ISY 5.0 is *still* in Alpha after 2 years?

Don't want to troll on the ISY forums, but how is it possible that the ISY 5.0 version is still in *Alpha* after 2 years?  I've been waiting on this as I abandoned the other z-Wave controllers, and many zwave modules are not supported by 4.x (namely multi-button scene controllers). For >a year I've been on a travel intensive client, coming to an end within 90-120 days, was looking to get the rest of my setup back working soon. This is longer than I ever conceived as possible.
 
Is anyone else similarly waiting? At least if it was in Beta (although ideally general release) i'd try it out, but no chance am I putting alpha software on a critical component when i'm on the road 4 days/week.
 
I do love the ISY, but this is a painfully long time. 

It is still Alpha.
Right now 5.0.11B
 
I have seen others asking in the UDI Forums but no information on a Beta or Released version.
I have been waiting for a long time myself. The Alert and Siren Modules are still not supported at all and the new Motion Sensor II only the main motion detected commands. No options can be set.

IVB refresh me as to why you abandon using the SmartThings hub? Since we all did it 2 or so years ago v2 hub has been rock solid and has the added benefit that you can add 3rd party Z-wave configs from the community, many of which end up getting picked up by SmartThings...

batwater said:

IVB refresh me as to why you abandon using the SmartThings hub? Since we all did it 2 or so years ago v2 hub has been rock solid and has the added benefit that you can add 3rd party Z-wave configs from the community, many of which end up getting picked up by SmartThings...

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Complete opposite of stability. Somewhere around 30% of the time the zWave device wouldn't respond, and perhaps 50% of the time it would take longer than 5 seconds. Actually in a few of my YouTube videos you can see it not responding. In terms of automation, 5 second latency is the same as not functional/useful.
 
I tried 2 different physical SmartThings in case it was a manufacturing defect but same issues. I gave one away, still have the other one in the apartment I rented next to the travel client but haven't gotten off my ass to set it up since Tasker and IFTTT is working fine.

BLH said:

It is still Alpha.
Right now 5.0.11B
 
I have seen others asking in the UDI Forums but no information on a Beta or Released version.
I have been waiting for a long time myself. The Alert and Siren Modules are still not supported at all and the new Motion Sensor II only the main motion detected commands. No options can be set.

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I saw, I still have probably $600 in controllers that were working fine with that POS known as VRCOP but I physically removed since I couldn't handle the Leviton programming software.
 
I must admit I'm floored that it takes a company this long to take firmware through the SDLC. I realize it's unfair to compare with CQC, but even the Elk doesn't take this long.  

IVB said:

Complete opposite of stability. Somewhere around 30% of the time the zWave device wouldn't respond, and perhaps 50% of the time it would take longer than 5 seconds. Actually in a few of my YouTube videos you can see it not responding. In terms of automation, 5 second latency is the same as not functional/useful.
 
I tried 2 different physical SmartThings in case it was a manufacturing defect but same issues. I gave one away, still have the other one in the apartment I rented next to the travel client but haven't gotten off my ass to set it up since Tasker and IFTTT is working fine.

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Ah, right, I'm only using the ST Hub as a primary controller, no automation. Did you ever remove the "Faraday cage" walls from your home, I remember you were doing a bunch of rehab?  My home's interior construction is wood and standard drywall, not experiencing any interference issues.

IVB said:

I saw, I still have probably $600 in controllers that were working fine with that POS known as VRCOP but I physically removed since I couldn't handle the Leviton programming software.

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I am wondering whether you use ISY as a primary controller with VRC0P.  If so, can you replicate locks (secure devices) from ISY to VRC0P ?
 
I'd happily get rid of VRC0P, but that's the only controller Elk M1 supports.

batwater said:

Ah, right, I'm only using the ST Hub as a primary controller, no automation. Did you ever remove the "Faraday cage" walls from your home, I remember you were doing a bunch of rehab?  My home's interior construction is wood and standard drywall, not experiencing any interference issues.

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Yes, but it didn't seem to help. I still have some plaster/lathe but very little. I did put in acoustic insulation (both batts, vinyl sheathing, in some cases double drywall). The ISY works just fine though.
 

vc1234 said:

I am wondering whether you use ISY as a primary controller with VRC0P.  If so, can you replicate locks (secure devices) from ISY to VRC0P ?
 
I'd happily get rid of VRC0P, but that's the only controller Elk M1 supports.

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I opted to get rid of the VRCOP as I really really really really hate the Leviton programming software. It integrates with the Elk pretty damn well. I believe there are YouTube videos, but I can also record one this weekend if there aren't relevant ones.
 
EDIT: From within ElkRP you don't access the ISY. But the ISY software has tight integration. I put my Elk related lighting rules inside the ISY. Elk rules are only for things fully contained within the Elk.

