Yet Another Garage Door Post

[ljm]

Hi,

 

I am installing the Smarthome Garage Door kit 74551. I started by following the directions in the WIKI, which were very helpful in getting this setup. My main problem with those directions is that the KPLs were left with the ability to both open and close the garage door - I only want them to be able to close the door.

 

I tried different combinations of IOLinc Momentary A/B/C and KPL Toggle but I couldn't find one that worked. I decided it wasn't possible to do what I want purely with scenes (is that true?), so I deleted the Garage Door Relay scene and replaced it with some programs:

 

GARAGE DOOR BUTTON:

If

Control 'LR Entry KPL G - Garage Door' is switched Off

Or Control 'LR Entry KPL G - Garage Door' is switched On

Or Control 'LR Patio KPL G - Garage Door' is switched Off

Or Control 'LR Patio KPL G - Garage Door' is switched On

 

Then

Run Program 'Garage Door Close' (If)

 

Else

- No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action')

 

 

GARAGE DOOR CLOSE:

If

Status 'Garage Door - Sensor' is On

 

Then

Set 'Garage Door - Relay' On

Run Program 'Garage Door Query' (If)

 

Else

Run Program 'Garage Door Query' (If)

 

 

 

GARAGE DOOR QUERY:

If

- No Conditions - (To add one, press 'Schedule' or 'Condition')

 

Then

Repeat 1 times

Set 'Garage Door - Relay' Query

Set 'Garage Door - Sensor' Query

Wait 5 seconds

 

Else

- No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action')

 

 

 

This all works, but now I have a new problem... the KPL button changes state when it is pressed, regardless of what the 'Garage Door - Sensor' does. For instance, given this starting point:

* 'Garage Door - Sensor' On (because the door is open)

* KPL Light on (because it is a responder in a scene where the sensor is a controller)

As soon as I press the KPL button, the KPL LED goes off. The program runs and the door starts to close. If something happens and the door stops early and stays open, you can't tell because the KPL button is already off. Is there a way to re-sync the KPL LED with the sensor status?

 

BTW, I have ISY 99i/IR Pro v2.7.12, IOLinc v.36 and KPL v.36.

 

thanks!

 

-larry

[MarkJames]

Hi,

 

I am installing the Smarthome Garage Door kit 74551. I started by following the directions in the WIKI, which were very helpful in getting this setup. My main problem with those directions is that the KPLs were left with the ability to both open and close the garage door - I only want them to be able to close the door.

.

.

.

.

.

As soon as I press the KPL button, the KPL LED goes off. The program runs and the door starts to close. If something happens and the door stops early and stays open, you can't tell because the KPL button is already off. Is there a way to re-sync the KPL LED with the sensor status?

 

 

I would have to say to your first question - no - you need a program - otherwise the KPL will send an on to the sensor to close the door and an off to the sensor to open the door. If you want the KPL to only send an on and not an off - ie directly control ONLY a close but not the other - then I don't think you can do it. If you try to make your switch non-toggle you'll get all messed up when you turn the LED on or offto use it as an indicator. You could try that but I don't think it will work.

 

As for the problem of the door not closing and the KPL led being out of sync the most common method I've seen for accomplishing that is do a wait from the time that the close door signal is sent - 20 seconds or whatever. Query the sensor after the wait and see if it's closed. If it's not then turn your KPL LED back on. It's not a good idea to try closing it again, though, as it probably means it's blocked.

 

Hope that help,

 

Mark

[Michel Kohanim]

Hi ljm,

 

In most cases you do not need programs. The main question is how does the current switch in your garage door works? i.e. if you took the wires that are connected to the switch out:

1. What happens if you short them?

2. What happens if you disconnect them?

3. What happens if you short them again?

 

If the answer is that 1 opens (or closes) and 3 closes (or opens), then you are correct: indeed you would need a program since your garage apparatus is toggled. On the other hand, if 1 opens (or closes) and 2 closes (or opens) and 3 is equal to 1, then all you need are:

 

1. Latching mode in IOLinc

2. Non Toggle Off on your KPL button

3. The wires to the IOLinc are connected to NC or NO depending on what 2 is. i.e. if 2 causes the door to open, then you connect to NO. Otherwise, you connect to NC.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

[MarkJames]

On the other hand, if 1 opens (or closes) and 2 closes (or opens) and 3 is equal to 1, then all you need are:

 

1. Latching mode in IOLinc

2. Non Toggle Off on your KPL button

3. The wires to the IOLinc are connected to NC or NO depending on what 2 is. i.e. if 2 causes the door to open, then you connect to NO. Otherwise, you

 

Will this be OK if the KPL is used as an indicator of door status too, Michel? If you turn OFF the LED on a non-toggle ON or turn ON the LED on a non-toggle OFF what happens?

 

mark

[ljm]

If the answer is that 1 opens (or closes) and 3 closes (or opens), then you are correct: indeed you would need a program since your garage apparatus is toggled.

