bmercier Posted January 19, 2016 Posted January 19, 2016 Michael, great work! I spent the last 12 hours working though various issues with the Izzy Skill. Had all kinds of problems with it understanding spoken names. I had some that worked and others that would not. I just discovered the connected home feature and it works great! Took no time to make it work. Question, is there anyway to get a confirmation other than just "ok" when you tell it to turn on a device? I would like to hear a confirmation like Izzy gave such as "turning on flood lights". Is that possible or possible in the future? Unfortunately this is not possible. The connected home API does not allow to return custom feedback messages. I also had a chance to see a draft version of the V2 API, and there still is not any way to return custom feedback. Benoit. Quote
parkersmith Posted January 19, 2016 Posted January 19, 2016 Ok. Thanks for the reply. Hopefully they will ad such a feature down the road. Quote
stusviews Posted January 19, 2016 Posted January 19, 2016 Hi all. Echo on order, arriving in about a week or so. One question, please, that I have yet to understand completely. I control almost everything using scenes rather than controlling the devices directly, as I have several keypads and want the status to appear (light up) on those. Some scenes have the same name as a device (e.g., undercounter lights, or kitchen lights). Can I set up ONLY the scene names in the Echo? OR can I just give a spoken name to the scenes I want to control, and ignore all else? Devices can be easily dimmed or brightened. "Alexa, dim/brighten the <spoken_name>" or "Alexa, set the <spoken_name> to xx%." But the brightness of scenes cannot be adjusted. So, in rooms that I want the adjustment, I gave different spoken names to each the scene and the device, for example, dining room light (scene) and dining room ceiling (device) Quote
stusviews Posted January 19, 2016 Posted January 19, 2016 Long story short, you can't use the Amazon Prime account association, as it does not fully complete the discovery process. I'm using my Amazon Prime account with no difficulties. Quote
pjt588 Posted January 20, 2016 Posted January 20, 2016 Great work with the Connected Home integration! Devices and programs working flawlessly! Does connected home work for thermostats and if so, what is the syntax? Quote
bmercier Posted January 20, 2016 Posted January 20, 2016 Great work with the Connected Home integration! Devices and programs working flawlessly! Does connected home work for thermostats and if so, what is the syntax? Unfortunately Connected Home does not support thermostats. yet. Benoit. Quote
Jashanahan Posted January 20, 2016 Posted January 20, 2016 Has anyone seen this process damage a PLM. ISY portal was installed and UUID confirmed. The admin console not consistently entering "safe mode". Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Meant now consistently entering safe mode. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote
jerlands Posted January 20, 2016 Posted January 20, 2016 Has anyone seen this process damage a PLM. ISY portal was installed and UUID confirmed. The admin console not consistently entering "safe mode". I don't see any relationship because the Portal is merely a proxy for ISY. That said... safe mode indicates ISY can't communicate with the PLM. You might try removing power to ISY then unplug PLM, wait 30 seconds (while checking connections between ISY and PLM) plug PLM back, wait for it to settle out then power ISY. If problems continue post to Questions and Answers forum. Jon... Quote
Jashanahan Posted January 20, 2016 Posted January 20, 2016 Thanks but no luck. There is no light evident on the PLM. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote
barrygordon Posted January 20, 2016 Posted January 20, 2016 Your PLM has gone to the PLM Hereafter. I always keep a spare in the house. They last about a year. Quote
Jashanahan Posted January 20, 2016 Posted January 20, 2016 Wow delicate device! Will I need to reconfigure anything in the console when the new one comes in or just plug into the isy? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote
jerlands Posted January 20, 2016 Posted January 20, 2016 Wow delicate device! Will I need to reconfigure anything in the console when the new one comes in or just plug into the isy? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk This is from the Wiki... To replace a PLM: Unplug ISY from the power outlet Unplug the PLM from ISY and power outlet Connect ISY’s port A to the new PLM Plug the new PLM into a power outlet Plug ISY into a power outlet Go to Admin Console and wait for system initialization to completeIf you have PRO Series, click on the Battery icon at the top. This will prevent ISY from trying to update programming on your RF devices which are probably in sleep mode Click on the Restore Modem (PLM) menu optionIn case ISY cannot communicate (or decides not to if an RF device/PRO Series) during the process, you will have a series of nodes with green 1011 icons in the device tree. For each one of those nodes: If an RF device, ensure that the device is in Programming mode Right mouse click | Write pending updates ... DO NOT perform DELETE MODEM! Jon... Quote
