2.4.12 Questions

[deeepdish]

Hi Everyone,

 

Within the past few days I received my ISY (it shipped with 2.4.6), and I subsequently downgraded (?) to 2.4 as available on the autoupdate site. I experianced a number of issues, figuring they would be common with the 2.4 code I upgraded to 2.4.12 recently and I'm still seeing some of those issues and a couple of new ones, I'm not sure if this is typical Insteon or there are some PLM issues.

 

1. I still get sporatic Communication errors. When the units (ISY + PLM) are power cycled, everything is ok. I don't see the ISY crashing, the GUI is responsive, it appears to be PLM related. I have Firm52 (going from memory here) v2.4.

 

2. In the 2.4.12 code scene creation doesn't appear to work. When I select elements to add to a scene and right-click->Add to scene... nothing happens.

 

3. I noticed this with the 2.4 code as well: when manually controlling a SwitchLinc II dimmer firmware v2.7 I noticed that the ramp rate function doesn't work. When I move the slider to 9 minutes I'm expecting a long dim up / down rate of 9 mins when the control is tirggered / turned on (not fast on).

 

The unit seems pretty easy to use and very well designed. Keep up the good work!

 

Adam.

[MikeB]

3. I noticed this with the 2.4 code as well: when manually controlling a SwitchLinc II dimmer firmware v2.7 I noticed that the ramp rate function doesn't work. When I move the slider to 9 minutes I'm expecting a long dim up / down rate of 9 mins when the control is tirggered / turned on (not fast on).

 

You need to do a soft-reset on the SwitchLinc before it will activate the new ramp rate you programmed. Once you program the rate, pop out the plastic tab at the bottom of the paddle for 5 seconds, then gently push it back in. Don't press it down, just return it to it's original position.

[deeepdish]

Thanks. I wasn't aware of the soft-reset step. I'll give it a try once I get home.

[Chris Jahn]

Doing the soft reset is only required if you are changing the levels of the local load. If you are changing the levels for devices in a scene, no soft reset is required.

[deeepdish]

Chris,

 

What about ramp rates? Is a soft-reset required?

 

Thanks.

[Chris Jahn]

Yes, changing either the ramp rate or on level of the local load requires a soft reset.

[Sub-Routine]

2. In the 2.4.12 code scene creation doesn't appear to work. When I select elements to add to a scene and right-click->Add to scene... nothing happens..

 

Have you created any scenes?

 

After you have created a scene you can drag and drop devices into it. The device menu ->Add to scene should bring up a requestor with a scroll box listing all your scenes so you can select one. The menu is easier to use when you have many devices and scenes.

 

Scenes, when initially created, are controlled by the ISY. After a scene is created you can add other controllers to it (with the same or unique on states and ramp rates).

 

Rand

[Michel Kohanim]

Hello Adam,

 

I just wanted to follow up and make sure you've been able to create scenes. Please don't hesitate to contact us if you are still experiencing problems.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

 

Hi Everyone,

 

Within the past few days I received my ISY (it shipped with 2.4.6), and I subsequently downgraded (?) to 2.4 as available on the autoupdate site. I experianced a number of issues, figuring they would be common with the 2.4 code I upgraded to 2.4.12 recently and I'm still seeing some of those issues and a couple of new ones, I'm not sure if this is typical Insteon or there are some PLM issues.

 

1. I still get sporatic Communication errors. When the units (ISY + PLM) are power cycled, everything is ok. I don't see the ISY crashing, the GUI is responsive, it appears to be PLM related. I have Firm52 (going from memory here) v2.4.

 

2. In the 2.4.12 code scene creation doesn't appear to work. When I select elements to add to a scene and right-click->Add to scene... nothing happens.

 

3. I noticed this with the 2.4 code as well: when manually controlling a SwitchLinc II dimmer firmware v2.7 I noticed that the ramp rate function doesn't work. When I move the slider to 9 minutes I'm expecting a long dim up / down rate of 9 mins when the control is tirggered / turned on (not fast on).

 

The unit seems pretty easy to use and very well designed. Keep up the good work!

 

Adam.

[deeepdish]

Hello Michael,

 

I did not get a change to work with the ISY as much as I would of hoped this weekend, however did get a chance to add more Insteon devices to my HA system.

 

I did not get a chance to try out the scenes yet, partly because I didn't have a lot of devices to try this out with ... until this weekend. (there are boxes of 30+ switches, EZ Rain, etc.. still waiting patiently to be connected

 

I can confirm that a soft-reset does work when assigning ramp rates and brightness level through the ISY.

 

I noticed that I need to restart the ISY at least once every few days b/c triggers stop working.. However, any schedules that are defined seem to work.

 

Further to the above point RE: triggers not working:

 

I setup two SwitchLinc dimmers:

 

1st - Controlling load;

2nd - Connected to power, not controlling load.

 

The dimmer controlling the load works perfectly.

 

The dimmer not controlling the load was setup as a trigger in the ISY. When on, turn the load controlling dimmer to 60%.

 

I'm assuming that a slight lag (about 1-1.5 sec.) is normal for the ISY to detect the signal, process and control the load contrilling dimmer. Although when linked natively (not through the ISY), the controlling dimmer works in tandem (near instantanious) with the load controlling dimmer.

 

After about 10-20 tiggers in succession, the ISY fails to respond to these triggers. The PLM and ISY need to be restarted to enable external triggers to function again.

 

Q: Can the lag between trigger and resul be reduced?

Q: What can be causing the ISY to stop responding to events and require a restart?

 

I will follow up (hopefully tonight) with the scenes issue.

 

Thanks!

