Trials

[itanic]

[Michael McSharry]

The first problem area shows up in the following


10/16/2005 8:43:35 AM~!~Info~!~Exec command: Rain8 Front Lawn off dim: 0 extra: 0
10/16/2005 8:43:37 AM~!~X10 Received~!~ G Off
10/16/2005 8:43:38 AM~!~Info~!~Exec command: Rain8 Side Lawn on dim: 0 extra: 0
10/16/2005 8:43:39 AM~!~X10 Received~!~ G On
10/16/2005 8:44:12 AM~!~X10 Received~!~G3 (Rain8 Front Lawn) G Status On
10/16/2005 8:44:35 AM~!~Info~!~Exec command: Rain8 Front Lawn off dim: 0 extra: 0
10/16/2005 8:45:08 AM~!~X10 Received~!~G3 (Rain8 Front Lawn) G Status On

At 8:43:39 there was an incomplete transmission from the Rain8-2 where only the house was recognized and not the unit. This is usually because at the same time there was something else on the powerline and a collision occurred.

If the Rain8-2 firmware was implemented per the design then the timers have no relationship with the X10 response. The timer is a backup to assure that the valve does not stay on indefinately.

If you select the Rain8-2 to be in the A-P grid as an X10-2 and select HS to be the interface from the top of the same page then mcsSprinklers will treat it with a poll 30 seconds after the command. If you itemized the 8 devices such as G1, G2, ... in the HS device list then mcsSprinklers will treat it as a 1-way X10. In either case you should program the EPROM so that it is ack on poll only. If you run mcsSprinklers outside of HS and use xAP as the HS interface then the EPROM should be set to ack on command because mcsSprinklers will allow sufficient time to receive the ack before proceeding to the next command.

I suggest turning on the debug for your X10 plugin and collect the low level data. This will show what is happening between HS, the powerline, and the Rain8-2.

[itanic]

Michael,

When I first set up the plugin, I placed entries into the HS device list and saved. Then I deleted those entries and selected X10-2 from the Grid and saved again. Maybe I should remove the plugin and reinstall. What do you think?

[Michael McSharry]

There should be no need to do that. I could see that the status requests were being sent 30 seconds after the command so I belive mcsSprinklers is doing what is expected. What I do not know is if the Rain8 EPROM is program is programmed for Ack/Status only on poll. If it is configured on ack on command then it will have behaviors like you are seeing. If you have an early Rain8-2 then it may not be able to be reprogrammed to status only on poll. Looking at the X10 plugin detail traffic then we know how HS and Rain8 are communicating.

[itanic]

I didn't have alot of time over the week end, but did manage a single test of the sprinklers. Here is the log file it produced:

10/22/2005 12:45:16 PM~!~Info~!~Exec command: Rain8 Front Beds on dim: 0 extra: 0
10/22/2005 12:45:49 PM~!~X10 Received~!~G1 (Rain8 Front Beds) G Status On
10/22/2005 12:48:21 PM~!~Info~!~Exec command: Rain8 Front Beds off dim: 0 extra: 0
10/22/2005 12:48:24 PM~!~Info~!~Exec command: Rain8 Front Lawn on dim: 0 extra: 0
10/22/2005 12:48:59 PM~!~X10 Received~!~G3 (Rain8 Front Lawn) G Status On
10/22/2005 12:51:27 PM~!~Info~!~Exec command: Rain8 Front Lawn off dim: 0 extra: 0
10/22/2005 12:51:30 PM~!~Info~!~Exec command: Rain8 Side Lawn on dim: 0 extra: 0
10/22/2005 12:52:00 PM~!~X10 Received~!~G3 (Rain8 Front Lawn) G Status Off
10/22/2005 12:52:05 PM~!~X10 Received~!~G4 (Rain8 Side Lawn) G Status On
10/22/2005 12:54:29 PM~!~Info~!~Exec command: Rain8 Side Lawn off dim: 0 extra: 0
10/22/2005 12:54:32 PM~!~Info~!~Exec command: Rain8 Back Beds on dim: 0 extra: 0
10/22/2005 12:55:02 PM~!~X10 Received~!~G4 (Rain8 Side Lawn) G Status Off
10/22/2005 12:55:07 PM~!~X10 Received~!~G2 (Rain8 Back Beds) G Status On
10/22/2005 12:57:34 PM~!~Info~!~Exec command: Rain8 Back Beds off dim: 0 extra: 0
10/22/2005 12:58:12 PM~!~X10 Received~!~G2 (Rain8 Back Beds) G Status On
10/22/2005 1:00:38 PM~!~Info~!~Exec command: Rain8 Back Beds off dim: 0 extra: 0
10/22/2005 1:01:10 PM~!~X10 Received~!~G2 (Rain8 Back Beds) G Status Off

From the looks of it mcsSprinklers seems to work with the exception of a confirmation of the Front Beds - Off command. If I understand correctly, the plugin should have received a confirmation and if not received (or if it received notification that the valve was still on) another off command should be sent. Neither happended in this case but the value did turn off after the initial "off" command.

Michael, in an earlier post you suggested I turn on the X10 debug mode to see if the commands are just not getting through. How do I do this using the Powerlinc USB? I don't see an option for it in the interface tab.

I'm under the trial period for the plugin and need to be sure I have a reliable system before purchase.

Thanks