FanLinc has 0% Comm Reliability

[crossedswords]

Added Insteon to my HS3 (3.0.0.258) configuration in early Feb 2016 with a 2413u hub to control a FanLinc module, otherwise all devices are z-wave. Fan and fan light operations were at best sporadic, with Comm reliability showing 5-7%. This has now dropped to 0% comm reliability. Upgraded to the latest beta Insteon plug-in and no change.

The manage devices page shows: FanLinc adress as manually entered; type Dual Band; fw 45; Poll Interval 1; Protocol i2CS; comm Rel 0% 936116 failed out of 36202); 1 hop 10; 2 hops 13; 3 hops 11; Msg Quality Good.

How do I debug this and get to a 100% reliable control situation?

I have another FanLinc device to add, but I am reluctant to do so until reliability is assured.

Note: z-wave devices show 100% control reliability

[mnsandler]

I need more info about your insteon setup

How far away is the fanlinc to the hub?

Any other dual band devices close by

Is the fanlinc on the same phase as the hub?

Did you try the comm test ? Please results

[crossedswords]

System info

Hi,

Thanks for the quick reply. The FanLinc to hub distance is about 10 meters, with the hub in the basement office and the fanlinc in the kitchen above. Wood floor separating the two.

The hub and the fanlinc are the only 2 insteon devices in the system, all the other switches and sensors are z-wave.

Difficult to know if the hub and fanlinc are on the same phase without taking the covers off the distribution panels and tracing the wiring.

Now showing 0% reliability 55210 failed f 55328. Running comm test. Says plug-in is OK.

Testing communications complete for Kitchen FanLinc Kitchen (37.F7.42)
Ping Results: 0 out of 20 attempts = 0%

Summary of ping responses:
Message Stat Count Percentage
1 Hop (Excellent) 0 0%
2 Hops (Good) 0 0%
3 Hops (Poor) 0 0%
Failed 20 100%

Finished testing communications for selected devices.

Device 1 Hop 2 Hops 3 Hops Failed
Kitchen FanLinc Kitchen 0 0 0 4

I should note that te wi-fi modem and z-wave hub are located close by and have no issues with communications further than the fanlinc.

Current Date/Time: 11-Apr-16 8:54:02 PM
HomeSeer Version: HS3 Pro Edition 3.0.0.258
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home - Work Station
System Uptime: 0 Days 23 Hours 31 Minutes 48 Seconds
IP Address: 192.168.1.20
Number of Devices: 75
Number of Events: 8

Enabled Plug-Ins
3.0.0.97: HSTouch Server
3.0.0.11: IFTTT
3.0.5.81: Insteon
3.0.1.67: Z-Wave

[mnsandler]

thanks for all the info.

you are definitely have an insteon comm issues based on the results you posted. My guess is the fanlinc and hub are on different phases. If the fanlinc is inside a metal cowl, the RF signal is blocked, and then the powerline is used for comm.

as a test, please use an extension cord to plug the hub into an outlet on the same circuit as the fanlinc and rerun the test comm function. try a few other circuits/plugs

I'm glad your z-wave is working, but it really has no affect on the insteon network.

[claude]

... Difficult to know if the hub and fanlinc are on the same phase without taking the covers off the distribution panels and tracing the wiring ...

If you power off the electrical circuit breaker for either the 2413U or the FanLinc and the other one shuts off, then they're on the same circuit, else not.

[joegr]

If you power off the electrical circuit breaker for either the 2413U or the FanLinc and the other one shuts off, then they're on the same circuit, else not.

Same circuit and same phase are two different things...

Your test will say if it is the same circuit or not. (If they are on the same circuit, they are on the same phase.) However, if they are not on the same circuit, they may still be on the same phase. Since you typically can't shut off one phase at a time, he is right about needing to trace the wiring.

[claude]

Same circuit and same phase are two different things...

Your test will say if it is the same circuit or not. (If they are on the same circuit, they are on the same phase.) However, if they are not on the same circuit, they may still be on the same phase. Since you typically can't shut off one phase at a time, he is right about needing to trace the wiring.

You're right, I was brief on my comment. The (first) test was meant to eliminate the situation where both devices were on the same circuit, so obviously same phase, so problem is elsewhere (noise).

But after that, yep, open the panel.

[crossedswords]

Tests done

Thanks Mark and others for your comments. Since HS3 is running on a laptop, I carried the system around and tried various outlets. Some gave 100% reliability, others totally failed, ergo, the basement office and kitchen fan are on different phases.

While a simple solution to this is to locate to an outlet where the phases are the same, I see this as only a stopgap measure. I have more FanLinc's to install and I would not assume all the fans are running on the same phase. Additionally, while I have cat6 wiring for the network most places, the mos convenient place to relocate the hub is not cat6 wired. All of my networked devices are hardwired to my DNS server for speed and reliability.

Therefore the question is how do you get Insteon signals propagating on both power phases in the house, I assume that this must be possible, otherwise the protocol would be highly restricted in application.

Thanks in advance for help.

Steve

[mnsandler]

check out the following sticky thread for phase coupling

http://board.homeseer.com/showthread.php?t=151096

[crossedswords]

Thanks

Thanks for all the help.

Issue resolved temporarily and planning to add a phase bridge soonest.

Steve

[mnsandler]

Thanks for all the help.

Issue resolved temporarily and planning to add a phase bridge soonest.

Steve

Glad you got it working.