Brighten/Dim default percentage adjustment

[DAlter01]

I wrote a nice piece of code using variables to make a brighten/dim button on my keypads.  It would brighten/dim any of my general scenes by knowing which scene to brighten or dim.  However, it seems the default brighten/dim command in the ISY only moves the percentage by 3%.  Since there is time required between button presses, the 3% increment makes the use of the feature somewhat useless.  Is there a way to change the movement on each command that it is more like 10 or 20% with each button press? They are big 75 device scenes so having 5-6 identical scenes at different on percentages isn't really a viable option.

[larryllix]

5 minutes ago, DAlter01 said:

I wrote a nice piece of code using variables to make a brighten/dim button on my keypads.  It would brighten/dim any of my general scenes by knowing which scene to brighten or dim.  However, it seems the default brighten/dim command in the ISY only moves the percentage by 3%.  Since there is time required between button presses, the 3% increment makes the use of the feature somewhat useless.  Is there a way to change the movement on each command that it is more like 10 or 20% with each button press? They are big 75 device scenes so having 5-6 identical scenes at different on percentages isn't really a viable option.

Use programs to scale through useful brightness levels. I won't use scenes much. I find the really only useful levels to be about 100%, 40%, 20% , and 10-12%, depending on LED bulbs low end capabilities without flickering and extinguishing.

It should oly take a few minutes to drag and drop 75 devices into each scene. You aren't going to do it more than once.

ISY V5 has made setting levels to a variable and I use it do gradually dim many bulbs to simulate a sunset style lihting drop by multiplying the level of each bulb by a fixed percentage each iteration. I wouldn't try this with scenes as you may wear a few Insteon device EPROMs out, constantly rewriting them.

Edited April 23, 2021 by larryllix

[DAlter01]

22 minutes ago, larryllix said:

Use programs to scale through useful brightness levels. I won't use scenes much. I find the really only useful levels to be about 100%, 40%, 20% , and 10-12%, depending on LED bulbs low end capabilities without flickering and extinguishing.

It should oly take a few minutes to drag and drop 75 devices into each scene. You aren't going to do it more than once.

ISY V5 has made setting levels to a variable and I use it do gradually dim many bulbs to simulate a sunset style lihting drop by multiplying the level of each bulb by a fixed percentage each iteration. I wouldn't try this with scenes as you may wear a few Insteon device EPROMs out, constantly rewriting them.

So you call out all of the individiual devices you are manipulating within the program "then/else" section with essentially no use of scenes?  I've been using the program to turn on/off scenes and hadn't thought of defining all of the individual devices in the program.  Or, are you defining a percentage level to turn on the scene in the "then/else" section of the program.  If that were possible  (I haven't checked yet) I can see that being a fairly powerful option.  

Edited April 23, 2021 by DAlter01

[larryllix]

7 hours ago, DAlter01 said:

So you call out all of the individiual devices you are manipulating within the program "then/else" section with essentially no use of scenes?  I've been using the program to turn on/off scenes and hadn't thought of defining all of the individual devices in the program.  Or, are you defining a percentage level to turn on the scene in the "then/else" section of the program.  If that were possible  (I haven't checked yet) I can see that being a fairly powerful option.  

I use a combination of techniques. For alarming methods I use scenes containing every Insteon light and noise maker in one scene, so I can flash it on and off.
For controlling levels of Insteon bulb circuits in my Gathering room I use programs and continuously vary the levels via programs to simulate sunset and late night lighting fade down. Of course a lot of that is combined with 15 or so WiFi RGBW bulbs and lighting strips too. If you operate a lot of Insteon devices from a program you need to insert Wait 1-2 seconds between more than 2-3 operations or you can overrun ISY's  Insteon protocol cache. That gives a random bulb change look that isn't desirable. Ramping can help that somewhat.

I do use scenes for my same Gathering room bulbs but they are grouped into scenes like "FullOn", "Bright", "Dim", "TV Watching", "Reading". Those are then combined with WiFi RGBW lighting to create the same brightness levels as well as festive coloured lighting. My decks and porch do the same. The MagicHome bulbs are under $10 each and I run a piece of software on a RPi that groups them into scene operations. That is controlled by three ISY NR's and variables inside ISY all based on percent levels.

[DAlter01]

Thank you Larryllix, HA is only limited by ones imagination.  Your set up has opened my eyes to some new ideas!!

[larryllix]

9 hours ago, DAlter01 said:

Thank you Larryllix, HA is only limited by ones imagination.  Your set up has opened my eyes to some new ideas!!

I use a few state variables that trigger banks of programs, scenes,  and NRs to control my coloured lighting and my white lighting.

When I want Chistmas lighting I use this.
Set $sRGBW.mode = $cMODE.XMAS
Set $sWhite.mode = $cMODE.XMAS <---- some predefined permanent value in the constant variable (Integer type)
..and the banks of programs do it all.

When you "borrow" a lamp for temporary usage/flashing alarms, etc,   the status quo can be returned by replacing the variable with the saved/same value, and your ISY will restore everything again.

[DAlter01]

I figured out a way to resolve the 3% increment on the dim/brighten in the ISY.  It was very simple.  In the program when it sees a button press to brighten or dim a scene, I just repeat the "then" statement to brigthen or dim multiple times.  So, for instance, if I want 12 percent increments, I just repeat the "then" command 4 times.  It works well this way.  I left this feature on my system for a while but ultimately decided to delete it.  With it, I needed my KP's to be 8 button KP's with a button for brightening and a button for dimming.  However, I prefer a simpler interface with 6 button KP's so I decided to eliminate that bit of code. 

I used a variable to know which scene I was currently in and the brighten or dim button would then brighten or dim the scene that I was currently in.  Realistically, I found I didn't use the brigthen/dim feature.  But, I tested it a bunch and it worked well and it is there for someone else that has the need.