TysonEwanchuk Posted February 1, 2022 Posted February 1, 2022 (edited) Looking to upgrade my 2441TH controlled by an ISY944i. What are some options out there? Does the isy support the Ecobee? Also, is Insteon dead/dying or is it a global supply chain thing? Hard to find anything out there anymore…especially in Canada. Edited February 1, 2022 by TysonEwanchuk
GlowingHair Posted February 1, 2022 Posted February 1, 2022 @TysonEwanchuk I have an ecobee and am pleased with. There is a Polyglot nodeserver for it; I don't use it, though, since my needs are too simple to bother.
TysonEwanchuk Posted February 2, 2022 Author Posted February 2, 2022 (edited) Ecobee is looking like a very feasible option, but I’m stunned and furious that my very expensive and well planned Insteon install is hanging by a thread that if failed may or may not be repairable with a handful of 2 dollar capacitors. Does anyone know of the pre-dual band PLMs hand the same failure rate as their successor? Edited February 2, 2022 by TysonEwanchuk
wmahvd Posted March 9, 2022 Posted March 9, 2022 I've been using the original "pre-dual band" PLM (2412S) that shipped with my M1G/ISY system for 12 years now without any issues. Recently replaced my ISY99 with a new ISY994 and the old PLM is still working well. My understanding is that the 2413 dual-band PLMs had a heat problem? - and that's why they have a higher failure rate. My 2412S is just slightly warm, not sure if that's really the explanation, but it's an observation. There's also advice on these forums on how to use alternate PLMs to replace the 2412S/2413S, including using USB versions with serial-to-USB conversion. I notice that there's lots of 2412/13 PLMs selling on ebay now for hundreds of dollars. Strange times. I'm also using several insteon thermostats (2441ZTH) and other than the pain of having to replace the batteries now and then, they are also working well. Like you, I committed to insteon a long time ago. It's been very reliable and trouble-free. I've collected a lifetime supply of dimmers, appliancelinks, and iolinks, and as stated I just bought a new controller. I intend to continue with insteon for a very long time. Regards.
Brian H Posted March 9, 2022 Posted March 9, 2022 (edited) 10 hours ago, wmahvd said: I've been using the original "pre-dual band" PLM (2412S) that shipped with my M1G/ISY system for 12 years now without any issues. Recently replaced my ISY99 with a new ISY994 and the old PLM is still working well. My understanding is that the 2413 dual-band PLMs had a heat problem? - and that's why they have a higher failure rate. My 2412S is just slightly warm, not sure if that's really the explanation, but it's an observation. There's also advice on these forums on how to use alternate PLMs to replace the 2412S/2413S, including using USB versions with serial-to-USB conversion. I notice that there's lots of 2412/13 PLMs selling on ebay now for hundreds of dollars. Strange times. I'm also using several insteon thermostats (2441ZTH) and other than the pain of having to replace the batteries now and then, they are also working well. Like you, I committed to insteon a long time ago. It's been very reliable and trouble-free. I've collected a lifetime supply of dimmers, appliancelinks, and iolinks, and as stated I just bought a new controller. I intend to continue with insteon for a very long time. Regards. The 2412S has a liner transformer style power supply. It also has unregulated +12VDC on the serial port connection. You may find you ISY994i runs just fine with no external wall wart and a 2412S. If you have both. The ISY994i has a diode on each power input so only the higher of the two voltages is powering it. The 2413S has a switching type power supply and had capacitors not rated for switching power supply use. Until the recently released revisions. They where known for failures. From the switching frequency used by the supply (200KHz.) and the temperature probably didn't help either. Later ones also have a better serial port interface chip and some signal protection on the serial port signals. Edited March 9, 2022 by Brian H Correct statement
wmahvd Posted March 14, 2022 Posted March 14, 2022 On 3/9/2022 at 6:40 AM, Brian H said: The 2412S has a liner transformer style power supply. It also has unregulated +12VDC on the serial port connection. You may find you ISY994i runs just fine with no external wall wart and a 2412S. If you have both. The ISY994i has a diode on each power input so only the higher of the two voltages is powering it. The 2413S has a switching type power supply and had capacitors not rated for switching power supply use. Until the recently released revisions. They where known for failures. From the switching frequency used by the supply (200KHz.) and the temperature probably didn't help either. Later ones also have a better serial port interface chip and some signal protection on the serial port signals. Thanks for the feedback. I neglected to mention that I disconnected the 12V line from the PLM to the ISY years ago, and instead power the ISY (first the 99 and now the 994) from a separate power supply through a solid state switch. I did this so I could remotely power-cycle the ISY, which it turns out I've only had to do once or twice in the past ten years. I wouldn't claim that that's really helping my 2412S last longer (since it only has to provide power to itself) but it probably doesn't hurt. I also have a 2412U and a 2448A7 standing by in case the 2412S ever dies. I would have to implement the USB/serial bridge to make them work as mentioned previously. I considered upgrading to the 2413S years ago, before I knew about the reliability issues, but decided not to because I had read about problems in insteon networks that can be introduced by having too many RF nodes. But then I read about other folks with lots of dual-band devices in their networks that are working just fine, so the merits of lots of RF nodes vs. just a few is still something I don't fully understand. Right now I just have two old adapters in the basement to connect the phases, and a single dual-band dimmer in the attic to provide RF to a local thermostat because the RF can't get there reliably from the basement. So just the three RF nodes and it's all working reliably (picture me knocking on wood....).
Brian H Posted March 14, 2022 Posted March 14, 2022 One way to disable the +12V is take the F1 fuse off of the 2412S serial port daughter board. No cable mods needed. The +12 sill is used to power the internal serial or USB port daughter board. On both a 2412 and 2413 PLM.
wmahvd Posted March 16, 2022 Posted March 16, 2022 On 3/14/2022 at 6:52 AM, Brian H said: One way to disable the +12V is take the F1 fuse off of the 2412S serial port daughter board. No cable mods needed. The +12 sill is used to power the internal serial or USB port daughter board. On both a 2412 and 2413 PLM. Yep, that's actually what I did, easy to undo if ever required. You don't have to actually remove the fuse, just clip one of the leads and bend it a bit so it can't make contact.
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