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Serial PLM discontinued according to smarthome


bcdavis75

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My serial PLM no longer seems to be sending commands via wire.  I suspect the radio is still working because some of my devices are still able to be controlled, although it seems randomly.  I found this thread after trying to figure out why the serial PLM is "sold out" when I went to order a new one.  So now I have quite an investment that I cannot use, that has only lasted 6 years.  Unfortunately this seems to be a trend in the smart home industry, and a trend that likely keeps many people from investing (probably for the better, I'm rather upset at this point).  I'm only upset with Insteon at this point, and wished I would have went with another technology at this point.  Unfortunately every switch and fan in my house has an Insteon module on it.  The ISY has been awesome over the years of having it, and the support has been great.

I also was wondering about using a RPi as a middle man for the USB PLM.  I'd almost just as rather use a USB PLM with home assistant except HA cannot configure the advanced scenes like the ISY.  So it sounds like Polisy may support the USB PLM in the future, but are we guaranteed the USB PLM is going to exist for more than 5 years?  Otherwise I'm dumping yet another $400 into a solution for less than 5 years.

Does anyone know for sure how long Insteon plans to support the USB PLM?  If we have a solid answer on that, an investment into Polisy or a RPi to convert the signal may be in order.  If not, I'm going to have to figure something else out.  Thanks.

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19 minutes ago, mljenkins said:

My serial PLM no longer seems to be sending commands via wire.  I suspect the radio is still working because some of my devices are still able to be controlled, although it seems randomly.  I found this thread after trying to figure out why the serial PLM is "sold out" when I went to order a new one.  So now I have quite an investment that I cannot use, that has only lasted 6 years.  Unfortunately this seems to be a trend in the smart home industry, and a trend that likely keeps many people from investing (probably for the better, I'm rather upset at this point).  I'm only upset with Insteon at this point, and wished I would have went with another technology at this point.  Unfortunately every switch and fan in my house has an Insteon module on it.  The ISY has been awesome over the years of having it, and the support has been great.

I also was wondering about using a RPi as a middle man for the USB PLM.  I'd almost just as rather use a USB PLM with home assistant except HA cannot configure the advanced scenes like the ISY.  So it sounds like Polisy may support the USB PLM in the future, but are we guaranteed the USB PLM is going to exist for more than 5 years?  Otherwise I'm dumping yet another $400 into a solution for less than 5 years.

Does anyone know for sure how long Insteon plans to support the USB PLM?  If we have a solid answer on that, an investment into Polisy or a RPi to convert the signal may be in order.  If not, I'm going to have to figure something else out.  Thanks.

The plms are still supported. They even have a new version in the works. With the current chip shortage, they have out making them on hold to focus on their primary devices. At this time, there is no timetable for their return. It may be possible to rebuild your PLM. There's a thread on here that discusses how. 

 

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23 minutes ago, lilyoyo1 said:

The plms are still supported. They even have a new version in the works. With the current chip shortage, they have out making them on hold to focus on their primary devices. At this time, there is no timetable for their return. It may be possible to rebuild your PLM. There's a thread on here that discusses how. 

 

Ok this makes me feel a lot better because I thought others in this thread were saying they were discontinued.  I can understand if it is because of the chip shortage.

I know what you are talking about with regards to rebuilding.  I don't have enough electronics experience to do this safely IMO, I'll just be honest.  I saw Smarthome still had the USB modems in stock, so for now I've ordered one of them and will likely hook it directly to my HA instance or try some bridging to my other Pi I use for some basic home automation and weather stuff.

I'm also wondering if these hubs act as a bridge between the wired and wireless, if the serial hub is still accepting commands from the ISY and is capable of sending them via wireless, if simply having the USB module plugged in if it would repeat the commands to the line for the other devices further out in the house.  Wishful thinking...

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The 2413U USB model. Uses the exact same commands, link database, power line and RF receivers and transmitters. As the 2413S PLM does.

It is accessed by a USB cable for its connection to the outside world. The 2413S PLM uses serial communications.

