Dead or dying PLM 2413U

[scaleste]

My PLM has decided it’s time fail. At one point the Plug-in couldn’t communicate with it. After several Disabled/Enables I was able to get the main configuration page to show. But that is unreliable as the next time I try to open the Plug-in main page it is as likely to give a communication error as it is to open the main configuration page. Hopefully I will be able to use the Swap though I never have before. I assume the Swap copies from one PLM to another. If the Existing PLM will not function sufficiently, what is the next step. Hopefully starting from scratch with 75 devices is not necessary

[mnsandler]

have you tried the the reset and reprogram function from the plugin config page. if not, please try that

if you need to replace your plm, there is a swap routine that will reprogram all existing devices to the new plm ID. no need to start over

[Burrington]

scaleste, if what Mark suggested above doesn't resolve it, the swap command works great. It uses the plug-in data to reprogram the new PLM so it doesn't matter if the old one is working or not. The swap routine automatically reprograms each device to talk to the new PLM, and leads you through putting each wireless device into program mode to re-link them to the new PLM. The only issue is: make sure you take the wireless device out of program mode before moving on to the next device. Usually push the set button twice so the led stops flashing. If you don't do that, the wireless device picks up the links from the next device and causes all sorts of weird things to happen.

[scaleste]

Thanks Mark - I used the reset and reprogram function and seems to have the PLM working again. There was a "bump" on electrical service to the house yesterday. Enough to trigger the my server's UPS momentarily. I noticed a blink in the lights and the Cable Modem and Router reset. I do not have the PLM connected to a UPS as I assume it would isolate powerline signals. I also don't have the PLM connected to a surge protector. I had heard somewhere along the way that a surge protector could dampen the signal. Is this true or should I have the PLM connected to a plug-strip with surge protection?

[mnsandler]

No surge protectors. It will cause signal problems. I have used a power strip but those have no circuitry in them. Maybe a fuse at best.

[scaleste]

Well I had that right (rare); No UPS, No Surge Protector. Thanks for the confirmation

[scaleste]

Burrington, Thanks for the advise on the swap command. My PLM is over 15 years old and I keep it in use because it has been rock solid (Knock on wood). I have a new one bought last year, but so far resisted putting it in use. Actually more accurately resisted tempting fate and the potential of headaches to follow. We went to a RV Rally last year at the Winnipeg Beach Campground. Awesome place and beautiful country. Kind to blew the folks away in that small town with 25 huge diesel pusher RV rolling in at the same time. Kind of a old retired fogy biker rally with motorhomes instead. We were heading to the Eastern Canada and the Maritimes, but COVID-19 raised its ugly head.

[Burrington]

If your PLM is 15 years old, it will be a revision 1. If your replacement is an R2 (its labelled), you might want to swap it out and keep the R1 as a spare. The R2 has a stronger signal and better capacitors to withstand surges. I did that and found my system worked quite a bit better with the R2 because of the stronger signal.

Also, most surge suppressor strips are ok, but there are a few that are Insteon/X10 signal killers. It really is a good idea to have a surge suppressor on the PLM to protect it from lightning and power surges. Oddly enough, it is the more expensive/better surge suppressors that are signal killers. Job 1 for a surge suppressor is to clamp any surge voltages so they don't damage sensitive equipment. The cheap ones do that. The better ones add line noise suppression that can affect some electronic devices. Noise suppression can be designed two ways: 1) Noise is blocked so it doesn't travel through the power bar to the load, or 2) Noise is Clamped (shorted out) so it is killed and disappears entirely. This second type sees Insteon/X10 signals as noise and tries to kill them by shorting them out.

Both of my APC UPS's have clamping type noise suppression so are super signal killers just by being plugged in with the PLM, IE the PLM is not plugged into the UPS, but into the same circuit. The UPS loads the Insteon signal so it is very weak before it even leaves the PLM. Therefore, your best system is to plug the PLM into a surge suppressor power bar (non-signal-killing one). Plug the UPS into the same power bar with a FilterLinc, which isolates the UPS from the Insteon signals. Many electronic devices are Insteon signal killers, especially Computers, laptops, printers, and TV's. So, any other electronics in that room should be plugged into either the UPS or the FilterLinc, not in the power bar. That ensures that none of your devices are loading the PLM's out-going signal, but are all still protected from surges.

For more info on this topic, and detail on how I know all this, see two of my previous posts:

http://board.homeseer.com/showthread...38#post1201038
http://board.homeseer.com/showthread...post1226477

[scaleste]

Wow, seems I'm doing many things wrong. My playing with home automation goes back to BSR and introduction of X10 in the late 70's / early 80's and eventually evolved to embrace Insteon. When I finally did away with the last of X10 "stuff" with a hybrid Insteon/Z-wave system, I boxed up all my powerline filters. Anyone who dealt with X10 relied heavily on filters. I haven't use a filter since then, and being on my 4th house to automate only now have begun to experience some of the previous problems. One you sited in one of the links being low voltage lighting that would turn on, but not off. Thanks so much for the information. I'm going back to the boxes and my collection of Filterlinc modules and redeploy throughout the house. Then I will do the task I've dreaded and that is change the PLM. I opted not to go with the newer PLM in response to the number of post dealing with PLM failures. Why change to something that has a proven track record just because it is old. As and explanation, I retired, sold the house and rental houses, and hit the road in a 45' motorhome for 5 years. Now bought a couple of properties and back to automation with a combination of old and new stuff.

Again, thanks for the help

[Burrington]

The old X10 filters work just fine for Insteon as well, so if you have any of those in storage you can put them to use. Since you already have a bunch of filters, put them on all the electronic devices throughout the house first to see how the system responds before changing the PLM. Your problematic keypad is a perfect tester to see how the system improves. Run a comm test on it before and after the filters to see the results. I suspect your intermittent problem may be related to an electronic "signal killer" device that you have added or unplugged recently that explains why the problem comes and goes.

Changing the PLM is not nearly as onerous as it sounds. Mark's plugin does all the work for all the AC powered devices. Then it leads you through each wireless device one at a time, you just have to put the device into program mode and hit continue, it does the rest. As I said before, press the set button twice to end programming mode before moving on to the next device. You don't have to change any of your HS events or device settings - the plugin does it all for you.

As an aside, I also spend half the year in an RV (5th wheel). I have it all decked out with automation just like home. Lots of Insteon, but also 42 controlled relays for the 12 volt stuff.

Let us know how it turns out.