PHLocation V1 Plug-In [No Longer in Development - See PHLocation2]

[randy]

Randy, Thanxs for polling tutorial it really helps. I'm assuming that the forced update is of the "iCloud iAccount [491] Interval" device which has several control values; Pause, 1-60 minutes and Default. I'm assuming that Default is 10 minutes.

Re-Digesting your post, I believe you have the following as events, if you would be so kind to review and advise.

Event #1 - Trigger exit a GeoFency known location, Action set the refresh rate to 1 minute
Event #2 - Trigger exit a GeoFency known location and after 30 minutes, Action set refresh rate to 5 minutes
Event #3 - Trigger enter a known GeoFency location, Action set refresh rate to 30 minutes
Event #4 - Trigger battery level is below 70%, Action set refresh rate to 5 minutes (regardless of other conditions)
Event #5 - Trigger battery level is below 50%, Action set refresh rate to 15 minutes, unless in a known GeoFency location then set refresh rate to 30 minutes
Event #6 - Trigger battery level is below 25%, Action set refresh rate to Pause
Event #7 - Trigger If more than 25 miles from GeoFency Inner circle and on Battery, Action set refresh rate to 15 minutes
Event #8 - Trigger If more than 25 miles from GeoFency Inner circle and either charging or battery is at 100% , Action set refresh rate to 5 minutes

The Yes, with 2 corrections. The Forced update is a function of the root device for iCloud, it is not on the interval child. You cannot determine 25 miles from a GeoFency inner circle, you will need a fence in FollowMee with the same coordinates. The only way to determine distances is with a position based application. A geofence is either near or not.

I don't remember if FollowMee provides battery level.

[MNB]

Looking at my iPhone battery consumption today it seemed to be consumed at a greater rate than normal (Ok you told me so!) albeit my granddaughter was play games on it also. I think I'm going to make a command decision and jump into the "deep end of the pool" and ditch Followmee/Ping and use the iCloud approach. Also Followmee does not register battery levels.

Thanxs for reviewing my regurgitation of your logic, thinking a little more about it I believe I can combine groups of triggers that set polling refresh to; 5 minutes, and the same with 15 and 30 minutes by using "Or If" Trigger functions which would reduce the number of events down to five instead of eight. Did I missing anything?

As to your 25 miles guidance, I thought I could create a 25 fence in GeoFency which is similar to my current Inner (Home - few thousand feet) and Outer (Home - 2 miles away)? Now that I got rid of Followee I would use the iPhone position via "Mike's iPhone Home St Line Dist" one of the devices created from "Known Places"?

Found it interesting that when I create an event action using the root device for iCloud, the forced update value only presents a string value field unlike the child that had a drop down selection. String Value only updates the far left status part of the of the device and does not update the actual forced update value what am I missing?

Dumb question what is the difference between the root device which has "forced Update" and the Interval device which has "Control" buttons options? When updating the dropdown in the root device and doing the 'forced Update I've confirmed that the Interval device changes to reflect the same.

I do thank-you for taking the time as this is for me a new and complex issue. Mike

[randy]

Looking at my iPhone battery consumption today it seemed to be consumed at a greater rate than normal (Ok you told me so!) albeit my granddaughter was play games on it also. I think I'm going to make a command decision and jump into the "deep end of the pool" and ditch Followmee/Ping and use the iCloud approach. Also Followmee does not register battery levels.

Thanxs for reviewing my regurgitation of your logic, thinking a little more about it I believe I can combine groups of triggers that set polling refresh to; 5 minutes, and the same with 15 and 30 minutes by using "Or If" Trigger functions which would reduce the number of events down to five instead of eight. Did I missing anything?

As to your 25 miles guidance, I thought I could create a 25 fence in GeoFency which is similar to my current Inner (Home - few thousand feet) and Outer (Home - 2 miles away)? Now that I got rid of Followee I would use the iPhone position via "Mike's iPhone Home St Line Dist" one of the devices created from "Known Places"?