jerlands Posted January 20, 2016 Posted January 20, 2016 Wow delicate device! Will I need to reconfigure anything in the console when the new one comes in or just plug into the isy? Forgot to mention.. Smarthome's been good about exchanging so give them a shout. Jon... Quote
mwester Posted January 20, 2016 Posted January 20, 2016 Forgot to mention.. Smarthome's been good about exchanging so give them a shout. Jon... And if, for some reason, they decide NOT to help you out, just put the bad on on eBay (for parts or repair, of course) -- there's a bunch of folks who fix 'em. Quote
Jashanahan Posted January 20, 2016 Posted January 20, 2016 Thanks for the replies. Good thing for Amazon two day shipping. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote
imagamejunky Posted January 20, 2016 Posted January 20, 2016 ...Does connected home work for thermostats and if so, what is the syntax? No Connected home control BUT the Echo-IFTTT skill works great with Nest thermostats. You just need to create recipes with whatever possible temp you may want. I have recipes set up for 67-70 degrees for each thermostat. Examples Alexa, trigger nest upstairs to 68 Alexa, trigger nest downstairs to 69, etc etc Works perfect. Junky Quote
dex Posted January 20, 2016 Posted January 20, 2016 First of all, kudos to Benoit, Michael and the UDI team on the Connected Home Beta. It's magical! Apologies if this has been asked and answered... Pre-Echo Setup: I have a KeyPadLinc, where three of the buttons are used to toggle among three scenes -- Clean, Party and Movie -- where they each control the same set of devices, but to different levels. When pressing the physical buttons, I get the behavior I want. If I press a button that's not lit, that scene activates and the other two buttons go off. If I press a button that is lit (on), all the device in the scene go off, including the buttons. Works great. Echo addition: I've given each of those buttons a spoken name (visible and verified in the ISY portal). But if I say "Alexa, turn on Party" she says "That command doesn't work on device 'party.'" Other ordinary scenes (those not controlled with a KeyPadLinc button) operate perfectly in response to "Alexa, turn on <scene>." Should I be able to control a KeyPadLinc button via the Echo and should it respond just like touching the button when the button is off? If so, what might I be missing or doing wrong? If that's not the correct approach for controlling those buttons/scenes via Echo, what is? Thanks much! - Dex Quote
MWareman Posted January 20, 2016 Posted January 20, 2016 (edited) I've given each of those buttons a spoken name (visible and verified in the ISY portal).The Insteon protocol does not allow for KPL buttons to be directly controlled (other than button A - the load), so there are no valid commands for Alexa to execute. You need to assign the spoken name to your scenes that the buttons control instead. Edited January 20, 2016 by MWareman Quote
rhodges Posted January 20, 2016 Posted January 20, 2016 (edited) Devices can be easily dimmed or brightened. "Alexa, dim/brighten the <spoken_name>" or "Alexa, set the <spoken_name> to xx%." But the brightness of scenes cannot be adjusted. So, in rooms that I want the adjustment, I gave different spoken names to each the scene and the device, for example, dining room light (scene) and dining room ceiling (device) If you are up for some leg work, the following outlines how I have it working by controlling a device and all my keypads get updated correctly. 1) Create your scene as normal with the "master" device as the controller. (LIving Room Lights) 2) Create another scene, all everything but the "master" device as responders to this scene (include your keypad buttons unless it is the controller). (Fix - Living Room Lights) 3) Create a program. a. If Status 'Master Device' is not on, Then Set Scene 'Fix - Living Room Lights' On b. Else Set Scene 'Fix - Living room Lights' Off Do this triple combo for every device you want to have "dimmable" and control with multiple isteon devices. What it does: Assuming everything is off, Echo will send Isy the command to turn on a light. Isy will send the command to the device. The device will respond and the Isy program will see the device is not off, and thus will run the program. The program will then turn "On" the fix scene, which will set the "status" of all the other normal responders. You can then go to one of those other "responders" and turn the light off, which since it is part of the original scene, will control the master and things will work. I currently use this for 12 things and will probably expand it out as I go along. It is sad there isn't a scene level dim option, nor is there any facilities in Isy to "fake it" like I did the with this trilogy of configuration. Disclaimer. This process might have been mentioned before. I am not certain if I am original in my configuration here. Also, there may be some functionality, such as the brightness of the secondary keypad linc buttons or something, I dunno. It works for me. Edited January 20, 2016 by rhodges Quote
