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jeffw_00
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| Posted: March 08 2017 at 20:01 | IP Logged
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Hi - So I see that SH keeps bringing out devices that require SW config via Insteon protocol. Dave would like to reverse-engineer each and create GUI's for config, but I can understand how the effort/return ratio here is too high.
Still I -THINK- (confirm anyone?) that all these new devices still work with PH at the basic level (you can link to them, and send/receive on/off commands on multiple channels), but the big pain is configuration & setup.
So maybe the magic bullet is to add a $75 Insteon Hub, and use that, with your smartphone, for configuration. It also gives you Alexa-based real-time control (although I know some people have made a direct connection).
But you can still use PH for timed events, complicated if/thens, specialized tasks (like toggling Insteon keypad LEDs), interfaces to PC Apps (Perl, Web interface, etc.), and such.
Or is there a better paradigm that I'm missing?
Thanks!
/j
Edited by jeffw_00 - March 08 2017 at 20:02
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dhoward
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| Posted: March 08 2017 at 22:32 | IP Logged
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Jeff,
Yes...all new devices should work with PowerHome at
the basic level. New Cats and subcats can be manually
added in the Types screen or will be automatically
added by auto-discovery. As long as you can link the
device to the PLM (this can even be done manually
through tapping) then PowerHome will be able to access
and control the basic functions.
Cant really comment on the Insteon Hub. I have the
original one and use it as a PLM with PowerHome and
never use Hub interface itself. I also have the newer
model that doesnt have the ability to work as a raw
PLM over ethernet and have been working on adding
support for the HTTP protocol so PowerHome can utilize
it as a PLM as well. I imagine any new device
configuration would only be supported by this model
and not the older model.
In any event, I wouldnt see any issues with using a
hub in conjunction with PowerHome using a PLM. You
would probably just need to link your Insteon devices
to both the PLM and the Hub and create links between
the Hub and PLM itself so they can see each others
traffic.
Hope this helps,
Dave.
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jeffw_00
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| Posted: March 08 2017 at 22:57 | IP Logged
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Hi Dave - thanks - I was thinking that the Hub could be used for the SW config (as an alternative to remote commands) and optionally as a real-time Alexa interface, while PH was still used for what it excels in - coding sophisticated home control. That might relieve you from feeling you have to code a gui for every new device that has SW config.
just a thought - thanks for the reply :-)
/j
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dhoward
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| Posted: March 09 2017 at 16:00 | IP Logged
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Jeff,
You definitely might be on to something. Since I already have a newer hub, I might do some investigation and see how well it would work. Once I get the new version released
with the HTTP protocol support for the new hub, you could conceivably have just the hub as your controller both from within PowerHome AND be able to use it for device
configuration.
If I get a chance to test, I'll post back and let you know my results  .
Dave.
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jeffw_00
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| Posted: March 09 2017 at 16:03 | IP Logged
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cool :-)
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kemporama
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| Posted: December 05 2017 at 21:15 | IP Logged
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Hi- I just received an Insteon Hub. It came as part
of a package with 2 lamp controllers, it actually
cost less to buy the package than two lamp
controllers on their own.
If I add the hub as a second controller in PH, would I
be able to do the device linking in PH or will they
not play nicely and I'll have to manually link my
switches to it the old fashioned way?
Is there an ETA for the http protocol support that was
discussed a couple messages up in this thread? I
wasn't sure if that capability is needed to just do
the linking in PH or not. I don't need the hub to
act as a "primary" controller. I'm just looking to
play with some of the Amazon Echo voice commands and
use its app on my wife's phone for her to be able to
easily control some lights.
Thanks.
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dhoward
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| Posted: December 05 2017 at 21:34 | IP Logged
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Kempo,
Unfortunately, PowerHome does not yet support the newer model of the Insteon hub (the square one vs the older rectangular one) as a controller. This
functionality is already completed in development and will be a part of the next version  .
Sorry, just read that you're aware of the current lack of the HTTP protocol for the newer hub. Until that version is released, you won't be able to add this
new hub as a controller. You can add it as a device in PowerHome but it won't be useful for anything except to programmatically create half an insteon link.
Powerhome will be able to create the half of the link that is NOT contained in the hub. For example, if you want to create a link with a SwitchLinc as a
controller and the hub as a responder, PH can create the half of the link that goes in the Switchlinc but WONT be able to create the half that goes in the hub
(the hub does not act as a normal device and cant be programmed using the normal linking commands....I think. I havent actually tried in the newer devices
using the newer link commands.)
The newer version hopefully wont be too much longer. I'll also look at releasing an interim version based upon the existing codebase for the short term if it
doesnt look like I can have the next version out within a couple of months.
Dave.
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kemporama
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| Posted: December 06 2017 at 07:00 | IP Logged
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Dave- Thanks for the info. If you think it won't be
much longer until this piece of the upgrade is
released then I can just hold off doing anything major
with it for now.
If I get bored and want to play around with it, will
it mess up anything in PH if I were to do manual push
button linking between the hub and my current switches
already in PH? Can a switch be linked to two
different controllers at once and function correctly
with both of them? The last thing I want to do is
mess up my network of devices currently working fairly
well with PH.
Thanks.
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kemporama
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| Posted: December 08 2017 at 11:30 | IP Logged
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I just did a test where I plugged the hub in and linked
it to one of my existing PH setup switches, and so far
I've been able to control the light from both the hub
and PH with no apparent problems. If there's anything
bad that could be happening in the background that
someone knows of for having a single device linked to
2 controllers please let me know.
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dhoward
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| Posted: December 10 2017 at 16:41 | IP Logged
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Kempo,
Sorry to take so long responding. Nope, nothing bad will happen by linking your new hub to your devices. You'll definitely want to also link both
hubs together so that you'll be able to see communication from the new hub on the PH hub. The only potential problem you may have is if you're tap
tap linking the new hub to your devices, PowerHome won't know about this link unless you scan the devices database so PowerHome can pick it up. This
would only cause a problem if you use PowerHome to create a new link in the device. In this case, since PowerHome is unaware of the tap tap link, it
will overwrite it with the PowerHome created link.
I would also be interested in hearing how it goes if you try to create the links from within PowerHome between the device and the new hub. I don't
think PH will be able to program the link in the hub but Im not entirely sure. To try this, just add the hub as a device in PowerHome and make sure
that I2CS and Use Ext for ALDB is checked. If this doesnt work, then it's best to just tap tap and then have PowerHome scan the device database so
it's aware of the link.
Hope this helps,
Dave.
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Topic: PH + Insteon Hub = Future proof?
