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    Zee?

    I know the Zee is limited from a plugin standpoint, but is there any way to run this from a Zee?

    David

    #2
    While I'm at it......I assume this will control devices that don't support Scene profiles? This is the problem I'm trying to solve (and on a Zee)........

    Comment


      #3
      Hi David,

      I have not tested on Zee, but the plugin does run on Linux, so I assume it would work on the Zee S2.

      This plugin simply controls other HS devices, no matter what the underlying technology. It is not related to Zwave at all.

      Mike

      Comment


        #4
        I have a Zee, not a Zee 2. I can't figure out how to install new plugins, or if it is even possible. I'm supposed to be able to have 5 plugins of my choice, but there seems to be no way to get rid of an unused one and replace it with another.

        I did some testing tonight. I have a trial version of HS3 installed, and can switch the Z-Net back and forth. I have SceneMaster installed.

        I should also give you the context. I have a HS3 on PC with Z-Net at home. I started with a Zee/Z-Stick. From the experience I have started installing Z-Wave switches to control the lighting at church, and there I have a Zee/Z-Net (upgraded from Z-Stick). I've tried scenes, but the switches that I installed, somewhat by necessity, don't support scenes. So far, I've been setting the dim programming on each individual switch, and have to modify it for everything I want to do (latest was Christmas Eve service). So I've been looking for a better solution.

        On feature that SceneMaster appears to be missing is dimming up, specifically with the animated dimming. It's a little misleading that the options are in the order of 0 to 100, but that is for going down, not up. I programmed an animated scene, thinking it would go from off to on over 10 seconds, but it of course did nothing.

        My switches are still set with changed dimming rates. SceneMaster doesn't seem to get around that. If I'm at 100% it takes 30-45 seconds for the lights to go off. I had hoped that SceneMaster had a way to get around that. I need to reset all the switches to go off almost immediately, I think, to get this to work right. (In case you are interested, they were set to dim from 30% to off over 10 seconds.....so 100% to off is now 3x+ that long.)

        Are the advanced dimming controls saved for a device? What I mean is, if I set up a control for a switch in one profile, if I add another profile, will it still be there? If I add another scene? I played with those, but misunderstood them, so need to try again. I put something like 1,2,3,4,6,10,20,33,44,66,99 in and it just went back to what it was. I now know I needed something like 1,2,3,4,4,6,6,6,6,10,10,.... with 101 values. The LED lights I have do very little dimming near 100 and dim very quickly near 0.

        Any other advice? Any chance to at least get ramping up as a feature? I think I'd need that before I made the move to running HS3 on a PC so that I can run this plugin. Any advice on the switch programmed rates?

        David

        Comment


          #5
          Short answer -- the original Zee does not support plug-ins.

          Comment


            #6
            I'd hoped MikeMack would have addressed the other issues by now. If I don't hear soon, I'll create a new post with my additional questions.

            But, an update.....

            I had some time to work on this again. I set all my switches to 1 step, 10 ms (default is 3 - 30 ms, but some of my lights are slow using that rate).

            I now have animated dimming that dims on the way UP. The parameters are finicky, though. If I try to go slower, the lights just stop midway at some point and never make it to max. Now, though, I don't dim down - that was an artifact of the switch settings.

            So, now the question is, how do I get the lights to dim from 100% to 0%, for example, and control the rate?

            What I'd really like to do is set up several profiles, and have the animated dimming go from one profile to the next over a set amount of time, and have it figure out what the rate should be (and use the user defined dimming curves). Yeah, that's a lot to ask, but it's what I really need......

            David

            Comment


              #7
              Hi David,


              I have been working on a rather large update that I think will satisfy your needs. Basically I am adding the notion of a 'transition profile', where you can define an order, ramp rate, delays, etc. when a scene [which, by the way I think should be renamed to something like 'device group'] transitions from one state to another. You will be able to set a different transition profile for each profile change combination. With this, you would just activate the new profile and not use the animated dim function.

              I am not sure of the exact timing yet, but I think I should be able to get it done in the next few weeks.

              Mike

              Comment


                #8
                Mike -

                This sounds good! Let me know if you want anything tested (I'm a software eng by profession).

                I agree an changing the use of "scene". The profiles are really the equivalent of a scene, and the current use of scene is really a group of devices.

                I don't want to read too much into your description, but I would want the flexibility to go between the various profiles without an order, though transitions could be defined with various orders, I suppose.

                My main concern is, I don't want to have to know the current state of things in order to transition to a new profile. I might have one light that has been changed manually, for example, and want it to act smoothly to the next profile.

                In reality, here is what I have to do with the events.......I set up an event for every "scene" I'm going to need for a program. Since this is cumbersome, I limit this, but the last major one I had used 8 events (mainly because of having to know where I was coming from, and thus events are not very reuseable). I then trigger the events from PowerPoint using JSON to correspond with the slides. Worked quite slick, but not very reusable.

                With SceneMaster I would hope to have a set of profiles for reuse and add to the set as needed. I usually have a starting point, usually all on for day time, but all 30% for evening use. I have some circuits that I might dim at the start as at least one spot glares off the TV screen and needs to start at 30%. Then I control the lights at various points in the program. For Christmas Eve, for example, a 10 second dim to off during candlelighting is the effect I want, the a slow rise to 10% for exit lighting after the candlelighting is over. If I had more control, I could even dim the house lights for the sermon on Sunday mornings, then bring them back up afterwards. I'd want both of these transitions to be slow and unnoticeable.

                I see today that HS3 is 25% off, so I might have to spring for it. I don't think it will get any cheaper until the end of the year, and I need this working before Easter.

                David

                Comment


                  #9
                  Hi David,

                  I think what I am working on will do what you want - I'll keep you updated on any testing, and thanks for the offer :-)..

                  Mike

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Any update on this??

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Hi David,

                      It is still a work in progress; unfortunately I have not had too much time to devote to working on it. I will update again in a few weeks

                      Best Regards,
                      Mike

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Any progress on the update? I'm back to a state where I need this feature again. I've moved HS3 to a different server, and essentially have to start over again. I've also added some LIFx bulbs, which behave very nicely, and need/want my other LED lights to behave the same way.

                        Again, what I'm looking for is control to dim up AND down in a nice controlled fashion for a group of LED lights.

                        David

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