Harmony 1100 and ISY Communication Problem

[sbex55]

I've setup my ISY99i/IR PRO by importing the default IR codes. I've setup my Harmony 1100 by adding a UDI device ISY99i/IR PRO. I've created a program that turns on a light when the 1st IR button on the Harmony device is pressed.

 

I get no response and I see no activity under Event Viewer.

 

When I use ISY99i/IR PRO to setup the Harmony device, the buttons are 'Light1', Light2', etc. When I use ISY99i/IR to setup the Harmony device, the buttons are 'IR001', 'IR002', etc. Neither setup worked.

 

I know my IR works since I use a Remotelinc 2. I know the Harmony works since I can control other devices.

 

What's wrong with my setup?

 

Thanks for the help!

[LeeG]

Are the Harmony buttons actually assigned specific IR codes. The last time I loaded my Harmony 300 with the ISY codes all the codes were added but not assigned to the actual buttons. It was necessary to use the Harmony utility to assign specific codes to specific buttons. No idea if the Harmony 1100 load is the same way.

[sbex55]

Thanks for the reply. The 1100 is a touchscreen so I don't think I have to assign IR Codes to 'buttons'. Just to try it I assigned 'Light1' to the (physical) mute button. Still no luck.

 

For the ISY experts, if I am not seeing any activity on the Event Viewer when I press 'Light1' then does that mean the IR codes sent from the harmony remote are not valid or recognizable by the ISY? How do I diagnose this problem?

 

Thanks for the help!

[Michel Kohanim]

Hello sbex55,

 

If you are not seeing any IR activities either in Event Viewer or the IR tab, then you are 100% correct. The best test would be to use any universal remote (including harmony) and choose a Philips device such as TV. If that does not work either then the problem is the unit itself.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

[apostolakisl]

I don't have the 1100 model, but I do have a couple 890's and a 900 model harmony, so will give you my thoughts based on that experience.

 

First off, I assume you are confident that you have line of sight from the remote to the ISY receiver.

I can confirm that Harmony imported ISY codes do work on all of my remotes and I would doubt that the code library isn't exactly the same for all Harmony downloads.

Does the 1100 model have the option to use an RF receiver? If so, check to be certain that you don't accidentally have the ISY codes going out as RF.

[sbex55]

Thank you for your responses. I was not aware the remote had to be in line of sight to the ISY. My ISY is located in the basement. The remote activity now shows up in the event viewer when I'm in line of sight.

 

Since I can successfully use my RemoteLinc2 on the 1st floor I thought the Harmony remote would also work on the 1st floor. I guess not. I do have an access point on the 1st floor in line of sight of the remote but it still does not work.

 

So do I assume the remote does not have the 'power' as the Remotelinc2 or something else?

 

Thanks for the help!

[Xathros]

sbex55-

 

The Harmony remote is talking to the ISY via IR not RF so the IR eye in the ISY needs to be able to see the remote's IR LED(s). Access points and Dual band devices are Powerline/RF units only - not IR.

 

While your Harmony remote may also be RF capable, I highly suspect it doesn't speak Insteon or even operate in the same RF band as Insteon. The remotelink does speak Insteon on the Insteon RF band.

 

Many electronics stores sell IR repeaters which you could use to pipe the IR down to the ISY via wire or RF.

 

-Xathros

[apostolakisl]

So I looked up the 1100. It does allow an RF extender. What you need to do is buy one of those and put it's "blaster" in line of sight of the ISY and designate the ISY commands to go to the RF extender. This device receives the RF from the remote and translates to IR. This is a proprietary signal that isn't receivable by anything except the Harmony RF extender (as far as I know of at least).

 

If you already have an RF receiver, you probably can have 2 of them on the same 1100. You definitely can on the 890 (I have 2 on that one), but you should confirm this before buying.

 

Also keep in mind that you can make an extension cord for the RF "blaster". So if you already have one and there is a way to get a wire from it to your ISY, no need for another one. I have one extension cord running like 50 feet without issue. You need a mono 1/8 inch female and another 1/8 male (please check to be certain your uses 1/8 size) and wire up however many feet between them you need. Or, you could just cut the wire it already has and splice in an extension. Keep in mind that polarity does matter when wiring these up.

[sbex55]

Now it's clear. Thank you both for the help!