Is it Possible to make LEDs track in SwitchLincs?

[pbeker46]

Back again with another newbie Insteon Question (thanks for all the help here, really appreciated in a "crash learning" mode).

 

A simple setup for this question is: A 3-Way switch is replaced with two SwitchLinc dimmers, one is actually connected to the load and handles the real dimming function, the other is virtual, connected to nothing but cross-linked to the first.   This is a simple 3-Way setup.

 

My question is:

 

Is it possible to make the LEDs in the "virtual" SwitchLinc track with the "real" SwitchLinc dimmer to accurately reflect the dimming level?  I wondered if an ISY program that set the level in the virtual one could do this, but was left trying to understand how to get it to track timing as it seems it is only triggered by the event of pushing or releasing the switch, not holding it down.

 

Thinking about this also made me wonder if there was a way to light the LEDs other than the top and bottom ones on a SwitchLinc switch if it is used in virtual mode.  This is a *really* small deal (especially if there is a way to do the above), as SwitchLinc dimmers and Switches cost the same, so buring a dimmer as a virtual switch isn't and issue.  It really is  just me wanting to explore this issue to the end once it has come up...

 

[MWareman]

A 3-Way switch is replaced with two SwitchLinc dimmers, one is actually connected to the load and handles the real dimming function, the other is virtual, connected to nothing but cross-linked to the first.

It sounds like you directly cross-linked the switches. This isn't necessary when you have an ISY, and actually causes the ISY to be unaware of the situation.

 

The correct approach is to create a scene in ISY and add both SwitchLinc dimmers as 'controllers' (not 'responders') of the scene. The ISY will then create the necessary links for everything to work as you want. That way - they will both track each others dim level, and the correct dim level will be represented in ISY.

 

You may want to 'restore' the devices in the ISY Console first though to remove the errant direct cross-linking (if that's what you did).

 

Michael.

[pbeker46]

It sounds like you directly cross-linked the switches. This isn't necessary when you have an ISY, and actually causes the ISY to be unaware of the situation.

 

The correct approach is to create a scene in ISY and add both SwitchLinc dimmers as 'controllers' (not 'responders') of the scene. The ISY will then create the necessary links for everything to work as you want. That way - they will both track each others dim level, and the correct dim level will be represented in ISY.

 

You may want to 'restore' the devices in the ISY Console first though to remove the errant direct cross-linking (if that's what you did).

 

Michael.

So adding a device that is already cross-linked to the ISY and saying preserve links, doesn't cause the ISY to read and know those links?  That would explain a few situations I've run into that I fixed by deleting the devices, re-installing them using "delete links" and then putting them into scenes in the ISY interface.  I fell into assuming (and we all know what that does) that the option to keep links would cause the ISY to interrogate what those links were.

 

Thanks!

[MWareman]

AFAIK - preserve simply does not remove them. ISY does not learn existing links in this situation.

 

A scene with two devices actually contains three devices (the two and the PLM) and three links (not one). Each device in a scene has a link to and from each other device in a scene (including the PLM). If you cross-linked them and then added them individually to ISY, the ISY will not know of the pre-existing link directly between the two Switches - and will probably remove it when you save the device - effectively breaking the link between them.

 

Some people use 'preserve' when adding ISY to another pre-existing controller and trying to use multiple controllers to control common devices. I wouldn't recommend that at all - its fraught with danger!

[stusviews]

There are several links involved between two Insteon devices in a 3-way configuration. The primary device has a link as a controller of the secondary device. It also has a link as a responder to the secondary device. The secondary device also needs each of these links. If the primary device is a dimmer, then each the primary and secondary device have to be aware of both the On-levels and ramp rates (each the primary and secondary can be different in both respects). That's all without a PLM plus a manager such as the ISY.

 

The ISY takes some shortcuts. Manual links can mess that up because the ISY is mostly unaware of any manual link made prior to or after adding the device