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    PLCBUS plugin for HomeSeer 3 - V3.0.1.0 - Release


    Here is the PLCBUS plugin for HS3

    **** INFO for v3.0.1.0 ****
    -If you are upgrading from v0.1, you have to delete all PlcBus HomeSeer devices, and create them again to get correct status.
    -If you are upgrading from v0.2 or v0.3, you have to delete all PlcBus HomeSeer devices, and create them again to get lamp module ramp rate, new scene status and programming options.
    -If you are upgrading from any beta version and you want on/off/dim compatibility with the RFXCOM plugin, you need to recreate lamp devices. The label has changed from dim xx % to brightness xx% to be compatible with the RFXCOM plugin.
    **** END INFO ****

    The Plugin supports Multiple Instances, and can control multiple interfaces at the same time.

    For example:

    - PLCBUS 1141 Serial on COM1
    - PLCBUS 1141 USB on virtual COM3
    - PLCBUS 1141 TCP/IP on 192.168.3.5

    Each plugin instance supports a PlcBus interface on one PlcBus UserCode.
    You can also run multiple instances with the same UserCode.

    The plugin supports 3-phase mode (I have not tested, but it should work the same as with the HS2 PlcBus Connector)

    The plugin supports a WaitForAck mode. If the module doesn't respond to a PlcBus command, the HomeSeer device status will be set to UNKNOWN.
    If you have a problem with some of your PlcBus modules not acknowledging commands, please double-check the wiring. It's very important that the LIVE and NEUTRAL wires are not reversed across all modules in your house for correct PlcBus communication.

    The plugin fully supports PlcBus scene programming and PlcBus scene status report.




    How to add a PlcBus device to HomeSeer 3:

    Example to create a lamp device D2:

    - Go to the HomeSeer "Device Management" View.
    - Click the green "+" sign on the upper right corner
    - Type the device name, select floor and room if you want
    - Choose D2 as the device code
    - Click the PLCBUS tab
    - Choose "PlcBus Lamp" as the device type
    - Click "DONE"


    The plugin lets you create and manage the following HomeSeer device types:

    PlcBus User-Code Device

    This device type allows you to send User-Code wide PlcBus commands such as:
    - All User Lights Off
    - All User Lights On
    - All User Units Off (All Units = All Lamps AND Appliances)

    The PlcBus User-Code device also has a toggle button to Show Scene Programming options:
    - Show Scene Prog (This adds more scene control buttons to Scene, Appliance and Lamp devices)
    - Hide Scene Prog (This hides the scene programming controls)

    PlcBus House Devices

    Device parameters:
    - House Code
    - Automatic polling enabled (on/off)

    This device type allows you to send House-Code wide PlcBus commands such as:
    - All Lights Off - If house code is A, will switch off all lamp modules in the A1 to A16 range
    - All Lights On - If house code is A, will switch on all lamp modules in the A1 to A16 range
    - All Units Off - If house code is A, will switch off all modules in the A1 to A16 range
    - Manually Poll a house code (16 modules) with a single PlcBus command
    - Automatically Poll a house code every minute

    HouseCode polling only reports the On/Off status. It doesn't report the dim level for lamp devices.
    If HouseCode polling reports Lamp A1 as ON, and A1 status is dim 50%, the plugin will not update 50% to On.

    PlcBus Lamp Modules

    Device parameters:
    - HouseCode
    - DeviceCode
    - Ramp Rate (0= instant, 1= 1 second, 3= 3 seconds... etc)

    Support the following commands:
    - ON
    - OFF
    - DIM 1 to 100%
    - POLL (Polling a single PlcBus Lamp module will report the status OFF, dim level 1 to 99, ON for dim level 100, or UNKNOWN if the module doesn't reply)

    - PlcBus Appliance Modules

    Device parameters:
    - HouseCode
    - DeviceCode

    Support the following commands
    - ON
    - OFF
    - POLL (Polling a single PlcBus appliance will report ON or OFF status, or UNKNOWN if the module doesn't reply)

    PlcBus Lamp Status

    Device parameters:
    - HouseCode
    - DeviceCode

    Will report the status of a lamp module. This is the same as a Lamp module, but the only control available is:
    -POLL

    PlcBus Appliance Status

    Device parameters:
    - HouseCode
    - DeviceCode

    Will report the status of an Appliance module. This is the same as an Appliance module, but the only control available is:
    -POLL

    Why is it important to choose Appliance Status for an Appliance module, and Lamp Status for a Lamp module ?
    Because if you send (or receive from another transmitter) a User Code wide command, or a House Code wide command such as All Lights On, the plugin will automatically update the status of the correct devices.

