Amazon Echo and ISY

[max90034]

I am tryin to switch to new bridge from bwssystems. It says to run bridge:

java -jar -Dvera.address=192.168.X.Y ha-bridge-0.X.Y.jar

What is Dvera.address when we use it with ISY? Is this ISY address or computer address running bridge? Strangely it seems to be working regarding of what address I use... Thanks.

[barrygordon]

The Dvera address is the address of the ISY. 

[rdavidowski]

Were does ha-bridge-0.4.X stores the devices.  I am trying to copy all my devices setup on my windows computer to another computer and just want to copy the data file to the other one without adding one by one again. Can anybody point me to were it is located on a windows machine?

 

Thanks

[barrygordon]

look in /etc/data that is the default location. Here are the 4 startup lines for my multi emulator RPi. You can see I have the data and log files stored in the /home/pi/echobridge directory in a subfolder for logs and one for data. Each of the 4 emulators running on the machine uses a different log file name and a different data file name.

 

nohup java -jar -Dvera.address=192.168.1.229 -Dupnp.config.address=$_IP -Dserver.port=8081 -Dupnp.response.port=50001 -Dupnp.device.db=/home/pi/echobridge/data/device81.db /home/pi/echobridge/ha-bridge-0.4.3.jar > /home/pi/echobridge/logs/log81.txt 2>&1 &

 

nohup java -jar -Dvera.address=192.168.1.229 -Dupnp.config.address=$_IP -Dserver.port=8082 -Dupnp.response.port=50002 -Dupnp.device.db=/home/pi/echobridge/data/device82.db /home/pi/echobridge/ha-bridge-0.4.3.jar > /home/pi/echobridge/logs/log82.txt 2>&1 &

 

nohup java -jar -Dvera.address=192.168.1.229 -Dupnp.config.address=$_IP -Dserver.port=8083 -Dupnp.response.port=50003 -Dupnp.device.db=/home/pi/echobridge/data/device83.db /home/pi/echobridge/ha-bridge-0.4.3.jar > /home/pi/echobridge/logs/log83.txt 2>&1 &

 

nohup java -jar -Dvera.address=192.168.1.229 -Dupnp.config.address=$_IP -Dserver.port=8084 -Dupnp.response.port=50004 -Dupnp.device.db=/home/pi/echobridge/data/device84.db /home/pi/echobridge/ha-bridge-0.4.3.jar > /home/pi/echobridge/logs/log84.txt 2>&1 &

 

The bash variable _IP is set earlier in the RC.local file so it is the IP of the RPi. I believe I posted that in an earlier post on this thread.

 

 

Oops sorry I did not see that you wanted the info for a windows machine.

[barrygordon]

I just posted an updated version of my ha-bridge configuration program. You can now set the address of the ISY as opposed to the program doing a uPnP Search.  I prefer the search but some users have problems with it due to conflicts, search settings, firewalls, router settings etc. You can now set the locations for the ha-Bridges and the ISY.  

[max90034]

Can you please post a link again where the configure program is available to download. Thanks.

[barrygordon]

www.the-gordons.net. Go to the bottom of the main page and follow the obvious link.

[blueman2]

Barry, 

 

What Linux are you using on your RPi2?  Raspbian?  Also, are you using wired or wireless connection?  Some people say one will work while other will not.  I tried to get an older version working on my RPi2 a few weeks ago and never figured it out.  I am going to try again and wanted to duplicate your setup as much as possible.  I do have an FTP server for uploads, but I think it would just take too long to upload a 16G image!  

[barrygordon]

Raspbian it is from the official NOOBS from the Raspberry Pi Org.  All my Pi's are wired.  Just got back in town. Had no wi fi or email while gone.

[Scyto]

Thanks to Barry I now have this running in my environment running both devices, scenes and programs.  I am using RPi2 running raspbian.  All my Pi's are wired too.

