INSTEON 2867-222 ALERT MODULE

[stusviews]

After listening to their sound sample I still like my BuzzLincs better.

 

Thanks

[larryllix]

Thanks

Y/W  but mine beeps intermittently so it isn't so annoying for SAF (formerly wife acceptance factor) .

 

"You're so vane. You probably think this beep is about you"

[Teken]

I think in the big scheme of things it's just great to see new product offerings from Smartlabs.

 

Perhaps in the future they will build upon this current version and incorporate a few of the suggestions listed above.

 

 

Ideals are peaceful - History is violent

[shannong]

I could use one or two of these as doorbell extenders. My doorbell is connected to an IOLinc so I can create alerts, send camera snapshots, etc when it's pressed. In some areas of the house we can't hear it well or when we're having a noisy party it would be nice to have a chime in the kitchen.

 

I agree with others that the chimes and options are woefully inadequate. The cost of development to provide more control and audio features would've been negligible. After so many products with poor design and vision, I can't but think that their CTO isn't well suited to help the company or its customers.

[stusviews]

The cost of development to provide more control and audio features would've been negligible.

 

And, for another 8¢ they could have thrown in a 120db siren.

[db2ace2]

Hello Team, 

 

I have been quiet on the Forum for quite some time now. however I am still an ISY and Insteon User in-spite of past issues.

 

My question today is does the ISY support the new 2867-222 Alert Module?

 

I want to get one even though I am very disappointed with the specs for this module, mainly in that you can only have two sounds, and no recording capability. I can go to Home Depot or Lowe's and buy a Chime for under 15 bucks that has 65 sounds and allows recording. I just don't want the huge Bulky IO-Linc that looks like a rigged up Bomb hanging out of my wall sockets wired to a chime just to make it INSTEON Compatible.  This Alert Module at least looks slightly better even if it only has two sounds. Should be better than the X10 Chime but only slightly.

 

 I cannot believe that the designers of these things or so short sided in their thinking! When I entered into the realm of Home Automation using INSTEON, I assumed that for the Price they would provide Great Items, however this is mediocre thinking at best! An Alert needs to tell you what is being alerted to,  Just off the top of my head I can think of Front door vs back door Alerts, Drive vs sidewalk Photobeam Alerts, Camera Detection Alerts, Motion Alerts, Door and Window sensor Alerts, Water Leak Alerts, Garage Door Open Alerts, Each of these should be able to have its own Alert Sound, and yet the Designers failed to come even close to this, I hope this module will be slightly better than the X10 Chime but I am not sure yet, and the Remote Chime Kit is horrible in that when you have  an IO-Linc wired to Chimes it is the ugliest contraption in my home that looks like a Bomb wired up to explode, This is not at all the quality I expected from INSTEON when I bought into this!  I know you guys are not the designers, but I did want to voice my concerns here too! The quality and usability of the products affects us all in the long run!    This is a much needed addition to the Product line, however I just wish some thought and functionality had been placed into its design. Seems as of they are so worried about it being used as am alarm.that they totally ignore its beneficial uses in Home Automation. You know your hands and arms can be used as Deadly Weapons too but you don't cut them off because of all the other great things you can use them for. Same is true of an INSTEON Alert Device. Yes you might be able to use it as an ALARM but just put out a Statement that says you should not and let those of us needing only an Alert have a functional system that might even come close in Value to what we are paying for which by today's standards is hardly any useful home automation at all!

 

 (Check out the RING Doorbell that lets you answer the door from your I-PHONE. Wouldn't that be a great product if it also had INSTEON Detection and Triggering capability?)

 

I do not even own this INSTEON Alert Device yet, and I am already on my soapbox about its lack of Design Forethought and Capability. If the ISY supports it, I probably will buy it, but again I am a very dis-satisfied INSTEON customer even before I buy.  We deserve much better Products for the investment we make in Home Automation. Their thinking may be that he is still buying this so we have done our job, but the fact is I have hundreds of people telling me they would like Home Automation but I cannot in my right mind even begin to recommend this to them because of the mediocre Designs of the Products, and the complexity of their use. So while they are selling to me they are losing out on Hundreds of other sales!

