Houselinc for troubleshooting on ISY network?

[NeilP]

Hi all,

I am having intermittent problems with some of my Insteon equipment (in particular two EZIO2x4s). I would like to eliminate the possibility of communication problems before I replace or have repaired the EZIOs (they are off warranty). I have an ISY 994 to manage my network. In researching various forums it appears that the free Houselinc software has some good troubleshooting capabilities built into it. However I am concerned that using Houslinc would interfere with my ISY network. I would, of course, disconnect the ISY from the network while using Houselinc. I understand that an Insteon network is based on links between the various devices and I am concerned that Houselinc may somehow corrupt those links. Has any one had any experience in using Houselinc in this manner on an ISY network?

Thanks

Neil

[LeeG]

If used carefully HouseLinc can be used in a controlled environment. Factory reset the device(s) before adding to HouseLinc. Otherwise HouseLinc will crawl through the device links adding many devices to HouseLinc. Run whatever Insteon network tests under HouseLinc that are desired. When complete delete the device(s) from HouseLinc, factory reset the device(s) and do a Restore Device to each device to restore the ISY environment.

[NeilP]

Hi Lee,

Thanks for your reply but Ouch! I suspected that I might have to do something like factory reset. The attraction of the Houselinc troubleshooting feature was its ability to do a baseline performance review of my entire network. Unfortunately I have 60+ Insteon devices in my home network, some in the attic, some in a detached garage, some in an outdoor wiring pedestal, etc. so there is no way that I will reset all of those units. It would probably take me an entire day just to do the resets.

 

I suppose that I could do a simple test on a single problematic unit. I am concerned about your comment that Houslinc would "crawl" the network. The user manual seems to indicate that one has to manually add devices to Houselinc. If it has some automatic functions in it then I wouldn't want to risk it corrupting links when I was testing only a single unit.

 

I think this would be a highly desirable feature that UDI could add to the ISY or perhaps a piece of software to run on a PC in conjunction with the ISY. Given all the issues reported on this Forum, having an ability to identify signal transmission problems versus device issues would be a big step forward.

 

Neil

[Brian H]

Have you tried the Scene Test Diagnostic?

[LeeG]

I cannot confirm HouseLinc will use the existing device link database to find other devices. There is nothing in the current manual that describes that action. I may be remembering something from years ago when it was HouseLinc Desktop or HouseLinc2 or I'm confusing HouseLinc with what the ISY has as an option when adding devices.

 

HouseLinc maintains manual Set button links as that is the expected method of linking devices before moving to automation. To keep those existing links without looking like a broken link HouseLinc would (might) add the linked devices. I always Factory Reset a device before adding to HouseLinc so I cannot state with certainty other devices will be added.

 

Since you are looking for a base line of the entire Insteon Network adding other devices would work to your advantage. Regardless HouseLinc will add links of its own to connect each device back to its PLM just as the ISY does. This means that all devices added to HouseLinc will have to be restored when going back to the ISY to eliminate the links HouseLinc created.

[NeilP]

Lee G....I may go ahead and try Houselinc with just my troublesome EZIO2x4s, following your recommendation to factory reset before and after the test. Perhaps you could answer one more question for me...if I use my ISY's PLM to do the Houslinc test will that complicate restoring my network back to ISY control? Am I correct in saying that the links in an Insteon network are between the PLM and the various switches, etc on the network? In which case the links in the PLM may be corrupted when switching between the ISY then Houselinc and then back to ISY? If this is the case, I have another Simplehomenet PLM which I use only for running the Simplehomenet Utility Suite. (This is one that I replaced after you helped me troubleshoot an incompatibility between my EZIO8SA and the Simplehomenet PLM). I could use this PLM for the. Houselinc tests.

Neil

[NeilP]

Brian H....no, I have not tried any test yet. Is the Scene Test diagnostic in Houselinc? I couldn't find any mention of it in the Houselinc manual. The only test process that I found was the Signal. Diagnostic test.

Neil

[LeeG]

Scene Test is an ISY test. Right click on Scene name, select Diagnostics | Scene Test.

[NeilP]

Thanks LeeG. I will check it out.

Neil