Is anyone using Compose with Homeseer?

[shersh]

I am an HS newbie, an X10 veteran and have been living with the Compose variation of PLC for the past 10 months. I downloaded the compose update and restarted HS but see no difference. What should I be looking for? I have figured out the script that will trigger a preset but what interface does the update provide?

Scott

[lshanepowers]

You need to enable the Compose plug-in in the Interface section under options. You will probably have to restart Homeseer once you've done this. Once you do that you need to make sure that each of your switches is set to Compose under device types. When you do this, you will see the difference. There will be a Compose menu item. You will be able to name all of the scenes to what you want. There will also be a Compose Scenes trigger under Events. The web page will also show you all the custom scene names and will allow you to change scene names.

-Shane

[shersh]

Thanks Shane

I knew I was missing something.

[trcobb]

OK, kids, it's Stupid Question Time!

Is compose an entirely different powerline control protocol from X-10, a different way of implementing X-10 compatible control, or what?

I must have been under a rock or something.

Thanks in advance for using small words in your reply!

Toby

[lshanepowers]

Sort of different. Compose responds to normal x-10 commands such as on, off, and dim and raise. Compose however is a scene-based lighting system. Typically in any given room, you program all keypads and dimmers to the same x-10 address. Each dimmer can then be programmed to respond differently to each scene.(very easy to program) The real brains in this system is in each dimmer, not the keypad. Scene commands are sent by various preset dim commands. Preset dim commands don't take the dimmer to a certain percentage but to a certain scene (A-L). One of the big advantages to this approach is that the dimmers on the same address go on all at the same time. This eliminates the popcorn effect.

-Shane

[shersh]

Where can I find a table that defines which preset dim command corresponds to each scene?

[lshanepowers]

Check out page 21 of the following link. http://www.composeplc.com/downloads/technicalguide.pdf

-Shane

[shersh]

Thanks Shane. I had seen that table before but didn't make the connection. I have put about 40 devices in the house and received a manual with each and every one. I must admit I read it over a year ago when I installed the devices and not in the past few weeks since I put in HS.

[stevea]

shersh:

You actually have 40 Compose devices? Are you using their firewall? Are any of them two-way, or are they all receive only?

I know that the two-way switches draw down the X10 signal, but I thought I had heard that even the one-way switches do. I love these switches, but I only have 6 of them because I was worried my signal environment would go down the tubes. I'm curious what you've had to do.

Steve

[shersh]

Last year I did an addition and installed all Compose devices. I have 2 firewalls for a total of eight lighting circuits. This covers the lighting circuits in the existing house as well as the addition. I even have a spare however that won’t last long. I am a lighting designer by profession so I have many “zones” to configure presets. All of the dimmers are CP series however If I were doing it now I would use the convertible dimmer. I do get status from the control keypads. I have no problem with signal strength. The firewalls take care of that by boosting the signal and isolating the lighting circuits from other powerline noise. I have only run into problems recently with the addition of Homeseer. The problem has nothing to do with the software but rather the power supply of the Dell 650 that I am running it on. Unfortunately there was no way to separate lighting and power circuits in the existing house so the office that I have the HS machine set up in and the computer is interfering with the dim command sent to standard x10 switches. (I still have a bunch of those various cheap plug in modules and a handful of leviton 6400 series controllers.) Fortunately I anticipated this problem and the permanent location for the HS box has been provided with both lighting and non lighting circuits. The system is very reliable and the ability to have presets without relying on HS is a nice redundancy.