 

As to the ISY and PLM HUB, I can say that I do think the ISY is the greatest Home Automation tool out there and with the HUB PLM and removal/replacement of several older switches  I have not had an ALL ON in almost a year now. (Remember I was getting several a day and could program to make them happen!)  The older PLM's and switches were definitely part of the problem with the ALL ON although Programming techniques also affected it. For the first time since investing in INSTEON Home Automation I can now say that I am running Hundreds of Switches and Sensors mostly without a hitch at all and doing some fairly complex things the ISY gives me the ability to do. There are improvements that I think should be made, and I had hoped the Alert Module would have been better, but for now it is unfortunately what it is, provided it is supported by the ISY.

 

I do still wish UDI would support WAIT for Variable Based number of Seconds, and also PROGRAM ACTIVE/IDLE vs TRUE/FALSE.  These are two totally different things and the lack of ACTIVE vs IDLE makes programming much more complicated than it needs to be.

 

Other than that  You guys are doing a Fantastic job with what you have to work with!  I just wish the products we really need were marketed without fear of us using them as an ALARM!   What a shame and lack of foresight from a companies that have such great potential!

 

 

Thanks

Charles Seiler

[Teken]

Hello Team, 

 

I have been quiet on the Forum for quite some time now. however I am still an ISY and Insteon User in-spite of past issues.

 

My question today is does the ISY support the new 2867-222 Alert Module?

 

I want to get one even though I am very disappointed with the specs for this module, mainly in that you can only have two sounds, and no recording capability. I can go to Home Depot or Lowe's and buy a Chime for under 15 bucks that has 65 sounds and allows recording. I just don't want the huge Bulky IO-Linc that looks like a rigged up Bomb hanging out of my wall sockets wired to a chime just to make it INSTEON Compatible.  This Alert Module at least looks slightly better even if it only has two sounds. Should be better than the X10 Chime but only slightly.

 

 I cannot believe that the designers of these things or so short sided in their thinking! When I entered into the realm of Home Automation using INSTEON, I assumed that for the Price they would provide Great Items, however this is mediocre thinking at best! An Alert needs to tell you what is being alerted to,  Just off the top of my head I can think of Front door vs back door Alerts, Drive vs sidewalk Photobeam Alerts, Camera Detection Alerts, Motion Alerts, Door and Window sensor Alerts, Water Leak Alerts, Garage Door Open Alerts, Each of these should be able to have its own Alert Sound, and yet the Designers failed to come even close to this, I hope this module will be slightly better than the X10 Chime but I am not sure yet, and the Remote Chime Kit is horrible in that when you have  an IO-Linc wired to Chimes it is the ugliest contraption in my home that looks like a Bomb wired up to explode, This is not at all the quality I expected from INSTEON when I bought into this!  I know you guys are not the designers, but I did want to voice my concerns here too! The quality and usability of the products affects us all in the long run!    This is a much needed addition to the Product line, however I just wish some thought and functionality had been placed into its design. Seems as of they are so worried about it being used as am alarm.that they totally ignore its beneficial uses in Home Automation. You know your hands and arms can be used as Deadly Weapons too but you don't cut them off because of all the other great things you can use them for. Same is true of an INSTEON Alert Device. Yes you might be able to use it as an ALARM but just put out a Statement that says you should not and let those of us needing only an Alert have a functional system that might even come close in Value to what we are paying for which by today's standards is hardly any useful home automation at all!

 

 (Check out the RING Doorbell that lets you answer the door from your I-PHONE. Wouldn't that be a great product if it also had INSTEON Detection and Triggering capability?)

 

I do not even own this INSTEON Alert Device yet, and I am already on my soapbox about its lack of Design Forethought and Capability. If the ISY supports it, I probably will buy it, but again I am a very dis-satisfied INSTEON customer even before I buy.  We deserve much better Products for the investment we make in Home Automation. Their thinking may be that he is still buying this so we have done our job, but the fact is I have hundreds of people telling me they would like Home Automation but I cannot in my right mind even begin to recommend this to them because of the mediocre Designs of the Products, and the complexity of their use. So while they are selling to me they are losing out on Hundreds of other sales!

