Premise Cheap Edgeport/8 USB to 8 DB-9 RS232 Ports $39 shipped

[etc6849]

I'm posting this mainly for new folks like myself, but experienced folks, please feel free to comment.

Anyone using this animal for Premise? I think 123 recommended one to me in the past and I just received one from ebay. It's a great unit and cheap too with free shipping!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=190363181433

If the ad is expired, just search Edgeport/8 on ebay. Tons of sellers with surplus units. The unit will likely say "Inside Out" or "Digi" on it. I believe the Inside Out units are the same as the Digi units. The one I received is branded "Inside Out Networks" on the front.

Main specs:
Edgeport/8, 8-Port USB to Serial converter box. Converter box only does not include any cables. Requires a USB A/B male/male connector (same cable that most printers use). I like this device because it has physical DB9 ports instead of the RJ45 10 pin ports on the Digi Etherlite 2/4/8/16 port devices. It also does not require the Digi Realport driver like the Etherlite series.

Disclaimer: I'm not affiliated with the seller. There are other cheaper ebay posts, but this was the best deal for me based on the free shipping. I didn't use the drivers from Digi's site, but I'd assume they'd work. I am using the drivers Windows 7 downloaded and installed automatically from windows update.

 

[sic0048]

You can get 2 for $$35.00 from this EBay seller. Just something I found while searching.

I've used a couple of Edgeport 416 serial/usb boxes before and they work great. They are the main serial ports for both my CQC system and my parent's CQC system.

 

[etc6849]

That's an even better deal! Too bad I ordered mine before this was posted Great find!

 

[123]

Dang! That's a great price. I paid a great deal more for the one I have.

I've encountered only one device that failed to work properly with the Edgeport and that was an RS232-to-RS485 converter. I believe the Edgeport does not provide the full +/- 12V needed for RS-485. Other than that, it is a great device. Highly recommended ... and at this price it's a must-buy.

 

[JeffCharger]

these are great devices.... I already have one in storage.... but someone should snatch this up!

 

[drozwood90]

Any good prices on an ethernet enabled version of that?

I don't know what the part number is...if anyone has one??

--Dan

 

[sic0048]

For Digi, I think that model line is called the "Etherlite" line. Quick EBay Search.

 

[drozwood90]

Thanks Sic...

Wow...they cost quite a bit!

Funny, the "resold" 16 port is 1/10 the cost of a 2 port "new"

--Dan

 

[etc6849]

I was thinking the Etherlite models were portservers that work over ethernet (similar to the Digi Portserver line). I've never used the Etherlite products, will they also work with Realport (port emulation software)? I've used two Digi Portserver products from ebay: Portserver/8 and a Portserver TS 4 MEI. Both work good, except that the X10 MR26a transceiver doesn't like the TS 4 MEI. Using the free Realport software, you can emulate com ports on any PC so that the Portserver's ports appear to be local serial ports. This method seems to work fine with Premise.

However, the Portserver TS 4 MEI has an issue with the X10 MR26a transceiver to where it causes port resets (could be a voltage supply issue?). I've eliminated the TS 4 MEI because of this and the fact that an Edgeport works just fine since my PC is already in the same rack as most of my equipement. The Portserver 8 has always worked with everything I've hooked it too, but you have to initially telnet into it to set it up for Realport use.

For Digi, I think that model line is called the "Etherlite" line. Quick EBay Search.

 

[sic0048]

I was thinking the Etherlite models were portservers that work over ethernet (similar to the Digi Portserver line).

That is my understanding of them as well, but I haven't used them either. I use the Edgeport models which are USB serial port servers. Since my unit is next to my computer, there is no need for a network connection.

Here is a blurb from the Digi site:

The EtherLite family of network serial concentrators adds serial ports to an Ethernet network, eliminating the installation of serial adapters inside servers.

 

[AnotherOne]

Thanks for the info about Edgeport/8's. I picked up one and have to say it's already paid for itself :huh:

I've been trying to decide whether to buy something like a global cache, but with the edgeport plus an IRA-3 and a URC RF-200, and a few hundred lines of python I can control, via RS-232, my home theater and my lights and the ELK from my RF20. And I was able to save the cost of another serial port on the ELK since I can direct commands coming from the ELK to the appropriate port. So I have a serial line from the projector, OPPO blue ray, parasound, the elk, lighting control system, and the IRA-3 all going to the Edgeport/8.

The only thing I wasn't able to do is work around a bug in the ELK serial port handling. If you turn on the global to send output events over the com0 (ethernet in my case), the ELK also sends output events over COM1 (serial port1). No problem now, since I have the edgeport between the elk and the other devices, I can just intercept the bogus ELK output messages and drop them on the floor. But the ELK is not sending commands to serial port1 all the time when you sent change an OUTPUT state in the rules.

For example,

Whenever front-door becomes violated
and ouput 20 is on
then send "turn on outside lights" out serial port 1
and turn on output 21 for 5 minutes

I'll see the output 21 message, but sometimes I won't see the "turn on outside lights" message. But turning off the global to send output events fixes the problem. Just means the M1 interface to the PC app doesn't see outputs

 

[etc6849]

I don't own an ELK M1 However, 123 does and he posted a very nice driver for it if you want to try Motorola Premise

 

[pete_c]

I purchased the two for $35 mentioned earlier. These were spares. I've been using two 8 port's now for about 3-4 years with my Homeseer setup. I've gone beyond the 16 ports and now going to a 16 port Digi box. Never had a problem with these. Its nice to be able to connect HA box to only two USB cables for 16 plus serial / USB connections. (HAI Omni Pro serial connection is also on one of the Digi boxes).

 

[AnotherOne]

I don't own an ELK M1 However, 123 does and he posted a very nice driver for it if you want to try Motorola Premise

I actually looked at preimise a 3 or 4 years ago, downloaded it and started playing with it, but with motorola screwing it over and the source not available, to me it's not worth the effort.

 

[123]

.. and the source not available ...

I haven't found the lack of source code to be an issue.

If Premise was bug-ridden, corrections would certainly require access to the source code. Fortunately, Premise is not infested with showstopping bugs. I've used it for over two years (intensively) and I've found a few, very trivial bugs that all have simple workarounds. In general, it is a robust and stable product with several features that, years after its demise, are still not found in current commercial and open-source HA applications.

Granted, if someone wants an HA product where the vendor continues to generate new device drivers, and new (core) functionality, then they ought to look elsewhere. I've written several drivers and, thanks to Premise's flexible architecture, added a few new features (TaskEx, RampDimmerEx, LogMaster, etc). However, this level of software development is not for everyone.

FWIW, I started with MisterHouse (free; open-source) and switched to Premise (free; closed-source) because of greater functionality and a superior architecture.

BTW, you can view the source-code for Premise's user-contributed drivers (Modules). Feel free to use them for inspiration when you write your own in Python.