Why can't a scene be set to a give dim %

[Guest]

OK, I realize the likelyhood that this is an Insteon limitation is about 99% but thought I would ask anyway. What I am wondering is if there is a way that a scene can be set to a dim % for all devices in the scene. I realize the current structure is scene is either on/off or activated/deactivated and the behavior of the scene is pre-programmed. However, I am using scene's with KPL buttons to make sure my lights, KPL buttons and ISY/HomeSeer are all in sync. The downside is I lose the ability to have a separate % dim. Example to make this clear:

 

KPL Button D (KPLD) controls Dining Room SwitchLinc (DRS). I want to be able to press KPLD or DRS or turn the light on in HS and have all 3 in sync.

 

Currently, I setup a scene with both KPLD and DRS as controllers. So pressing KPLD and DRS locally works fine. I can also control the scene via HS and all is in sync. The issue comes in if I want to set the light to some chosen dim % from HS. I can send a % dim command to DRS but that does not update the scene nor will it turn on KPLD. I don't think this is any different than if tried from within ISY (which has buttons for on / off / dim / brighten on a given scene).

 

Is there a way to keep all in sync and/or somehow have a scene that responds to a dim command (variable scene?)?

 

Thanks!

[Michel Kohanim]

Hi heatvent,

 

You can dim scenes (ISY scenes) from any ISY client. What you cannot do is to send Dim-to-level since INSTEON does not support this feature on scenes.

 

So, what I would do would be:

1. Click on the Scene in the Admin Console

2. Adjust the desired on level / ramp rate for both of your devices

3. Click on each one of the devices in that scene, and then click on Copy Attributes button

 

This way, all your controllers, including ISY, will have the same on level/ramp rate behavior and you can use any one of them to have the same exact behavior. When you want to dim, please dim the ISY scene instead of any of your devices.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

[Guest]

Michel, thanks for the input. Not sure that will work with the HS plugin and not sure it gets at exactly what I was looking for. Basically, what I need is a scene to become a virtual insteon device. HomeSeer pulls in devices and it pulls in scenes. Each is a different device in HomeSeer. The control options for an insteon/ISY device are: On, Off and Dim % (10, 20, etc.). The control options for an insteon/ISY scene are On, Off, Dim, Brighten. There is no Dim %. So if I want to set the devices in a scene to 40%, but then decide 60%, I need separate scenes to do this or I need to manually brighten/dim. The HomeSeer insteon plugin has the same control options for a scene so I am pretty sure this is an insteon limitation in how what they defined a scene to be although I am not sure how mechanically the insteon scene commands work. Do they just send out a command to the responders to turn on scene X and each responder is pre-programmed with how to respond or does the controller send out a broadcast message with details for each responder's ramp rate and dim level. I am guessing it is the former not the later.

[Michel Kohanim]

Hi heatvent,

 

Ah ... apologies for not understanding your question correctly. You are very much correct on both accounts:

1. This is INSTEON limitation

2. The scene commands do NOT have any attributes for the responders. They simply tell the devices to turn on/off/dim/brighten a scene. The responders MUST already be pre-programmed with on level/ramp rate for that scene

 

Sorry ...

 

With kind regards,

Michel