Found it interesting that when I create an event action using the root device for iCloud, the forced update value only presents a string value field unlike the child that had a drop down selection. String Value only updates the far left status part of the of the device and does not update the actual forced update value what am I missing?

Dumb question what is the difference between the root device which has "forced Update" and the Interval device which has "Control" buttons options? When updating the dropdown in the root device and doing the 'forced Update I've confirmed that the Interval device changes to reflect the same.

I do thank-you for taking the time as this is for me a new and complex issue. Mike

On our iPhone 6 phones, FollowMee at a 2 minute interval could practically kill the battery by the end of the day. The 6 plus was marginally better. With our 7 plus phones and iCloud positioning, we rarely have less than 75% battery at the end of the day.

Your statement confuses me. I don't know what you mean when you say "the forced update value only presents a string value field".
The root device is the only device where you can initiate a forced update and the only choice for that action should be Forced Update.



That function causes an instant poll to be initiated. If an automatic poll is taking place the force request will be ignored and logged as such.

The interval device is not changed by initiating a forced update. It only has Pause, Time Settings and Default as choices.



If you are seeing something different than this, please post screenshots.

Geofency offers a maximum radius of 15000 meters. If you want to control polling you must be using iCloud. Using a condition of the straight line distance to your Home location is greater than 25 miles would be a better choice.

[MNB]

Randy thanks for the comeback and pics (worth a thousand words).

Your statement confuses me. I don't know what you mean when you say "the forced update value only presents a string value field".
The root device is the only device where you can initiate a forced update and the only choice for that action should be Forced Update.

I'm easily confused.. If you look at your root device picture the only drop down option is "Forced Update" and then directly below that drop down the only field to enter any value is the String Value Field" my misunderstanding is that I though that the root device would also have a drop down similar as the Child Interval device where I can change the polling interval. So to clarify I believe the sequence is that; if I want to change the polling interval that I have to first do it on the Interval device (child) via the drop down of Pause, 1-60 minutes which changes the polling interval value and then do a "Forced Update" on the root to implement?

If you are seeing something different than this, please post screenshots.

I agree with your screenshots, I too have the same. I believe as an attempted to explain the above sequence of actions that I was trying to get clarified. From an earlier post it seemed like I was going to change the polling interval and do a forced update on the root device only, I now believe that it is a two step process; Step 1: Change Interval device value from drop down to what ever value your changing to, Step 2: On the root device select "Forced Update" from drop down. (do agree or am I still confused?)

Geofency offers a maximum radius of 15000 meters. If you want to control polling you must be using iCloud. Using a condition of the straight line distance to your Home location is greater than 25 miles would be a better choice.

Agree with using Straight line distance, I would have found out quickly that Geofency limit is 15,000 meters (45,000 feet or 8.5 miles).

Looking at your screen shots I noticed that both events are manual which are being called out by other events? Mike

[randy]

Randy thanks for the comeback and pics (worth a thousand words).



I'm easily confused.. If you look at your root device picture the only drop down option is "Forced Update" and then directly below that drop down the only field to enter any value is the String Value Field" my misunderstanding is that I though that the root device would also have a drop down similar as the Child Interval device where I can change the polling interval. So to clarify I believe the sequence is that; if I want to change the polling interval that I have to first do it on the Interval device (child) via the drop down of Pause, 1-60 minutes which changes the polling interval value and then do a "Forced Update" on the root to implement?



I agree with your screenshots, I too have the same. I believe as an attempted to explain the above sequence of actions that I was trying to get clarified. From an earlier post it seemed like I was going to change the polling interval and do a forced update on the root device, I now believe that it is a two step process; Step 1: Change Interval device value from drop down to what ever value your changing, Step 2: On the root device select "Forced Update" from drop down. (do agree or am I still confused?)

Agree with using Straight line distance, I would have found out quickly that Geofency limit is 15,000 meters (45,000 feet or 8.5 miles).

