Outlander Posted October 9, 2018 Share Posted October 9, 2018 4 hours ago, mmb said: Yes thanks Tried signing out then in again - fail Tried disabling Smarthome v3 then signing out then in again that re-enabling Smarthome in the app - fail I do see all of the devices, just no way of referencing them in Routines... This shouldn't be rocket science... mike Tried removing and re-enabling V3 Skill. No luck either. Link to comment
mmb Posted October 9, 2018 Share Posted October 9, 2018 32 minutes ago, Outlander said: Tried removing and re-enabling V3 Skill. No luck either. We have lots of company as my brother and several other friends can’t get it to work either ... Link to comment
Athlon Posted October 10, 2018 Share Posted October 10, 2018 On 10/7/2018 at 8:34 PM, pk1 said: If you select messaging instead of alexa says and then send announcement you can have all your devices respond at the same time. Only difference is they ding first. Freakin' awesome! Thank you for sharing that! (We have 2 dots, an Echo and a tap.) Link to comment
mmb Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 On 10/8/2018 at 10:02 PM, mmb said: We have lots of company as my brother and several other friends can’t get it to work either ... So I finally got it the missing Alexa App Routine/Device working. I basically started fresh by disabling the ISY skill then unregistered the Echo, then signed out of the Alexa app then deleted the app entirely. Lastly I factory reset the Echo. Then got everything reinstalled and Routine/Device started working. Too much work in my opinion... mike 1 1 Link to comment
JohnH Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 On 9/30/2018 at 8:31 AM, bmercier said: Instructions below. This will be on the wiki soon. Using Alexa Routines Alexa has for a while allowed you to create Alexa Routines to automate voice-related tasks. This capability is found in the Alexa mobile app, under Routines. Amazon has enhanced this by releasing new smart home capabilities to support motion sensors and contact sensors. The main benefit of this is to use them as triggers to an Alexa routine. ISY Portal now supports these new motions sensors & contact sensors capabilities. In ISY Portal, under the Connectivity | Amazon Echo dialog, You can choose any ISY device, and expose it to Alexa as a motion sensor or a contact sensor. That can be a real motion or contact sensor, but that could also be an IOLinc or a plain regular light. To configure a device as a sensor, just set the Alexa category to Motion sensor or Contact sensor. If you are the owner of an ELM M1 Alarm system, and have it integrated with your ISY, you can use it too! You can expose any of the zones as a motion or contact sensor. In addition to ISY nodes and ELK zones, you can also expose a state variable as a motion sensor. When configuring this, you need to specify a "Motion detected value". Whenever the state variable will be set to that value, the motion sensor status will be set to "Detected". Any other value will set the motion sensor to "Not detected". But why would someone want to expose a state variable as a motion sensor? The whole purpose is to trigger Alexa routines programmatically. One of the simple but nice feature of an Alexa routine is to say something you decide, whenever the routine is triggered. Therefore, using variables exposed as motion sensors allows you to create programs that tells Alexa to say something. Now your ISY can talk! What Alexa says is configured within the routine, and therefore static. But you can create as many routines as you want, and you can do so using a single variable. When you create the spoken in ISY Portal, you can reuse multiple times the same variable, expose it as a sensor, but use a different "Motion detected value". This allows you to have Alexa say something when value=1, something else if it value = 2, etc... Troubleshooting tips: Whenever you make changes to your spokens, please remember to have Alexa discover the devices. You can just ask "Alexa, discover my devices". If you delete or rename spokens, remember to go to the Alexa app and delete those obsolete devices. Otherwise, they will just stay there as "offline", but it will still be recognized by Alexa and give you an error message. If you change the type of a device, let's say from motion sensor to contact sensor, and you have used it in a routine, you will have to remove it from the routine, and re-add it. For more informations on Alexa Routines: https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=G202200080 I just heard about all of the recent changes with Alexa on Monday. Until now I've had an X10 Motion Sensor in the driveway. If it senses motion, late at night, the ISY sends a message to my cell provider that then sends me a text. Then using Tasker on my phone checks the message content and makes an announcement on my phone if it is a motion alert. Over the past year I've been woken up by neighborhood dogs a few times. Overall it works well, but there is a bit of a delay in the whole process due to the messaging. So Tuesday I went in and made my changes to replace Tasker with Alexa. The X10 sensor sets a state variable and the state variable is my "Sensor' to trigger for Alex. So this morning at 3:35 Alexa tells me there is someone in the driveway. I take a look out the window and there's a flashlight! They walk down the street, I go out, get in my car, and find its the police. Apparently they found a stolen car at the end of the street and were checking driveways. Great timing on this one. I'm impressed on how fast the response is compared to what I had before, and also how easy it was to get this working. I seriously appreciate the work that was put into this. Thank You!!! 2 Link to comment
mmb Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 On 9/30/2018 at 7:31 AM, bmercier said: If you are the owner of an ELM M1 Alarm system, and have it integrated with your ISY, you can use it too! You can expose any of the zones as a motion or contact sensor. To expand on the possibilities beyond Elk/ISY, my friend and I did the same with a DSC alarm. I had to purchase an Envisalink network module and adapt little Raspberry Pi app (alarm server) to set state variables in the ISY then pass them along to Alexa Routines via the Portal. The Envisalink is super simple to install network module and quite affordable (~$100). Alarm server is python based and the code is available on the net. 1 Link to comment
