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kemporama
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| Posted: July 29 2009 at 09:56 | IP Logged
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I have an HAI Hi-Fi whole house audio system in place in my house. I'd like to be able to link the audio output of the computer I have running PowerHome into one of the source inputs on the system so that I can have PH play annoucements/sounds over the system. The Hi-Fi system has a paging/intercom function that lets you have an audio source hooked up to input channel 6 that will play when the paging trigger is activated.
The instructions says in regards to the paging trigger "When the two wires on a mono patch cord are shorted together, the Page / Mute function is activated and the all zones are turned on at the preset paging volume (or muted) and switched to Source 6. The wires on the patch cord may be shorted through relay contacts or a switch."
That kind of thing is still over my head right now. Does anyone have any ideas on how I could get a sound generated out of PH to trigger the paging on to announce the sound over the system?
System manual is here:
http://www.homeauto.com/Downloads/Products/Hi-Fi/Model%2062I 00-1%20H-Fi%20System.pdf
Thanks.
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BeachBum
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| Posted: July 29 2009 at 10:42 | IP Logged
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You could control the paging trigger with Insteon I/O Link from Smarthome. I’m not sure how you plan on sourcing your audio from the computer to the HI FI system. I use a wireless transmitter from my speaker output of the computer to a receiver at my amplifier. Then I can transmit anything I want over the house system using PH as the controller of the audio.
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kemporama
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| Posted: July 29 2009 at 12:30 | IP Logged
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Thanks for the tip. I haven't played with the I/O Link devices yet. So doese that mean that all I'd have to do is take a patch cable from the trigger port on the HiFi and connect it to the 3.5mm sensor input jack on the bottom of the I/O Link? If that is how it would work, could I use the other screw terminals to handle a second device on the same I/O link?
I guess the programming on PH side would basically be to activate the i/o link, then play the sound, and then deactivate it afterwards?
To get the audio into the HiFi system I can just use an audio patch cable from the sound out port on the computer to one of the HiFi input devices.
For anyone looking for a whole house audio system, the HAI HiFi is a really nice system with a lot of flexibility. Your sound sources can be anywhere in your house, up to 8 zone speaker controls, etc.
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BeachBum
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| Posted: July 29 2009 at 13:11 | IP Logged
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I personally don’t have an I/O Link. It would seem to me you would connect the patch cord to the N/O side of the I/O Link in order for you to be able to “short the patch cord”. It appears you can add a feature that would allow you to control multiple devices at the same time with the same I/O Link. There are also other devices like the Simplehomenet EZIO40 that would accomplish the same thing. Lee has done a lot with these devices for garage control. Maybe he will chime in with his thoughts.
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grif091
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| Posted: July 29 2009 at 16:55 | IP Logged
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The I/O Linc has a "sensor" input which is digital in nature, expecting a signal that moves between 0V DC and +5V DC. This part of the I/O link is connected to a magnetic switch for example to detect a garage door opening. Smarthome has nearly a dozen different things that can be connected to the input sensor. You would not use this sensor for your situation.
The other part of the I/O Linc is a relay, which can be turned On and Off like any other Insteon device. As Pete indicated the relay would be connected to the circuit that needs to be "shorted" to cause your audio system to switch to the Channel 6 which is connected to the audio of your PC. When PH is going to issue messages with TTS you turn on the I/O Linc relay, issue the TTS messages, then turn the I/O Linc relay off.
There are devices made by SimpleHomeNet which have multiple output relays (where the I/O Linc has one). If there were multiple things to be eventually controlled with relays you might look at an EZIO4O which has 4 separate output relays. If the paging system is all that is anticipated being controlled the I/O Linc is probably the most cost effective option.
If you are X10 based there are X10 devices that have relays that can be turned On and Off to accomplish the same thing as the I/O Linc. I don’t like the reliability of X10 but if it is working for you then X10 would be an option.
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Lee G
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kemporama
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| Posted: September 05 2009 at 21:16 | IP Logged
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I just received an I/O linc device, so I'm looking to try and get this working as was talked about above.
