** Insteon Plug-in Beta 1 **
This is the announcement for beta 1 of the full-on Insteon plug-in. SmartHome has released SDM 202 which is stable enough (in limited testing) to release this new beta of the plug-in. The beta will be available in the updater tonight (4/8/06). You MUST install the SDM that comes down with the updater (202 or later) or your remote device's link tables will likely turn into random data.
This is still a beta. The SDM is still in beta. There are still a number of known issues with the SDM that make it a non-release product at this point. Please read these release notes AND the installation instructions before you install and use this plug-in.
1) The name of the plug-in from both a file name AND HomeSeer interface perspective have changed. Please at a minimum disable the "Insteon Basic" plug-in for both X10 and Insteon support. It would be better to disable it, shut down HomeSeer and rename the InsteonBasic.dll file to something like InsteonBasic.dl.old.
2) The configuration file format has changed somewhat. It would be best to start from scratch with the plug-in. If you have many devices you could rename your InsteonBasic.ini file to Insteon.ini, but again there could possibly be problems when doing this.
Ok, lets talk about what works:
1) The SDM programms links correctly about 99% of the time. This isn't perfect but it should not create too much of a problem. Yes we do want 100% but it just isn't there yet. What this means is that the plug-in will take care of programming all the needed links for you when you tell it to. You will not need to tap-link the device into HomeSeer if you know its address.
2) Remote tap-linking works. This means that you just tell the plug-in to go into tap-link mode and it will wait to hear from any unknown devices. You just go to the new device and put it into tap-link mode (generally holding the button/switch down for 3 or 10 seconds depending on the device). The plug-in will identify the device type and add it to the list of devces. The devices will be listed in the order they were added and given a name something like "Tap-added SwitchLinc 600w #1". From there you edit the newly added devices giving them a proper name and location, and telling the plug-in to program the link tables.
3) Stale link detection works. There is an option on the main device screen to update any devices with stale link tables. This option will query each device to see if any manual tap-linking has been done since the last link table download. If there has been any changes they will be downloaded from the switch. Stale link detection takes about 2 seconds per device, and downloading the link tables for stale devices can vary (from about 10 seconds to 3 minutes depending on the number of links.) There is also an option when editing a specific device to see if its link table is up to date. I might be adding some sort of scheduled detect/update later.
4) When the plug-in is allowed to program the needed links then local load control reporting will work. So long as both the sending and receiving device are up to date in the plug-in HomeSeer should follow all load changes immediately. There are two exceptions. The first is for devices that have the ability to change their attached load state from the programming button (lamplincs). Using the programming button never reports the changes. Only polling would be able to detect this. The second exception is for ramped dimming (holding down the paddle / button). The Plug-in knows that a dim has started but it does not know the resulting level, so when this happens a poll for the device is scheduled for 2 seconds after the dimming is stopped. Therefore HomeSeer will not see the new dim level for a few seconds.
5) Basic KeypadLinc support. Right now the plug-in does not detect the type of faceplate and assumes 8 buttons. All buttons are assumed to be toggle buttons. Both of these issues will be addressed in the next major beta update. KeypadLincs are generally usable right now but any events will likely need to be changed later when the final version gets released.
6) Group programming works. Likely this will be the most frustrating area for Insteon automation users (it is for me). All groups in Insteon are local to the controller(s) of the group. Therefore if you have a room full of lights that are all controlled by one button on a ControlLinc, you can not have any other controller (like the plug-in) operate that exact group. All groups must be re-created for each controller (using another link entry in each remote device for each controller). This is a particular issue for virtual three-way switch setups. There is limited address space for each controller. Each Keypadlinc eats up at least 6 addresses. Each group eats up one more. If you have virtual three-way setup you will need to recreate that group in HomeSeer if you want to have all the indicators stay in sync. I'm hoping to have some three-way auto-programming in the next version. Right now you have the ability to create a new group that will appear in the HomeSeer interface as a device. You choose the participants in that group and the plug-in will program all the needed links. Groups can be added/edited/deleted as desired.
Now for what doesn't work:
1) X10 support is still not where it needs to be. There is still no extended X10 command support in the SDM.
** Technical note: Mixed X10 and Insteon environments DO NOT work well unless every device talking X10 is an Insteon capable device (including the computer interface device). This is because X10 and Insteon actually step on each other pretty often. Insteon devices are pretty good at recognizing this fact but non-Insteon devices seem to pound all over Insteon even though the protocol was designed to avoid this problem. Using an interface like a CM11a causes problems if you are also using Insteon. This of course makes the slow and currently limited X10 support in the SDM even more of an issue.
