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    Linkage between bulbs and HS3 devices

    I have started using the UltraLighting3 HSPI to control some LIFX bulbs (mostly A19s) with good success. However, I can't figure out which HS3 devices are which bulbs. The process for initializing each bulb was to find it using the iOS app, update the firmware as needed and rename (name/location/category) to fit my needs. When I looked at the plugin created devices, how they were named seemed to be a strange mix: the names could be the renamed name or the original name and the same was true of the location and category. Most puzzling is that the serial number for most of the LIFX bulbs isn't the same as the serial reported in the iOS app so I have no way of linking the HS3 device to a particular bulb. In events, the name of each bulb is the renamed version, so I can create events that control the bulbs but I can't determine their status. I am on the current version (3.0.6516.32486) and I have cycled the plugin with no change. Any suggestions how to straighten this out?

    #2
    If you select one of your bulbs in the UI and then select the UL3 tab does this page give you the information you need?

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      #3
      No - the serial reported on that tab doesn't match any of the serials reported by the iOS LIFX app so there is no apparent way to figure out which is which. Fortunately I only started with 7 lights!

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        #4
        It's now deteriorated a bit. I have not changed any lights, but one has disappeared from UL3. The UL3 status page shows 7 managed lights - which is correct. The device for the "missing" light shows it as Offline and won't respond to On/Off/Dim commands. The various UL3 actions no longer list the missing device as an option when creating an event. The iOS LIFX app still lists the device and can control it as usual.

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          #5

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            #6
            Thanks for the hint. Although the decoding wasn't quite right, it did give me enough of a hint to solve the first problem - how to relate the serial provided by UL3 to the serial provided by the LIFX app. The serial reported by the LIFX app is directly derived from the MAC address of the bulb and the serial provided by UL3 is the decimal equivalent of the MAC address with the bytes reversed. As an example, the MAC address of one of my bulbs is D0:735:25:CE:24. The serial reported by LIFX is D073 D525 CE24 which really the MAC address still in hex. The serial reported by UL3 is 40467816608720 which converted to hex is 24CE 25D5 73D0 - the MAC address with the bytes reversed.

            Although that does provide a way to link the UL3 reported serial to the LIFX serial, allowing me to positively link a HS3/UL3 device to a specific bulb, it is much too much work. It should be easier to link a bulb to a device. And it didn't solve the problem of having one bulb completely disappear from UL3.

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              #7
              I believe you can just rename the devices and change the locations to suit your needs, that is what I did. Seems like there should be a better standard or something in place, some of these plug-ins create havoc making new rooms and floors and it always needs tweaking.
              Fun running around seeing what random name turns on what!

              John

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                #8
                I tried renaming one of them - that one is the one that is now inop. Not sure if the renaming caused the failure or it was just coincidental. I'm reluctant to change much more until i figure out what is going on or I'll make the whole thing fall apart. Hopefully the author while chime in soon.

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                  #9
                  Originally posted by GPrade View Post
                  I have started using the UltraLighting3 HSPI to control some LIFX bulbs (mostly A19s) with good success. However, I can't figure out which HS3 devices are which bulbs. The process for initializing each bulb was to find it using the iOS app, update the firmware as needed and rename (name/location/category) to fit my needs. When I looked at the plugin created devices, how they were named seemed to be a strange mix: the names could be the renamed name or the original name and the same was true of the location and category. Most puzzling is that the serial number for most of the LIFX bulbs isn't the same as the serial reported in the iOS app so I have no way of linking the HS3 device to a particular bulb. In events, the name of each bulb is the renamed version, so I can create events that control the bulbs but I can't determine their status. I am on the current version (3.0.6516.32486) and I have cycled the plugin with no change. Any suggestions how to straighten this out?
                  Your best bet is to delete all of the UltraLighting3 HSPI devices, then stop the plug-in. Using the LIFX app, update the firmware on all of the lights, then name each light and assign the light to a group (e.g room). Once that's complete, start the UltraLighting3 HSPI and it should pick up the names and rooms from the LIFX devices.