    PlcBus Scenes

    With PlcBus scenes, you can have several PlcBus modules simultaneously perform recorded actions.
    For example you can program PlcBus Scene D1 ON to simultaneously
    - set PlcBus Lamp A1 to 50% in 2 seconds,
    - set PlcBus Lamp A2 to 30% in 1 second,
    - set PlcBus Appliance C2 to On
    - set PlcBus lamp D3 to Off in 5 seconds.

    If you program such a scene, the PlcBus Scene OFF command (D1 OFF) will always switch A1, A2, C2 and D3 OFF.

    Scene Device parameters:
    - HouseCode
    - DeviceCode

    Scene device commands:
    - ON
    - OFF
    - Add currently 'On' devices as On
    - Add currently 'On' devices as Off
    - Remove currently 'On' devices


    How to program PlcBus Scenes

    Info: You may want to create at least one User-Code PlcBus HomeSeer device to get the "Show Scene Prog" toggle button.

    1) Create a PlcBus Scene device
    2) Switch off all modules (For example using "All User Units Off" command on a PlcBus User device)
    3) Switch on only the modules you want to be "On" in the scene.
    - For PlcBus Lamp devices, select the ramp rate you want in the scene, and use the Dim level Slider to set them at the desired dim level.
    4) On the PlcBus scene device, choose "Add currently 'On' devices as On"

    5) If you want some devices to be switched off when the scene is activated
    - Again switch off all modules except the modules you want to be Off in the scene
    - On the PlcBus scene device, choose "Add currently 'On' devices as Off"

    That's it ! Then you can choose the PlcBus Scene "On" and "Off" commands to see your scene in action.

    More information about scene support:
    - When scenes are programmed, the plugin records which devices are ON/OFF for each scene, and records the DIM level for lamp devices.
    - When scenes are programmed, the PlcBus modules record their current Dim Level, and the last Ramp Rate that was used.
    - When you click the PlcBus Scene "On" button, the plugin uses the recorded information to set all the scene devices to the recorded status (on/off and dim level).
    - When you click the PlcBus Scene "Off" button, the plugin uses the recorded information to set all the scene devices to the "Off" status.
    - If the plugin sees the Scene "On" or "Off" commands sent from another PlcBus transmitter, it will also use the recorded information to set the correct status of scene devices.
    - If you use the "Erase all scene addresses from module" feature, the plugin will update recorded information to remove this module from scenes.
    - If a scene is On, and any module is set to something other than the recorded value, the scene status is switched Off.
    - If you program scene D8 as D1 40% and D2 40%, then you cannot reprogram the scene D8 to D1 40% and D2 80% without first removing D2 from the scene. This is a limitation of the PlcBus protocol. In such a case, the plugin would show an error status on the scene device.


    There is also a PlcBus Tools section with:

    - Report In Use Addresses for a PlcBus House Code
    - Report On Addresses for a PlcBus House Code
    - Report Module signal strength
    - Report Module noise level
    - Change Module Address
    - Erase All Scene Addresses from a PlcBus module


    The beta plugin has been tested with:

    PLCBUS-1141 USB Computer Interface
    PLCBUS-1141-COM RS232 Computer Interface


    PLCBUS-1141NDR DIN-Rail Network Gateway


    The plugin should also be compatible with the
    PLCBUS-1141-NET Network Gateway


    Please tell me what you think about this plugin.

    Regards,

    stipus
    Last edited by stipus; May 9, 2014, 09:44 AM.
    --
    stipus

    #2
    HomeSeer bug if you control multiple interfaces.
    ------------------------------------------

    If you run several plugin instances to control several PlcBus-1141 interfaces, there is a bug in the HomeSeer Add-Device dialog.

    You can see several PLCBUS tabs, but only the first one is active, and PLCBUS devices will always be controlled by the first plugin instance.

    If you want a PlcBus module to be controlled by a specific plugin instance, you must shut down all the other plugin instances, then add your device.

    Important info:
    Each PlcBus HomeSeer device is controlled by the Plugin instance that created the device. A plugin instance do not manage (control or update status) a PlcBus module created with another plugin instance.
    --
    stipus

    Comment


      #3
      Here is a method you can follow to have different polling interval for each PlcBus HouseCode.

      - I have PlcBus HouseCode devices D-E-F set to AutoPoll (every minute).