2) The SDM does not crash nearly as often as it did, but it still just "gives up" after a certain amount of traffic on some systems. I have just recently been able to duplicate this problem in a controlled environment so hopefully this will be resolvable. Unfortunately although I can detect this problem in the plug-in I have been unable to completely disconnect and restart the SDM once it gets into this mode. This means that only a HomeSeer (and thus SDM) restart will recover from this.
3) Likely lots more. Since the SDM has only recently become stable for link support there has only been limited testing.
INSTALLATION & USE:
(Assuming that the old InsteonBasic plug-in has been removed from the system per directions above)
This release REQUIRES the use of HomeSeer 2.1.21 or later. Earlier versions of HomeSeer had issues with the web server that will cause the status pages of the plug-in to fail after a period of time.
------ Alternative options for download --------
The 202 version of the SDM can be found here until the updater is updated:
http://theorts.com/sdm/SetupSmarthom...nager3-202.exe
Attached to this post is the new INSTEON.DLL plug-in and associated files. Disable the old InsteonBasic plug-in as described elsewhere in this post and rename the old file as described. Unzip the new files to the HomeSeer 2 directory (make sure the OverWrite option in your unzip program is turned on). Go to step 3.
-----------------------------------------------
1) Download the Insteon plug-in beta from the updater.
2) Follow the prompts/log entries displayed to install the new SmartHome Device Manager (SDM)
3) Start HomeSeer
4) Click the Setup button in the web interface. Select the Interfaces tab.
5) Click on the "Disabled" button in the Insteon row under X10 if you want X10 support. Click on the "Disabled" button in the Insteon row for Insteon support.
6) Click on the Save button at the bottom of the page.
7) Click on the Insteon Configuration button at the top of the page.
8) If you see a warning about a problem finding the SDM or your Insteon controller you need to fix the problem before going to step 9
9) If you had been using an older version of the SDM and you have an internet connection press the Update PLC Firmware button to get the current version of the SALad application (firmware). Wait for it to complete.
10) Click on the Manage Devices button
11) Click the Tap-Add Insteon Devices button
12) Go to each device you want to add and tap-link it to the plug-in (see te documentation for the device, usually hold the button or switch for 3 or ten seconds)
13) For each device you add you should see a listing on the plug-in screen.
14) When done select the Done Tap-Adding devices button
15) Select the Edit Device # button for each device you added and give it a more descriptive name and location.
16) Click the Save Changes button
17) Now select the Program Device Links button for the device
18) Repeat (go to step 12) for each device
This is still a beta. The SDM is still in beta. There are still a number of known issues with the SDM that make it a non-release product at this point. Please read these release notes AND the installation instructions before you install and use this plug-in.
1) The name of the plug-in from both a file name AND HomeSeer interface perspective have changed. Please at a minimum disable the "Insteon Basic" plug-in for both X10 and Insteon support. It would be better to disable it, shut down HomeSeer and rename the InsteonBasic.dll file to something like InsteonBasic.dl.old.
2) The configuration file format has changed somewhat. It would be best to start from scratch with the plug-in. If you have many devices you could rename your InsteonBasic.ini file to Insteon.ini, but again there could possibly be problems when doing this.
Ok, lets talk about what works:
1) The SDM programms links correctly about 99% of the time. This isn't perfect but it should not create too much of a problem. Yes we do want 100% but it just isn't there yet. What this means is that the plug-in will take care of programming all the needed links for you when you tell it to. You will not need to tap-link the device into HomeSeer if you know its address.
2) Remote tap-linking works. This means that you just tell the plug-in to go into tap-link mode and it will wait to hear from any unknown devices. You just go to the new device and put it into tap-link mode (generally holding the button/switch down for 3 or 10 seconds depending on the device). The plug-in will identify the device type and add it to the list of devces. The devices will be listed in the order they were added and given a name something like "Tap-added SwitchLinc 600w #1". From there you edit the newly added devices giving them a proper name and location, and telling the plug-in to program the link tables.
3) Stale link detection works. There is an option on the main device screen to update any devices with stale link tables. This option will query each device to see if any manual tap-linking has been done since the last link table download. If there has been any changes they will be downloaded from the switch. Stale link detection takes about 2 seconds per device, and downloading the link tables for stale devices can vary (from about 10 seconds to 3 minutes depending on the number of links.) There is also an option when editing a specific device to see if its link table is up to date. I might be adding some sort of scheduled detect/update later.