I have a complete RPI how to that includes downloading and setting up Java if that helps?  (i created it for different project and out of all the help io_guy gave me a while back.  I can post if folks would like it?

 

--bah thought I would put 'short version' here --

 

Download latest raspian image and copy to memory card with win32 disk imager.

Connect with SSH (pi raspberry)

sudo bash (recommend doing all sudo commands in sudo bash shell)

raspi-config

Choose 1 - expand file system

Exit app and reboot when prompted

 

After logging back in, next step is to update the system and reboot.

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get upgrade

sudo reboot

sudo apt-get installl oracle-java7-jdk

 

copy the bwsystems jar file to something like /pi/home/habridge/name of jar file

now run the jar file with the commands you want to test you have it working in your system before you bother trying to run it from rc.local

(the command are well documented in barry's instructions included in his download package)

 

As an aside I know barry likes VNC but I prefer RDP and install xRDP with:

sudo apt-get install xRDP

(this will run every boot without needing to edit the rc.local)

 

​

 

 

 

​

[Guitartexan]

Hello all.

 

I have tried to download the hue emulator and use the jar file, but when I download it, it is not there! Nothing opens. Has anyone got any idea as to why I'm not seeing anything? I'm clicking on the one at the very beginning of this thread.......?

 

 

GT

[barrygordon]

That is the original emulator and I am not sure if the link still operates.  The most current emulator (the one I and many others use) is made by BWS Systems and can be located through their website bwssystems.com. This emulator has extensive documentation; a complete browser based configuration system; and runs about 44 devices. 

 

I have upgraded my configuration program on my web site www.the-gordons.net to correct all the bugs that have been reported to me, so if you are using it and detect any issues please let me know via email at barry@the-gordons.net.

 

I, and many others are using a RPi to host the emulator. I have four instances of the emulator running on a single RPi giving me a maximum device count of 136 devices. I also have an endpoint running on a PC that handles my own Alexa Skill and devices other than the ISY994. Specifically the endpoint handles an Autellis pool controller (Waterfall, SPA, Pool Lights). The issue with the normal Echo software (It's native skill for foreign devices) is that it is limited to Turn On, Turn Off, and Dim. Dim is not working and is definitely an Amazon/Echo issue and not the emulator.

 

To get around that limitation you need to write your own skill for Alexa, which is not that hard but a little daunting to get started with. You must be a registered developer, and know how to code your Skills endpoint.  The endpoint can be in the cloud or on your LAN.  I chose the latter. With your own skill you can say things such as  "... set the guest air conditioner to cool at seventy six degrees" and send the appropriate commands to the ISY if it is controlling the HVAC.

 

Hopefully the work UDI is doing will improve the situation, but still will be focused on the UDI ISY product. I want Alexa to do other more complex things, hence I need to develop my own Alexa Skill.

 

Finally editing stuff on the Pi is not very friendly. You need to be root (SuperUser) to change any of the system attributes and the text editor in the basic system (vi or nano) is not very friendly.  The leaf editor is better as it has a reasonable gui. I use a windows program named WINSCP (free for personal use) That handles the movement of files between a windows machine and a Pi. It is an alternative to SAMBA and does not require anything to be paced on the Pi.   You can have it log onto the Pi as root. Doing that you can open any file and use any windows editor to make changes. Beware. Linux does not use CRLF to end lines, but rather CR.  Notepad uses CRLF and Textpad uses whatever the file being opened uses and for new files you tell it. WINSCP will also move files between the Pi and Windows directories with no issue. WINSCP is an elegant piece of work with a solid design and many many features to make life easier, especially the RPi newbie. 

 

In my view, a Newbie is anyone who has not used a system for a couple of weeks.

[Guitartexan]

Thank you very much Barry Gordon.

Not everyone is uber-techie and your easy to understand posts help tremendously.

 

 

GT

[max90034]

I am using Echo in two places with old (in one location) and new (in another) Hue emulators and have the same issue in both cases. On/Off responses are not very reliable. It also seems (but not scientifically tested) that the first command after long period of NO communication would be mist likely to fail. Once it start to respond, it seems to be more reliable.

