Misc advice including updating

[KConover]

A year or two back, I switched from deprecated HouseLinc to an ISY to manage a medium-large house with a lot of lights, all with Insteon hardware, increasingly but not yet entirely dual-band. Despite having started programming in machine code and only after that moving to A86 assembler, I find using my ISY very complex. In particular, updating the system – in an era where most of my Windows applications update with the click of a mouse, and my Android apps update by themselves – is like having to learn to play the original CompuServe Adventure/Colossal Cave game over a 300-baud modem. (Yes, I have done that.) Here is my personal ISY Conover Crib Sheet. If it helps you, great! And if you look at it and laugh and tell me an easier way to do something, even better!

UPDATE NOTES
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Mucho problema if UI (admin console) and firmware releases don't match

To download and install the latest firmware:

Do not extract the downloaded zip file. Start the upgrade process from the admin console and when the box opens to select the file, select the downloaded zip file.

To download latest UI (admin consule) and the latest firmware: https://forum.universal-devices.com/forum/15-current-release-betas-and-bug-reports/ and look for a link for the latest firmware in the latest forum message, download BOTH firmware and UI;

You download the firmware from the link, into: C:\PD\INSTALLD\House\Insteon and then

Login to the (old) Admin Console and choose Help > Manually Upgrade [the name of your system] > point it at the zip file you just downloaded

THEN you must clear your Java Cache:

Start > Configure Java (NOT Java Control Panel like they say) > General tab > Temporary Internet Files > Settings > Temporary Internet Files > Delete Files > both Trace and Log Files and Cached Applications and Applets > OK

Then, download the UI (admin console). Usuallly you download the UI at https://isy.universal-devices.com/start.jnlp and save start.jnlp in C:\PD\INSTALLD\House\Insteon and then drag-copy to desktop, overwriting old one.

MISC NOTES
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If "Write to Device" doesn't work, right-click and "Restore Device"

For the mini-remotes, what worked for me:

Select, for example, Garage Keypad - A in the Admin Console

On the kepad, tap the A^ key once, then press the Set Button on the button on the bottom for a second until it beeps once AND the green LED is blinking slowly. Then, in the Admin Console, right-click Garage Keyad - A and select Write Updates to Device. With Laurel's headboard it gave an error but then seemed to work. Do NOT try to do two at once, it just links the two rather and cancels linking mode on both rather than putting the second into linking mode

If looking at a device in Admin Console, and see a button that says, for example, Ramp Rate, with a dropdown box to the right of it, use the dropdown box on the right to select the ramp rate you want and then press the Ramp Rate button to write it to the device.

To replace a switch/keypad:

Link Management > Start Linking > ignore popup dialog box with three choices and "Finish" button

[Go press top of switch or ON button at top of keypad for 10 seconds until beeps]

wait until new device code appears in a second dialog box and write down the new switch's code below.

In the FIRST popup dialog box: (Can leave as Remove Existing Links) > Click Finish

Wait for "Initializing System" dialog box to disappear

Admin Console > right-click OLD Switch (ONLY IN THE RED "ISY" SECTION AT THE TOP) > Replace XX.XX.XX with > Select NEW switch

Admin Console will exit, that's OK, just start it again.

If it shows a green icon with white 1011, meaning need to write updates to device, DON'T "write updates to device" (not harmful but useless) RESTORE device (right-click menu)

One of the solutions to not being able to program a device is to UPDATE your ISY firmware (and UI=admin console) to the latest version; see above.

In a Scene, you can't change a controller to a responder. You can, however, delete it and add it back in, and when adding back in, choose whether it's a responder or a controller.

Legend
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Devices:

Red circle with a diagonal indicates that the device is disabled.

Red exclamation mark indicates that there is a communication problem.

Green with white 1011 (looks like vertical white lines) is waiting for updates to be written.

Programs

Green bar next to a program name indicates that the program evaluated as true, but is not running.

If the symbol is solid green, then the program is running at that time (THEN is being executed).

Red bar next to a program name indicates that the program evaluated as false, but is not running.

If the symbol is solid red, then the program is running at that time (ELSE is being executed).

Red circle at bottom right: disabled program.

Completely green - currently running THEN code

Completely red - currently running ELSE code

Partly green - not currently running, but last ran THEN code

Partly red - not currently running, but last ran the ELSE code

Circle with a slash - disabled

Program Folders

Folders with conditions have a red bar if the condition is false.