Very Happy With HAI RC-80 Omnistat and Plug-in

[Ultrajones]

I recently purchased the serial RC-80 Single Stage Heat/Cool Thermostat for my new house from Automated Outlet. I am very happy with its performance and the HomeSeer provided plug-in.

I am sure glad I purchased this over the RCS X10 thermostat.

Regards,
Ultrajones

[thymer]

Another happy user here too. I tried the RCS one years ago and didn't like it. The HAI is definately worth running a serial cable for. I like that it displays the outside temp as well from a HS device value.

[Kyham]

Have had great success with the HAI temps

I have 6 in the house for over 6 years and never had a problem. I am currently out of town for 3 months and able to control the settings from here. Have them set down with no-one at home but going to have company and will be able to set the temp a day or so ahead of time to have it ready.

Then turn everything up again until I head back home.

Just changed one of the 80's to a 100 for a new heat pump I installed a couple of weeks ago. Easy upgrade.

[mloebl]

I replaced my RCS X10 with the HAI about a year ago and have been very happy with it. The RCS had this bad habit where it only had I think a 1 degree delta. So the heat or a/c was constantly cycling on/off.

-Mike

[tman1]

Little help Please

Is this stat;

http://www.automatedoutlet.com/produ...cat=184&page=1

one that will work with the HS plug-in.

The info on the website didnt mention serial comm abilities.

Thanks in advance, Terry

[tman1]

Nevermind, I found it on the manufacture's website. Just didnt look hard enough.

Any feedback would still be appreciated though.

[Ultrajones]

Yes, that is the one I have and it works great with the HomeSeer HAI Thermostat plug-in. Wiring the serial port on the PC side is a little tricky though.

[tman1]

Thanks for the reply Ultra, I take it that the serial wires in this model run from the thermo location to the pc location, unlike the RCS serial version that has the remote box for mounting at I believe the furnace location.

Been thinking about a thermostat for a long time and am about to throw the switch on one. The HAI is winning the race so far.

[mnsandler]

the rc80b is awesome

not to jump on the bandwagon, but i just installed an rc80b last weekend, and am very happy with it. the plug-in gives you total control over the stat. no need to touch it physically, after install

the unit itself looks great and gives a lot of info about what the system is doing at a glance.

i used the following adapter to connect the comm wire to the serial port.
http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...uct_id=0216014

l also used radio shack wire 278-870 (all 50ft of 24gauge 4 conductor wire). used the same coloring as the comm pig tail that comes with the stat to make wiring simplier. the pig tail also comes with crimp connectors (so you don't need to buy any)

i can post detailed instructions of how i made the adapter, etc if interested.
note: you will need a common wire if you want the cool-blue back light to work.

[tman1]

Has anyone noticed if the RC80B is picky on usb to serial converters? I have 3 serial devices plugged into a 4-port serial to usb converter that the other devices dont seem to have a problem with. I am hoping the remaining open port on this converter will handle the stat okay.

Any thoughts, the stat is on the way (thanks AO),

Thanks Terry

[TLCNORM]

MNSANDLER,
I would like to see detailed instructions on your hookup. I am about to buy an HAI thermostat for my home. Eventually I will need 4 tstats. I am not that technical so a diagram or write up would be great. BTW how do you hook up 4 serial devices to 1 PC?

[thymer]

Has anyone noticed if the RC80B is picky on usb to serial converters? I have 3 serial devices plugged into a 4-port serial to usb converter that the other devices dont seem to have a problem with. I am hoping the remaining open port on this converter will handle the stat okay.

Any thoughts, the stat is on the way (thanks AO),

Thanks Terry

Can't hurt to try, probably work out OK. I personally don't care for USB in general as I find it not nearly as reliable as a multiport serial card.

[mnsandler]

rc80 cable schematic coming

MNSANDLER,
I would like to see detailed instructions on your hookup. I am not that technical so a diagram or write up would be great. BTW how do you hook up 4 serial devices to 1 PC?

will post a schematic of the rs232 connector i made later. the rs232 plug i used will require you to put it together so you will need to do that much. also crimping a phone connector (rj11) onto the cable you run from the pc to the first stat.

you may want to consider buying a prebuilt rs232 connector (~$12) if you don't want to mess with making it yourself ($2) or don't have the tools.

as for connecting mulitple tstats, my understanding from the install docs is they can all be connected in series with one connection to the pc. since each stat gets an uyique ID, they can all comm on the same wire / rs232 port.

[TLCNORM]

will post a schematic of the rs232 connector i made later. the rs232 plug i used will require you to put it together so you will need to do that much. also crimping a phone connector (rj11) onto the cable you run from the pc to the first stat.

you may want to consider buying a prebuilt rs232 connector (~$12) if you don't want to mess with making it yourself ($2) or don't have the tools.

as for connecting mulitple tstats, my understanding from the install docs is they can all be connected in series with one connection to the pc. since each stat gets an uyique ID, they can all comm on the same wire / rs232 port.

Thanks mnsandler,
I don't want to sound like a complete idiot. I did completely wire my house for alarm, internet, cable and CCTV.......I am just not exactly a programmer and I don't know much about serial protocol on PCs. Pictures would be a plus!

[Rene]

Actually the thermostats are connected in parallel.

Rene