Can't get PLC Working with switches

[jweimann]

About 2 weeks ago I grabbed 2 keypadlincs (an 8 & 6 button), 4 insteon dimmer switches, 2 access points, and a PLC.

The switches seem to work fine, and I was able to control the dimmers w/ the Keypads (though I have a problem with that too).

My main issue though is that I haven't been able to successfully connect the PLC to the devices. I've tried a ton of different software, and the most I've been able to do is get the HS plugin to connect to 2 of the switches. The others are all right next to each other, but can't seem to connect to the PLC. Also the PLC never seems to get any messages from the switches. With other software I've been able to connect to 0 of the devices.

Anyone have any suggestions on what the problem may be? I've been messing with it for 2 weeks and am getting really frustrated.


Also my other issue was that while I can control the dimmer switches with the keypads, if I turn the dimmers off, the keypads don't seem to update. I was under the impression that they would update the status of the dimmer, was I wrong about this?

[Spot]

About 2 weeks ago I grabbed 2 keypadlincs (an 8 & 6 button), 4 insteon dimmer switches, 2 access points, and a PLC.

The switches seem to work fine, and I was able to control the dimmers w/ the Keypads (though I have a problem with that too).

My main issue though is that I haven't been able to successfully connect the PLC to the devices. I've tried a ton of different software, and the most I've been able to do is get the HS plugin to connect to 2 of the switches. The others are all right next to each other, but can't seem to connect to the PLC. Also the PLC never seems to get any messages from the switches. With other software I've been able to connect to 0 of the devices.

Anyone have any suggestions on what the problem may be? I've been messing with it for 2 weeks and am getting really frustrated.


Also my other issue was that while I can control the dimmer switches with the keypads, if I turn the dimmers off, the keypads don't seem to update. I was under the impression that they would update the status of the dimmer, was I wrong about this?

I found that as I built my Insteon network, it got better as I added more switches. After about 10 total switches, it was a lot more reliable than the initial install.

Early on, I made the mistake of plugging my computer power strip into the PLC outlet...I had unreliable to non-existant comm with my switches. Since then, I've got my computer and PLC on different circuits and have comm with all my devices in excess of 98%.

[mnsandler]

About 2 weeks ago I grabbed 2 keypadlincs (an 8 & 6 button), 4 insteon dimmer switches, 2 access points, and a PLC.

The switches seem to work fine, and I was able to control the dimmers w/ the Keypads (though I have a problem with that too).

My main issue though is that I haven't been able to successfully connect the PLC to the devices. I've tried a ton of different software, and the most I've been able to do is get the HS plugin to connect to 2 of the switches. The others are all right next to each other, but can't seem to connect to the PLC. Also the PLC never seems to get any messages from the switches. With other software I've been able to connect to 0 of the devices.

Anyone have any suggestions on what the problem may be? I've been messing with it for 2 weeks and am getting really frustrated.

Also my other issue was that while I can control the dimmer switches with the keypads, if I turn the dimmers off, the keypads don't seem to update. I was under the impression that they would update the status of the dimmer, was I wrong about this?

does hs recognize the PLC (and which plc model do you have)?

do you have the access points installed & linked? you should see them flash when they receive a msg.

Spot has a good point about noise. make sure you plug the plc into the wall directly. and try to avoid putting UPSs and the like on the same circuit (or use filters) Insteon is subject to line noise just like x10 (this was a harsh reality for me)

[skozin]

Try using a different outlet and an extension cord and plug the PLC to a different outlet which is on a different phase on your electrical panel. Sometimes there is too much noise a a specific circuit and it will cause communication problems with the PLC. It happened to me and by moving the PLC resulted in 100% reliability.

Hope this helps.

[jweimann]

The PLC is a 2414U. I've got my access points setup, and the PLC is not plugged into a powerstrip. The computer is running through a filterlinc.
I was able to add 2 of 6 switches, and am able to send them commands. They turn on/off, but never reply to the PLC so it retries them even after they've changed states. Since the 2 were added, I've been unable to add any others with HS or any other software. I'm positive that if I removed them from HS, I wouldn't be able to re-add them.

I've tried running an extension cord from the PLC down right next to the switches on the same breaker and get the same results.

As far as I can tell, the PLC is having problems receiving signals from the switches, and I've got no idea why. The switches seem to have no problem communicating with each other.

Unless someone has some idea for some important step I may have missed or some other issue that could be causing this problem, I'll probably be going back to exchange the 2414U for something else.

[skozin]

If you are able to exchange the PLC, then definitely get the PLM 2412S. I switched to that recently and it communicates so much better than the PLC. I don't know if the 2412U will work with Homeseer.

Good luck!

[mnsandler]

The PLC is a 2414U. I've got my access points setup, and the PLC is not plugged into a powerstrip. The computer is running through a filterlinc.
I was able to add 2 of 6 switches, and am able to send them commands. They turn on/off, but never reply to the PLC so it retries them even after they've changed states. Since the 2 were added, I've been unable to add any others with HS or any other software. I'm positive that if I removed them from HS, I wouldn't be able to re-add them.

I've tried running an extension cord from the PLC down right next to the switches on the same breaker and get the same results.

As far as I can tell, the PLC is having problems receiving signals from the switches, and I've got no idea why. The switches seem to have no problem communicating with each other.

Unless someone has some idea for some important step I may have missed or some other issue that could be causing this problem, I'll probably be going back to exchange the 2414U for something else.

do you know the firmware version of the PLC? did you buy this stuff from smarthome. just checking to make sure you didn't get some old stock

[jweimann]

I'm not sure on the firmware, not sure how to check that. I picked it up at the Smarthome Retail store about 2 weeks ago (was excited when I realized how close it was).

The model #'s definitely confused me though, I grabbed the 2414U because I assumed that a 2414 must be better than a 2412 lol. I guess I should have done some research because it appears that everyone prefers the 2412.

If I do exchange it though (which I probably will since the 2414 doesn't even work in server 08), I'll definitely grab the 2412S, since I recently bought a serial card just for homeseer.

Anyway, is there some way to check the firmware and verify it's the latest? I haven't seen anything about that in my searching.

[mnsandler]

I'm not sure on the firmware, not sure how to check that. I picked it up at the Smarthome Retail store about 2 weeks ago (was excited when I realized how close it was).

The model #'s definitely confused me though, I grabbed the 2414U because I assumed that a 2414 must be better than a 2412 lol. I guess I should have done some research because it appears that everyone prefers the 2412.

If I do exchange it though (which I probably will since the 2414 doesn't even work in server 08), I'll definitely grab the 2412S, since I recently bought a serial card just for homeseer.

Anyway, is there some way to check the firmware and verify it's the latest? I haven't seen anything about that in my searching.

if you got this stuff directly from smarthome, the you got the latest firmwares. i would suggest you return the 2414 and get the 2412s (serial PLM)

[jweimann]

Swapped it out for a 2412S, plugged it in, and it's finding all the switches without any problems!

[mnsandler]

Swapped it out for a 2412S, plugged it in, and it's finding all the switches without any problems!

Awesome!