4) When the plug-in is allowed to program the needed links then local load control reporting will work. So long as both the sending and receiving device are up to date in the plug-in HomeSeer should follow all load changes immediately. There are two exceptions. The first is for devices that have the ability to change their attached load state from the programming button (lamplincs). Using the programming button never reports the changes. Only polling would be able to detect this. The second exception is for ramped dimming (holding down the paddle / button). The Plug-in knows that a dim has started but it does not know the resulting level, so when this happens a poll for the device is scheduled for 2 seconds after the dimming is stopped. Therefore HomeSeer will not see the new dim level for a few seconds.
5) Basic KeypadLinc support. Right now the plug-in does not detect the type of faceplate and assumes 8 buttons. All buttons are assumed to be toggle buttons. Both of these issues will be addressed in the next major beta update. KeypadLincs are generally usable right now but any events will likely need to be changed later when the final version gets released.
6) Group programming works. Likely this will be the most frustrating area for Insteon automation users (it is for me). All groups in Insteon are local to the controller(s) of the group. Therefore if you have a room full of lights that are all controlled by one button on a ControlLinc, you can not have any other controller (like the plug-in) operate that exact group. All groups must be re-created for each controller (using another link entry in each remote device for each controller). This is a particular issue for virtual three-way switch setups. There is limited address space for each controller. Each Keypadlinc eats up at least 6 addresses. Each group eats up one more. If you have virtual three-way setup you will need to recreate that group in HomeSeer if you want to have all the indicators stay in sync. I'm hoping to have some three-way auto-programming in the next version. Right now you have the ability to create a new group that will appear in the HomeSeer interface as a device. You choose the participants in that group and the plug-in will program all the needed links. Groups can be added/edited/deleted as desired.
Now for what doesn't work:
1) X10 support is still not where it needs to be. There is still no extended X10 command support in the SDM.
** Technical note: Mixed X10 and Insteon environments DO NOT work well unless every device talking X10 is an Insteon capable device (including the computer interface device). This is because X10 and Insteon actually step on each other pretty often. Insteon devices are pretty good at recognizing this fact but non-Insteon devices seem to pound all over Insteon even though the protocol was designed to avoid this problem. Using an interface like a CM11a causes problems if you are also using Insteon. This of course makes the slow and currently limited X10 support in the SDM even more of an issue.
2) The SDM does not crash nearly as often as it did, but it still just "gives up" after a certain amount of traffic on some systems. I have just recently been able to duplicate this problem in a controlled environment so hopefully this will be resolvable. Unfortunately although I can detect this problem in the plug-in I have been unable to completely disconnect and restart the SDM once it gets into this mode. This means that only a HomeSeer (and thus SDM) restart will recover from this.
3) Likely lots more. Since the SDM has only recently become stable for link support there has only been limited testing.
INSTALLATION & USE:
(Assuming that the old InsteonBasic plug-in has been removed from the system per directions above)
This release REQUIRES the use of HomeSeer 2.1.21 or later. Earlier versions of HomeSeer had issues with the web server that will cause the status pages of the plug-in to fail after a period of time.
------ Alternative options for download --------
The 202 version of the SDM can be found here until the updater is updated:
http://theorts.com/sdm/SetupSmarthom...nager3-202.exe
Attached to this post is the new INSTEON.DLL plug-in and associated files. Disable the old InsteonBasic plug-in as described elsewhere in this post and rename the old file as described. Unzip the new files to the HomeSeer 2 directory (make sure the OverWrite option in your unzip program is turned on). Go to step 3.
-----------------------------------------------
1) Download the Insteon plug-in beta from the updater.
2) Follow the prompts/log entries displayed to install the new SmartHome Device Manager (SDM)
3) Start HomeSeer
4) Click the Setup button in the web interface. Select the Interfaces tab.
5) Click on the "Disabled" button in the Insteon row under X10 if you want X10 support. Click on the "Disabled" button in the Insteon row for Insteon support.
6) Click on the Save button at the bottom of the page.
7) Click on the Insteon Configuration button at the top of the page.
8) If you see a warning about a problem finding the SDM or your Insteon controller you need to fix the problem before going to step 9
9) If you had been using an older version of the SDM and you have an internet connection press the Update PLC Firmware button to get the current version of the SALad application (firmware). Wait for it to complete.
10) Click on the Manage Devices button
11) Click the Tap-Add Insteon Devices button
12) Go to each device you want to add and tap-link it to the plug-in (see te documentation for the device, usually hold the button or switch for 3 or ten seconds)
13) For each device you add you should see a listing on the plug-in screen.
14) When done select the Done Tap-Adding devices button
15) Select the Edit Device # button for each device you added and give it a more descriptive name and location.
16) Click the Save Changes button
17) Now select the Program Device Links button for the device
18) Repeat (go to step 12) for each device
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