Harold

I had things working a year or so ago. Two computer rebuilds, OS change, etc. Now I seem to be back to step zero and I don't remember how I got it done before. Starting the admin console from the web site, it does not find the ISY. Downloaded admin.jlnp. Running that finds nothing. Reset ISY. No change. I am going to try the com port. However I have no idea where the nul-modem cable is that came with the ISY. Is there some eyeball way to identify that cable out of a box of cables? Strange color, label, etc.?

Yes. It all works now that I have the IP. The device is on the local net so my firewall does not block it.

I was probably doing something wrong. No "your lighting" appeared in my network info. Still does not even though I am now running the admin console. Windows does not seem to be aware of the isy as a device on the network. And the discovery function is turned on and seems to be working fine with other devices. The admin console did not initially (or I could not see how) find the IP address. RS232 does not require an IP to find or set the IP. A basic and simple thing. The easiest way to initially gain access to an isy without having to know about DHCP or IP addresses at first. I have things working now. Re: manual. I can not envision all of the information on the isy installation and use is not in a single manual. If nothing else; an appendix. To expect the user to know there is another manual for there rest of the details is not, in my opinion, reasonable. Why not put as much information as possible directly in front of the guy who just bought a bunch of stuff from Smarthome to automate his house; like he did with X10. They know to download the manual. Make their experience as good/easy as it can be. My comments like these are an attempt to take the position of the home owner that is not technically skilled, or for that matter, interested in learning more details than are absolutely necessary. Sometimes taking that position is rather easier for me these days than it used to be. Your current manual is a much better resource than the approach being taken when I first started looking at these systems. Try to put yourself in the position of a new user who really has no interest in solving technical puzzles. It is one of the driving factors in people buying Apple computers. Apple followed the vision of a simple to use UI. MS did not, but they generally won. Although they are now loosing increasing market share to Apple. There can be a large difference between what seems reasonable to someone who has lived and breathed the system details for years and those that just want the lights to come on at dusk. Your staff and the other guys on the forum are a wonderful resource and an immense help. But having information at your fingertips on your PC is also useful. And quicker. I did a bunch of searches on both the main web site and the forum without seeing an indication of another document or the actual information. In all likelihood I missed a reference. There is some of Joe six pack in my blood. Incidentally, Joe six pack is a term used only for the unskilled masses. There are no skilled Joe six packs.

Thanks, a previous post got me past where I was but I could not talk to the isy with a terminal emulator. I don't know why. Never saw the isy on the terminal. But I found the IP address where I had written it down and that resolved my need. Just as an experiment I went to the UD main page to see how I would know to look for the advanced info that is not, and there is my question of why not, in the manual. It is a real simple though that new users would want to do. I could find no path or mention that it existed. Nor could I just go to the directory DOCS and look around. Why is it hard? That is a rhetorical question.

I searched the isy manual I downloaded a couple of days ago with a number of combinations like serial port, RS232, etc. and did not find any occurrence.

Thanks. That really ought to be in the isy manual.

Serial ports have settable speed, parity, and number of bits, stop bits, flow control. That sort of stuff for the PC.

What are the proper PC settings for the RS232 interface on the isy. I am just not coming up with the right search parameters to locate this information.

I know this is a very unlikely scenario. Just asking because the coincidence was real odd. I was trying to start the application to manage my devices. I started it and it seemed to do something but never displayed a screen. Tried starting it another one or two times. Nothing. So I decided to reboot. My machine never worked again. It seemed to be pointing at some problem on the motherboard involving the display. I wound up building a new machine. I should note that this software was probably the latest version current a month or so ago. Is it possible that Java or the application was corrupted and messed up drivers or something? Just asking. I may try to do a clean bios install on that board and attempt to load some type of OS later.

Thank you. I should have realized that. My head was thinking the software had it.

I am loading the admin console from my local machine.I cannot find my piece of paper with the password. Is there a way to reset it?

This is just to test posting to the forum with IE instead of FF.

Are there any third party GUIs available free or for a reasonable cost to replace the existing programming/control interface from UD? For simple environments like an iSY and Insteon only devices. I have been reading through various posts (developer, suggestions) and see a number of approaches I would be interested in trying if they were made available. Things like using a group that is not a scene (e.g., Switch link load and another SWL as a slave appearing as a single functional unit that behaves like pushing the buttons). Use of colors to display associated items. Easier repetitive naming of buttons for a device. You know; stuff.

Thanks for all the replies. I am also considering a filament alternative. The outside light fixtures have been using cfls for several years and I have been happy with their operation. Not dimmable, of course. My intent is to try out some bulbs. I built a simple test box so I can easily attach a controller and plug in a test load to play with things on the bench. I am trying to find a good dimmable cfl to start with. i had concerns about the amount of light provided by a dimmable at the lowest reliable setting. If it does not dim enough, it will not meet my needs. These are not "security" lights in the sense that they don't work to blind someone if they move. Mostly they are for us to see what we are doing. The low level operation would let me see outside without something tripping a motion sensor. If they were on at low power, I would also expect the switch to full power would happen much faster that from a cold start. Even from a cold start, the cfls are sufficient for the outside use. At some point I may add a couple of floods that would be off and light on motion.

It is actually somewhat about keeping the light level down. I live in a moderately populated but rural area. There is a certain amount of activity and complaining about not keeping the sky dark. When I started building, I put up a sodium light and I am happy with that. Some neighbors are not. I would like some light all the time, but the amount of light from the exterior lights is too much, and in some of the wrong places for us. So keeping on a minimal level and brightening on motion or command ♦is the approach I want to take. The lamp holders are very well ventilated. I do not anticipate a thermal problem. I intend to turn them on at full, wait a few minutes, and then take them down to a minimal level. This should deal with cold weather starts. Please tell me the brand/type you talked about. Never too much information.

I have a bunch of outdoor "security" lights. Normally They do not need to generate a whole lot of light. They are fixtures with two normal bulbs. I am currently using regular old cfl bulbs. What I want to do is move to Insteon control and run them at a low level (i.e. dimmed) and brighten them up when motion is detected. This seemed like a good idea until I priced dimmable cfls. I have seen a post on this site saying GE makes good dimmable cfls that work with Insteon. They are a bit pricey. I need about 30 bulbs to populate all the fixtures with two bulbs each (yeah, I know, but wife (i.e. WAF)♦ requires balanced appearance of both bulbs - and hey, it is fail safe redundancy). Has anyone found a cheaper dimmable cfl that has good lifetime and does not cause problems for the Insteon dimmers and network? Right now I have the whole house populated with bulbs I got for $0.19 at Walgreens. Obviously i am going to have to spend a bit more for dimmable. But quite frankly, being a EE I do not see a real big reason why dimmables have to be so much more expensive.