Frustrated w/ISY99 PRO IR

[frustratednon-geek]

I love the ISY99i but NOTHING I program works. I've searched these forums for hours and can't find any basic info. You guys are all way over my head.

 

The events are saved and all appears well but nothing seems to execute. Even the simplest commands do not execute, such as:

 

If BR Lights not On and

time is 11:15AM

then turn BR lights on

 

I sit there staring at the light as 11:15 AM rolls around and NOTHING HAPPENS!

 

I tried programming my porchlight to go on at sunset and off at sunrise the next day, nothing.

 

NOTHING WORKS in the programming tab. As you can see by my screaming caps I am at my wits end and I now remember why I absolutely hate working with programming, even on its simplest level with a beautiful GUI like this. I'm obviously missing something.

 

I have almost no background in programming (other than TRS-80 and TI-99 classes I took when I was 10). But why should I? If then statements and the intuitive dropdown menus should be self explanatory... I did add the ISY 99i after I had painstakingly manually tap-linked multiple scenes throughout the house and I saved existing links when I searched for devices. I read somewhere this creates a rats nest but for the life of me I can't find ANYWHERE on this forum or wiki how to do a full reset.

 

I'd like to do a total system reset and start fresh but I have searched what seems like EVERY CREVICE of this damned forum and cannot find any step by step explanation of how I'm supposed to do this. Is everyone on here an expert? Has no one stumbled with this system and asked a basic freakin' question? Isn't there a forum that just has some basic programming examples so I can copy them verbatim?

 

Can someone point me in the right direction? I just want to wipe everything clean and start over, both on the ISY and on all the devices (about 30 switchlinks and about 8 kpl's). Sorry for the rant, I'm JUST pissed that I spent $3K on this system that doesn't do anything I ask it to, and 10's of hours raking through this forum only to find advanced q & a's that are totally over my head.

 

Help this C-student out!

[Michel Kohanim]

Hello frustratednon-geek,

 

I do apologize for the inconvenience and we'll do our best to make you into a happynon-geek.

 

Do you press the Save button when you are done with your programs? If you see Green arrows on the program names, then they are not saved and thus they are not going to execute.

 

Now, as far as resetting everything, you don't really have to. All you need to do is to choose the first option (Remove existing links) when you add your INSTEON devices. This should wipe out all the links you already have.

 

And, finally, perhaps a short call with our tech support might be an easiest way to get you back on track.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

 

 

I love the ISY99i but NOTHING I program works. I've searched these forums for hours and can't find any basic info. You guys are all way over my head.

 

The events are saved and all appears well but nothing seems to execute. Even the simplest commands do not execute, such as:

 

If BR Lights not On and

time is 11:15AM

then turn BR lights on

 

I sit there staring at the light as 11:15 AM rolls around and NOTHING HAPPENS!

 

I tried programming my porchlight to go on at sunset and off at sunrise the next day, nothing.

 

NOTHING WORKS in the programming tab. As you can see by my screaming caps I am at my wits end and I now remember why I absolutely hate working with programming, even on its simplest level with a beautiful GUI like this. I'm obviously missing something.

 

I have almost no background in programming (other than TRS-80 and TI-99 classes I took when I was 10). But why should I? If then statements and the intuitive dropdown menus should be self explanatory... I did add the ISY 99i after I had painstakingly manually tap-linked multiple scenes throughout the house and I saved existing links when I searched for devices. I read somewhere this creates a rats nest but for the life of me I can't find ANYWHERE on this forum or wiki how to do a full reset.

 

I'd like to do a total system reset and start fresh but I have searched what seems like EVERY CREVICE of this damned forum and cannot find any step by step explanation of how I'm supposed to do this. Is everyone on here an expert? Has no one stumbled with this system and asked a basic freakin' question? Isn't there a forum that just has some basic programming examples so I can copy them verbatim?