 

As to the ISY and PLM HUB, I can say that I do think the ISY is the greatest Home Automation tool out there and with the HUB PLM and removal/replacement of several older switches  I have not had an ALL ON in almost a year now. (Remember I was getting several a day and could program to make them happen!)  The older PLM's and switches were definitely part of the problem with the ALL ON although Programming techniques also affected it. For the first time since investing in INSTEON Home Automation I can now say that I am running Hundreds of Switches and Sensors mostly without a hitch at all and doing some fairly complex things the ISY gives me the ability to do. There are improvements that I think should be made, and I had hoped the Alert Module would have been better, but for now it is unfortunately what it is, provided it is supported by the ISY.

 

I do still wish UDI would support WAIT for Variable Based number of Seconds, and also PROGRAM ACTIVE/IDLE vs TRUE/FALSE.  These are two totally different things and the lack of ACTIVE vs IDLE makes programming much more complicated than it needs to be.

 

Other than that  You guys are doing a Fantastic job with what you have to work with!  I just wish the products we really need were marketed without fear of us using them as an ALARM!   What a shame and lack of foresight from a companies that have such great potential!

 

 

Thanks

Charles Seiler

 

Hello Charles,

 

It would be beneficial if you relayed the same information on the Insteon product *Wish List* thread. As this will be the only direct method the vendor will see this feed-back.

 

You may do so here via this hyper link: http://forum.insteon.com/forum/main-category/new-insteon-device-wish-list

 

Lastly, its great to hear the HUB PLM has solved the ALL ON / ALL OFF issue for you. I was rather curious as to your current state of affairs and now its good to know in this case its been solved.

 

Can you provide some insight as to why some of the other switches had to be replaced and if you can provide the hardware production date, revision number, and ISY firmware that would be great. This information should be placed in the relevant all on thread though for continuity.

 

Merry X-MAS . . .

[Brian H]

I have one on order and will report what I find.

[Michel Kohanim]

Hello everyone,

 

We still haven't heard anything back from SmartHome.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

[Brian H]

Received my 2687-222 Alert Module today.
Hardware Rev 1.0 Production Code 1548
FCC ID:SBP2457D2A. Same as the 2457D2A Dual Band LampLinc and the 2992-222 Range Extender.
Manual and sales page says SBP29922. Yes that is also the FCC ID number in the Range Extender Manual but not the sale pages or module.
As posted by Michel. It will not add to the Administrative Console yet. As they are still waiting for data.
I could not get a 2440 RemoteLinc Buttons to control it.
I was able to have a 2430 ControlLinc buttons control it.
I had one button set. Trigger the Instant Loud Ring. That sounds for thirty seconds. I did not try a disarm to see if it could be stopped early.
I had another button set. Trigger the Instant Chime.
I had another button set. Trigger the Arm and Disarm function. In my tests only Disarm worked and I could not arm it.

 

[Techman]

Received my 2687-222 Alert Module today.

Hardware Rev 1.0 Production Code 1548

FCC ID:SBP2457D2A. Same as the 2457D2A Dual Band LampLinc and the 2992-222 Range Extender.

Manual and sales page says SBP29922. Yes that is also the FCC ID number in the Range Extender Manual but not the sale pages or module.

As posted by Michel. It will not add to the Administrative Console yet. As they are still waiting for data.

I could not get a 2440 RemoteLinc Buttons to control it.

I was able to have a 2430 ControlLinc buttons control it.

I had one button set. Trigger the Instant Loud Ring. That sounds for thirty seconds. I did not try a disarm to see if it could be stopped early.

I had another button set. Trigger the Instant Chime.

I had another button set. Trigger the Arm and Disarm function. In my tests only Disarm worked and I could not arm it.

 

 

 

How's the volume level, can you hear it if you're in another room. Being that the piezo is inside the case is the sound muffled?

[Brian H]

I will link it to a spare KeypadLinc in a tabletop case tomorrow.

Then I can put it in few rooms and walk around with the controller and trigger it from different rooms.

[stusviews]

If you have one, use a Mini Remote. Makes walking around tests easier. BTW, I also keep a spare KeypadLinc in a tabletop for testing new devices

[Michel Kohanim]

Hello everyone,

 

Thanks so very much for the feedback. We are still experiencing radio silence for the APIs for this device.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

[Brian H]

As much as I would like to see it supported. Maybe the added time may get more accurate information. Right now I have seen three different FCC IDs  for it. For them to straighten out.

