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ginigma
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| Posted: August 21 2006 at 23:15 | IP Logged
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I've been using PH (with Insteon devices only) for about 6 weeks or so and have a few basic questions. Hopefully some of you can provide some answers....
PH is working for the most part, but I do have some issues. I have about 15 Insteon devices installed (as seen in the Units page), but only 6 are shown in the Device Status page. I don't have any filters set, or if I do, I don't know how they got setup or how to remove them.
In the Insteon types, what's the different between the devices that have (Control) next to them in the description and those without?
Is there a short description somewhere of Delete from Devices, Delete from Powerhome, Rebuild, Reverify? When should each be used?
It seems I have some phantom devices. I have a device with [NOT FOUND] in the Controller ID/Description fields, with an address that doesn't match any of my devices. How did that get there?
I know I have some comm issues because I see some nak messages in the SDM. I'm running v235. I know there are a couple later versions, plus a new timecoreapp. Should I try them? Are they compatible with the current ver of PH (I have 1.03.4.7 with the -4 patch)?
Thanks.
Edited by ginigma - August 22 2006 at 13:54
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cmhardwick
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| Posted: August 22 2006 at 11:12 | IP Logged
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Questions 1 and 2 are actually related. The device types labeled CONTROL are devices that ONLY control another insteon switch but have no local load. An example would be a control linc or a switchlinc used in a 3way switch setup where it is only controlling the other switch which actually controls the light. (Switch A controls the light, Switch B controls Switch A to turn on the light from another point such as top and bottom of stairs. Switch B is a CONTROL, it has no load connected to the red wire) These device types (with control in parenthesis) will not show up on the Device Status page, since they have no local load. Often, during scanning, PH will set a device as a CONTROL when it actually has a local load. You can change this easily in the device configuration for each switch. I had to do this with some of mine. If you wish the secondary switches to also show up in the device status page, change their type to the plain SwitchLinc instead of SwitchLinc (Control)
I'll let others answer the other questions, as I'm not completely sure of some of them myself.
Enjoy PH!
__________________
Cicero, Enjoying automation!
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dhoward
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| Posted: August 29 2006 at 23:14 | IP Logged
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Ginigma,
As Cicero stated, devices that dont show on the Device Status screen is determined by the Insteon type. The default list of Insteon Types included with PowerHome has most of the devices defined twice. Once with the "Control Only" box unchecked and once with it checked. The types with the "Control Only" checked also have "(Control)" in the description. During auto-discovery, PowerHome is unable to determine if a device has a load connected or not (this info in not included anywhere in the Insteon protocol) and just defaults to the first matching Insteon type found (which may or may not be a "Control Only" type). This is fixed in the next version so that the Insteon type matched will be the lowest numbered (first created) matching type (in the case of PowerHome created types, non control only).
"Delete from Devices" flags the link to be deleted from both the Controller and responder device. PowerHome will send the appropriate Insteon pokes to remove the link from the devices and will then delete the link information from the PowerHome database.
"Delete from PH" only deletes the information from the PowerHome database and does not actually change anything in the Insteon devices themselves. If it's a valid link, PowerHome will eventually rediscover it and it will again appear in the PowerHome database.
Most of the time, you would typically use "Delete from Devices" to remove links from Insteon devices. Sometimes though, a link will appear within the PowerHome database that does not really exists in any device. This could be the result of communication errors. In any event, the link does not truly exist so it cant be deleted from the device. In this case, just do a "Delete from PH" to get rid of the bad info. As a general guideline, if either the Controller Link status or Responder Link Status is "VERIFIED", you'll want to use "Delete from Devices" to ensure that your device link database is clean. If neither controller or responder is VERIFIED, use "Delete from PH" to delete the link.
"Reverify" will flag a link (both controller and responder) to be reverified. Essentially this causes PowerHome to requery the Insteon device database to verify if the link (as defined by PowerHome) actually exists in the controller and responder device database. This is handy if you've got a link that does not seem to be working or appears to have problems in PowerHome. After the reverify is complete, you should have a better idea if the link should be deleted using either "Delete from PH" or "Delete from Devices".