 

Can someone point me in the right direction? I just want to wipe everything clean and start over, both on the ISY and on all the devices (about 30 switchlinks and about 8 kpl's). Sorry for the rant, I'm JUST pissed that I spent $3K on this system that doesn't do anything I ask it to, and 10's of hours raking through this forum only to find advanced q & a's that are totally over my head.

 

Help this C-student out!

[ulrick65]

...(other than TRS-80 and TI-99 classes I took when I was 10)...

 

Ah...The old Trash-80...those were the days. 4k of ram, 1.77mhz of blinding speed. Cassette tapes and a beautiful black and white tv as a monitor!

 

Hang in there on this, you will get it figured out.

 

Based on the fact that you kept the existing links, I would say you are right a total restart is probably best. I am sure there is some factory reset or something, but I don't think you need that. Here's what I would do (and what I did when I started...as I did the same thing as you, but with less devices). In this order:

 

Make a backup of what you have now, just in case for some reason you want to go back to it. On the menu, click on "file", then click "Backup ISY", give it a file name so you will know that it is your original program (like "ISY Backup, Screwed Up Mess I started With.zip )

 

Remove any programs that you have created first. Highlight the program, right click then click on "Remove" then click "Yes" on the "confirmation prompt" that appears.

 

Remove all the scenes from ISY. Highlight the scene in the tree, right click and click on "Remove" then click "OK" at the "confirmation prompt" that appears.

 

Remove all the devices from ISY. Highlight the device in the tree, right click and click on "Remove" then click OK at the "confirmation prompt" that appears.

 

Everything should be deleted from ISY now and it is sitting there empty dumb and happy. At this point you can choose to make another backup which some people like to do in order to have "clean slate". If they ever wanted to start over again they simply restore the backup and this effectively wipes the system clean again. If you want to do this follow the steps above for the initial backup, but give it a different filename ( ie. ISY Backup, Empty Dumb and Happy.zip)

 

Now, simply put ISY in link mode again by clicking on the menu "Link Management" then click on "Start Linking". This is the important part: In the box that pops up leave the setting of "Remove Existing Links" as it is. This way, ISY will remove all the links that each device has stored in it's memory before linking to it. This way, you will use ISY later to create the links and ISY will then know about the links in each device and work perfectly.

 

Then go around and initiate linking on your devices (I assume you already know how to do this, as you have done it before). Linking a lot of devices can take a while to process. Some people maybe do them all at once so they can walk away and leave it to it's work, but for me it was easier to do only a few at a time.

 

I would get a few devices linked, then come back to the computer and click on "Cancel" to initialize those units. That way I could rename the devices as I went so I didn't have to keep a long list. By the way, I never liked the word "Cancel" here...kind of makes it seem like you are quiting the process, when in fact you are really just saying "I am done with the linking, so ahead and initialize" but that is what it says.

 

ISY will put the devices in the tree in the order in which you link them. So then you go in and highlight the device, right click and click on "Rename" then give it a name that you want. I think the naming convention is important, so you can organize your stuff better and know what you have. Everyone has a different preference so I wont go to deep into it, but since the length of the device name is limited (you get a boatload in the new beta firmware version though, so this should be a problem anymore...however it is limited to 26 characters that will display fully in the tree). I do think putting something in the name of th device to specify the device type, as well as whether it directly controls a load or not is a good idea. For me, I used 3 characters for the device type (sld for dimmers, kpl for keypads, etc.) then 3 characters for the room (lvg for living room, mst for master bedroom, etc.) then a name (ceiling light, lamp, etc.) followed by an L if it is a load control. So for example: "Sld.Lvg.Ceiling Light (L)" tell me that it is a switch linc dimmer in the living room controlling the ceiling light and it is hardwired to the light.

 

Once you have linked your devices, if you want to you can go in and do another backup before you create any Scenes. This way you have another file that includes all the devices, but has no links setup. If you ever want to start over, you could restore this backup and all your devices will be in there and you just restore the devices to wipe out their links and start over.

 

I suspect you already know how to create Scenes so I wont go into that...but that would be the next step.

