Thermostat Plugin with Hub 2

[automateme]

Nathan,

I was following your posts over on Mark's Insteon Plugin thread related to testing with the Hub 2. As I mentioned there, I also took the plunge. It appeared that everything worked with the exception of 1 of my 3 Tstats did not come up successfully. The other 2 worked right away after restarting the plugin to pickup the new Interface ID and updating the Tstat links. For the one Tstat that didn't work, I had to delete it from the plugin, reset the 2441V to factory and add it back in. From that point, it worked fine.

I am doing some troubleshooting with Mark, and he sent me a new version to test. As soon as I restarted HS3 with the new Insteon Plugin version, that same Tstat won't come up again. It appears that I will have to remove, reset and re-add again. There is no devcat information for that Tsta and many of these errors:


Dec-22 9:46:16 AM Insteon Thermostat Error Post-startup timer to check for thermostat DEVCAT: Upstairs still missing DEVCAT after 13 run(s). Requesting protocol again.
Dec-22 9:44:16 AM Insteon Thermostat Error Post-startup timer to check for thermostat DEVCAT: Upstairs still missing DEVCAT after 12 run(s). Requesting protocol again.

I'm not sure why 2 work fine and one always fails. Is there anything that I can try?

[nfrobertson]

Of the 5 thermostats I have on my test system, I did have that problem with one of my 2441zth (wireless using apple cube 5v power supply) which is way out in the garage when the rest of the test system is here in my office. Basically, it seems commands were sent but no replies were coming back. A delete and add back and all commands were then responded to. Unfortunately I have no idea why that worked as a new add instead of accepting the rewrite links commands. The other 4 thermostats accepted the swap from PLM to Hub2 once I used the rewrite links. They are all very close to the Hub2 however. I may rework this and position my test thermostats around the house in a more realistic setup and try again but that will have to wait probably until New Years as we have family events through the next week.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Nathan

[automateme]

Of the 5 thermostats I have on my test system, I did have that problem with one of my 2441zth (wireless using apple cube 5v power supply) which is way out in the garage when the rest of the test system is here in my office. Basically, it seems commands were sent but no replies were coming back. A delete and add back and all commands were then responded to. Unfortunately I have no idea why that worked as a new add instead of accepting the rewrite links commands. The other 4 thermostats accepted the swap from PLM to Hub2 once I used the rewrite links. They are all very close to the Hub2 however. I may rework this and position my test thermostats around the house in a more realistic setup and try again but that will have to wait probably until New Years as we have family events through the next week.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Nathan

Thanks Nathan. This 2441V is upstairs, and a bit of a distance from the Hub2, but I have an Access Point about 10ft from it. All of my other upstairs devices are working fine with the Hub2 now. Let me know when you have time and want to try and work through this. It is not critical right now, as I can delete and re-add if I have to restart HS3 or reboot the server. I may just leave that Tstat disconnected from HS3 until after the holidays. Enjoy your family time.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

[automateme]

Nathan, did you have a chance to revisit the multi-thermostat missing Devcat issue with the Hub2? I had to reboot my HS3 box to apply Windows patches, and the 3rd Tstat is missing Devcat again. I will delete and add back in again as a workaround.

Is there any way to specify the devcat for a known device so the plugin doesn't have to check for it?

[nfrobertson]

I'm sorry John, I haven't had a chance to do additional testing with the Hub2. I will let you know here when I do.

Nathan

[automateme]

I'm sorry John, I haven't had a chance to do additional testing with the Hub2. I will let you know here when I do.

Nathan

No worries Nathan. Let me know when you get a chance. BTW, is there a possibility of setting the devcat rather than having the plugin check for it? I don't know if it makes sense to do that.

[nfrobertson]

Hello John,

Per our previous thread conversation, I'd like to suggest you take a look at the Sticky post I just submitted about plugin v3.0.4.5. I've added the ability to save the DEVCAT, Firmware and Protocol to the INI file so that this doesn't have to be requested at plugin startup. This may help with your multiple thermostats.

Right now this is only available via the updater_override.txt method as I haven't released it for general use. I will release it after it's had some time to be field tested as well as further testing that I'm doing with it.

Also, I'm using a Hub2 as my primary test system interface with decent luck. I have seen the issue with polling DEVCAT at start up still - even with a wireless sh2441zth (plugged into power) that was sitting right next to the hub. It would work and occasionally not work across test runs. After adding the save of DEVCAT, Firmware and Protocol so that I didn't have to query them again at startup I seem to be having more consisting results with it.

Nathan

[automateme]

Hi Nathan,

Thanks for the reply. I have actually gone a different direction with my Tstats and implemented an Ecobee3 to test. Assuming it continues to work well with HS3 and the Echo, I will no longer use the Insteon Adapters and Venstar Tstats. I will continue to monitor this forum and reach out if my plans change. Thanks again for your great plugin, it worked really well for me in HS3. My wife has gotten so into the Echo since I set it up, she wants to tell the house what to do for everything now .

[nfrobertson]

I wish you the best on that route. I only recently ordered my Amazon Echo as I've been getting a few questions. Will be interesting to see what I can do with it.

Nathan

[automateme]

I wish you the best on that route. I only recently ordered my Amazon Echo as I've been getting a few questions. Will be interesting to see what I can do with it.

Nathan

Echo has been a great enhancement, and has finally opened up voice controlled automation for us - lighting, HVAC, irrigation, music directly on the Echo plus HS3 devices/events through the skill. My wife loves it for her cooking stuff, weather, news, etc. I think that you are really going to enjoy it when it arrives.