Here tinkering with: (2 story home 1/2 brick) -
 
1 - VRCOP connected and adjacent to the OmniPro 2 panel in the basement
2 - Samsung Smartthings Hub connected and near the LCD television in family room (and Almond +)
3 - Z-Wave me GPIO card mounted in a RPi2 running Wheezy - using it with Homeseer 3 via sertonet*
 
I have replicated the Z-Wave network to all three (or four) devices  / controllers above and all see all of the nodes being tested.
 
Personally like the Z-Wave dot me GPIO card more than the Z-Wave USB sticks - antenna is larger.
 
Best RF footprint comes from the POE RPi2 / GPIO ZWave card mounted in the attic with midwest type temperature extremes - now utilized for two years.
 
* utilizing sertonet (well and Homeseer) I have tested remote UPB and X10 to work fine this way.  Next testing a Zigbee GPIO for RPi card and maybe one day in the future a combo ZWave and Zigbee GPIO card.
 
With the above mentioned can you POE power the ISY and mount it centrally and high in your home?

IVB said:

I opted to get rid of the VRCOP as I really really really really hate the Leviton programming software.

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I am trying to keep my setup as simple as possible. I already have RRA2 for lighting, but need to automate some outlets which Lutron for some mysterious reason did not/does not bother with, and locks naturally that Lutron will never automate since RRA2 is not a secure protocol. Hence, need for zwave. Adding another controller just to make a couple of outlets and locks work does not appear to make sense in my case, therefore.
 
I was unable to find any controller that could replicate locks to VRC0P: I tried HS2+Aeon zstick, Wink, Smartthings.  That's not terribly surprising given what a terrible protocol zwave is in many respects although it has been improving lately.  The sad thing is, though, that the rest of HA wireless protocols are even worse primarily due to their reliance on the 2.4GHz frequency band. They will never be as good as for example RRA2 in this respect and are worse than even zwave.

pete_c said:

ith the above mentioned can you POE power the ISY and mount it centrally and high in your home?

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Not sure, but I mounted it centrally near an a/c outlet and it works perfectly. The SmartThings in the exact same location would be less than 50% stable.

IVB said:

The SmartThings in the exact same location would be less than 50% stable.

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Gen 1 or Gen 2 ST hub?

Here have regular wood and drywall interior and brick 1st floor and parts of second floor exterior. 
 
I really didn't want the RF to leave the interior of the house. 
 
That said I built berms with electricity at the peripherals of the property (~1 acre) and testing Z-Wave and Zigbee and WAP and X10 and UPB to work fine via powerline and RF.  (each berm had network, low voltage, high voltage connectivity). Ran chases in PVC tubes underground in a spoke manner from the house to the ends of the property probably every 20-30 feet or so.
 
IE: tested irrigation zones and sprinkler heads outside using an old X10 palm pad (using a tablet in the sun is difficult).  I did adjust my cameras with the WAP connected cell phone on a ladder which was still a PITA to do free hand on a ladder up some 20 plus feet.

I installed Zwave door sensors in PVC piping for water proofing on my 3 fence gates.  To reach the periphery devices I needed to install 2 zwave repeaters at either end of the house.  Gate switches have been rock solid for the last 18ish months. I have 9 water leak detectors, 3 zwave that I got on super clearance at Home Depot and a 6 pack of the SmartThings water sensors that are Zigbee.  I don't have a cutoff valve installed yet on the water main, may or may not do that in current home as we're only planning on being here another 2 years or so.  Water sensor did however save the day when my niece, who was house sitting, broke a toilet tank seal in the basement by using the tank as a backrest (really who does that!?!?!?) and did not realize that there was water leaking, got the alert and was able to call and reach her to turn the valve off.  That one avoidance incident alone paid for all of the sensors and the ST hub and then some. 

Yes here while wireless works am still in analog mode for stuff like water leak sensors, water shutoffs, driveway sensors, garage sensors, walk sensors, et al.  That is me and my use of the OmniPro 2 panel.
 
That said seen the neighbors kids flood the second floor bathrooms and destroying the ceilings on the main floor of the home causing thousands of dollars in damage to ceilings and wood (real wood) floors.  Not sure if a sensor would have triggered an alert fast enough to stop the flooding of the bathrooms.  Here redid the laundry room floor on the main floor of the home.  I put a cement fiberboard base and drain underlayment, tiled it and sealed the trim to hold up to about 3 inches of water should the drain not work.  One day the drainage tube near the pump of the washer failed and flooded the laundry room.  No sensor nor shutoff would have fixed this.  I had to rip apart the machine and install a new drain tube on a Sunday morning one day for my wife to be able to utilize the washing machine.
 
Another neighbor installed a booster water pump to increase his water pressure from about 20lbs to 90lbs.  New subdivision of 100 homes with ill conceived infrastructure planning.  What a joke.
 
Big mistake there as much of the plumbing in his house failed due to the increase in water pressure.