 

On your program problems, I suspect Michel is right and you did not save the programs as you made them. Once you get the If-Then stuff in there you want (and your example was fine, should work) then you must click on the "Save Changes" button at the bottom left. The little green arrow by each program will disappear and ISY will start running that program and watching for changes in the If portion.

 

I like to backup often, just in case...so I always recommend taking a backup once in a while as you go along and surely once you are done.

 

Hey...long winded reply, but you asked for a "step by step" and being an old Trash-80 user myself...I thought I would try and help!

 

One last thing: These guys at UDI are the best I have seen for support. The response in this forum is fantastic...and as Michel said, you can call them on the phone and they will walk you through it. Heck, they will even connect to your system and help solve problems directly. Not only that, but the user community here is very willing to jump in and help as well.

 

Stick with it, you will get it for sure. I was D-Student myself

 

Eric

[frustratednon-geek]

Wow, thanks for your reply ulrick65. I did call tech support and spoke with Darrel yesterday and you are correct--unbelievable support. He was extremely professional, listened, sided with me on my frustration--support just doesn't get better than this.

 

I actually logged into my shell and did a factory reset while I was waiting for him to call back. You're right, probably didn't need to, and now I lost my 3:00 AM query and I can't figure out how to get it back.

 

Other than that, everything is up and running and working perfectly. Well, I can't say perfectly. During the remodel I did a lot of manual tap-linking and then swapping out of dimmers, etc. I am now in the process of factory resetting each dimmer because for some reason the File/restore ISY function does not reliably wipe out existing links (I still have some oddball links that won't go away).

 

In any case, this seems like a simple fix, just factory reset each dimmer and then restore so the ISY reprograms the dimmers I've constructed in the Admin Console.

 

I'm still struggling with the concept of 'else' and 'not off/on.' I've had my best results by copying programs thunk up by minds far greater than mine in this forum (especially the all-off button). Maybe it's my sales background, but I just have trouble thinking in rule-based language. In sales, no can mean yes if you just keep pestering

 

Thanks for your reply, and thanks a million Darrel. I'll be a non-frustrated geek in no time.

[ulrick65]

Glad you got it worked out...

 

In my job I deal with a lot of salespeople...to me No means maybe if you lower the price!

[d_l]

frustratednon-geek, I lost my original 3:00 AM Query program some time ago. I replaced it with this program:

 

If
       Time is  3:00:00AM

Then
       Set Scene 'My Lighting' Query

Else
  - No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action')

I don't know if it is exactly the same as the original query program, but it seems to do the job. You could do something similar to replace yours.

[Algorithm]

Wow, thanks for your reply ulrick65. I did call tech support and spoke with Darrel yesterday and you are correct--unbelievable support. He was extremely professional, listened, sided with me on my frustration--support just doesn't get better than this.

 

I actually logged into my shell and did a factory reset while I was waiting for him to call back. You're right, probably didn't need to, and now I lost my 3:00 AM query and I can't figure out how to get it back.

 

Other than that, everything is up and running and working perfectly. Well, I can't say perfectly. During the remodel I did a lot of manual tap-linking and then swapping out of dimmers, etc. I am now in the process of factory resetting each dimmer because for some reason the File/restore ISY function does not reliably wipe out existing links (I still have some oddball links that won't go away).

 

In any case, this seems like a simple fix, just factory reset each dimmer and then restore so the ISY reprograms the dimmers I've constructed in the Admin Console.

 

I'm still struggling with the concept of 'else' and 'not off/on.' I've had my best results by copying programs thunk up by minds far greater than mine in this forum (especially the all-off button). Maybe it's my sales background, but I just have trouble thinking in rule-based language. In sales, no can mean yes if you just keep pestering

 

Thanks for your reply, and thanks a million Darrel. I'll be a non-frustrated geek in no time.

 

Hello non-frustrated geek! That sounds so much better!

 

It was my pleasure, and thanks so very much for the kind words. They do mean a very great deal to us!