 

My garage door toggles between open/stop/close/stop/open/stop/close with every button press (or shorting the wires). So sounds like a program is the way to go, cool.

 

 

Query the sensor after the wait and see if it's closed. If it's not then turn your KPL LED back on.

 

Oh, this would be perfect, how do you do it? When I try to write a program to set the KPL LED the only options I get are to set the backlighting for the whole KPL. There are no options for turning an individual light on or off. Are you able to do that?

[MarkJames]

Query the sensor after the wait and see if it's closed. If it's not then turn your KPL LED back on.

 

Oh, this would be perfect, how do you do it? When I try to write a program to set the KPL LED the only options I get are to set the backlighting for the whole KPL. There are no options for turning an individual light on or off. Are you able to do that?

 

It's a bit 'different'. Make the LED a responder in a scene and then turn the scene on/off

 

Mark

[ljm]

It's a bit 'different'. Make the LED a responder in a scene and then turn the scene on/off

 

Oh, nice! I should be able to work this out now, thanks!

[MarkJames]

Cool - post back your results.

 

Michel hasn't answered back yet about toggling non-toggle KPL buttons. Jeez, Michel, it's been like 6 minutes - you on coffee or something? If it's not a problem then his idea of setting your buttons to non-toggle is much better than using programs. Programs work well - but not if ISY isn't running or your PLM fails or what-have-you. Buttons always work.

 

mark

[ljm]

OK, I'm pretty happy with this now Here's what it does:

 

* The KPL LED comes on when the garage door is opened

* If you press the KPL button, the LED goes out and the door starts to close. After a short delay, the LED comes back on to indicate the that the door has not yet finished closing.

* If the door is unable to close, the LED stays on and you know there is a problem

* If the door closes succesfully, the LED turns off

 

Additionally, if someone presses the KPL button while the door is closed, nothing happens. Well, OK the LED comes on for about 2 seconds but it turns back off automatically and the door does not open.

 

 

Here's the setup:

 

* Wire the sensor using the red wire instead of the green wire (so the status will be Off when the door is closed and On when it is open)

* Leave all KPL buttons are in the normal "Toggle" mode

* Set the IOLinc to Momentary A with 2/10ths hold time. "Trigger Reverse" is not needed if you use the red wire.

* Create a scene called 'Garage Door Sensor' that contains the appropriate KPL buttons as responders and the IOLinc sensor as a controller

* Create an additional scene called 'Garage Door Indicator' that contains the same KPL buttons again as responders, with no controller

 

 

These four programs handle the logic:

 

GARAGE DOOR BUTTON (enabled):

If

Control 'LR Entry KPL G - Garage Door' is switched Off

Or Control 'LR Entry KPL G - Garage Door' is switched On

Or Control 'LR Patio KPL G - Garage Door' is switched Off

Or Control 'LR Patio KPL G - Garage Door' is switched On

 

Then

Run Program 'Garage Door Close' (If)

 

Else

- No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action')

 

(basically, detect if any of the KPL buttons are pressed)

 

 

GARAGE DOOR CLOSE (disabled):

If

Status 'Garage Door - Sensor' is On

 

Then

Set 'Garage Door - Relay' On

Run Program 'Garage Door Query' (If)

 

Else

Run Program 'Garage Door Query' (If)

 

 

(only run the garage door motor if the door is open, i.e. try to close it)

 

 

GARAGE DOOR QUERY (disabled):

If

- No Conditions - (To add one, press 'Schedule' or 'Condition')

 

Then

Repeat 1 times

Set 'Garage Door - Sensor' Query

Run Program 'Garage Door Set Indicator' (If)

Set 'Garage Door - Relay' Query

Wait 5 seconds

 

Else

- No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action')

 

(Check the status of the door, then set the KPL LEDs appropriately. Also check the status of the IOLinc relay since it never sends an Off. Not sure if the repeat is needed, but shouldn't hurt)

 

 

GARAGE DOOR SET INDICATOR (disabled):

If

Status 'Garage Door - Sensor' is On

 

Then

Set Scene 'Garage Door Indicator' On

 

Else

Set Scene 'Garage Door Indicator' Off

 

(set the KPL LEDs)

 

 

 

Thanks for the help getting this going! I've only had the ISY for a few weeks now so if you see any room for improvement, please do let me know.

 

-larry

[Sub-Routine]

Hi Mark,

 

If the KPL button is non-toggle Off it will always send an Off, it doesn't matter if it is On or Off when pressed.

 

 

Will this be OK if the KPL is used as an indicator of door status too, Michel? If you turn OFF the LED on a non-toggle ON or turn ON the LED on a non-toggle OFF what happens?

 

mark

 

Larry, thanks for this topic, I just got the switch for the garage door yesterday and I hope to install it today.

 

Rand

[kaplansa]

Awesome code, Larry!

 

In case anyone's wondering who's reading this, if you have two garage doors, the only changes that I see need to be made are:

 

1) Add both garage door sensors as responders to the same scene that your KPL is a responder also.

