Occasional AM Bus Failure

[pcourt]

Through the help of this board, I was able to successful setup a Superbus 2000 Automation module to work with HomeSeer. I used a StarTech RS232 serial to UP converter.

It generally works, but maybe once a week or so, I'll get an AM Bus Failure on the Concord Keypad. When I go to HomeSeer, the Concord PI will say "Connected to Concord4" but when I go to the Control pad and try to use the Virtual Keypad, I will get an error that it's not connected. Usually some combination of plugging and unplugging the StarTech and reconnecting in the PI will fix it. And yes, I have "Start with HS" enabled.

We usually just arm and disarm the keypad manually. My thought is that the AM module may go days without communication from HS and then just drops the connection.

Any ideas? Should I create some kind of recurring event that forces comms between HS and the Concord panel? Is there something else I could try. Any help is appreciated.

[tome10]

I think I used to have this issue and i'd have to disconnect and reconnect in the plugin page. I think my issue was the Odd Parity Bit. It needs to be Odd. I still get this error, but everything seems to work.

May-29 6:09:34 PM CONCORD Error ComRxLineN()-Comm Port IOException(0). Msg=[0322052A]

[concordseer]

Through the help of this board, I was able to successful setup a Superbus 2000 Automation module to work with HomeSeer. I used a StarTech RS232 serial to UP converter.

It generally works, but maybe once a week or so, I'll get an AM Bus Failure on the Concord Keypad. When I go to HomeSeer, the Concord PI will say "Connected to Concord4" but when I go to the Control pad and try to use the Virtual Keypad, I will get an error that it's not connected. Usually some combination of plugging and unplugging the StarTech and reconnecting in the PI will fix it. And yes, I have "Start with HS" enabled.

We usually just arm and disarm the keypad manually. My thought is that the AM module may go days without communication from HS and then just drops the connection.

Any ideas? Should I create some kind of recurring event that forces comms between HS and the Concord panel? Is there something else I could try. Any help is appreciated.

Is your Pi connected wirelessly or through Ethernet.

Usually when you get an AM Bus Failure it's down to a bad serial2usb cable. I've been running this plugin for months without a problem.

The marketplace is awash with counterfeit FTDI and PL2303 serial2usb chipset cables. Google it for your own benefit.

Yes it has been known that the parity has flipped for no reason but from what I've worked out its down to cheap cables.

[pcourt]

Thanks for both these responses.

The module is connected with wired connections. I will try another cable. I also have been using an adapter to get the male / female parts right and I'll order a new cable which does not requre an adapter.

And I did check the parity and it was set to odd.

Thanks again.

[vasrc]

Through the help of this board, I was able to successful setup a Superbus 2000 Automation module to work with HomeSeer. I used a StarTech RS232 serial to UP converter.

It generally works, but maybe once a week or so, I'll get an AM Bus Failure on the Concord Keypad. When I go to HomeSeer, the Concord PI will say "Connected to Concord4" but when I go to the Control pad and try to use the Virtual Keypad, I will get an error that it's not connected. Usually some combination of plugging and unplugging the StarTech and reconnecting in the PI will fix it. And yes, I have "Start with HS" enabled.

We usually just arm and disarm the keypad manually. My thought is that the AM module may go days without communication from HS and then just drops the connection.

Any ideas? Should I create some kind of recurring event that forces comms between HS and the Concord panel? Is there something else I could try. Any help is appreciated.

Any errors in the HS3 or Concord logs?

Z

[concordseer]

Thanks for both these responses.

The module is connected with wired connections. I will try another cable. I also have been using an adapter to get the male / female parts right and I'll order a new cable which does not requre an adapter.

And I did check the parity and it was set to odd.

Thanks again.

The least connectors you have on the cable the better for a clean connection.

Try not buy a cheap serial2usb cable either. PL2303 or FTDI chipsets will do fine but make sure the cable is genuine if possible.

[mattm55]

Thanks for both these responses.

The module is connected with wired connections. I will try another cable. I also have been using an adapter to get the male / female parts right and I'll order a new cable which does not requre an adapter.

And I did check the parity and it was set to odd.

Thanks again.

Keep it as simple as possible > remember it's like trying to stop leaks either using a 100 foot hose or 10-10 foot hoses tied together. Try to keep the connections limited and as simple as possible so you don't introduce disco's, config conflicts, etc. I've had my AM (serial) to Edgeport (serial to usb) to server running for many months w/o issues.

Matt

[pcourt]

The least connectors you have on the cable the better for a clean connection.

Try not buy a cheap serial2usb cable either. PL2303 or FTDI chipsets will do fine but make sure the cable is genuine if possible.

Thanks for the response. I bought a higher quality cable that I would not need an adapter for. We will see if that works.

[pcourt]

Any errors in the HS3 or Concord logs?

Z

Thanks for the response (and the others below). Sorry I am just getting back to you. Two screen shots attached (I don't know if there's an easier way to do that).

It's been solid for three days now. I did create an event that once per day sends a Chime command to the panel. And also I think it just might be related to when my PC restarts. I guess I have to try to remember to manually reconnect. But I'll keep trying to isolate the problem.

[vasrc]

Thanks for the response (and the others below). Sorry I am just getting back to you. Two screen shots attached (I don't know if there's an easier way to do that).

It's been solid for three days now. I did create an event that once per day sends a Chime command to the panel. And also I think it just might be related to when my PC restarts. I guess I have to try to remember to manually reconnect. But I'll keep trying to isolate the problem.

Does looks like a hardware issue. Just wanted to make sure it wasn't a network error like the one error posted earlier.

Also, the Chime command is a toggle, so sending it once turns it on or off. Sending a second time sets it to the opposite state.

BTW, what's with all of the HS3 log errors? That's not good..

Z

[pcourt]

No idea on the logging issues. I do have logging enabled. If I get some time this weekend I'm going to reboot my PC and then pay attention to what happens with HS and the Concord module. That seems to be where the issue is. And I have a better quality cable on the way.

[concordseer]

Those errors look like classic Permissions issues. Your database is locked out of writing and you are getting Network Connection permission refused. Are you running as an administrator of the system.

Don't waste any more of your time until your new cable arrives. I suggest uninstalling and reinstalling the Concord plugin once you have the new cable attached.

It looks like the database was corrupted with all the periods of dropped connection. A fresh start is the way forward

[mattm55]

BTW, what's with all of the HS3 log errors? That's not good..
Z

That could be due to c:/Program Files... , permissions? Windows upgrades on PC. That's why I've installed on Windows 7 at c:/hs3... I think.

[concordseer]

That could be due to c:/Program Files... , permissions? Windows upgrades on PC. That's why I've installed on Windows 7 at c:/hs3... I think.

Or me on a Raspbery Pi. I'd go mad running it on a Windows machine. The Pi is tucked up inside the Concord 4 panel powered from the backup battery via a 12v to 5v buck. A very handy UPS for the Pi in the event of a power outage too.

[pcourt]

Those errors look like classic Permissions issues. Your database is locked out of writing and you are getting Network Connection permission refused. Are you running as an administrator of the system.

Don't waste any more of your time until your new cable arrives. I suggest uninstalling and reinstalling the Concord plugin once you have the new cable attached.

It looks like the database was corrupted with all the periods of dropped connection. A fresh start is the way forward

I think this is the issue. The windows 10 account that I use does have Administrator permissions, but I always like to run HS as an Administrator by right clicking, etc. I don't know if that matters or not if I'm already an Administrator.

Just to be safe I went to my start up folder and made sure HS would run as an Administrator all the time.

Thanks for the response.