hchain Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 Is there any advantage in getting the 3rd generation Echo over the 2nd (which are much cheaper) beside the esthetics? I have Google Home but I am looking at getting some Echo as well. Link to comment
RRoyceus Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 On 10/7/2018 at 10:43 PM, bmercier said: Try ‘hallway’ I have not tried many, but this one did Benoit Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk I tried "hallway" with both sensor and a state variable. In every case, Alexa say the <device> does not support that. It is not a big deal for me, but my wife goes down stairs every night before bed to make sure the door is locked. If I get this working, she might reward me and at my age, anything I can do to get her rewards are well worth the trouble. Link to comment
TexMike Posted October 12, 2018 Share Posted October 12, 2018 9 hours ago, hchain said: Is there any advantage in getting the 3rd generation Echo over the 2nd (which are much cheaper) beside the esthetics? I have Google Home but I am looking at getting some Echo as well. 3rd gen dot is supposed to be 70% louder. I got the 2nd gen for $29.99 and paired with a larger bluetooth speaker I had sitting around. Link to comment
hchain Posted October 12, 2018 Share Posted October 12, 2018 Thanks, Mike, just bought one! Link to comment
telljcl Posted November 27, 2018 Share Posted November 27, 2018 On 10/8/2018 at 2:23 PM, bmercier said: The limit is per "sensor". If you reuse the same state variable for multiple sensors, using a different motion detected value (or Contact closed value), then it's a different sensor for Alexa. So, no need to have multiple variables. I would "reset" the variable shortly after to a value such as 0, which would mean no alert (Provided that you don't have a sensor with motion detected value=0). If you have another program changing the value, it's the same as if it was changed to 0 for that original sensor. You can think of sensors as binary. They are active if the value is the specified one, or they are inactive for any other value. But there is a cavest: If your routine is only triggered by the motion or contact closed event, your good. If your routine is triggered by the No motion, or Contact open, then I believe it will be triggered multiple times if the value changes to different "inactive" values. Benoit Great info - thank you! I had multiple variables set up before I realized what you posted - that I could use 1 variable but have multiple "trigger" values other than just "1". So I deleted other variables and used values of 1-10 for the variable, assigned at the running of programs. Programs work properly, but I can only get the one that uses the value of "1" to cause Alexa to speak the response that the particular variable value elicits (say, a value of 9 - set up in the ISY portal). If I "Test" the Routine, Alexa speaks properly. The variable does indeed change to 9 within the ISY, for the 10 seconds I have it change from zero. But somehow the Alexa isn't picking up on the state change from 0 to 9, but it gets it when it changes from 0 to 1. Same programs essentially, just different announcements from different echos pending the value of that state variable. When I was using multiple variables, the Alexa spoken responses worked as expected. Probably something simple, but what could I be doing wrong? I've re-discovered, I've deleted old devices in the Alexa app etc... but still same results. Link to comment
bmercier Posted November 27, 2018 Author Share Posted November 27, 2018 7 minutes ago, telljcl said: Great info - thank you! I had multiple variables set up before I realized what you posted - that I could use 1 variable but have multiple "trigger" values other than just "1". So I deleted other variables and used values of 1-10 for the variable, assigned at the running of programs. Programs work properly, but I can only get the one that uses the value of "1" to cause Alexa to speak the response that the particular variable value elicits (say, a value of 9 - set up in the ISY portal). If I "Test" the Routine, Alexa speaks properly. The variable does indeed change to 9 within the ISY, for the 10 seconds I have it change from zero. But somehow the Alexa isn't picking up on the state change from 0 to 9, but it gets it when it changes from 0 to 1. Same programs essentially, just different announcements from different echos pending the value of that state variable. When I was using multiple variables, the Alexa spoken responses worked as expected. Probably something simple, but what could I be doing wrong? I've re-discovered, I've deleted old devices in the Alexa app etc... but still same results. To troubleshoot this, first go see the device in the Alexa app (Choose the device that has motion detected when value is 9). Can you see the motion detected/No motion change when the variable changes from 0 to 9? Benoit Link to comment
telljcl Posted November 28, 2018 Share Posted November 28, 2018 2 hours ago, bmercier said: To troubleshoot this, first go see the device in the Alexa app (Choose the device that has motion detected when value is 9). Can you see the motion detected/No motion change when the variable changes from 0 to 9? Benoit Thank you - turns out I had multiple "devices" listed in the Alexa phone app that were phantom devices due to name changes or other alterations - deleting all of these now has cleared things up - working perfectly. Thank you Link to comment
