Programming Status issue

[slammers]

I am new to ISY programming and have been struggling with this simple program. I would like my front entrance motion sensor to turn on my front entrance light for 30 seconds but only if the light is currently off. If the light is on I do not want to motion sensor to turn it off. So I wrote this program which does work

 

If
       (
            Status  'LightSwitches / Front Entrance Switch' is not On
         Or $EntranceMotionActive is 1
       )
   And (
            Control 'Sensors / Motion Entrance-Sensor' is switched On
       )
   And From    Sunset 
       To      Sunrise (next day)

Then
       $EntranceMotionActive  = 1
       Set 'LightSwitches / Front Entrance Switch' On
       Wait  30 seconds
       Set 'LightSwitches / Front Entrance Switch' Fast Off
       $EntranceMotionActive  = 0

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

 

I had to add the state variable because without it the then clause would stop running as soon as the light was turned on. So setting the state variable to 1 just before turning on the light holds the program status to true.

 

So I then changed the program as I have a keypad link also connected to the front entrance and I wanted its button light to also turn on.

 

If
       (
            Status  'LightSwitches / Front Entrance Switch' is not On
         Or $EntranceMotionActive is 1
       )
   And (
            Control 'Sensors / Motion Entrance-Sensor' is switched On
       )
   And From    Sunset 
       To      Sunrise (next day)

Then
       $EntranceMotionActive  = 1
       Set Scene 'Front Entrance' On
       Wait  30 seconds
       Set Scene 'Front Entrance' Fast Off
       $EntranceMotionActive  = 0

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

 

With this code the program runs, the front light turns on as does the Keypadlinc light, but the then clause stops immediately so the wait does not happen and the lights never turn off. I have confirmed that the variable is set to one so I do not understand why the program exists prematurely. Is it a problem with the scene being turned on to soon after the variable is set one so the OR condition is failing?

 

So I added a 5 second delay between setting the variable and turning off the scene and as soon as the scene is turned off the program exits.

 

Is this a bug?

 

I am running firmware 3.1.13

 

Thanks

Shawn

[LeeG]

The Wait was executed and the IF condition changed to False causing the Program to be reevaluated with the statements after the Wait not executed. The motion sensor may have sensed more than one motion. Is the motion sensor operating in Occupancy mode?

 

EDIT: is that variable a state variable or integer variable

[slammers]

I moved the Or of the state variable outside the bracket and this works.

 

So it seems that the problem is the Control check statement

 

Control 'Sensors / Motion Entrance-Sensor' is switched On

 

is re-evaluated once the scene is turned off and is resulting in false. I guess this makes sense I just do not understand why if I turn the light off alone the program worked but if I turned the scene off it does not.

 

btw I have actually been testing it with a different trigger. I have been using an IRLinc to trigger the program instead of my motion sensor.

 

Shawn

[LeeG]

The variable should be an Integer variable, not a State variable. Changing a State variable in the Program causes the Program to be reevaluated when the Wait is executed.

[ergodic]

Shawn:

 

I find the easiest way to deal with the self-canceling problem is to simply break it in two: put the triggers and tests in one program and your actual execution logic into a separate program:

 

//Program IfMotion:
If
   Status  'LightSwitches / Front Entrance Switch' is not On
   And Control 'Sensors / Motion Entrance-Sensor' is switched On
   And From Sunset To Sunrise (next day)
Then
   Run Program DoMotion (Then part)
Else


//Program DoMotion:
If

Then
   Set 'LightSwitches / Front Entrance Switch' On
   Wait  30 seconds
   Set 'LightSwitches / Front Entrance Switch' Fast Off
Else

 

DoMotion only runs when IfMotion calls it (because DoMotion has no conditions or triggers).

 

Any false tests and resulting unwanted 'Else' execution just gets 'absorbed' by the IfMotion program's Else part, and so cannot cancel or affect DoMotion if it is already running.

 

If you have some reason to actually want to cancel DoMotion, you can always run DoMotion's Else part from another program.

 

Doing it this way makes it easier to understand what's happening, you shouldn't need any variable artifice, and whatever logic problems there may be are a lot easier to diagnose.

 

It would be really nice if the ISY just allowed you to delete the Else clause since you rarely want it anyway but this works OK.