Hi all,

 

New here and have been doing some reading. I've had a hub at my house and my mom's house for several years, actually I'm on my second at both places. Seems like mine is dead again and I want something more stable so I'm looking at an ISY.

 

I have a mix of insteon and X10 hard wired and plug in units. Have a Zwave door lock at mom's which seems cool so I'd like the option at my house. Need to be able to turn lights on and off from my phone or with a schedule and also set up a few scenes for the Christmas lights.

 

Am looking at either this:

https://www.smarthome.com/universal-devices-isy994i-zw-ir-pro-controller-insteon-z-wave-ir-support-with-insteon-dual-band-plm.html#

 

or https://www.smarthome.com/universal-devices-isy994i-zw-ir-pro-controller-insteon-z-wave-ir-support.html

 

Looks like they're the same except this PLM thing. What exactly is that and do I need it? 

 

Outside of the ISY, I'm figuring I need a computer for setup (I have Win10 and Win7 options along with linux) and then for my phone for remote control, I've been told on another forum Agave is good for android.

 

thanks in advance!

Hi all,

 

New here and have been doing some reading. I've had a hub at my house and my mom's house for several years, actually I'm on my second at both places. Seems like mine is dead again and I want something more stable so I'm looking at an ISY.

 

I have a mix of insteon and X10 hard wired and plug in units. Have a Zwave door lock at mom's which seems cool so I'd like the option at my house. Need to be able to turn lights on and off from my phone or with a schedule and also set up a few scenes for the Christmas lights.

 

Am looking at either this:

https://www.smarthome.com/universal-devices-isy994i-zw-ir-pro-controller-insteon-z-wave-ir-support-with-insteon-dual-band-plm.html#

 

or https://www.smarthome.com/universal-devices-isy994i-zw-ir-pro-controller-insteon-z-wave-ir-support.html

 

Looks like they're the same except this PLM thing. What exactly is that and do I need it? 

 

Outside of the ISY, I'm figuring I need a computer for setup (I have Win10 and Win7 options along with linux) and then for my phone for remote control, I've been told on another forum Agave is good for android.

 

thanks in advance!

 

Yes this link you provided is correct: https://www.smarthome.com/universal-devices-isy994i-zw-ir-pro-controller-insteon-z-wave-ir-support.html The 2413S PLM is what holds all the Insteon links in the network and allows the ISY Series Controller to see and manage those links. I would encourage you to wait for this Black Friday and reap the discount that will come from Smarthome though.

Good call on the black Friday sales, tho interesting, smarthome has neither in stock right now so hopefully they do get some in.

 

If you didn't have the PLM, could the ISY even work? I guess I just am not clear on what you'd do with the ISY without a PLM

Good call on the black Friday sales, tho interesting, smarthome has neither in stock right now so hopefully they do get some in.

 

If you didn't have the PLM, could the ISY even work? I guess I just am not clear on what you'd do with the ISY without a PLM

 

If you had only a Z-Wave network the ISY Series Controller would be able to operate with those devices alone and X-10. With the 2413S PLM you have the ability to operate and use a hybrid environment of X-10, Insteon, Z-Wave, and if you purchase the Network Module you can connect and operate other networked appliances and cloud hosted services.

Got it, thanks! Looks like I'll see how much the $309 price comes down

Got it, thanks! Looks like I'll see how much the $309 price comes down

 

While you're waiting you can review the online manual and WiKi: http://wiki.universal-devices.com/index.php?title=Main_Page  When you get familiar and comfortable with the ISY Series Controller some add on modules that will show their true value are these: Network Module, Weather & Irrigation, X-10. X-10 is included by default but is accessed via the programs tab.

 

Purchasing the X-10 module will display those pieces of hardware in the device tree like the rest of the Insteon products.  

My brother and I purchased our ISY's from Orchestrated Home.com. We were happy with their service. Maybe they have some in stock

Looks like no dice on Black Friday deals. The ISY994i ZW/Ir Pro with the PLM is still not in stock (would be $309) and the one without the PLM is also not in stock ($260). The PLM on its own is $80 and it doesn't make much sense to get the ISY without the z wave add on since that's $240 plus $80 for the PLM so it'd be more expensive than the package with everything in it.

 

Sort of surprised they didn't stock up for black Friday.

Tho it just occurred to me, IR needs line of site and I'm putting this in my basement so I'll never use IR so maybe I'll just look at the Zwave + PLM options like this:

https://www.smarthome.com/universal-devices-isy994izw-controller-insteon-z-wave-support-with-insteon-dual-band-plm.html

Tho it just occurred to me, IR needs line of site and I'm putting this in my basement so I'll never use IR so maybe I'll just look at the Zwave + PLM options like this:

https://www.smarthome.com/universal-devices-isy994izw-controller-insteon-z-wave-support-with-insteon-dual-band-plm.html

 

That's perfectly fine keep in mind anything on the ISY Series Controller can be upgraded later. If later you find you need the Pro version with 1024 programs, battery disable, IR , it can be purchased piece meal.

 

The route your taking offers the best value now so no down fall. Also don't fixate purchasing the 2413S PLM directly from Smarthome.

 

If you look carefully as to who the seller is on Amazon you can get the same for less! Note, the only caveat is to know you really want the latest 2.4 hardware revision as it's been stated by the maker it's supposed to fix the 2 year early failure.

Do you mean look at the PLM on Amazon or the ISY too? Thanks for the tip either way!!

I initially wanted to use IR, but I wanted my PLM (and therefore ISY) in the basement at my electrical panel. There are IR repeaters you can look at too, that place an IR receiver by your TV and then rf to a transmitter by the ISY

 

In other news, I bought my ISY and PLM from Orchtestrated home over 3 years ago from their refurb page. It was cheaper and its been fine that entire time. You can send them a message via their contact us page, sometimes they have refurb units not on the web (that's how I got mine, at the time it knocked a lot off the price of new). Refurb means someone bought it, didn't like it and shipped it back.

 

Paul

Do you mean look at the PLM on Amazon or the ISY too? Thanks for the tip either way!!

Honestly that is entirely up to you if you feel Amazon is the route for the entire package so long as the price is equal or less than the current Black Friday sale.

 

Keep in mind if the PLM is sold by Amazon it comes from Smarthome. But you need to see who the seller is because there are 3rd party sellers on there too.

 

Just let your fingers do the shopping to see who and where offers the best value. [emoji106]

 

 

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Ok that helps, thanks!

One thing I noticed on the Amazon review is someone actually received a older hardware revision even though it came directly from Smarthome. I guess it's bad luck there may be some old stock still in the bins. Normally all older hardware is pushed out the door to ensure latest gear is present moving forward. I would probably place a note on the purchase with them to ensure the 2413S PLM will ship with the 2.4 hardware revision. Don't forget to read the WiKi entry I provided up top!

 

 

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I would definitely recommend the pro version (whether through upgrade or IR version) turning off writing to devices is a Time saver, especially if you have a number of wireless devices.

 

I build all of my scenes with writing turned off until I am finished. Then I can turn it back on and let everything run when I'm not doing anything.