Can't set new dimmer to OFF when scene is turned ON

[Toddimus]

Hi,

 

Here's my symptom:

Just bought a new 2477D Dual-Band Dimmer Switch and added it to a scene, which I call "Movie Time". It replaced an old relay type switch (i.e. non-dimming). I deleted the old switch and added the new switch, rather than try to do a replace via the Admin console. I added it to my scene as shown below. Notice that I have the "Dimmer - Kitchen Sink Light" set to 0%, so it is supposed to turn off when the "Movie Time" button on the 8-button keypad is pressed. This used to work beautifully when I had the old relay style switch in its place. Now, when I press the physical button on the 8-button keypad to trigger the scene, the "Kitchen Sink Light" dimmer turns on to 100% (almost like it's seeing a FAST ON button press). What is strange is that when I click the "ON" button in the Admin console for this scene, the "Kitchen Sink Light" does exactly what it is supposed to do... turn off if it was on and stay off if it was off.

 

Note that this is only a partial screenshot of the scene configuration screen. There are more devices in the scene, but I couldn't show them all with the available scroll area in the admin console.

 

Here's the list of devices in the "Movie Time" scene for reference. The problem dimmer is a responder to the 8-button keypad button "G" controller.

 

And here's an excerpt from the level 3 log file after the button is pressed. I'm not very good at deciphering the communications stuff in these logs, but I did try to annotate as best as I could.

 

Here's some background on my setup (and experience), if it helps...

I have about 30 Insteon devices in my system, most of which are 2-3 years old, so they are all the old i1 style protocol firmware. I have done quite a bit of programming in the ISY 994 IR/PRO, with ~150 programs and ~40 variables, so I'm not a "noob", but I wouldn't call myself an expert by any means. I guess my point is that I'm pretty sure what I'm trying to do is easy and should work straight away.

 

Main devices in question:

• ISY 994 IR/PRO with v4.1.1 firmware
  My PLM is an older model: 2413S with V1.4 firmware. I presume this device can only handle i1 protocol, but I imagine the newer devices are supposed to play nice in an older system.
  My 8-button keypad is also an older model 2486D (reported as v.36 in the console).
  As I mentioned before, the problem dimmer (2477D) is brand new.
  The other devices in the scene are also "old", but they don't seem to be having any problems.

 

I don't know if it's correlated, but I did have a some weird stuff happen this last weekend. The signals from all seven of my wireless motion sensors suddenly stopped being recognized by the ISY and PLM. After power cycling both the ISY and PLM (to no avail), I ended up restoring the PLM which seemed to solve the motion sensor problem (but not the dimmer problem from above). Looks like somebody else had this same problem in the last few days:

http://forum.universal-devices.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=13210

 

My troubleshooting steps that have already been tried and didn't work:

• Do a factory reset (air gap then hold in for 10 seconds) of both the new dimmer and 8 button keypad.
  Do a restore device for both the dimmer and 8 button keypad
  Do a restore on the PLM

 

Any thoughts? Is my new dimmer bad? Is my PLM bad (or out-dated)? Is my 8-button keypad bad (or out-dated)? Or am I missing something?

[LeeG]

Click on the Red KeypadLinc button node name below the Scene name. Set the SwitchLinc Dimmer On Level to 0%.

[Toddimus]

Lee,

 

You nailed it! Thanks for the quick and very accurate response. It took a whole 12 minutes from when I posted the question to when you responded.

It has been a while since I set up a scene, so I had forgotten about that little nuance. Can you explain why there's a difference in the slider settings when I have the scene highlighted on the left and when I have the controller (in red) highlighted? For the life of me, I can't think of why they would (or should) be different.

[LeeG]

Each Responder has a unique set of On Level and Ramp Rate values that are stored in the Responder keyed to the Controller Insteon address. When the Scene name itself is used in a Program or controlled from the Admin Console the PLM is the Controller.

 

When pressing a KeypadLinc button that is a Controller. Each Responder can be set to one On Level/Ramp Rate when the Scene name is used (PLM is the Controller) and a different set of On Level/Ramp Rate values when the KeypadLinc button is pressed (KPL button is Controller). Each Red Controller node below the Scene name can have a unique set of On Level/Ramp Rate values.

[Toddimus]

Thanks for the explanation, Lee. Makes sense now. It really had been about 2 years since I set up all of my scenes. After I made my last reply, I had been looking through my scenes and the proverbial light bulb went on above my head and I remembered dealing with this when I first started with the ISY99 and my first devices.