Looking at your screen shots I noticed that both events are manual which are being called out by other events? Mike

I think your confusion might be more in HS terminology than in PHLocation. You might read this thread. While it applies to Virtual Devices, all devices in HomeSeer are virtual devices, the ones owned by a plug-in are connected to real devices or functions. All devices you see in HomeSeer are the same, under the hood they are connected to physical devices or plug-in functions by a plug-in. A Z-Wave light switch in the Device Manager tells the Z-Wave plug-in to control the light, then the light switch reports to the plug-in a change of status, then the plug-in reports the status of the light back to the HomeSeer device.

A HomeSeer device (both virtual and owned by a plug-in) has three fields:

• Value is a numeric value. it is what is used for comparison in event Triggers, Conditions and Actions.
• Status is a "friendly" name attached to a value. It is used to more accurately show the status of a device and an easier way to pick a numeric value in an event. A status is related to a value as defined in the Status Graphics tab. If a Status is defined by a value, they are interchangeable.
• String is only text and cannot be used in events. In a device displayed in the Device Manager, the Status Text will show, unless a String is assigned. When you control a device through an action, you have the option to set a String to a device, which will display in the Device Manager, but has no bearing on events whatsoever. It is best to not set a string value, unless it is something you want to display on the device that has nothing to do with events. Until you find a specific need to display a string separate from value and status, I would not mess with the string value.

[MNB]

Randy, Thanxs for there steer to virtual devices tutorial, I've used this before to set-up other virtual devices and it is a good source of information.

My confusion is how does one process wise actually change iCloud Polling intervals?

I thought that the new polling interval setting was supposed to be entered via the iCloud root device, but when used within an Event Action only "Forced Update" is available. To add further confusion within the root device in the PHLocation (tab) > there is a dropdown for "Default Refresh Rate" one can select one of many options; Off, 1-60 minutes), which is not accessible via an Event Action.

Reading much earlier related posts the above assumption of using the root device to set new polling interval settings is incorrect and the new Polling interval setting is actual done within the iPhone Interval device (child) via the Control button that one can select one of many options; Pause. 1-60 minutes). Can you confirm?

[randy]

Randy, Thanxs for there steer to virtual devices tutorial, I've used this before to set-up other virtual devices and it is a good source of information.

My confusion is how does one process wise actually change iCloud Polling intervals?

I thought that the new polling interval setting was supposed to be entered via the iCloud root device, but when used within an Event Action only "Forced Update" is available. To add further confusion within the root device in the PHLocation (tab) > there is a dropdown for "Default Refresh Rate" one can select one of many options; Off, 1-60 minutes), which is not accessible via an Event Action.

Reading much earlier related posts the above assumption of using the root device to set new polling interval settings is incorrect and the new Polling interval setting is actual done within the iPhone Interval device (child) via the Control button that one can select one of many options; Pause. 1-60 minutes). Can you confirm?

The Default rate on the PHLocation tab is the rate at which iCloud polling takes place when the plug-in starts. The Interval child can override this default rate for as long as the plug-in is running. If you restart the plug-in or HomeSeer, it will revert to this default. If you choose default on the Interval child, it will revert to the default rate you set in the root on that tab. I set mine to 10 minutes and leave it there so it will always poll at 10 minutes, unless I override it with events. You should only need to set this default rate once and forget it. You can then manipulate the interval with the interval child with events or use the action Force Update to force an instant poll, regardless of the interval setting.

Default is the basic rhythm of polling. You cannot set this within an event.
Interval can be used to override the default or return to it. It will not change the Default rate.
Force Update tells the plug-in to contact iCloud right now for a location. It will have no effect on polling interval. A forced update will be ignored if it is coincidental with a normal poll via interval.

I use Force Update when entering or leaving a GeoFency fence, so that I don't have to wait for the polling interval to lapse before the phone shows its current location.