 

2) Create two (2) GARAGE DOOR CLOSE programs (I call mine "Garage Door Close - Left", "Garage Door Close - Right"). Each program looks identical to yours, except that each checks the status of only its sensor (program "right" checks the right garage door sensor, program "left" checks the left garage door sensor)

 

3) GARAGE DOOR BUTTON run both GARAGE DOOR CLOSE programs (left and right) in Then section

 

4) GARAGE DOOR QUERY program queries both the left and right garage door sensors and relays

 

5) GARAGE DOOR SET INDICATOR checks the status of both the left and right garage door sensors in the If section using an Or statement (i.e. "status 'Garage Door Sensor - Left' is On or status 'Garage Door Sensor - Right' is On")

 

6) If you're like me and used the green wires on the garage door opener kit, then your garage door at rest is "on" when closed. Since we're just using programs to set the KPL indicator, I see no problems reversing the sensor status logic in Larry's programs - e.g. "status 'garage door - left' is Off" works just fine. Only make sure that GARAGE DOOR SET INDICATOR program knows to set the garage door indicator scene to On when the garage door sensors are actually Off (either garage door is actually open). Otherwise, no problems that I'm aware after an hour of testing.

 

Question though, Larry. You said,

 

Create a scene called 'Garage Door Sensor' that contains the appropriate KPL buttons as responders and the IOLinc sensor as a controller

 

I don't understand the point here of this scene - it's not the same as the Indicator scene you suggested, which seems to work fine on its own. Why create this second scene with the KPLs as responders here too?

 

Again, AWESOME work! You really made my day by making this so simple.

 

Cheers

 

Seth

[belias]

Hi Larry,

 

I have two garage doors and a few KPL's around the house with an "OHD" button. The button lights up when one of the doors is open, and goes out when both doors are closed. Pushing the button will close any OHD that is open - but it will have no effect on a door that is closed (i.e. it will never open a door).

 

Everything is accomplished with direct linking (i.e. no programs) EXCEPT the status of the indicator light. In other words, even if I unplug my ISY the KPL button will still only close whatever door is open.

 

Here's what I did:

 

* Note: My sensors are installed such that when the sensor reports "ON" the door is CLOSED. It really should be installed the other way around, but I've been too lazy to change it. All instructions below follow my installation...

 

1. Open the garage door (the position of the door when you perform Step 2 affects how Momentary C functions; if it's closed when you program Momentary C then an OFF command will open the door).

 

2. In the ISY, choose your I/O Linc and click "Set Options". For the hold time, I'm using one second (so 10 10ths of a second); on the left only "LED on TX"; on the right choose Momentary C.

 

3. In the ISY, choose your KPL and click "Buttons Toggle Mode". Set the OHD button to "Non-Toggle [Off]".

 

4. Create a scene to link the KPL button to the IO Linc's:

 

• Scene - "Garage Doors (IO Lincs + KPL)"
   
  KPL 1 - OHD Button (Controller)
  OHD 1 - Relay (Responder)
  OHD 2 - Relay (Responder)

 

5. Create a scene for the KPL OHD button indicator light (since it must be in a scene to be controlled by a program):

 

• Scene - "OHD Buttons (KPL Indicators)"
   
  KPL 1 - OHD Button (Responder)

 

6. Create programs to update the KPL indicator light as below:

 

OHD Closed

If
         Status 'Garage / OHD 1-Sensor' is On
   And Status 'Garage / OHD 2-Sensor' is On

Then
         Set Scene 'Garage / OHD Buttons (KPL Indicators)' Off

OHD Open

If
         Status 'Garage / OHD 1-Sensor' is Off
     Or Status 'Garage / OHD 2-Sensor' is Off

Then
         Set Scene 'Garage / OHD Buttons (KPL Indicators)' On

OHD Query (This shouldn't be needed; I think it's a relic from when I was having Insteon comm. issues)

If
         Control 'KPL 1 - OHD' is Switched Off

Then
         Wait 5 seconds
         Set 'Garage / OHD 1-Sensor' Query
         Set 'Garage / OHD 2-Sensor' Query

 

 

Hope this helps.

 

 

- Brian

[ljm]

I'm glad this was helpful! I'm also glad I wrote it down because I don't have a clue how to do it any more My ISY has been humming away for months now and I haven't made any changes.

 

 

> Seth: I don't understand the point here of this scene

 

IIRC, without the second scene, the KPL light goes out when you press it, regardless of whether the door actually closes. I wanted the KPL light to light back up if the sensor detects that the door remains open.

 

 

> Belias: Everything is accomplished with direct linking

 

I don't remember the details now, but from my first post it looks like I tried that and couldn't get it to work with the garage door opener I had at the time. I have a new opener now, but this still works great so I haven't messed with it.

 

> Belias: For the hold time, I'm using one second

 

Be careful with that, with my door I found that holding down the button overrides the auto reverse mechanism. So if the door hits something during that one second hold time, it will probably not reverse and end up damaging something. I would use the shortest possible time that works.