ISY or PLM dying (and Insteon v. Zwave v. X)?

[ctviggen1]

My ISY 994i has periodic problems with talking to my Insteon switches.  I replaced the PLM in April of this year due to this problem.  However, my ISY still will periodically lose contact with switches.  This has happened several times after installation of the new PLM.  The ISY cannot contact certain switches (it does not seem like all of them, but it's hard to tell).  If I leave the ISY alone and come back the next day, even if the switch had an error message over it, if I clicked on the switch, the error message went away and I could turn on and off the switches with no problems. Again, not all switches were marked as not being connected, and all of them that were marked as such were able to be contacted and work once I clicked on the switch. 

 

Currently, my ISY is working fine. 

 

The next time the ISY cannot connect to switches, how do I debug whether it's the ISY or the switch (or both?)?

 

Also, if it is the PLM, this is the second PLM I've had in not much time.  I don't think 5 months is that long for a PLM to fail.  Is the Zwave (or another system) more reliable?  I currently have 15 Insteon switches, but I want to have many more.  However, I only want to buy them if the system itself is going to be reliable.  If there is a better, more reliable system such as Zwave, perhaps I buy those instead?

 

Thank you.

[larryllix]

My ISY 994i has periodic problems with talking to my Insteon switches.  I replaced the PLM in April of this year due to this problem.  However, my ISY still will periodically lose contact with switches.  This has happened several times after installation of the new PLM.  The ISY cannot contact certain switches (it does not seem like all of them, but it's hard to tell).  If I leave the ISY alone and come back the next day, even if the switch had an error message over it, if I clicked on the switch, the error message went away and I could turn on and off the switches with no problems. Again, not all switches were marked as not being connected, and all of them that were marked as such were able to be contacted and work once I clicked on the switch. 

 

Currently, my ISY is working fine. 

 

The next time the ISY cannot connect to switches, how do I debug whether it's the ISY or the switch (or both?)?

 

Also, if it is the PLM, this is the second PLM I've had in not much time.  I don't think 5 months is that long for a PLM to fail.  Is the Zwave (or another system) more reliable?  I currently have 15 Insteon switches, but I want to have many more.  However, I only want to buy them if the system itself is going to be reliable.  If there is a better, more reliable system such as Zwave, perhaps I buy those instead?

 

Thank you.

Intermittent Insteon things are usually the comm signals have interference, not hardware.

Try your ISY in a different location.

Make sure you have your two phases of your electrical box bridged with a passive coupler or,

Plug in a dual band Insteon device into each pahse of your distribution box.

Try a dual band device between your PLM and the device giving problems.

[stusviews]

Which indication are you getting ! or 1101?

[Teken]

Per Larryllix,

 

Please ensure you read the full users manual for what ever dual band device you have in the home to confirm and validate proper coupling / bridging via the 4 tap beacon test. I call this out because older hardware which had white LED's required the person to understand fully the LED behavior.

 

Whereas some of the older dual band KPL relays also flashed their buttons / didn't flash to reflect same phase / opposite phase. Then there are the plugin lamp linc / on-off relay modules. One needs to be aware you must ensure the device is turned on (Green LED) before you initiate the 4 tap beacon test.

 

Failure to do this will cause endless confusion as to the same leg / opposite leg being coupled / bridged - or not.

[Brian H]

Don't try a Alert Module for a Beacon test.

Maybe changed in present ones. Mine is an early purchase.

 

Mine will work correctly if it is the one doing the tests to other modules.

If it is receiving from others doing the tests. The LED does not show correctly

When the LED is Green. Modules on both phases flash it Green.

When the LED is Red. Modules on both phases flash it Red.

 

To be fair. There was no mention of a Beacon or Communications Test in the manuals I downloaded for it. So it may have been a known issue. At the time I bought mine.

[ctviggen1]

Which indication are you getting ! or 1101?

 

I get the exclamation point. 

[ctviggen1]

Intermittent Insteon things are usually the comm signals have interference, not hardware.

Try your ISY in a different location.

Make sure you have your two phases of your electrical box bridged with a passive coupler or,

Plug in a dual band Insteon device into each pahse of your distribution box.

Try a dual band device between your PLM and the device giving problems.

 

Right now my ISY is at a location where the network, cable, phone, etc., all terminate in our basement.  The electrical boxes are also at the same location, and I have battery backups and a network driver there too. 

 

I could move the ISY and PLM, but that would take at least a day's work.  I'd have to run both network cable and electrical to a new location (there are very few outlets in the basement), and that would take a ton of drilling through joists, studs, etc., and maybe even putting up a wall as most of the basement does not have a wall.   It would also take time to map out where I want it and buy the parts.  This is a good idea, but it would take me a weekend to do.  I'll think about this.

 

I have wireless Insteon extenders on different phases of my house (not to mention the switches themselves are on different phases).  Does that suffice or do I need to use a passive coupler too? 

[larryllix]

This sounds like you either have an inverter close to your PLM or ISY/PLM plugged into an inverter.

It also sounds like you may a WiFi antenna very close to your PLM antenna.

 

You don't need to wire your basement, (yet)  just take the ISY and PLM upstairs away from that location to try it.