Status checks

[geekdad]

Hi. I'm having no problems getting the ISY and the echo to turn on and off Insteon devices, scenes, and programs.  I am having a problem getting status information of devices on my network.  I'm guessing I'm missing something simple. Is there any directions or setup for the the status?  Keith's directions for setup worked awesome and educated me a lot!  But I missed whatever the steps were to setup the status events.  

 

Any help is good help.  If you have some place to point me I promise I will read it!

 

 

[Michel Kohanim]

Hi geekdad,

 

Have you tried: what is?

http://wiki.universal-devices.com/index.php?title=ISY_Portal_Amazon_Echo_Integration#Supported_Commands

 

With kind regards,

Michel

[geekdad]

Hi.  Sorry I had to disappear for a few days.  I have tried those commands.  Or at least I think I did.  

 

Specifically, I went to this link http://www.universal-devices.com/docs/echo/Commands.pdf  

 

And I was trying the 'get status of {predevice} {device} {postdevice}'  And Alexa's response is {device} doesn't support that. Where the devices are Insteon On/Off switches.  

 

So perhaps what I am asking is simply not possible.   Or perhaps I have set up something incorrect on the https://my.isy.io/index.htm site.

 

Thank you again for any and all help.

[stusviews]

Insteon devices cannot be checked for status, only thermostats and locks.

[Michel Kohanim]

Hi geekdad,

 

NOOO. That link is for the Amazon Skill ... i.e. Alexa ask izzy to ...

 

With kind regards,

Michel

[geekdad]

Thank you both very much for the reply. It doesn't appear a work around of updating a variable is a functional solution either.

 

So I guess the question is, are there any plans to be able to check the status of a connected device? For example, before actuating a relay to close the garage door, I wanted to check to see if I left it open.

 

I could build a work around by running a program that first checked to see if the door was open before actuating the valve so I do not adjust accidentally.

 

If you tell me chrcking the status of a device is a bad idea and not worth implementing I could go down that road.

 

Thank you again for the help.

[stusviews]

I linked a KPL button as a responder to an I/O Linc that indicates if the garage door is open (lit) or closed (unlit). Any Insteon responder will suffice, for example, a LampLinc.

[paulbates]

Hi

Status with insteon plug--in devices is normally automatic, instantaneous and designed in. You should be getting the right status without doing anything.  Let's simplify this to help problem solve and not worry about the echo for the moment:

 

Here are some questions

• If you open and close your garage with the garage door opener, can you see the status change in the ISY admin console.? Is it changing regularly and predictably... if the answer is "No", something is wrong with your Insteon network communications and that will need to be explored further
   
• Can you post your program here (right-click on the program, pick copy from the bottom of the list that pops up, paste in a post here)

Paul

Edited June 17, 2017 by paulbates

[geekdad]

HI Folks.  I really appreciate all the help.  I am having some problems with the Insteon in my garage.  Which is one of the reasons.  I don't think it is the IO Link out there though.  I'm going to close this topic and probably look at a different reed switch out there.  Maybe even put in an IR prox sensor mounted to the ceiling or something like this http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0052WM522/ref=s9_acsd_topr_hd_bw_bKls4p_c_x_w?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-5&pf_rd_r=VKE9BAN4N3WG4B86SDMN&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=73646bc4-9611-5327-b1e3-847c3b5e5ebd&pf_rd_i=306936011.  I'll let you know if I burn the house down.  

 

I'll close this thread for now as my direct question has been answered.  I'll post in a more approprate category when ready.  

 

Thank you again for all the help.  

