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Lazyman
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| Posted: January 24 2007 at 12:16 | IP Logged
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I am looking for some good ideas and this seems to be a great place to find them.
I recently bought a Harmony 890 remote. I am very pleased with it. There is a very small learning curve and it is easy to use. Even the wife likes it.
My whole house is Insteon (probably 25 devices or so).
The Harmony works with Zwave and will do scenes. It is not compatible with any other light system. (However, it will learn IR commands).
I would like to use it to control the lights in the house. The only idea I have is use IR commands from the Harmony, and an IR-543 to convert the IR to an x-10 command. I am concerned that the volume of Insteon in my house makes X-10 unreliable).
Any creative ideas? Anyone tried it?
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TonyNo
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| Posted: January 24 2007 at 13:20 | IP Logged
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Get a USB-UIRT to get the signals into PH and then trigger off of those.
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nadler
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| Posted: January 24 2007 at 14:36 | IP Logged
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What Tony says!
I have an 890 and a USB-UIRT. I actually send an RF command(s) from the remote to the RF extender. The RF extender converts the RF command to an IR command. I then use one of the outputs from the RF extender to take the IR output and deliver it to the USB-UIRT which is connected to my computer on the other side of the house (I have CAT5e run in every room in the house). PH then triggers an Insteon command or a speaker command or whatever. Works very reliably.
This eliminates the X-10 unreliability aspect. If you didn't want to wire you can get a powermid to transmit the ir signal to the USB-UIRT from another room, but you do lose the RF aspect of the 890. I actually have a harmony 680 which I use for this purpose from the bedroom (i.e. turn on and off lights in the bedroom using the harmony 680 and a pair of powermids).
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ginigma
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| Posted: January 25 2007 at 16:14 | IP Logged
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Ok, it looks like I am going to have to do something similar. I have a Harmony 880 and I've been waiting for the Insteon IRLinc, but I doubt I'm going to see anything soon. I guess the USB-UIRT will work for me, but my home automation server is in the basement which exceeds the length of USB cable. Does anyone know of an inexpensive extender (in the 50-100ft. length)?
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dhoward
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| Posted: January 25 2007 at 16:42 | IP Logged
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Ginigma,
I just came across one of these yesterday is some little computer accessories flyer. Extends USB cable for 150 feet using a single Cat5 cable. It was like $35.00. I'll look it up for you when I get home.
Dave.
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Lazyman
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| Posted: January 25 2007 at 18:43 | IP Logged
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I am taking the opposite approach. I am running an extension so that the IR blaster runs the length to the computer. The USB-IRT will be at the computer, nowhere near the AV eequipment.
I don't have the stuff yet, but I hope I had the right idea.
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TonyNo
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| Posted: January 26 2007 at 07:20 | IP Logged
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lazyman,
The external emitter jack on the USB-UIRT is lower power than the main blaster, so you may be better off getting a set of Powermids to relay the IR (what I do now).
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Lazyman
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| Posted: January 26 2007 at 13:40 | IP Logged
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I have some powermids in my closet. When I get everything I will try both and let you know. I always had problems with the powermid when I used them. I will try.
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Lazyman
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| Posted: January 30 2007 at 17:49 | IP Logged
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Okay, everything is hooked up - USB-UIRT.
In Powerhome, I added the USB-UIRT as a controller. I am not really sure where to go from here.
1) How do I confirm that PowerHome is receiving IR signals from IR remotes?
2) How do I tell PowerHome to monitor the IR signals that I hope it is receiving and to trigger a PLC group or send an insteon command in response?
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TonyNo
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| Posted: January 30 2007 at 22:18 | IP Logged
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You need to make sure that you restart PH after adding the UIRT.
1. Watch the log when you send IR.
2. I've not done that yet. I know there are posts here about it, though.
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dhoward
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| Posted: January 31 2007 at 15:35 | IP Logged
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Lazyman,
Also, once you're got PowerHome setup to recognize the USB-Uirt as a controller, you need to open the PowerHome Explorer, navigate to Devices|Equip and add some IR equipment to your PowerHome database. You'll then need to go into the IR screen under the Equipment and teach PowerHome the IR codes you wish to either send or respond to. Once you've done this, you'll then be able to create triggers for PowerHome on Incoming IR.
Dave.
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dhoward
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| Posted: January 31 2007 at 15:58 | IP Logged
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Also,
I found the flyer with the USB extenders. http://www.cyberguys.com has them for $48.00. Direct link here: http://www.cyberguys.com/templates/searchdetail.asp?productI D=7707
Dave.
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Lazyman
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| Posted: January 31 2007 at 16:16 | IP Logged
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Thanks Dave. I still need a little more hand holding. I tried searching the archives but hard to do with a term like IR.
If this is covered in the documentation somewhere, feel free to refer me to the right place, but I did not see it.
Under IR Equipment, I define the remote I am using based on the device it is design for. For example, if I am using a Sony DVD player (DVP-NS55P/S):
ID is just a label that I use in PH
Manufacturer would be Sony
Model would be DVP-NS55P/S
What is Total Keys?
Controller is which device PH uses to communicate with the device. In this example, the USB-UIRT which I already defined, and then restarted PH.
