Adding another PLM

[mtratz]

First of all: Congratulations to the ISY. This was really the best purchase I made to manage my 37 insteon devices so far. I used to use Houselinc and I don't know how many times it didn't make the links as I specified. It was nightmare. But creating scenes and multi-way circuits is really a piece of cake with ISY and it always works. I love it!

 

Now I don't know if it's possible. If I get another PLM from SmartHome and I plug this PLM into my HTPC (which also runs MainLobby from Cinemar) can I add this PLM to my ISY (not plug it into the ISY only manage it like another Switchlinc or Keypad)?

 

I see if I go under New Insteon Device the PLM is listed as a possible device type, but I don't know if I can really manage it from my ISY. I only have one (I started out with the poor working PLC and the SDM So I can't test it.

 

The reason I ask, because I want to control the whole house audio system with Insteon Keypads. It's possible with MainLobby and their Insteon PLM Plugin (I've already tested it). The problem is this plugin requires you to walk around the house to link devices/buttons into the PLM. It's not very intuitive. And I think if I do a restore devices in my ISY I would loose all those links I manually made it. It certainly would be the easiest if the ISY can manage the 2nd PLM like any other Insteon Device in someway.

 

Thanks!

 

Michael

[bpwwer]

Michael,

 

Before you go spend any money on another PLM... I've been working on a plug-in to allow interaction between ML and the ISY. It's still got some issues so it's not yet ready for general testing.

 

Can you explain and/or post an example of how you're controlling the whole house audio via Insteon? I do have a Russound hooked up to ML so maybe I can test this out and make sure my Plug-in can provide equivalent functionality to what you have now.

[mtratz]

Bob,

 

Wow that sounds really fantastic to get a plug-in which interfaces with ML and the ISY. That would be the best solution.

 

I have two Russound CAVs so you basically have the same hardware.

 

I'm happy to beta-test your plugin once it's ready for testing and yes I will understand and expect that it won't work a 100% correctly until the bugs are sorted out.

 

Anyway I don't know how your plugin will work, but here is how I had a few things working with the InsteonPLM plugin from ML. They are currently not working as I stole the PLM from ML as I simply got sick of working with the quirky interface and managing links is no fun with it. (Try to setup a scene with 20 something devices with ramp rates and different on levels for a go to sleep scene. A nightmare!

 

1) In the Office, I have a Russound Control Panel and two lamplinc modules. Many times I'm in the office and it gets dark and I don't automatically have those lamplincs come on or I'm just too lazy to get up and turn the knob so they turn on. So instead I turn the iPhone on and go my ML homepage, go to lighting and tap the Office On button. A little macro in MLServer executes which sends a GroupOn command (that turns my lamplincs on) and also turns the russound zone for the office on. Here is how the command line looks:

 

Macro|Lighting.group.2|GroupOn!MLCAV66|ZonePower~2~6~On

 

This Lighting Group also turns on a light in the main house (as the office is in a small detached building from the main house) on a keypad. It was button G. Sometimes you just don't want to run over there and turn the lights off and/or the Russound Control Panel.

 

So when you hit that keypad button in the main house I put the following in the InsteonPLM in the Devices Tab and then click on Controls. A new window should open. Under Command Button 7 Off I have/had:

 

MLCAV66|ZonePower~2~6~Off

 

I didn't put the Lighting in, because I was playing with the whole setup. But it worked great.

 

There is a new thing I thought I could do now. Isn't there always? My wife likes to do meditation for 30 minutes. So she goes in the bedroom turns the Russound on changes to the iPod source (it's plugged in to the Russound iPod dock) and has a timer to remind her when the 30 minutes are up, because the iPod dock keeps on repeating the playlist forever. It never stops. Instead I could program one button on a insteon keypad in the bedroom which turns the Russound zone on, sets it to the correct source / volume and starts a MLTimer for 30 minutes which would then turn off everything again.

 

And of course there would be things like if you hit go to sleep button on a keypad that ML makes sure that all Russound zones are off etc.

 

I don't know how the plugin will work, but I know that with the ISY you can create programs if a certain button on a keypad is switched on/off that it does whatever you'd like to do it. So maybe if your plugin exports the lights/scenes to ML as variables then we could monitor the state of a button on a keypad with a variable and if it changes to on or changes its value a MLServer Rule could kick in and for example could execute the turn on x zone on the Russound command.

 

Let me know,

 

Michael

[bpwwer]

Michael,

 

I used the PLC plug-in for a while and then played around with the PLM plug-in beta. But now, like you, I don't have either connected to the ML machine.

 

Currently, the plug-in allows control of devices using commands like

 

MLISY|Hall Light~DON~200

 

It also keeps a set of variables in ML synced with the current status of each device. So right now, you could create rules that fire things off when a variable status changes.

 

So when you hit that keypad button in the main house I put the following in the InsteonPLM in the Devices Tab and then click on Controls. A new window should open. Under Command Button 7 Off I have/had:

 

MLCAV66|ZonePower~2~6~Off

I had forgotten about the ability to assign ML commands to buttons inside the plug-in. That should be possible. Of course this means I'll have to figure out how to create and manipulate databases using .net so I can save all this type of info.

 

I'd say I probably have an alpha quality release right now. The features that are there work, but it is missing things. Also, the installation is all manual right now.

[mtratz]

Bob,

 

It also keeps a set of variables in ML synced with the current status of each device. So right now, you could create rules that fire things off when a variable status changes.

 

I think that's already excellent. It already allows a lot of cool things to be done with rules.

 

 

I had forgotten about the ability to assign ML commands to buttons inside the plug-in. That should be possible. Of course this means I'll have to figure out how to create and manipulate databases using .net so I can save all this type of info.

 

Yes, that would be a nice feature, but you can basically already do that with watching the state of a variable and then firing a rule.

 

Maybe instead of trying to learn how to manipulate databases using .net you can concentrate on adding the features you'd like to have in the plug-in before it's released.

 

What kind of features do you think are still missing or you'd like to have before you consider to release it?

 

I wouldn't mind to give the plug-in a spin. No problem with having to install the plug-in manually into ML. Maybe I'll even find some bugs.

 

I sent you a PM with my email address so you can send me the plugin (if you want).

 

Michael