 

Adam.

[Michel Kohanim]

Hello Adam,

 

Thanks so very much for the update.

 

There's a confirmed issue with PLM FIRM 52 locking up after a lot of traffic. To confirm this scenario, the next time triggers do not respond, please do NOT reboot ISY. Simply reboot the PLM and let me know if that fixed the issue. If it did, then we have to get you a new Beta PLM.

 

The time lag is 100% correct: ISY must wait about 600 m.s. to send the next command to the PLM. Depending on the traffic, the PLM may take up to 500 m.s. to notify ISY of traffic.

 

 

With regards,

Michel

 

Hello Michael,

 

I did not get a change to work with the ISY as much as I would of hoped this weekend, however did get a chance to add more Insteon devices to my HA system.

 

I did not get a chance to try out the scenes yet, partly because I didn't have a lot of devices to try this out with ... until this weekend. (there are boxes of 30+ switches, EZ Rain, etc.. still waiting patiently to be connected

 

I can confirm that a soft-reset does work when assigning ramp rates and brightness level through the ISY.

 

I noticed that I need to restart the ISY at least once every few days b/c triggers stop working.. However, any schedules that are defined seem to work.

 

Further to the above point RE: triggers not working:

 

I setup two SwitchLinc dimmers:

 

1st - Controlling load;

2nd - Connected to power, not controlling load.

 

The dimmer controlling the load works perfectly.

 

The dimmer not controlling the load was setup as a trigger in the ISY. When on, turn the load controlling dimmer to 60%.

 

I'm assuming that a slight lag (about 1-1.5 sec.) is normal for the ISY to detect the signal, process and control the load contrilling dimmer. Although when linked natively (not through the ISY), the controlling dimmer works in tandem (near instantanious) with the load controlling dimmer.

 

After about 10-20 tiggers in succession, the ISY fails to respond to these triggers. The PLM and ISY need to be restarted to enable external triggers to function again.

 

Q: Can the lag between trigger and resul be reduced?

Q: What can be causing the ISY to stop responding to events and require a restart?

 

I will follow up (hopefully tonight) with the scenes issue.

 

Thanks!

 

Adam.

[MikeB]

Is there a reason you're triggering the load switch from the slave switch?

 

Any reason you're not simply creating a scene that contains both switches, with the slave switch being a controller? That would make the response time once again instantaneous.

[Chris Jahn]

Adam,

 

I noticed that I need to restart the ISY at least once every few days b/c triggers stop working.. However, any schedules that are defined seem to work.

 

Please post one or two of the triggers that stop working after a few days; we have not heard of this problem before.

 

Have you tried logging the keypresses:

http://forum.universal-devices.com/viewtopic.php?t=346

 

Do you still see these events in the java console, yet the programs do not run?

 

Thanks

[deeepdish]

Hi Everyone,

 

Thank you for your dedicated help and guidance. I think this was a usability question more of functionality. Scenes do work, I managed to install about 1/3 of the deivces I got and the ISY is a very capable and very cool unit. When using scenes, the response time is near instant.

 

My initial thinking was that the ISY would manage all links and would be the "man-in-the-middle" activating appropriate deivces.

 

The lock up issue was more prevalent when using triggers and I'm sure I can get it to lock up quite easily agian when I set triggers up. I'll look at the attached link, try logging some sessions and will post back any results.

 

Thanks once again,

 

Adam.

[MikeB]

Glad to hear you got it going. Scenes are definitely the way to go for virtual 3-way circuits and other links whenever possible. Not only will this produce a near-instant response, but they will also continue to function if something happens to the ISY-26 and/or PLM (lockup, someone accidentally unplugs, etc..)

 

I run a bunch of triggers here that we use pretty regularly (fast on/off triggers, X10 remote control, etc.). Though I've had PLM lockups during heavy duty traffic (1st time switch discovery, creating a large # of links, etc.), I haven't had one during normal everyday usage (yet).

 

Knock on wood.

[deeepdish]

Defintely. Correct me if I'm wrong, but:

 

SCENES = ISY sets up links between Insteon devices. This is equivalent of programming the switches manually.

 

TRIGGERS = ISY manages links between Insteon devices. It intercepts network traffic and issues actions based on defined programs.

 

Adam.

[Michel Kohanim]

Adam,

 

You are 100% correct with one addition:

 

SCENES also let you control the SCENE through ISY. So, you can have triggers/schedules/programs that turn on/off/dim/brighten/etc. a scene (instead of having to do each device independently).

 

With kind regards,

Michel

 

Defintely. Correct me if I'm wrong, but:

 

SCENES = ISY sets up links between Insteon devices. This is equivalent of programming the switches manually.

 

TRIGGERS = ISY manages links between Insteon devices. It intercepts network traffic and issues actions based on defined programs.

 

Adam.

[Mark Sanctuary]

For three way ciricuts there is this post "3-way / 4-way / Multi-way Virtual Circuits" you can check out.

 

Also here is steps for creating a three way circuit.

 

1. [*:2hbzpcde]Create your "Three Way Scene".
   [*:2hbzpcde]Control click all three devices under "My Lighting" and drop them on to the scene.
   [*:2hbzpcde]In the "Confirm Move" popup window set all three to controller then ok.
   [*:2hbzpcde]Click on the "Three Way Scene" set all the scene levels so they are what you want.
   [*:2hbzpcde]Click on each switch entry and click "Copy Scene Attributes From Three Way Scene" so all buttons do the same levels.

Your 3-way is ready and should look like this below.

 

Three Way Scene

_____ Switch 1

_____ Switch 2

_____ Switch 3