Tested the 2867-222 Alarm Module in a few parts of my house.

Instant Chime was not as loud as Instant Loud Ring or the short chime  beeps didn't register in my ears.
I could not hear the Instant Chime very well, but my hearing is not very good.

Tested with Instant Loud Ring.
Long 30 foot room. Module at one end could hear it OK at the other end.
In the hallway near bedrooms. Could hear it in the bedrooms if close to their doorway to the hallway.
Depending on which bedroom I put it in and which bedroom I listened in. Could hear it faintly.

My X10 RSC15 Chime Module is much louder but it has front port for the sounder.
I can hear it in more areas of the house.

[Teken]

As much as I would like to see it supported. Maybe the added time may get more accurate information. Right now I have seen three different FCC IDs  for it. For them to straighten out.

Tested the 2867-222 Alarm Module in a few parts of my house.

 

Instant Chime was not as loud as Instant Loud Ring or the short chime  beeps didn't register in my ears.

I could not hear the Instant Chime very well, but my hearing is not very good.

 

Tested with Instant Loud Ring.

Long 30 foot room. Module at one end could hear it OK at the other end.

In the hallway near bedrooms. Could hear it in the bedrooms if close to their doorway to the hallway.

Depending on which bedroom I put it in and which bedroom I listened in. Could hear it faintly.

 

My X10 RSC15 Chime Module is much louder but it has front port for the sounder.

I can hear it in more areas of the house.

 

Brian H,

 

After owning this new device for about a week do you recommend it as a replacement to the famous Stu Buzz Linc? I like the form factor but thus far there isn't anything that is too compelling for me to purchase one over the standard I/O linc which can be used for other things.

 

As far as I can tell this is a completely stripped down On-Off relay, lamp linc, RE, that has either a new siren / piezeo or uses a new one.

 

Besides looking prettier, dual band, and smaller, I dunno . . .

 

If they had added just one thing which was the ability to use a Micro SD card so any sound could be used. Regardless of all the other nice to have's I listed above.

 

I can tell you with 1000% fact that module would be one of the biggest sellers for Smartlabs and would be flying off the shelves.

 

Pity, nobody at the senior management level has any imagination besides squeezing out that last dollar . . . 

[paulbates]

Agreed Teken. This seems to be something to help Hub users that have a lot insteon sensors and want an audible sound from them. Having gone through the manual, that seems to be it.

 

This device further blurs the lines of Insteon being a substitute for a credentialed, supervised node alarm system, which it still is not.

[Teken]

Agreed Teken. This seems to be something to help Hub users that have a lot insteon sensors and want an audible sound from them. Having gone through the manual, that seems to be it.

 

This device further blurs the lines of Insteon being a substitute for a credentialed, supervised node alarm system, which it still is not.

 

Back in the day Smartlabs partnered with another maker to release a full on security alarm system which was Insteon enabled. It came out for about 1.5 years than literally went poof and disappeared.

 

It was based on the very famous and dumb idea of having the main control panel as the heart and brains of the system. Oh I can't see anything wrong with that concept at all besides someone ripping it off the wall and what are you left with then?

 

LMAO . . .

 

I am sure Smartlabs will be coming out with another iteration of the alarm system at some point. But, if history is any indicator it will be poorly thought out or cater to the dumb.

 

Its no great surprise people read my writings and realize I have no problem throwing them under the bus when ever I get the chance. This stems from the fact I see so much potential from this company yet at every turn they just piss it all away and offer half baked solutions?!?!

 

There are so many companies that make only one or two devices and their primary focus is to keep developing and making it better at each stage. This isn't seen at Smartlabs at all because its just easier to release another toy with half baked features to see if it will stick.

 

Sadly, many of these devices see average sales during the long term but more so because people really have no clue what they are getting when it arrives. The HUB in any iteration is the perfect example of this as every user at some point in time comes to realize the lack of support and features this so called cloud power has to offer.

 

The only give I will offer them is that someone has clued in as to how to interact and combine other 3rd party devices like the Harmony remote, Amazon Echo, Apple Smart Watch, etc.