      - I want to have PlcBus HouseCode G to poll only every hour, but the plugin doesn't have a configurable Polling Interval per House Code.

      Solution:

      - In the PlcBus configuration tab for PlcBus HouseCode device G, set AutoPoll to OFF

      - Create a new HomeSeer Event Group. Name = PlcBus Poll

      - Within this group, create a new HomeSeer Event

      NAME= Poll PlcBus HouseCode G

      IF= A recurring Trigger Happens / The event will automatically trigger every / select 1 hour

      THEN =
      - Control a Device
      - Select the right PlcBus House Code Device (selection is by device name... you may not see the G address printed...)
      - Select the action "Poll"

      That's it : your PlcBus HouseCode G will poll every hour.
      Last edited by stipus; April 24, 2015, 07:52 AM.
      --
      stipus

      Comment


        #4
        Latests versions of HomeSeer hide Device Address and Device Type by default.

        I suggest you re-enable these columns for PlcBus as it makes PlcBus device management a lot easier.

        HOMESEER TOOLS MENU / SETUP / CUSTOM /

        Enable Show Device Address/Code Column on Device Management Page
        Enable Show Device Type Column on Device Management Page
        Last edited by stipus; April 24, 2015, 02:24 PM.
        --
        stipus

        Comment


          #5
          Hi stipus!
          It works well!
          Last edited by pawnies20; March 19, 2014, 04:09 PM.

          Comment


            #6
            Good to hear

            What was the solution to your ACK problem ?

            How do you like the plugin ? Any idea for improvements ?

            Regards,

            Stipus
            --
            stipus

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by stipus View Post

              **** WARNING ****
              If you have been trying v0.1 of the plugin, you have to delete all PlcBus HomeSeer devices, and create them again
              **** END WARNING ****
              I have shut down HS3 and replace 0.1 with 0.2 and start HS3.
              I tried to send command to the devices that have been created with 0.1 before I delete them and recreate them in 0.2 but they work what I can see.
              Should I still need to delete them and readd them?
              Thanks
              Please excuse any spelling and grammatical errors I may make.
              --
              Tasker Plugin / Speech Droid
              Tonlof | Sweden

              Comment


                #8
                Yes you need to delete and create the HS devices again, because the control IDs for some of the commands and status strings and graphics has changed.

                Also the plugin cannot update the status of devices correctly if they don 't have their address in the new format UserCode-DeviceCode.

                But basic commands such as on/off/dim from the plugin should still work.
                --
                stipus

                Comment


                  #9
                  Hi stipus, i have just tested, yesterday the tool to be sure commmunication was ok and, it was ok!

                  Now i don't know how creating devices!!

                  Thanx

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Example to create a lamp device D2:

                    - Go to the HomeSeer "Device Management" View.
                    - Click the green "+" sign on the upper right corner
                    - Type the device name, select floor and room if you want
                    - Choose D2 as the device code
                    - Click the PLCBUS tab
                    - Choose "PlcBus Lamp" as the device type
                    - Click "DONE"
                    --
                    stipus

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Haaaa ok !

                      It works well!
                      I have just tested with lamp and perfect...
                      I like the tool, very useful...

                      I test again!!!!!

                      thanx Stipus

                      Comment


                        #12
                        I currently have 34 PlcBus devices on 2 plugin instances, with one 1141-USB, and one 1141-NET

                        I'm currently testing with;

                        - Many Lamp and Appliance plug-in modules
                        - A few Appliance micro-modules
                        - Many Lamp micro-modules (one and two loads)
                        - One Curtain controller micro-module I installed this afternoon for my Home Cinema screen
                        - A few Scene micro-modules
                        - One Dimmer DIN-Rail module I installed yesterdays in my staircase
                        - One IR Device controller
                        - Two 4034 Controllers
                        - And one instance of the HomeSeer 2 plugin with one 1141-Serial sending other commands at the same time....

                        And everything looks fine (fingers crossed !)

                        I'm also adding more HomeSeer devices as I coded PLCBUS Scene programming, and I'm testing a few scenes before releasing a new beta version
                        --
                        stipus

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Posted v0.3
                          -------------

                          - Added PlcBus scene support

                          Supports Scene Programming

                          The HomeSeer device status for scene modules is automatically handled by the plugin.
                          Last edited by stipus; March 21, 2014, 07:18 AM.
                          --
                          stipus

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Ok Stipus!
                            Your V 0.3 works well with all my lamps!
                            I don't have Appliance modules!

                            Good work Stipus!

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Thank you for your report !
                              --
                              stipus

                              Comment

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