[MNB]

Hallelujah!! I'm finally seeing the iCloud polling rate light Thank-you Randy for putting up with me and my confusion, I felt we were talking past each other on a few points but perseverance finally got us there. I will go away and attempt to put some working events together. Mike

[MNB]

Update #2 to reflect latest

Ok Randy, I went away and created the following based on our previous event logic discussion (see below), would be so kind to review and advise as it would be greatly appreciated. Note I originally created a "Trigger battery level is below 70%" but realized that event 8 actually covers 51%-100% on battery. Mike

Event #1 - Trigger: exit a GeoFency known location, Action: set the refresh rate to 1 minute
Event #2 - Trigger: exit a GeoFency known location and after 30 minutes, Action: set refresh rate to 5 minutes
Event #3 - Trigger: enter a known GeoFency location, Action: set refresh rate to 30 minutes
Event #4 - Trigger: battery level is below 70%, Action: set refresh rate to 5 minutes (regardless of other conditions)
Event #5 - Trigger: battery level is below 50%, Action: set refresh rate to 15 minutes, unless in a known GeoFency location then set refresh rate to 30 minutes
Event #6 - Trigger: battery level is below 25%, Action: set refresh rate to Pause
Event #7 - Trigger: If more than 25 miles from GeoFency Inner circle and on Battery, Action: set refresh rate to 15 minutes
Event #8 - Trigger: If more than 25 miles from GeoFency Inner circle and either charging or battery is at 100% , Action: set refresh rate to 5 minutes

[MNB]

Randy, have you had a chance to review post #1479 ?

• Question did we address the change in polling intervals as you laid out?
• Relooking at the various events I believe I should eliminate all of the "Manual" Interval change command events and simply
  incorporate their actions into the first five events, your thoughts?
• I did not address "Forced Update" (Solved OBE see post #1491) or "default" polling interval, could use you guidance as to where and when

As I look at this through the various "all things GeoFence" threads I do not see one example (screen shots) other than various discussions. I would like to have a working example available for others that might travel this less traveled road as it is not a simple concept nor implementation, I'm hoping through your tutelage that I might be able to put something useful and working together as you've already solved this problem and have a lot of insight to offer, Mike

[MNB]

I use Force Update when entering or leaving a GeoFency fence, so that I don't have to wait for the polling interval to lapse before the phone shows its current location.

I believe the following event should addresses "Forced Update" can you confirm?

UPDATE: I've confirm that it works. Did some research else where with another app (iPhone for Vera) which does a "Forced Update" twice within a 4 second interval to ensure location accuracy. I did not setup my event necessarily for a 4 second interval but I do two separte "Forced Update's" when entering a Known Fence (Near) and exiting the known Fence (Not Near).

[Timon]

I'm running a HS3 ZEE S2 Edition 3.0.0.357 and would like to know where to get PHLocation if it runs on the ZEE S2. Also, where is the documentation located?

With 52 pages in this thread I'd really rather not run through all of it unless I need to figure out what's not working.

Suggestion, put links for everything in the first post of the Release Notes thread.

[sooty]

I'm running a HS3 ZEE S2 Edition 3.0.0.357 and would like to know where to get PHLocation if it runs on the ZEE S2. Also, where is the documentation located?

With 52 pages in this thread I'd really rather not run through all of it unless I need to figure out what's not working.

Suggestion, put links for everything in the first post of the Release Notes thread.

Not 100% sure on the Zee S2. I don't have one to test but the plug-in is tested under Linux using the latest Lubuntu build.

Post #1 of this thread has the download link. The documentation is also there.

I did contact HST some time ago about getting the plug-in in the updater but never heard back. I'll try them again.

Paul..

[The Profit]

I am using the USB plug-in Radius Network Rad beacons which are great. Using them in my cars (like Randy) with GeoFency and PHL

[The Profit]

I bought these ones (iBKS 105 and USB) and just started messing with them over Christmas. So far I've been happy with them and they are easy to configure through their app.

Cheers
Al