlinc I don't see where I create the new on event to trigger the evening scene. I figure you guys may have addressed this before.....thoughts?

After adding phase bridges to each of my subpanels (4) it seems that all of my communication issues have resolved. I occasionally get a device that doesn't respond when I'm writing data to a big scene but that issue seems to self resolve immediately. I'm not having any memorable issues of devices not responding during normal operations. It seems that the issue I was experiencing was related to relying on the old X-10 phase bridges that were installed by others in the main panel. That was just too far for the signal to travel without degrading. Having the phase bridges within the subpanels has strengthened the network. Thank you paulbates and Teken for the help.

Thanks Paul and Teken, I'm going to invest in some phase bridges, Lamplincs, and filters. Much appreciated!!

So, making progress in trying your extension cord trick. Moving the PLM outside the cabinet (it was previously sitting right next to the HUB, touching actually) did get more devices to respond to the 4 tap test. Still, many do not respond. I think this tells me that I have improved the RF function of the PLM by moving it. Also, the device that I couldn't get linked to ISY still did not respond to the 4 tap test but I was able to link it to the ISY. So, my thought at present is to use a super long cat 5 cable I have and move the PLM around the house plugging it in at each end of the house and allowing me to link most/all of my devices to ISY. If, after linking the devices I have some that don't respond once I return the PLM to it's normal operating spot, I can then attempt to rectify whatever dead zones I may have in getting signals to those dead zones. Do you think the subpanel arrangement in my house is the issue and should be resolved with phase bridges at the subpanels? Or, do you think it would be be easiest/best to just use well placed Range Extenders to bridge any RF voids or phase bridging issues I may have? Also, is there a way to set the max number of hops to be higher than 3? The house is about 170' from one end to the other so there will need to be multiple hops under any RF signal link.

I have various dead zones around the house where my switchlincs fail the 4 tap test (no change in LED). Would it be safe to assume that installation of a few well placed Insteon Range Extenders would likely bridge whatever RF hole I have and also work to bridge my powerline signal from one sub-panel to the next so that I can improve my powerline signal in addition to improving my RF signal in those areas? As mentioned in one of my early posts, my house's main electrical panel is a standalone cabinet that is not within the structure of the house. The house itself has three subpanels that are tied to the standalone cabinet. My phase bridges are within the standalone cabinet. So, in theory to go from one part of the house to the next my powerline signal, in some instances, will have to go from the device to a subpanel, back to the main panel, back out to another subpanel and then to the other device. That could, I suppose, result in a lot of powerline signal drop should there not be a dual band device that is within range that is otherwise bridging that powerline signal from one of the subpanels to the other. My thoughts for which I'd like to get input back from the forum is: 1. Is my theory of why I'm having the problem likely 2. Would the Range Extender, if placed correctly, likely solve my problem 3. Would it be better to attempt to put in Phase bridges within the subpanels (currently phase bridges are only in the main panel) 4. Should I be looking in another direction to bring those failed 4-tap tests areas into proper fuction

Oops, sent the post prematurly, I think the 4 tap test tells me: 1. If the LED increases in intensity it is receiving RF signal 2. If the LED is flashing it is on the opposite phase from the PLM I don't think my understanding from above is complete. Wouldn't the 4 tap test also have some way of telling if: 1. the switchlinc is: a. Only receiving RF b. Receiving RF and powerline c. Only receiving powerline d. which phase it is on If the 4 tap test will tell me items a-d above, I don't see any documentation which describes how to interpret the results on the switchlinc. Also, since my switchlinc is working under Houselinc and responds to my HUB, but it failing the 4 tap test (no change in LED), how would I interpret that result?

If I understanding the 4 tap test correctly, the switchlinc that I can't add to the ISY is NOT responding in any way to the test. I turned the led down to 2% and I do not see it increase in intensity when I put the PLM into test mode. I noticed that some of my switchlincs were flashing and others, only a few feet away, were not flashing. I'm not sure of the function of the 4 tap test but I think it tells me: 1.I didn't look at all of my RF devices but I did notice some of them were

Dabbled with it, I got the PLM into test mode but I didn't see anything in the LED's. I'm running out the door and will spend more time fiddling with it later today. Thanks for the help.

Passive bridges are in the main electrical panel. I have not heard of 4 tap testing before today but ran into the concept today in reading another thread. I'm not familiar with how that works but I understand it is detailed in the ISY manual and will research and attempt to do that later today. Maybe the bridges are too far away being in the main electrical panel causing the additional hops. Maybe I need to put bridges in one or two of the sub panels.

The HUB and the PLM are plugged into the same receptacle. I am using the "Remove Existing Links" when adding. I have tried it both ways with the HUB plugged in and with it unplugged. It really didn't seem to have any impact. I don't know how to read the diagnostics. Am I reading it correctly to see that the PLM is set to use a maximum of 3 hops and that I am using all 3 hops to reach this device (0 hops left)? And, am I understanding hops correctly in that hops are the number of jumps the signal takes from one device to another before reaching from the PLM to the device? I didn't have to dig to deep into understanding the background of the system with the Houselinc as it communcated fine with all of the devices through the HUB and therefore didn't have to learn that part of the system. I assumed I couldn't use the HUB as a PLM for ISY. Maybe the HUB is a better (more robust) communication device to the network than a PLM? If so, would it make more sense to get a Gen 2 HUB and use it as a PLM for ISY?