[upstatemike]

^{I am also looking for the ability to query status via Alexa. (Alexa, what is the status of the basement lights?). I am not having any comms issues, I just want to verify if a light has been left on in a given area. Is the lack of status due to a limitation in the Amazon API? If not, is this a feature that could be added?}

[stusviews]

^{I am also looking for the ability to query status via Alexa. (Alexa, what is the status of the basement lights?). I am not having any comms issues, I just want to verify if a light has been left on in a given area. Is the lack of status due to a limitation in the Amazon API? If not, is this a feature that could be added?}

 

If you need to know if the light is on, then there's currently no way to check the status. But if you merely want to be sure that it's off, then you just need to issue an off command. On or off, the light will be off after such a command. I use that logic to ensure that doors are locked. I don't, at any particular time, care if the lock is unlocked or not. I just want to ensure that it's locked

[upstatemike]

I understand what you are saying but sometimes I'm not trying to force a particular state... I just want to know what is going on (or what ISY thinks is going on if I suspect the answer will be different from reality). Is the reason there is no way to check due to a limitation of the Amazon API?

[stusviews]

I use a candelabra bulb (in a candle lamp) set at a dim level in our bedrooms to let us know if a door is unlocked or a slider is left open. They're easier to spot than a KPL button (which we use to tell if any of the garage doors are open).

 

OTOH, you can use Izzy to determine the status of a device, but not a scene because scenes actually do not have a status.

[larryllix]

I use some logic

 

If the garage door is open and gathering room lights are turned off and the bedroom detects motion, then flash the side table lamp at 100%, that would normally be on at 12% with motion detected, that time of day.

 

Sent from my SGH-I257M using Tapatalk

[stusviews]

What's a gathering room? BTW, for major attention, flashing a light doesn't hack it. I use a strobe.

[G W]

Gathering room, Great room, Family room, Den, Entertainment room. All pretty much the same.

 

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

[tim2u]

I'm using v3 of your skill.  Is it possible to get status of a device (such as brightness level)?  I'm even more interested in a variable setting, but can work around that if necessary.  My problem, though is when asking 'izzy' for the status, it tries to enable v1 of your skill, then says account linking required.

 

In order to 'Ask Izzy' something, do i need V1 ('ISY skill') enabled alongside the 'ISY optimized for smarthome v3" skill?  I assumed the 'ask IZZY' would be included in the v3 version.

 

Basically, i'm only trying to ask the status off (brightness) of a device (or even better), a program variable value.  I was thinking this was the best way, but would love to hear better options (preferably not involving using a network resource to write the state to another service/db/ect.)

[bmercier]

I'm using v3 of your skill.  Is it possible to get status of a device (such as brightness level)?  I'm even more interested in a variable setting, but can work around that if necessary.  My problem, though is when asking 'izzy' for the status, it tries to enable v1 of your skill, then says account linking required.

 

In order to 'Ask Izzy' something, do i need V1 ('ISY skill') enabled alongside the 'ISY optimized for smarthome v3" skill?  I assumed the 'ask IZZY' would be included in the v3 version.

 

Basically, i'm only trying to ask the status off (brightness) of a device (or even better), a program variable value.  I was thinking this was the best way, but would love to hear better options (preferably not involving using a network resource to write the state to another service/db/ect.)

 

Today, a Smart Home skill does not allow to do that. This is something Amazon has not implemented yet. At the API level, there is a query function that has been implemented, but it's not yet used by Amazon when using the voice interface. On the other hand, if you use the mobile app, you can see the status of a device, or even a state variable. 

 

Our ISY Custom skill (Names "ISY") offered a way to query devices, but this skill is being sunset. We could do it because in a custom skill, we have control over the vernacular, unlike a smart home skill (Live V2 and V3).

[tim2u]

Thanks for the quick replay and the explanation.

 

One quick follow up:  is it possible to enable and link both the V1 skill (that contains the possibility to ask IZZY for the status of ...) and keep the V3 enabled at the same time?  Seems like that could be problematic, but i am not sure.

[bmercier]

Thanks for the quick replay and the explanation.

 

One quick follow up:  is it possible to enable and link both the V1 skill (that contains the possibility to ask IZZY for the status of ...) and keep the V3 enabled at the same time?  Seems like that could be problematic, but i am not sure.

 

Technically, yes, the ISY skill which allows to get the status can coexist with V3. It is not problematic... other than it is planned to be removed.

 

Benoit