It should act like a Dual Band module. Like any other Dual Band module when connected to the AC. I have an older 2413S in a plug just sending and receiving power line and RF Insteon signals it sees.

When the PLM starts having  a power supply issue. Sometimes its link database looses links. So commands and modules may not be processed.

In the Insteon forums. I did see some information on the serial interface chip having problems. In that case the ISY994i may have problems talking to the PLM.

Long thread 25 pages when I looked. If you are technical enough to rebuild it.  https://forum.universal-devices.com/topic/13866-repair-of-2413s-plm-when-the-power-supply-fails/

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On 7/2/2021 at 12:27 PM, Michel Kohanim said:

All,

Thank you very much for all the feedback. First, let me answer some questions:

1. Restoring ISY backup on Polisy. We are still debating whether to support restoring first or jump to Z-Wave right after INSTEON
2. Admin Console: it was the fastest way to support ISY on Polisy while developing UD Mobile and the HTML interface for both ISY/Polisy. And, you are all familiar with it, so, not much documentation 
3. We are NOT going to support INSTEON HUB or any other INSTEON related activities UNLESS we get a commitment from SmartHome. The only reason we are supporting INSTEON on Polisy is because of you guys. And, no other reasons whatsoever

What we are working now is adding USB support (automatically find the PLM or Z-Wave, Zigbee) and fix minor bugs here/there. Should be all ready by next week. We really want to move to Z-Wave as soon as possible. 

With kind regards,
Michel

If i had a say in it, I'd choose zwave. Its in testing so it's not like a large number will be affected by not being able to restore and it's more important to make sure both zwave and insteon both coexist properly on polisy before trying to swap.... especially since many use both zwave and insteon together. 

As testing expands, the restore function will matter more since more people would want to partake in testing knowing that both protocols were supported. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hello everyone,

One step closer ... 

- sudo pkg update
- sudo pkg upgrade

In this version, INSTEON is disabled by default:

- Admin Console | Configuration | System
- Check INSTEON Support checkbox
- Click on the Save button and then Reboot button (restarts the ISY service)

Fixes and enhancements in this build:

1. If INSTEON is enabled (see above), ISY will try to find a PLM attached either to a USB port or the DB9 port
2. ISY Portal activation is now identical to that of ISY
3. Back off delay in case we cannot connect to ISY Portal

Enjoy!

With kind regards,
Michel

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15 hours ago, Michel Kohanim said:

Hello everyone,

One step closer ... 

- sudo pkg update
- sudo pkg upgrade

In this version, INSTEON is disabled by default:

- Admin Console | Configuration | System
- Check INSTEON Support checkbox
- Click on the Save button and then Reboot button (restarts the ISY service)

Fixes and enhancements in this build:

1. If INSTEON is enabled (see above), ISY will try to find a PLM attached either to a USB port or the DB9 port
2. ISY Portal activation is now identical to that of ISY
3. Back off delay in case we cannot connect to ISY Portal

Enjoy!

With kind regards,
Michel

I connected my 2413U this morning. It's stuck with System Busy, looping over and over "Refreshing Views".

It's been years since I last used this PLM (V1.B) but I factory reset it before I connected it. Since system busy message is up, I can't get to anything to look at logs via the Administrative Console. Is there somewhere else I can look via SSH to see what's going on? The PLM may be bad for all I know.

Capture1.JPG

Update edit: I realized I can get to the Error Log. Which is attached. Oddly, the date in the log shows the year 1951. I checked via SSH and Polisy is reporting the correct date. Also note in the left corner of screenshot that the AC is showing correct date as well.

At this point, I don't believe it's communicating with the PLM. I ran usbconfig which shows the PLM is connected at least:

ugen0.2: <FTDI FT232R USB UART> at usbus0, cfg=0 md=HOST spd=FULL (12Mbps) pwr=ON (90mA

 

ISY Error Log.v1.3.0__Sat 2021.07.17 08.53.43 AM.txt

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Before the update to v1.3.0 (I think I was on v1.2.0)  the admin console had Node Server listed  (File  Link Management  Node  server  Tools  Help) but Node Server is now missing.

