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Maybe this is a dumb question, but could you guys set up a separate watchdog computer that pings your own portal (but doesn't depend in any way on it) and send us (if we've opted in to such a thing) an email that the service is down/up? -Tom

Happened to me too. Skill was removed somehow. Had to add it back. -Tom

Long live the AC! It is powerful, and works great on a desktop. -Tom

Am I the only one who can’t figure out, from this post, what platforms larrylix thinks are good and which are bad? It seems that he’s been dissing UD lately, but since this post starts with a RPi rant (which I understand is a common hardware platform for HA, but far from the only one), he lost me from the get go. -Tom

btw, holiday lights are one place where Insteon (or even X10!) shines (pardon the pun). Plug in the modules, enable the programs you disabled in January, and away you go! No network to heal. Bliss. Unless you have powerline noise. Oh, and LED holiday lights never go entirely off. You need a dummy load. And... Anyway, Insteon rules. Again. -Tom

@macjeff Forgot the port! 8080 worked. Thanks! -Tom

I know the address. Putting it in manually isn't working. -Tom

I also now have the IoX Launcher. It was empty when I launched it. I can't load my old saved file. I was able to add my ISY back by IP address, but I can't get it to find my Polisy. I can get to my Polisy through the portal, by pinging it, and by ssh, but can't get to PG2 or PG3. Direct https access to the correct ports isn't working. I could use some advice. -Tom

A local Craigslister had one for sale for $120 recently. Better sell it soon... -Tom

IC what you did there. I R8 it as rather amusing. -Tom

We're going to assume you are referring to the Insteon situation. -Tom

And it is complicated, because with its cleanup messages, Insteon takes the approach that it will keep trying to get the correct state of all devices in a scene for a while. I'm not sure how many other protocols do that. The bigger issue is what you do when one device, temporarily or permanently, doesn't achieve the state dictated by the scene's definition. I personally don't see any downside to always having the controller attempt to set the state of every device in the scene (whether by individual or group messages) every time it is invoked regardless of what it thinks the state currently is, excluding super-complicated environments where minimizing traffic is essential. Otherwise, correcting this "scene out of whack" scenario requires one to invoke an unwanted scene just to be able to invoke the desired one. But if that behavior isn't built into the highest-level controller you interact with (like Siri invoking Homekit), I don't know what you can do about it other than interact directly with the software layer that does allow for it. The ISY will do what it's told to do. It doesn't ignore your commands because it thinks they're redundant. However, I've also never seen the value of totally accurate scene awareness, either. Though it's helpful to glance at a display of scenes to know the state of devices that are not in line-of-sight or aren't lights so they don't provide their own visual feedback, it seems more like a "nice to have" than something essential. But then I live alone, so no one is around to manually change a light and screw up my desired lighting, or themostat setting, etc. -Tom

popcorn = when you command two or more Z-Wave lights to turn on or off, they usually do so sequentially. For Insteon lights that are part of a scene, they usually all start responding to the scene command at the same time, and if they are dimming to off at the same rate, usually go completely off at the same time. You may not have multiple Z-Wave lights controlled by any keypad buttons, or your Z-Wave devices may be responding so rapidly that there's no noticeable effect, or you may not be sensitive to it. In any case, some of us who have started to switch away from Insteon do see it and are bothered by it. That's why I asked. -Tom

Thanks for documenting your experience. Very helpful. I also have one of these Zen32 devices. It's controlled by an older ISY with a series 300 dongle, and that combination is badly lacking for scene button functionality, so I don't recommend it. Also, mine has a wonky relay (big) button that often gets stuck in the depressed state if you don't press on it in the very middle. It seems like letting one side get ahead of the others causes that side to bind with the frame. I guess I'd just say that, in general, another weakness of this device compared to the KPL is that button presses are not as "crisp" or "clicky", and I find the experience less satisfactory. -Tom

How about popcorn effect when multiple devices go on and off? Doesn't bother you, or have you found a way to avoid it? -Tom

To be clear, I was referring to the PG2 NS. I have not updated to the PG3 version yet, though I have been following its development. I don't have any expectations for the PG2 version to be developed further, and I don't personally rely on it for anything important. I only chimed in to help Blackbird test PG2 NS functionality in case that would be helpful. I might be one of the few people still running it. -Tom

I should have added that I was at work last week and checked my personal email, saw that the ZMatter board upgrade was available, and instantly ordered one. If they have serial #s, mine will be in the single digits. -Tom

I gotta say, after sinking untold dollars into innumerable other home automation products that have given me zero ROI, I am now at the point that I preorder everything Michel has to offer. I'd probably send him cash for nothing if he asked for it. He's offering to credit you if you ordered the Zooz dongle from him? You have got to be kidding me! I bought mine from Amazon, so I'm not eligible, but I'm not angry or jealous, I'm just...impressed. There is no other company I can think of that respects their customers as much as this one does. -Tom

I've been caught by 8 vs B before, so check that. -Tom

Is this an existing one, or one still in development? RA3? RA2? Caseta? -Tom

Jack: I PM'd you on your Insteon gear. If it's already gone, please update this thread. -Tom

DubZ for short. Several Urban Dictionary entries say it's used to refer to a certain size for wheels (rims) on automobiles, but there are also some other meanings listed that might give one pause. -Tom

Maybe I missed it, but has anyone documented how to upgrade to the point where the "Upgrade Packages" button shows up, if you don't have it already? -Tom

I'm still running the PG2 node server on Polisy. It's definitely functional and usable, but isn't 100% feature complete compared to the ELK module on the 994i. If you want me to look up or test something for you, I'd be happy to. But I'd just go straight to the PG3 version if I were you. -Tom

Louder than all get out though. -Tom