I only have one PLM. It is a very large house. The main electrical panel is a 600 amp standalone outdoor panel cabinet that is not within the house and I can't put the PLM in there as it is not conditioned space (The house is in Palm Desert and temperatures in that cabinet will approach 200 degrees in the summer due to sun exposure) . The house itself has several subpanels. The PLM is somewhat near one of those subpanels. The two devices I am initially attempting to connect are coming off the same subpanel that the PLM is on. The existing Houselinc system seems to work fine from that same location. On the Houselinc, I am using a 1st generation HUB as it's PLM. That has worked fine. This PLM is a brand new PLM I purchased and installed to start the ISY install. I have turned off the HUB while attempting to link these devices.

I am starting out on converting 140+ device and functioning Houselinc network over to ISY994i. I'm going to break it into bite sized chucks of house segments. I'm starting out with my first two devices and trying to add them to the ISY. I keep getting an error in linking a device the has historically worked fine under Houselinc. The text of the error code is "could not determine device link table". I am getting error code 9 and error code 3. Below is a level 3 diagnostic. I am not familiar with how to read these diagnostics so I don't know what it is telling me. Can anybody give me some pointers and what this diagnostic is telling me and what you see as to why I am not getting this device to link? Sat 02/04/2017 06:48:47 AM : [ Time] 06:48:48 0(0) Sat 02/04/2017 06:52:07 AM : Start Insteon Device Linking Mode Sat 02/04/2017 06:52:07 AM : [LNK-BGN ] 02 64 01 00 06 Sat 02/04/2017 06:52:38 AM : [LNK-STAT ] 02 53 M(01) gid=00 2B.C8.D1 0120 41 Sat 02/04/2017 06:52:38 AM : [2B.C8.D1 00] Linked device type=01.20 fw=41 Sat 02/04/2017 06:52:38 AM : [2B C8 D1 0 ] Added to list of devices to link to ISY Sat 02/04/2017 06:52:38 AM : [iNST-SRX ] 02 50 2B.C8.D1 43.A9.2C 23 01 00 (00) Sat 02/04/2017 06:52:38 AM : [std-Direct Ack] 2B.C8.D1-->ISY/PLM Group=0, Max Hops=3, Hops Left=0 Sat 02/04/2017 06:52:38 AM : [iNST-DUP ] Previous message ignored. Sat 02/04/2017 06:52:38 AM : [LNK-BGN ] 02 64 01 00 06 Sat 02/04/2017 06:53:11 AM : Stop Insteon Device Linking Mode, Final processing to follow Sat 02/04/2017 06:53:12 AM : [iNST-TX-I1 ] 02 62 2B C8 D1 0F 0D 00 Sat 02/04/2017 06:53:12 AM : [LNK-END ] 02 65 06 Sat 02/04/2017 06:53:12 AM : [std MH ] Unexpected Ack imCmd=65 cmd1= 0xA9 Sat 02/04/2017 06:53:12 AM : [iNST-ACK ] 02 62 2B.C8.D1 0F 0D 00 06 (00) Sat 02/04/2017 06:53:17 AM : [iNST-TX-I1 ] 02 62 2B C8 D1 0F 0D 00 Sat 02/04/2017 06:53:17 AM : [iNST-ACK ] 02 62 2B.C8.D1 0F 0D 00 06 (00) Sat 02/04/2017 06:53:26 AM : [iNST-TX-I1 ] 02 62 2B C8 D1 0F 0D 00 Sat 02/04/2017 06:53:26 AM : [iNST-ACK ] 02 62 2B.C8.D1 0F 0D 00 06 (00) Sat 02/04/2017 06:53:29 AM : [2B C8 D1 0 ] Failed to add device, reason 3 Sat 02/04/2017 06:53:30 AM : [All ] Writing 0 bytes to devices Sat 02/04/2017 06:53:30 AM : [All ] Writing 0 bytes to devices

Sage advice. Looks like I will have to roll up my sleeves and put in some hard work. I do think the idea of breaking it down into bite sized chunks make a lot of sense. I'll pick off the systems that can be isolated first to get comfortable and effecient with the setup and then tackle the big block of devices that can't be split up after learning and understanding how the system works. Also, doing the print off in advance also should make things easier. Thanks all!

I have a large install of over 140 devices that I am going to convert from Houselinc to ISY994i. This install is complex with a lot of scenes and a lot of 6 button controllers that can activate some of the scenes from various locations. With lots of controllers there are thousands of links. I've read in the manual where I believe it says that if I add a number of devices into the ISY and let it discover the associated links that it should essentially find most/all of my linked devices and rebuild those scenes that are already programmed based on those links. Is this hopeful thinking--does it work that way? I'm not excited about the prospect of spending 30-40 hours adding all of these devices, rebuilding all of the scenes, and restablishing all of the links. I assume a few people out there have tacked such a project before and have advice on how they would approach such a project if they had it to do over again. Or, better yet, if they did it and found it easy to do. Any advise would be appreciated. Thanks