 

This is not a problem of Eacho's recognizing my commands, I believe it does and it confirms it. However, I can say a command to turn light On, Echo confirms it but nothing happens. I do not think the issue is reliability on my network - the same light responds very reliably when I use ISY linked switch or direct control from Mibilinc app on my iphone. 

 

An additional hint is that when I use Test button on the bridge configurator, it misses to respond sometimes as well. So, it almost seems like this is  problem of the bridge.  I do run bridge emulator on Synology station.

 

Does anybody observe similar "unreliability"? Any suggestions to test? Thanks.

[barrygordon]

I have no issues such as you describe.  I suggest you check your network architecture.  Are you running wired or wireless (Wi-Fi) ? My performance with the bridge is probably 98% reliable.  My biggest problem is that I sometimes say Shut Off instead of Turn off, but Shut Off works some times.  Turn Off works just about always.

[btreinders]

The only issue I had with reliability was with the old emulator.  There was one program where I would use it only once a day to arm the house at night and it would always say not responding until I would say turn on/off something else.  Then it would right after with no issues.  The new bridge emulator does not seem to have that issue.

[max90034]

I have no issues such as you describe.  I suggest you check your network architecture.  Are you running wired or wireless (Wi-Fi) ? My performance with the bridge is probably 98% reliable.  My biggest problem is that I sometimes say Shut Off instead of Turn off, but Shut Off works some times.  Turn Off works just about always.

Thanks.

 

What device asking about wired vs WiFi? Echo is on Wifi. Bridge is running on Synology that is wired. Switches are trying to control are insteon switches...

 

I wish I would have any guess how to nail the problem...

[barrygordon]

Use diagnostics on the ISY994 to see exactly what is coming in.  Setup the emulator to have full debugging.  Assuming you are using the ha-bridge emulator and starting it from rc.local or some other way you need to add this to the line that starts the jar.

 

-Dorg.slf4j.simpleLogger.defaultLogLevel=DEBUG

 

My start line looks as follows:

 

nohup java -jar -Dvera.address=192.168.1.229 -Dorg.slf4j.simpleLogger.defaultLogLevel=DEBUG -Dupnp.config.address=$_IP -Dserver.port=8084 -Dupnp.response.port=50004 -Dupnp.device.db=/home/pi/echobridge/data/device84.db /home/pi/echobridge/ha-bridge-0.4.4.jar > /home/pi/echobridge/logs/log84.txt 2>&1 &

 

In the emulator log you will see things like:

 

[qtp32631-17] DEBUG com.bwssystems.HABridge.hue.HueMulator - hue state change requested: cUQ6FpY9yemZY7OTVn3HPRaGeTy629GKLAdSXWCe from 192.168.1.90 body: {"on": false}

 

[qtp32631-17] DEBUG com.bwssystems.HABridge.hue.HueMulator - Making outbound call in doHttpRequest: GET http://admin:admin@192.168.1.229:80/rest/nodes/20%2093%205%201/cmd/DOFHTTP/1.1

 

192.168.1.90 is my Echo. 20 93 5 1 is the Insteon device address.  In the UDI with logging turned on you should see the command coming in (IIRC) and the event firing.

 

Hope that helps

 

 

In that way you will see in the emulator log file what is being sent and you will see in the UDI logs what is being received.  That should help you pin down the issue.

[max90034]

 

Use diagnostics on the ISY994 to see exactly what is coming in.  Setup the emulator to have full debugging.  Assuming you are using the ha-bridge emulator and starting it from rc.local or some other way you need to add this to the line that starts the jar.