 

Then again that was the whole intent of the cloud in the first place!

 

I was told by a little bird that we should expect to see great new things in 2016 for Insteon hardware. I truly hope that is the case because the ground Z-Wave / ZigBee is gaining in the market place really needs to be understood.

 

To beat the dead horse once again Smartlabs needs to reach out to third party hardware makers and offer up the PLM chip for free or at highly discounted prices. I've read about 500 plus articles on home automation, videos, news clippings etc.

 

Not one of them have ever mentioned Insteon ?!?!?

 

My biggest interest moving forward is to see the I/O Linc as dual band and see what other improvements are seen. Discussions of I3CS has been talked about for awhile and perhaps we shall see new features in 2016.

[paulbates]

There would have to be a whole new (backwardly compatible) line of products with an new supervised architecture to make Insteon alarm worthy. This would allow the server to manage (wireless) clients. While they're at it, this new architecture would need to address the RF security access exposure when linking, providing confirmation of the sender for communications. Need I mention addressing the all on, for good?

 

If they addressed that, and offered a (backwardly compatible) alarm panel, I would most likely buy in..  I would keep most of my existing devices even with the current exposure.. just replace wireless sensors and anything managing a door.

 

Paul

[Teken]

There would have to be a whole new (backwardly compatible) line of products with an new supervised architecture to make Insteon alarm worthy. This would allow the server to manage (wireless) clients. While they're at it, this new architecture would need to address the RF security access exposure when linking, providing confirmation of the sender for communications. Need I mention addressing the all on, for good?

 

If they addressed that, and offered a (backwardly compatible) alarm panel, I would most likely buy in..  I would keep most of my existing devices even with the current exposure.. just replace wireless sensors and anything managing a door.

 

Paul

 

Paul,

 

More than likely the latests I3CS would be very much like I2CS when it first came out. I am sure there will be a real long period where none of us will know why something doesn't respond / react as we expect?

 

This has been seen for ages in products like the trigger linc / leak sensor.

 

To this very day it simply boggles my mind trying to fully understand why Smartlabs doesn't offer more accurate and timely information with respect to firmware changes, API documentation etc?

 

Then again this is the same company that will release refurbished devices and change the hardware signature and not tell a soul!

 

I thought it was truly funny and sad at the same time when they updated the Morning Industry interface and the alert module and not a soul knew about it, never mind the API!

 

What I do know is there were lots of smart and eager Insteon employees that have since moved on. This brain drain and loss of *Lets do it better* attitude is sadly gone and any possibility to see movement in communications is never going to be seen.

 

Anyways more to your point about security my belief is that this is more going to be a dedicated Insteon capable system. I don't expect they will introduce common devices we now use like open-close, sensors with tamper etc.

 

Having said that they are 90% of the way there when you consider the hidden door sensor. This sensor offers heart beat, battery level, with variable settings. To add tamper, two way communications, and RF masking is not too much effort.

 

All of this is done by even the lowest priced wireless alarm system in the market now.

 

It really comes down to whether this company is going to be serious about entering the security alarm field. If senior management had any common sense what they should be doing is simply engaging known security brands to either make them a security panel or ask that they start to integrate Insteon as a Home Automation aspect.

 

X-10 has been in this arena for ages now you see Z-Wave / ZigBee as the go to protocol.

 

Sometimes its not about reinventing the wheel but simply getting on the same band wagon as the rest.  

[paulbates]

.... It really comes down to whether this company is going to be serious about entering the security alarm field. If senior management had any common sense what they should be doing is simply engaging known security brands to either make them a security panel or ask that they start to integrate Insteon as a Home Automation aspect.

 

X-10 has been in this arena for ages now you see Z-Wave / ZigBee as the go to protocol.

 

Sometimes its not about reinventing the wheel but simply getting on the same band wagon as the rest.  

Yep!

[k5map]

Teken,

 

I always find your post very informative as well as insightful so I have a question which I would appreciate your thoughts... 