I'm trying to make up a test macro just to see if I can programatically get the I/O linc to respond. My test macro is below. When I run it I get a "syntax error in formula" in the log. The light does come on and shut off correctly though. Can someone tell me what I'm doing wrong? The I/O linc does seem to be talking to PH as if I do a manual control of it thru the devices tab and make it click on and off.
Thanks!
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grif091
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| Posted: September 05 2009 at 23:57 | IP Logged
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That is a false error message. It does not adversely affect the Insteon command itself. The symptom is documented in a few other topics and should be fixed in the next PH release.
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Lee G
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kemporama
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| Posted: September 06 2009 at 08:55 | IP Logged
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The device doesn't seem to be responding at all when I run the macro though. It doesn't click on/off like when I manually control the device. I'm assuming it should behave the same way whether it's accessed thru a macro or thru the manual control? (Sorry, I guess I should have specified that the light I mentioned going on and off properly in my last post was the "fireplace" light and not the light on the side of the i/o linc.)
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grif091
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| Posted: September 06 2009 at 09:07 | IP Logged
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Change the command from Fast On to On and see if that works.
What does the Insteon Raw Log and the Event Log show when the macro runs using an On command.
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Lee G
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BeachBum
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| Posted: September 06 2009 at 10:17 | IP Logged
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Also don’t forget to link it to your PLM/PLC.
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Pete - X10 Oldie
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grif091
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| Posted: September 06 2009 at 11:40 | IP Logged
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Pete makes a good point. After you get the output relay working you will probably want PH to be able to detect changes in the input sensor. To do this the input sensor must be linked to the PH PLM/PLC as a responder to be able to initiate a trigger based on the change in state of the input sensor. You can control the output relay with Direct commands as you did with the Devices tab and should be able to with a Macro. However, to receive the Group commands sent by the input sensor, you must have established a link from the input sensor as the controller to the PH PLM/PLC as a responder.
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Lee G
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kemporama
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| Posted: September 06 2009 at 17:39 | IP Logged
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I changed the command to a plain ON and there is no change, the device does not respond when I run the macro. I do have the PLC set up as a responder also. I've pasted some screen shots below. I can't find how to locate the raw log file and show the content of that. When I click the Echo Raw Log box at the top of the screen I get an error saying that it can't open the file and nothing is being written. When I scroll thru the live insteon log in Insteon Explorer nothing shows up in red after I run the macro.
I don't know if it matters, but the I/O linc in reality is model 2450, but that is not an option when I configure the device.
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grif091
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| Posted: September 06 2009 at 18:09 | IP Logged
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When you changed the command to On, the Send Keys field should have been changed to an input field were you need to enter a value of 255. The Direct On command was issued and the IO Linc ACKed the command. The problem is that the cmd2 value of the Direct On command has a value of 00 which turns the device Off, even when the On command is used. Specifying 255 in Send Keys in the Macro definition will result in a 0xFF in the cmd2 field which turns the device On. The false syntax error message that you see with the Fast On is due to the fact that the Send Keys field is not an input field for that command so PH finds the blank value in Send Keys invalid and logs the syntax error. When you enter a 255 in Send Keys for the On command, you will not get the syntax error logged.
The Insteon Raw Log file name is specified under the Powerhome Explorer Setup/Controllers/Settings. After defining a path/file name I think you have to do a Reinitialize to activate that definition.
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Lee G
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kemporama
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| Posted: September 06 2009 at 18:39 | IP Logged
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 Thank you so much!!!!!!!! It looks like it's working! I also have the raw log file configured too now so that I can turn it on when needed. I figured that something needed to go into the send keys field, but I didn't know what. I looked thru the guide for the I/O linc but didn't see what commands could be used, i'm sure I'm just missing it.
Now it's time to start cutting wires to see if I can get the audio system to be triggered.
Thanks again!
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BeachBum
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| Posted: September 06 2009 at 19:16 | IP Logged
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Ho.. The fun begins. 
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Pete - X10 Oldie
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Topic: How to hook up to whole house audio systm