"Rebuild" causes PowerHome to the link database for a particular Insteon device. All Insteon devices have a link database containing either controller or responder links. These links basically start at the top of memory and work their way down. One advantage of the "Rebuild" function is the ability to "defragment" the Insteon device link database. If you're got a device that contains 10 links and you delete 4 of those links, you may have link fragmentation. Internally, the link database will still function, but you may have record gaps that could cause slowdowns (particularly in KPL's with lots of links). The rebuild function will recreate all the links within a device starting at the top of memory and removing any deleted link gaps.
Your [NOT FOUND] in the controller ID field means that the address does not appear within your defined Insteon Devices screen. This would have gotten there from a responder. A common way this occurs is to have a couple of Insteon devices with links to each other. One of the devices goes bad and is replaced. The other device however still contains link information to the non-existant device in it's database. This link information will then be discovered by PowerHome and will appear in it's link database. Since the device is no longer on the network, it would not normally appear in Insteon device list. This is a common problem with Insteon and is just wasted link space in the remaining good device. If the controller ID is truly not in your network, then just right click the link and choose "Delete from Devices" to remove the dead link from the responder device. An alternative would be to "Delete from PH" to remove the link from PowerHome and then just do a "Rebuild" on the responder device to not only remove the link from the responder but defragment it's link database as well.
No need to try later versions of the SDM. 235 is the most stable publicly released version. The later public versions have problems. When SmartHome releases 270 (or above), I'll put together another SDM upgrade.
HTH,
Dave.
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WayneW
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| Posted: August 30 2006 at 17:45 | IP Logged
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Thanks Dave, I was wondering a lot of that myself.
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ginigma
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| Posted: September 01 2006 at 09:12 | IP Logged
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Thanks Dave.
Now for another general question: I'm having trouble getting the KPL button lights to work in sync to other controllers. I know the LEDs on the "big" buttons (6 button mode) can't be controlled by other controllers, but others should work. I have button 5 of a ControLinc set to control a group of lights and have included button 5 of two different KPLs as responders in that group. However, when I press the ControLinc button, the lights work but the LEDs on the KPLs don't change. They are in toggle mode and when I press button 5 on the KPL, the LED functions as it should, but only on that KPL. The #5 LED on the other KPL doesn't light up. In the setup for controlling the LEDs, I have the brightness set for 255 and ramprate for 31. Does it matter what those values are? Is there anything in the KPL Config Utility that needs to be set? I've reviewed a lot of posts dealing with setting up KPLs and see that others have been able to do this, so I'm wondering if I'm doing something wrong.
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dhoward
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| Posted: September 16 2006 at 01:24 | IP Logged
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Ginigma,
It sounds as if you've done everything right and sounds eerily similar to Cicero's problem in another post where the KPL buttons controlled by a PLC group will turn on but won't turn off (or vice versa).
This may be related to UpstateMikes problem with KPL's (I don't remember the exact particulars) but was a problem in newer KPL's and could only be fixed by having the links created in the KPL in a particular order.
Nothing needs to be done in the KPL Config utility for buttons being controlled by another device. You only need the KPL Config for Intra-button linking. Level 255 and ramp 31 is just fine.
I'll run some tests here and see if I can find what exactly Mike's problem was and if it's related or not.
Dave.
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dhoward
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| Posted: September 16 2006 at 01:35 | IP Logged
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I found the post from UpstateMike and it sounds as if it could be the problem. I would have to test but I don't believe I have a newer KPL where this is a problem.
Quote:
PROBLEM RESOLVED
It turns out there is a firmware bug in KeypaLincs relating to the order in which links are created. If you link a ControLinc to the the buttons on a KeypadLinc and the first link you create is the one to the Load button (button 1) then ALL ON and ALL OFF on the controLinc will affect the KeypadLinc load button only. If you create the links the the small buttons first (3-6) then the ALL ON and ALL OFF commands will control all KeypadLinc LEDs as expected.
This should be resolved in the next KeypadLinc firmware revision but for now it may cause you problems if you use the Replace or Rebuild Links functions on any KeypadLincs that are linked to ControLincs.
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If you want to see the entire thread, it's here: http://www.power-home.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=769
Dave.
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Topic: A bunch of questions
