Is there any hope of a replacement PLM now that Insteon is OUT OF BUSINESS?  If my PLM breaks, I have about 30 insteon devices that are useless?

I heard UDI was going to make one, is there hope of that?

5 hours ago, Blackbird said:

Is there any hope of a replacement PLM now that Insteon is OUT OF BUSINESS?  If my PLM breaks, I have about 30 insteon devices that are useless?

I heard UDI was going to make one, is there hope of that?

There's half a dozen recent threads where this is discussed on the Smarthome sub-forum.

The second post there has Michel's response. Regardless, until it happens it will only be hope and speculation

The UDI PLM all depends on getting the needed programmed chips to run it.

It had been developed but Smartlabs pulled the rug out from under them. Years ago when it was developed and the promised chips disappeared.

No indication on what may happen in the future.

Thanks for the replies

Working on it.

With kind regards,
Michel

As usual, I'm late to the party. I have a working serial PLM, but when considering moving to IoP I thought about a backup and that led me here. Had also considered getting a used Insteon hub, but the PLM would be much preferable. 

10 hours ago, landolfi said:

As usual, I'm late to the party. I have a working serial PLM, but when considering moving to IoP I thought about a backup and that led me here. Had also considered getting a used Insteon hub, but the PLM would be much preferable. 

random musings? or do you need more knowledge?  the only answer for the foreseeable future is to buy PLM's on ebay for inflated prices because they are in-demand.

My investment in Insteon is relatively small, but I moved recently and was in the process of working the Insteon stuff I have back into my automation scheme, so the answer will likely determine where I go from here. (I've also recently retired and found I've lost all sense of time, so now I realize it hasn't been that long since mid-April). The future direction of automation here is mostly already settled for me, as I've gone ZWave in this house, but I would hate to have to dispose of perfectly good Insteon modules as electronic waste.

20 minutes ago, landolfi said:

but I would hate to have to dispose of perfectly good Insteon modules as electronic waste.

Sell it on ebay.  Even selling it all as a single lot, if there is a PLM included you will likely make back every penny you've spent.  Here's a recent relevant thread you should read:

Edit to add:  Alternatively just ship it to me any I'll put it to good use ?

Wow, good point! Thanks for the tip. Good time to trade in that stuff for better Zwave Plus things, and the 2413S I have is still working. My wife hates Insteon anyway because she can't (easily) turn lights off at the source.

11 minutes ago, landolfi said:

My wife hates Insteon anyway because she can't (easily) turn lights off at the source.

Doesn't sound like it's setup correctly.  (Unless you are referring to lamps and the switch on the lamp itself).

Yes, she wants to turn off the lamp switch. She liked X10 because she could turn the lamp switch an extra time and the X10 light module would turn the lamp on.

Yes, she wants to turn off the lamp switch. She liked X10 because she could turn the lamp switch an extra time and the X10 light module would turn the lamp on.

Pretty sure my Insteon lamp dimmers do this too.

I found that using a Mini Remote to turn the Lamplincs on and off and place the Mini Remote near the lamp works well for me.

2 hours ago, landolfi said:

Yes, she wants to turn off the lamp switch. She liked X10 because she could turn the lamp switch an extra time and the X10 light module would turn the lamp on.

Insteon lamplincs does this as well (unless lamp is in off position). Not understanding your point

Edited May 28, 20223 yr by lilyoyo1

21 minutes ago, lilyoyo1 said:

Insteon lamplincs does this as well (unless lamp is in off position). Not understanding your point

Not on the 2457D2 I have. Just tried it to be sure. Maybe it’s defective (shh, I think it and several others are going on eBay soon)

8 minutes ago, landolfi said:

Not on the 2457D2 I have. Just tried it to be sure. Maybe it’s defective (shh, I think it and several others are going on eBay soon)

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/700119/Insteon-Insteon-Lamplinc-2457d2-Dual-Band.html?page=10

Thanks! I stand corrected, a case study in RTFM. I always mistakenly thought that was a failing of an otherwise thoughtfully designed product.

3 minutes ago, landolfi said:

Thanks! I stand corrected, a case study in RTFM. I always mistakenly thought that was a failing of an otherwise thoughtfully designed product.

You're welcome. Thats a common theme on here! ?

Regarding custom chips: Given progress in microcontrollers, I can't see why their function cannot be emulated in a $5 arm64 processor.   What's left is the details of the electrical interface to the powerline and the RF protocol, and then the logic of the Insteon network.   How hard can it be to develop an open-source design to replace the PLM?  Just minimal connectivity to each of the linked devices would allow your home automation controller (eg ISY) to run the network.  Who owns the intellectual property?

The Insteon intellectual property is owned by Smartlabs or its new owners. I believe the patents expire in a few more years.

The present chips are a Microchip PIC model and are programmed with a five pin programming connector on the board. Two connectors if it is dual band as the RF section has its own controller.

Though the information is available in the Modem Developers Guide and other Smartlabs Guides. Now found on the web

The Insteon intellectual property is owned by Smartlabs or its new owners. I believe the patents expire in a few more years.
The present chips are a Microchip PIC model and are programmed with a five pin programming connector on the board. Two connectors if it is dual band as the RF section has its own controller.
Though the information is available in the Modem Developers Guide and other Smartlabs Guides. Now found on the web

If I read it correctly, the new owners bought Insteon while Smartlabs still exists and was never for sale or in trouble.

I don't know the twisted corporate tree structure here, but who knows in this world, these days?

Sent from my SM-G781W using Tapatalk

At the moment, knowing, zip, zilch, zero ... I think we are slowly going back to the dark ages.

With kind regards,
Michel

@Michel Kohanim

The "dark ages" doesn't sound appealing, any chance you could reach out to Ken Fairbanks for an update. I would assume it would be to his financial benefit to keep you in the loop being that you represent a fairly large Insteon user base.  Do you have, or need, his contact info?

 

It seems like a good case could be made that letting UD build a PLM would not significantly cut into Insteon's own PLM sales and could enhance the speed (and therefor the profitability) of Insteon's recovery while also alleviating customer concerns about investing in single source technologies.

Edited July 25, 20223 yr by upstatemike