What is IR Zone?
What is Learn Freq?
After that, the device will appear under the IR section and I can get to an IR Equipment Details screen.
There are 4 columns: Key #, Description, Incomong Code, Outgoing Code. What is each column used for?
How do I use the Play, Record, and Auto Learn features when I right click.
I assume Create Buttton relates to the control center in PH and is not necessary for what I am working on right now?
Once this is done, when I look at the Triggers page:
ID is the name of give to the trigger I want to define? Description is a label to help me remember?
Action Type and Action are what the Trigger will cause to happen?
Action Style has been described in detail by Dave (http://www.power-home.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1025&KW =queued+immediate+action)
Status is obviously Active.
Trigger Type: This would be IR in?
Trigger ID is the IR device I defined which shows up as a drop-down option?
What is Trigger ID Number?
Do I do anything with Trigger Value of Boolean?
Sorry to be so long-winded.
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dhoward
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| Posted: January 31 2007 at 17:12 | IP Logged
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I'll try to cover all your questions, let me know if I miss any...
In Equipment, ID is just the label used within PowerHome (and will be in the dropdown for the trigger). Manufacturer and Model is not used anywhere, but I would set them to accurate values for my own information (as you've already surmised). Total Keys is a number indicating the total number of keys on the remote control that you wish to learn. Whatever number you type here will create the appropriate number of rows in the IR Details screen. The Learn Frequency is a value that can be adjusted for certain IR controllers such as the CIR and can be left at the default.
In the IR details screen...the Key # is just a sequential, unique number identifying the particular IR code. You'll leave it at whatever is unless for some reason you need to re-organize the order after you've learned them. The Description is your representation of what the button does such as "Power", "Play", etc. Incoming code stores the raw IR incoming code information and Outgoing Code stores the raw outgoing IR information. Both of these values are "learned" with the either the "Record" or "Auto Learn" menu options. "Record" will learn the codes for a single key. There is no indication that learning is "in progress". Just select "Record" and then point the remote at the USB-Uirt and press the button until the code shows up in the column. "Auto Learn" will sequentially walk you through learning each of the declared IR buttons and is the desired method for initial learning. Use "Record" for one at a time re-learning or fixing of problem IR codes. "Play" will send the learned IR code so you can test it. "Create Button" is for the Control Center and is broken in the current version.
Triggers...ID is the internal PowerHome ID you would use to reference the trigger. ID's should be short, but meaningful without special characters. ID's are what are used with any direct programming. Descriptions can be more long winded and are intended for the user to describe in more detail than you would usually use in the ID. Action Type and Action are what will happen if the trigger conditions are satisfied. Leave "Action Style" as Queued. Trigger Type would be "IR In", Trigger ID will be the Equipment ID. Trigger ID number will be a dropdown of IR Detail Descriptions (once you've defined them...remember total keys). Trigger value will be locked as "Received" and leave Boolean as 1.
That should do it. Also, while learning, if the Incoming Code column is not being populated, go to the Settings window of the USB-Uirt in Controllers and make sure that "Enable Remote Control" is checked. If you make any changes to the Settings window, you must restart or reinitialize in order for changes to take effect.
HTH,
Dave.
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ginigma
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| Posted: March 07 2007 at 20:33 | IP Logged
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Dave,
I've done all that and have my triggers working, mostly. The problem I have is that there's a delay between the time I click the button on the remote until the action takes place (lighting change). My Action Type is "Raw Formula" and the Action is ph_insteon("FAMILY ROOM 01", 17,128). The delay is between 5-10 seconds. It's annoying because then you keep pressing different buttons and then all the actions catch up and lights start dimming/brightening. Any help is appreciated.
Thanks.
__________________
Insteon (40 devices) ^ PowerHome (435 links) ^ Logitech Harmony 880
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smarty
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| Posted: March 07 2007 at 20:48 | IP Logged
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Check your event log (assuming all items are checked on) to see what exactly PH is doing after it recieves the incoming IR signal.
I use IR (USB-UIRT and Insteon) to change my lights, and it is near (< 0.2 sec delay) instantaneous; so the good news is that your delay CAN be solved.
I am guessing that somehow PH is doing more than you think after it sees an incoming IR.
Are you running DCC by chance? If you are, I have seen PH slow down when it tries to send a DCC command to an external computer that is NOT logged into DCC. Once the external computer is logged in, PH commands speed WAY UP.
Hope this helps.
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Elk - Insteon - BlueIris - DMC1 - PowerHome - XLobby - HA_Bridge w/Dots - Brultech
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ginigma
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| Posted: March 07 2007 at 21:45 | IP Logged
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Smarty,
Thanks for the response. I checked my event log file and everything looks fine. It sends a Group Broadcast out and then the Group Cleanup commands come in. Nothing inbetween except the additional IR In commands from me being impatient and pressing a different button. It took 11 sec from the broadcast command to the last cleanup response. There are only 5 devices in the group.
I will turn on all the events to be logged and see if that shows me anything different.
I'm not running DCC or anything else.
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Insteon (40 devices) ^ PowerHome (435 links) ^ Logitech Harmony 880
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Topic: Harmony Remote and Zwave