[frustratednon-geek]

You're welcome Darrell. You really helped a ton. And ulrick65 your lengthy post proved invaluable. While I had done a factory reset in the shell and factory resets on all the dimmers, I hadn't erased all the devices and re-acquired them. The result was a mess. Lights were coming on and off all over the place like a disco in response to my all off program. It was only because my wife was there laughing that I didn't absolutely freak out.

 

In any case, I started fresh by erasing everything in the Admin console as you suggested Ulrick, and was up until 1:00 in the morning last night setting up new scenes in my kitchen and living room. My wife and I finally woke up this morning to warm tiles in our bathroom! What a feeling... but it ain't over yet.

 

I've been having a hell of a time with scene construction around a 6 button KPL. We'll see if it's just defective when I program the other one, but I had to write a program to isolate the KPL load from the rest of the buttons (a,b,c,d). What I want is for the 'ON' button to execute a scene with about 6 loads all on 100%, including the KPL's load. But when I press the 'A' button I want it to execute that scene, which includes bringing the KPL's load down to 0%. No matter what I do, setting the scene with the KPL's load at 0%, 1%, etc. it doesn't care and just leaves the KPL load at 100%.

 

The worst part is, it only has this problem with button 'A' on the controller. The rest of the buttons will affect the KPL's load as I specify in the scene. I think it's a defective KPL, but nonetheless, it got me pretty hot and bothered.

 

I also have three other sld's that are misbehaving. One refuses to accept the local ramp rate I program through the admin console, the other two are permanently linked to each other--closet lts and master chandelier. I have factory reset both dimmers, de-linked them, re-linked them, restored the devices in admin, deleted the devices and re-linked them in the admin... nothing works. One thing I noticed is that the closet sld's address is oddball, like 11.11.11.11 or something. I think it just needs to be returned.

 

It doesn't help to have defective equipment to throw you off when you're just barely grasping the concept in the first place! In any case, I'm sure I'll get it worked out. Next thing to tackle are the two motion sensors that finally arrived. I think I better have a few glasses of wine just in case things don't go well... would hate to throw anything across the room!

[ulrick65]

I am not sure I understand how you are trying to use the KPL to say if it is a problem or not. If you are trying to control the load on a KPL from a secondary button on that KPL, I don't think it will work like you are wanting...but I would have to test. I believe if you do this in a scene then whenever you press the secondary button (in your case A) then the load will react with it's "Applied Locally" on level and ramp rates. I could be wrong though on this...so hopefully someone else will jump in.

 

As far as the SLD that doesn't accept the local rate and level changes, you have to cycle the power to the switch to get it to re-read that change (called pulling an air gap with the little set button). I don't know if you knew that or not. KPL's will accept the change directly, but SLD's need to be powered down.

 

Thanks.

[frustratednon-geek]

Interesting. You're describing exactly what I was experiencing with the secondary button causing the load to go to the local on-level--unless I tricked it with a program triggered by the secondary...

 

Regarding the ramp rate, interesting as well. I did not know this was a limitation. I thought my other sld's were taking the adjusted on levels and ramp rates simply by programming int he admin console. But what you're saying is I have to pull the gap and then restore the device from the console to get it to take the change?

[ulrick65]

Interesting. You're describing exactly what I was experiencing with the secondary button causing the load to go to the local on-level--unless I tricked it with a program triggered by the secondary...

 

Regarding the ramp rate, interesting as well. I did not know this was a limitation. I thought my other sld's were taking the adjusted on levels and ramp rates simply by programming int he admin console. But what you're saying is I have to pull the gap and then restore the device from the console to get it to take the change?

 

No, you don't have to restore it from ISY. Just pull the gap...wait a few seconds then push it back in FLUSH, not all the way in. (pushing it in all the way does a factory reset if you hold it...you dont want that). No need to do anything from ISY at that point...it will take the new setting.

[frustratednon-geek]

Wow. Great info. I had no idea about this. So effectively switching off the circuit breaker would do the same thing. Thanks a bunch for your help.