larryllix Posted November 28, 2018 Share Posted November 28, 2018 (edited) What Alexa says is configured within the routine, and therefore static. But you can create as many routines as you want, and you can do so using a single variable. When you create the spoken in ISY Portal, you can reuse multiple times the same variable, expose it as a sensor, but use a different "Motion detected value". Where would I find these Alexa routines? I have searched through my Alexa app and find no mention of this. Perhaps I am a victim of the Alexa app not showing many features using a RPi Chromium browser again?? Edited November 28, 2018 by larryllix Link to comment
bmercier Posted November 28, 2018 Author Share Posted November 28, 2018 Just now, larryllix said: What Alexa says is configured within the routine, and therefore static. But you can create as many routines as you want, and you can do so using a single variable. When you create the spoken in ISY Portal, you can reuse multiple times the same variable, expose it as a sensor, but use a different "Motion detected value". Where would I find these Alexa routines? I have searched through my Alexa app and find no mention of this. Perhaps I am a victim of the Alexa app not showing many features using a RPi Chromium browser again?? You need to use the mobile app, not web. Link to comment
larryllix Posted November 28, 2018 Share Posted November 28, 2018 (edited) 8 minutes ago, bmercier said: You need to use the mobile app, not web. Thank you. I was caught on this before. Either the app will never update or it just won't show all the features. The app also has a limited feature settings problem with Android O/Ses earlier than Android v5, It would have saved me months of agro if the Alexa app would at least report this. It is definitely a lot more apparent on the Android mobile app. My Android tablet won't run it, but at least the lack of function isn't hidden then. Edited November 28, 2018 by larryllix Link to comment
telljcl Posted November 28, 2018 Share Posted November 28, 2018 So I've got Alexa giving me some voice feedback now to my thermostat up/down setpoint programs (which I shouldn't have to do, but the Venstar skill is horrible...) But is there any way for ISY to know which Echo unit is calling the program (ie which one you're talking to)? I've got multiple thermostats, and Echo units near each one, but I of course have to say "Turn on <extra heat in the kitchen>" to move the thermostat up 2 degrees, -vs- saying "Turn on extra heat", and the system knowing which Echo called for it, and thus running the program for the proper room. Venstar Skill as it has been for awhile only allows me to specify a setpoint temp, can't increase or decrease from whatever it currently is (even though it is supposed to work this way - support has said for many months they are "working on it"...). And with the Skill T-stat also can't be in Auto mode - nothing works in that mode except you can ask the room temp. So using ISY / Alexa I can get around, but is a bit cumbersome spoken language wise, and requires multiple programs etc... Thanks! Link to comment
bmercier Posted November 28, 2018 Author Share Posted November 28, 2018 6 hours ago, telljcl said: But is there any way for ISY to know which Echo unit is calling the program (ie which one you're talking to)? The skill does not know which Echo made the request. That is not possible. However, you may be able to send contextual command with the help of Alexa groups. When you have devices and an echo in the same Alexa group, you can say things such as "Alexa, turn on the light", and it will know that you want to turn on the lights in that group. Perhaps that you could do the same with thermostat, I have not tried it. Ref: https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201749250 Benoit Link to comment
telljcl Posted November 29, 2018 Share Posted November 29, 2018 15 hours ago, bmercier said: The skill does not know which Echo made the request. That is not possible. However, you may be able to send contextual command with the help of Alexa groups. When you have devices and an echo in the same Alexa group, you can say things such as "Alexa, turn on the light", and it will know that you want to turn on the lights in that group. Perhaps that you could do the same with thermostat, I have not tried it. Ref: https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201749250 Benoit Hadn't thought of that - Thank you for taking the time to suggest it. Sounds like it should make this and a few other things I currently do w/o groups easier. Link to comment
CJVann Posted April 21, 2019 Share Posted April 21, 2019 I've added numerous devices to the Portal, but Alexa always says no new devices found. The devices section of the Alexa Routine shows no devices found. The Admin Console says portal integration is online and registered. Requested Services section is blank. The portal says the ISY is online. What am I missing, to get this information to the Alexa App? Link to comment
larryllix Posted April 21, 2019 Share Posted April 21, 2019 25 minutes ago, CJVann said: I've added numerous devices to the Portal, but Alexa always says no new devices found. The devices section of the Alexa Routine shows no devices found. The Admin Console says portal integration is online and registered. Requested Services section is blank. The portal says the ISY is online. What am I missing, to get this information to the Alexa App? Did you try Motion Detector? I found it finnicky also and sometimes it take a while for devices to show up in the app. Try toggling to MS and back updating each way. Give it a few hours then. Link to comment
bmercier Posted April 21, 2019 Author Share Posted April 21, 2019 I've added numerous devices to the Portal, but Alexa always says no new devices found. The devices section of the Alexa Routine shows no devices found. The Admin Console says portal integration is online and registered. Requested Services section is blank. The portal says the ISY is online. What am I missing, to get this information to the Alexa App? Please unlink, forget all devices, and remink the skill.I’ve had this reported twice recently. Device discoveries were no longer reaching portal.This will refresh your devices as they are on portal. That will break your routines if you use them.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment
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