 

-Dorg.slf4j.simpleLogger.defaultLogLevel=DEBUG

 

My start line looks as follows:

 

nohup java -jar -Dvera.address=192.168.1.229 -Dorg.slf4j.simpleLogger.defaultLogLevel=DEBUG -Dupnp.config.address=$_IP -Dserver.port=8084 -Dupnp.response.port=50004 -Dupnp.device.db=/home/pi/echobridge/data/device84.db /home/pi/echobridge/ha-bridge-0.4.4.jar > /home/pi/echobridge/logs/log84.txt 2>&1 &

 

In the emulator log you will see things like:

 

[qtp32631-17] DEBUG com.bwssystems.HABridge.hue.HueMulator - hue state change requested: cUQ6FpY9yemZY7OTVn3HPRaGeTy629GKLAdSXWCe from 192.168.1.90 body: {"on": false}

 

[qtp32631-17] DEBUG com.bwssystems.HABridge.hue.HueMulator - Making outbound call in doHttpRequest: GET http://admin:admin@192.168.1.229:80/rest/nodes/20%2093%205%201/cmd/DOFHTTP/1.1

 

192.168.1.90 is my Echo. 20 93 5 1 is the Insteon device address.  In the UDI with logging turned on you should see the command coming in (IIRC) and the event firing.

 

Hope that helps

 

 

In that way you will see in the emulator log file what is being sent and you will see in the UDI logs what is being received.  That should help you pin down the issue.

 

Thanks! Will give it a try.

[mwester]

Which Java JRE are you all running with the Hue emulator on the Raspberry PI?

[barrygordon]

I am running Java 1.8.0 which makes it Java 8 from Oracle.

[max90034]

www.the-gordons.net. Go to the bottom of the main page and follow the obvious link.

Barry,

Do you think your program will run from vmware running windows 7 on Mac?

Thanks, Max

[barrygordon]

I have no Idea but it should work. You are welcome to try it.  It runs as a single thread using the vb6 runtime.  The install package has all that is needed. Let me know how you make out

[max90034]

I have no Idea but it should work. You are welcome to try it. It runs as a single thread using the vb6 runtime. The install package has all that is needed. Let me know how you make out

I just tried it on 3 computers running Win 7-64: 1) vmware 8 under MacOS; 2) Win 7 native on Mac through bootcamp; 3) Win 7 native on PC hardware (i7, 64 bit). In all the cases I got the same issue:

 

(1) during installation I got error on copying 4 DLLs (expsrv.dll; ....., DAO???.dll). The only option I had was to select Ignore

(2) I was able to start the program and it found ISY and Brigde running under Linux on Synology box (nothing was found when running from vmware but it could be my net problem). However, then it aborted with the following:

 

AWS Emulator Configuration System is starting, Debug mode = All

PNP Search has found 1 UDI ISY994 at address 192.168.0.55:80

uPnP Search Discovered UN-Declared Emulator at address 192.168.0.60:8080, Emulator count=1

PNP System located 1 Emulator at adress 192.168.0.60

HUE Initialization Process Beginning, time now is 15:34:10

HUE Getting list of devices from HUE Bridge1 at 192.168.0.60:8080

DBG SendToHUE has started, Bridge: Bridge1, message size=78, time=15:34:10

ISY Initialization Process Beginning, time now is 15:34:12

ISY Initialization Process, Completed, time now is 15:34:12

Abort Flag =25, retrieving ISY Devices. See Log for Details

System cannot continue, aborting in 15 seconds

 

=======================

 

Thanks!

[barrygordon]

The errors on install are either permission or file in use.  Ignore is the proper response. The files should already be there but are included in the install package just in case.

 

You need to send me 2 things.  The log file that should be in the same folder as the AWS_Config.exe and the .ini file from the same folder.

 

You might want to add the ini option in the systems section as follows:

 

debug = All

 

This will provide a lot more info in the log file.

 

An abort flag of 25 means that the ISY did return  "HTTP/1.1 200 OK".  With debug = all I ahould be able to see what it got back.  

 

As I said I have only run this on native windows machines and suggest that if yiou can run it that way to start till we figure out what is going on.