 

I only have 10 INSTEON devices today and choose the ISY because of its ability to "marry" multiple HA technologies.  I've been on the fence about moving towards using more Z-Wave devices instead of INSTEON.  If you remove the home security requirement and take into consideration all of the miscues by INSTEON, I would appreciate hearing your thoughts on whether I should continue to deploy INSTEON or move towards Z-Wave devices.

[Teken]

Teken,

 

I always find your post very informative as well as insightful so I have a question which I would appreciate your thoughts... 

 

I only have 10 INSTEON devices today and choose the ISY because of its ability to "marry" multiple HA technologies.  I've been on the fence about moving towards using more Z-Wave devices instead of INSTEON.  If you remove the home security requirement and take into consideration all of the miscues by INSTEON, I would appreciate hearing your thoughts on whether I should continue to deploy INSTEON or move towards Z-Wave devices.

 

Hello K5map,

 

Perhaps I should temper my reply moving forward here?

 

Not . . .

 

In all seriousness I would not have stuck it out this long with Insteon if I didn't see value in their products. For the moment lets ignore my rants and negative comments about Smartlabs miscues. 

 

The facts are Smartlabs (over all) makes some of the best and solid home automation products for the market. The very fact they have been able to hold their ground and grow sales year over year with the massive onslaught of others like Z-Wave / ZigBee shows millions of others find real value in the same.

 

Now, if you have not upgraded your 994 Series Controller to allow Z-Wave integration I would humbly suggest you consider that possibility.

 

As this in the long term ensures fail over should Smartlabs ever fold or stop selling Insteon hardware. Having the ability to use other products from the Z-Wave camp in my mind simply offers more choices.

 

Which we all know having more choices in life is always better . . .

 

My only reservation about Z-Wave is that people often think or say its better than Insteon. Its not and based on my personal experience depending upon which brands you actually purchase they are actually worse.

 

With the advent of Z-Wave Plus this protocol is moving past Insteon at lightning speed. 

 

Ultimately I believe it comes down to if you believe Insteon provides the value you seek and need. For me I continue to see value, features, and capability from Insteon. 

 

Most of the Z-Wave / ZigBee devices I have played with are like toys and quite honestly are ugly and second rate products. Having said that there are dozens of more expensive products that are truly beautiful and do hold their own when compared to Insteon.

[mwester]

Examine z-wave products first - and consider Insteon products if the z-wave stuff won't do it -- that's my thinking.

 

At this point, I'm moving to all z-wave for sensors.  I've replaced one garage door IOLinc with a proper, real, designed-with-security-in-mind zwave garage door device.  I'm staying with Switchlincs and KPLs from Insteon, though, because right now the zwave equivalent of direct switch-to-controlled-device comms is apparently patented and only available from one z-wave manufacturer (stupid patent office people...)

 

As for the rumors of a "better" Insteon device -- I suspect they'll release something, but I just can't get too excited.  Firstly, the RF stuff is troubling to me; there are already secure RF protocols out there, why do we need another one proprietary to Insteon?  Secondly, they'll screw it up, and I won't by a new device for at least a year -- since they don't do firmware updates for devices, every mistake they make *I end up paying for!!*   It's like the stupid serial PLM -- how much "repeat business" did they get from customers because it died every two years?!!  And because they're the only provider (they won't sell the chips to UDI, for example), we have no choice.  That does not make me a happy customer.  It makes me a reluctant consumer, one who will switch as soon as a viable alternative is available.

 

Finally, SmartHome has no clue what they're doing.  So they are trying the "service" route by selling devices that need to connect to their servers in order to operate.  That'll work until users wise up to the whole "cloud" scam -- or until a real company like Microsoft, Google, or Apple takes over that business and leaves Joe Dada selling nothing but $50 devices and replacement PLMs.

 

And then there's those real companies I just mentioned -- what will they do?

 

With all this uncertainty, the wisest thing to do is to divest.  The most foolish thing to do is to continue with all your eggs in SmartHome's basket.

[k5map]

Teken,

 

"Should temper my reply moving forward here?" (LMAO)... thanks for the belated Xmas present

 

Insightful commentary as always.

 

mwester,

 

I'm not that impressed with the INSTEON garage door solution as well... what Z-Wave product have you installed for your garage?  Can you display the status of the door (open/closed) on a INSTEON KPL using the ISY?