joemac Posted January 20, 2016 Posted January 20, 2016 Thanks but no luck. There is no light evident on the PLM. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Same thing happened to me. First noticed an issue 4-5 hours after setting up the Echo Connected Home. The PLM was close to 3 years old which sounds like I got a little more out of it than many others. Quote
50-50 Posted January 20, 2016 Posted January 20, 2016 Same thing happened to me. First noticed an issue 4-5 hours after setting up the Echo Connected Home. The PLM was close to 3 years old which sounds like I got a little more out of it than many others. 3 years old is an ancient PLM... I've been getting ~ 2 yrs on them. Since we can't put them on filtered power (it would filter the signal out), they are more prone to electrical interference than most electronics that we plug into filtered power strips... Safe to say its nothing to do with Echo, has more to do with your electric provider, your location on the power feeder, lightning storms, arcs or just cars hitting poles (+ the lack of a filter on the supply). I suspect those who fix them are putting a >=400V cap on the hot line input, something smarthome should consider for $0.02 more (space permitting), if they are not already. My last dead one is still on the bench waiting for a dismantle, we'll see... PS: slingbox has/(had) a similar issue, the input cap is too weak for the modern grid. Re: the Echo (need something on topic) - she ran my "good night" program flawlessly last night, no more fumbling for KPL buttons on my way into the bedroom with my hands full! The Connected Home integration is absolutely phenomenal so far! Time to train the tribe. Quote
MikeB Posted January 20, 2016 Posted January 20, 2016 3 years old is an ancient PLM... I've been getting ~ 2 yrs on them. Since we can't put them on filtered power (it would filter the signal out), they are more prone to electrical interference than most electronics that we plug into filtered power strips... Safe to say its nothing to do with Echo, has more to do with your electric provider, your location on the power feeder, lightning storms, arcs or just cars hitting poles (+ the lack of a filter on the supply). I suspect those who fix them are putting a >=400V cap on the hot line input, something smarthome should consider for $0.02 more (space permitting), if they are not already. My last dead one is still on the bench waiting for a dismantle, we'll see... PS: slingbox has/(had) a similar issue, the input cap is too weak for the modern grid. Re: the Echo (need something on topic) - she ran my "good night" program flawlessly last night, no more fumbling for KPL buttons on my way into the bedroom with my hands full! The Connected Home integration is absolutely phenomenal so far! Time to train the tribe. Although I'm sure bad power can result in frequent PLM failures for some, you would also be experiencing frequent failures on other INSTEON devices. Quote
50-50 Posted January 20, 2016 Posted January 20, 2016 Although I'm sure bad power can result in frequent PLM failures for some, you would also be experiencing frequent failures on other INSTEON devices. Not necessarily, it depends on the internal components used... While there are fairly strict UL "rules" for switches, etc, that are being "touched", I'd bet (although I don't know for certain without more research), the PLM is a "consumer device" that I doubt needs to conform to the same specs. In any event, for example, a 250V input cap is "enough" on paper for a 120V system (ignoring all the power disturbances we see today)... whereas a 400V rating gives additional headroom before failure at a small incremental cost (and is normally used in European devices with a 208V nominal base). Quote
MikeB Posted January 20, 2016 Posted January 20, 2016 Not necessarily, it depends on the internal components used... While there are fairly strict UL "rules" for switches, etc, that are being "touched", I'd bet (although I don't know for certain without more research), the PLM is a "consumer device" that I doubt needs to conform to the same specs. In any event, for example, a 250V input cap is "enough" on paper for a 120V system (ignoring all the power disturbances we see today)... whereas a 400V rating gives additional headroom before failure at a small incremental cost (and is normally used in European devices with a 208V nominal base). I do know that Smarthome was looking to replace the RS-232 transceiver chip in the PLM last year because of frequent failures. Perhaps newer ones are more reliable. Quote
50-50 Posted January 20, 2016 Posted January 20, 2016 I do know that Smarthome was looking to replace the RS-232 transceiver chip in the PLM last year because of frequent failures. Perhaps newer ones are more reliable. That would be awesome - lets hope that is the root cause of failure and not the symptom. Quote
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