Dual Band Switchlinc v.43 not sending communication to PLM

[dbwarner5]

just to be sure we are talking the same thing.... it was three of my Device links that didnt match during the compare. I ran the PLM link table and it came up with 570 links. Is this the same thing ?

[Brian H]

Thanks for the added information.

You may want to try the restore device for the three. By clicking on the device in the administrative console and then picking the restore device to rewrite the devices link table to what the ISY knows should be in it.

570 links in the PLM does not sound like a PLM lost its links.

[dbwarner5]

boy this is going from bad to worse..... now several other switches along with the new one are showing write updates needed but they wont write. 

 

My PLM says 2413S, V1.C, 1438

[dbwarner5]

i just picked three random devices to check last night. They take about 15-25 minutes just to generate each device link table. and then when i hit compare, they were errors. 

so i really cant feasably just pick those three (as i dont even remeber which they were.) I have over 250 line items in my admin console tree.   So what do i do? 

 

[dbwarner5]

Sorry brian, i just found the "restore devices" option under file. so i have initiated it. Probably will take several hours to run. Ill check a few devices afterwards and see what they look like under compare.

[Brian H]

OK Let us know.

It can take awhile to do. if the system is large and  you have any old I1 or older I2 modules that need the peek-poke method of communications.

[silverton38]

These PLMs are ridiculous. I would suggest getting a v.24 for the best results (if it is possible to upgrade).

I have also recently discovered that some devices become "lost". They work basically as one way devices. And yes I have tried to restore these devices.

They respond to commands but the PLM ignores the device if it is pressed or have any activity. They will respond to a query but that is the only way to see its state.

I found the only solution to this problem was to remove the device and then reinstall it. I think this was caused by a bad PLM (I have had many on this installation).

[dbwarner5]

Update: after almost 16 hours, most everything updated, except for the battery operated devices of which i have about 15. Just finished getting them all updated as well but really struggled at first. Each time I would try to update one of them, ISY would try to update them all and take forever and then not succeed. I finally Disabled all but the one battery device I was working on, got it into blink mode and then ISY would write the update, very quickly. 

 

So at this point, everything is finally updated and reporting. I think I will order a newer PLM at some point just to update it. 

 

I still have about 6 more switches that I still am in the process of installing new hardware as they are very old insteon switches (2876DB V5.3 as an example) that seem to "lock" up quite often requiring a  gap restart. 

 

Lastly I picked a few random devices to compare the Device link table with and the first had one "record mismatch" out of 50, the second matched completely out of 14 records, and the third also matched completely out of 9 records. So the question is; do i ignore an occasional "record mismatch"?

thanks for everyone's help and input. I feel much better today than yesterday and just hoping the next switch replacements go smoothly. 

[dbwarner5]

4 hours ago, silverton38 said:

These PLMs are ridiculous. I would suggest getting a v.24 for the best results (if it is possible to upgrade).

I have also recently discovered that some devices become "lost". They work basically as one way devices. And yes I have tried to restore these devices.

They respond to commands but the PLM ignores the device if it is pressed or have any activity. They will respond to a query but that is the only way to see its state.

I found to only solution to this problem was to remove the device and then reinstall it. I think this was caused by a bad PLM (I have had many on this installation).

Silverton, I agree completely. Seeing how EVERYTHING relies on the PLM it amazes me that it tends to be one of the weakest links. 

[dbwarner5]

One additional note for everyone. Yesterday before i started the mass device restore, I did go and unplug my PLM for a few minutes and replugged it in.

 

Today, so far, two switch replacements have gone extremely smoothly. Are these two events associated? probably since i am doing it in the exact same manner as yesterday where everything was not working. 

[paulbates]

I've had a few cases over the years where an unplug/replug worked. Or even a factory reset, followed by a Restore Modem. Typically those are associated with power out, brown out or nearby lightning strike.

Paul

[silverton38]

This is a problem that I have seen at multiple locations. I have fixed it in most locations with a Restore (which will reset it to factory settings and restore the item). Only in one location did I have to remove and install.

You can check your switches by simply putting on the event viewer and hitting the switch off while it is off. If you do not see activity then you need to restore or remove and re-install.

Your Insteon network will work so much better if the ISY can see all activity.

I think the problem is related to older PLMs.

I would also recommend that you replace all devices with Dual Band. It might be expensive but it will improve your reliability. I have found that if your network is 100% Dual Band and that every switch can talk to the ISY (both ways) you get 100% reliably with Insteon.

 

P.S. I believe the Insteon team should spend more effort with the ISY team. They have been vital to their growth, and they owe these guys some respect.

 

[dbwarner5]

Silverton : "P.S. I believe the Insteon team should spend more effort with the ISY team. They have been vital to their growth, and they owe these guys some respect."

 

i couldnt agree with you more!