                  Regards,
                  Ultrajones
                  Plug-ins: UltraMon, UltraM1G, UltraCID, Ultra1Wire, UltraLog, UltraWeatherBug, UltraPioneerAVR, UltraGCIR

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by GPrade View Post
                    I tried renaming one of them - that one is the one that is now inop. Not sure if the renaming caused the failure or it was just coincidental. I'm reluctant to change much more until i figure out what is going on or I'll make the whole thing fall apart. Hopefully the author while chime in soon.
                    Once the device gets created, you can rename anything except the address. If the light gets a new IP address from your DHCP server, then that may be an issue.

                    Regards,
                    Ultrajones
                    Plug-ins: UltraMon, UltraM1G, UltraCID, Ultra1Wire, UltraLog, UltraWeatherBug, UltraPioneerAVR, UltraGCIR

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by GPrade View Post
                      Thanks for the hint. Although the decoding wasn't quite right, it did give me enough of a hint to solve the first problem - how to relate the serial provided by UL3 to the serial provided by the LIFX app. The serial reported by the LIFX app is directly derived from the MAC address of the bulb and the serial provided by UL3 is the decimal equivalent of the MAC address with the bytes reversed. As an example, the MAC address of one of my bulbs is D0:735:25:CE:24. The serial reported by LIFX is D073 D525 CE24 which really the MAC address still in hex. The serial reported by UL3 is 40467816608720 which converted to hex is 24CE 25D5 73D0 - the MAC address with the bytes reversed.

                      Although that does provide a way to link the UL3 reported serial to the LIFX serial, allowing me to positively link a HS3/UL3 device to a specific bulb, it is much too much work. It should be easier to link a bulb to a device. And it didn't solve the problem of having one bulb completely disappear from UL3.
                      Converting it to a MAC address using vb.net kicked my butt. I raised the white flag and settled on using the numeric value. If you know how to convert that back to the MAC address, then I would love to hear from you.
                      Plug-ins: UltraMon, UltraM1G, UltraCID, Ultra1Wire, UltraLog, UltraWeatherBug, UltraPioneerAVR, UltraGCIR

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Originally posted by GPrade View Post
                        It's now deteriorated a bit. I have not changed any lights, but one has disappeared from UL3. The UL3 status page shows 7 managed lights - which is correct. The device for the "missing" light shows it as Offline and won't respond to On/Off/Dim commands. The various UL3 actions no longer list the missing device as an option when creating an event. The iOS LIFX app still lists the device and can control it as usual.
                        I have not experienced this issue with the 20+ lights I have connected to the plug-in. I am thinking your DHCP server may have issued a different IP address for the LIFX bulb you're not able to control?
                        Plug-ins: UltraMon, UltraM1G, UltraCID, Ultra1Wire, UltraLog, UltraWeatherBug, UltraPioneerAVR, UltraGCIR

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Sorry it took a couple of days to get back to you, but I wanted to try a few things. I disabled the plugin and deleted the hspi devices. I wasn't sure, so I deleted the 3 control devices as well. I then verified all firmware was current and all of the bulbs had the correct names and rooms then re-enabled the plugin. All devices were created correctly, including the name and room, except one. Of course, it wasn't the same one that was problematic before. I then disabled the plugin rebooted the HS3 computer and re-enabled the plugin. No joy - the same bulb failed to be found as before. When I looked at the plugin status page, it showed I had 7 total lights (correct), 3 Color 1000 (I believe I have 2) and 3 A19 (I believe this should be 4). When I look at an event action for the LIFX lights that device is also missing.

                          I'm not sure where to go from here - ideas?

                          Comment


                            #14
                            The LIFX bulbs are found using the LIFX LAN API using a UDP broadcast packet. Can you tell me what the IP address is of the bulb that cannot be discovered by the plug-in?
                            Plug-ins: UltraMon, UltraM1G, UltraCID, Ultra1Wire, UltraLog, UltraWeatherBug, UltraPioneerAVR, UltraGCIR

                            Comment


                              #15
                              My HS3 subnet is 192.168.0/24. My DHCP reserved block is ...100-199. The missing bulb is at ...133.

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