jackman Posted October 26, 2015 Posted October 26, 2015 Hi folks, New forum member here. I've been using Insteon since 2007. I started with the old 2414U PLC with timers then moved up to HouseLinc in 2011, and am now faced with another end of life product and a failing 2413U, likely with the dreaded capacitor problem. I plan to upgrade to the ISY994i Pro but I'm wondering what the best method for migration might be. I've got about 40 devices, including motion sensors, IRLinc, KeypadLinc, switches, dimmers, RemoteLincs, 2242 Hub, etc. Many of the switches have multiple links to other switches. HouseLinc has been a terrific product for me but as you all know it's no longer supported. I really don't want to factory reset all these devices and start over from scratch since that would probably take me weeks to restore. All advice on how to proceed is greatly appreciated.
Teken Posted October 26, 2015 Posted October 26, 2015 (edited) Hi folks, New forum member here. I've been using Insteon since 2007. I started with the old 2414U PLC with timers then moved up to HouseLinc in 2011, and am now faced with another end of life product and a failing 2413U, likely with the dreaded capacitor problem. I plan to upgrade to the ISY994i Pro but I'm wondering what the best method for migration might be. I've got about 40 devices, including motion sensors, IRLinc, KeypadLinc, switches, dimmers, RemoteLincs, 2242 Hub, etc. Many of the switches have multiple links to other switches. HouseLinc has been a terrific product for me but as you all know it's no longer supported. I really don't want to factory reset all these devices and start over from scratch since that would probably take me weeks to restore. All advice on how to proceed is greatly appreciated. When you first get a ISY Series Controller one of the selections when you add a device is to *Keep all existing links* you can go that route. Should that method not operate as you expect you could hard reset one device one at a time and add it back to the system at your leisure. For me as painful as it is hard resetting the entire system just make sense because you won't have to contend with half links or odd behavior. The amount of time invested in this endeavor will soon be forgotten as you move forward with the power of the ISY Series Controller. NOTE: This is coming from a guy who tried to do the above before many times and it simply doesn't work out very well in the long term. Edited October 26, 2015 by Teken
Xathros Posted October 26, 2015 Posted October 26, 2015 (edited) Welcome to the forums jackman! Can you generate a scene list from Houselinc? If so, I would reset everything, add the devices fresh to the ISY and rebuild your scenes in the ISY based on your houselinc report. This is an easy process with the ISY and will likely yield a much better result than attempting to crawl and import the existing system. -Xathros Edited October 26, 2015 by Xathros
paulbates Posted October 26, 2015 Posted October 26, 2015 Hi jackman, welcome! I'm more aligned with Teken. I converted from HomeSeer last year, and after trying to migrate without rebuilding, I ended up starting from scratch. I had ~40 devices at the time and it helped to document and review that everything was right. Maybe half a day or so, but that included time to have a naming scheme etc. No irlinc but 2 ezfloras. If you decide to migrate as is, I would pilot several devices to make sure it does what you expect Paul
EricK Posted October 26, 2015 Posted October 26, 2015 I did this a couple of years ago with a similar number of devices. I was able to print a device list by room with addresses from houselinc, although I do not remember exactly how I did this. I used a composition notebook with a page for each room and made notes about everything I had to do. I wrote out button names for KPLs. I then made the migration room by room over a few day period, marking devices off my list as I went. In cases of scenes containing devices in multiple rooms, I have a KPL button for the kitchen lights in the bedroom, I tried to do those rooms on the same day, or made a note to complete the scene later. As I went I deleted the devices from HL and I reset most devices when adding them to the ISY. I paid attention to timers and created them as I added those specific devices to the ISY. Really the process was not difficult, as long as you are organized and patient. I preparation I suggest you watch the ISY tutorial videos that are probably still available on youtube. Read and use these forums. I posted many times that my only regret was not making the move sooner.
MustangChris04 Posted October 27, 2015 Posted October 27, 2015 I migrated from Houselinc with about 100 devices and tried to import the links. From personal experience, it was a waste of time. I recommend starting fresh, which is what I eventually ended up doing. If I remember correctly, I used screenshots of each of my devices in Houselinc so I knew how the scenes were created. I imported the devices into the ISY and used the option to delete all links. It worked for the most part, but if I could do it again, I would have done a factory reset on each and every device before adding the device to the ISY. There were a few devices that were not behaving appropriately and it took too much time troubleshooting the issue, when in the end I just did a hard-reset to resolve these issues.
jackman Posted October 27, 2015 Author Posted October 27, 2015 Thanks folks for all the great replies. I'll post again to let you know how it goes in the coming months.
Xathros Posted October 27, 2015 Posted October 27, 2015 Thanks folks for all the great replies. I'll post again to let you know how it goes in the coming months. Good luck with your migration. Don't hesitate to stop by here for help if you run into any problems or have questions along the way. -Xathros
jackman Posted November 1, 2015 Author Posted November 1, 2015 I thought I'd post a brief update. I decided to go ahead and fix my 2413U by replacing the capacitors using the info from another thread in this forum (http://forum.universal-devices.com/topic/13866-repair-of-2413s-plm-when-the-power-supply-fails/). It's been running with HouseLinc now for 3 days so it looks like I can wait for the next Smarthome sale before I go ahead with my migration. I'm also hoping that the UDI PLM is announced as well. I would have more confidence in a power line interface that is matched to the controller. On another note I had issues restoring HL and ended up with a few new half links and hinky behavior for some reason. It convinced me to take the advice of the other posters in this thread and start from scratch when I do rebuild my system with the ISY. Many thanks for all the helpful advice. I'll be back...
paulbates Posted November 2, 2015 Posted November 2, 2015 (edited) jackman That's great. Take your time and pick a naming scheme for your devices and locations. This is also expressed using folders... both for devices and programs. Write it out and see what you like. Once you have an approach, that will make the actual ISY setup go faster. Per others' comments, please ask questions here on the forums Paul Edited November 2, 2015 by paulbates
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