Also in Configuration /   Portal is missing.

Ever since I received Polisy I have been unable to enter the correct credentials into Polyglot to access ISY. 

Address: 192.168.0.27   (address of Polisy)

Port: 80

user name:  admin

Password:  admin

Use HTTPS is unchecked

 

If I enter the info for polyglot running on my Rpi4 it works fine and I see all the node servers in the dashboard but when I put the config back to the ISY in Polisy I get the red banner:  ISY automatically discovered at http://192.168.0.27:80 however the username and password need to be set in the settings menu.

Can anyone verify they see the same thing, or is it just me?

Thanks!

Tim

edit: Using ISY finder and selecting Cloud. When I select LAN nothing happens.  If I try to use a browser at https://192.168.0.27:8443/admin.jnlp  I get an Unable to Launch the Application ! window.

Thanks again.

 

 

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2 minutes ago, TJF1960 said:

Before the update to v1.3.0 (I think I was on v1.2.0)  the admin console had Node Server listed  (File  Link Management  Node  server  Tools  Help) but Node Server is now missing.

Also in Configuration /   Portal is missing.

Ever since I received Polisy I have been unable to enter the correct credentials into Polyglot to access ISY. 

Address: 192.168.0.27   (address of Polisy)

Port: 80

user name:  admin

Password:  admin

Use HTTPS is unchecked

 

If I enter the info for polyglot running on my Rpi4 it works fine and I see all the node servers in the dashboard but when I put the config back to the ISY in Polisy I get the red banner:  ISY automatically discovered at http://192.168.0.27:80 however the username and password need to be set in the settings menu.

Can anyone verify they see the same thing, or is it just me?

Thanks!

Tim

 

 

 

I get that banner message on and off even though the user/pass is correct and polyglot is connected to ISY.  Michel seems to know about it but hasn't spoke to why it happens or when it might be fixed.  Now if your Polyglot is not connecting to ISY, then that would be something else.

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2 hours ago, TJF1960 said:

Before the update to v1.3.0 (I think I was on v1.2.0)  the admin console had Node Server listed  (File  Link Management  Node  server  Tools  Help) but Node Server is now missing.

Also in Configuration /   Portal is missing.

I see the same thing.

While it shows the existing node servers in the tree view, and does allow me to install and delete node servers via Polyglot, it doesn't appear to be reading the profile files for the node servers.  They all show up with the light icon and none of the drivers are displayed when selecting a node server.

@Michel Kohanimwas a build option for node server support turned off in this build?

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Apologies for not being clear. Node servers need ISY Portal or the Network module (just like ISY). Originally, we enabled ISY Portal by default. Please sign up a 30 day free trial. The node servers will remain even if the ISY Portal license expires. In the next release, we'll remove this dependence.

With kind regards,

Michel

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@Michel Kohanim

if you mean can I login to the ISY on Polisy via the ISY Finder - Yes

I have added a couple of Insteon devices and wrote a few programs.  Works fine until I try to set the ISY password in Polyglot on the Polisy  After pressing save the ISY is still responsive in the UI but devices do not respond until I restart the ISY

...Barry

 

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Thread Drift! PLM, Fixing PLMs, ISY alpha on Polisy, nodeservers etc

Lots of useful information being buried/lost.

 

Potential fix: New and better labels for forum sections

POLISY

       Polisy Nodeserver (get rid of Geek Batch)

       ISY on Polisy

 

 

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56 minutes ago, whywork said:

Thread Drift! PLM, Fixing PLMs, ISY alpha on Polisy, nodeservers etc

Lots of useful information being buried/lost.

 

Potential fix: New and better labels for forum sections

POLISY

       Polisy Nodeserver (get rid of Geek Batch)

       ISY on Polisy

 

 

No point in renaming old threads. Judging by the multitude of repeat posts on the same topics, no one reads/searches for past posts anyway.

Now that UDI has transitioned to the next era of Polisy, a new subforum for it should be set up

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