Gas fireplace with SA UMI-32 I/O and HAI OPII - Help

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Recently, the switch for my RF fireplace remote burned out, and I decided to finally use the SA UMI-32 I/O module I had lying around.  The setup is as follows:
 
There is a wall switch with wires to the fireplace, previously unused, which I connect to to Input #2, terminals 9&10 on the I/O module.
 
The wires to turn on the fireplace are attached to the contact closure output #1 on terminals 1&2.
 
In Upstart, I open the device, and have several tabs.  In the tab labelled Receive Ch 1, on Line 1, I have chosen Link 231 to be closed at Snap! rate.  On Line 2, I have chosen Link 232 to be open at Snap! rate.
 
In the tab labelled Transmit Components, I have left Input 1 and 3 disabled.  On Input 2, I have selected N.O. Input mode, Link 228.  As I understand it, this should Activate Link 228 when the contacts close, and Deactivate Link 228 when the contacts are open.
 
I have set up some programming lines in the OPII to control this.  First, to control the fireplace with the panel, I have set up 2 buttons, one called Fireplace On, another called Fireplace Off.
 
6. WHEN Fireplace On
THEN UPB LINK 231 ON
7. WHEN Fireplace Of
THEN UPB LINK 232 ON
 
This works pretty reliably when standing alone.  However, I am trying to get the wall switch to work as well, and this is where I run into trouble.  Here are the lines I added:
 

4. WHEN UPB LINK 228 ON
THEN RUN Fireplace On
5. WHEN UPB LINK 228 OFF
THEN RUN Fireplace Of
 
This simply doesn't work.  The input light on the module does light up when the wall switch is on, but the fireplace does not turn on.   When the fireplace is on, turning the wall switch off does not turn off the fireplace either.  Moreover, after flipping the wall switch, the button itself will stop working until I run through an on/off cycle.  Clearly, the 2 links interfere with each other.
 
I usually don't use links, and rely on HAI programming to set up my lights.  Can anyone with knowledge of Upstart, HAI programming, and links sort this out?
 
Thanks,
Alan

 

 

[tmbrown97]

I'm having a little trouble following what you have now - but it certainly looks like you have way more links involved than you need to.
 
What about one set of links - say 235 - tie the receive of the output that's hooked to the fireplace to that link, so if the link is on, the relay is closed; if the link is off, it's open.  Then take the input that the switch is on, and set it so that in the open state, transmit link 235 deactivate, and in the closed state (switched on), send link 235 Activate.
 
Then the OPII can also send links and see the status updates - but I can't see any reason to have the OP in the middle of the switch and IO module unless you want more rules that can override when the switch works or something; and don't see a reason for 2 links for each either.  One single links that's transmitted by the switch and received by the relay should suffice just fine.
 
I'm not at a computer with upstart handy, but if this doesn't make sense, I'll fire it up and look at the options for that IO module a little closer; I have one in a drawer that's never been touched.

 

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I went back to Upstart to see if I can configure it the way you described.  However, the input side and output side are completely disconnected, and work differently.
 
The outputs, called Receive Channel 1 and Receive Channel 2, appear only to respond to Link Activate Commands.  There is no option for an output based on Link Deactivate Commands.  This is why I needed to use 2 Links - Link 231 to provide contact closure, turning on the fireplace, and Link 232 to open them, turning it off.  This part works well using the button created in the HAI programming.
 
According to the manufacturer, the I/O module cannot use any direct input to trigger an output.  In addition, it supposedly cannot see any link it generates.  The link has to go to a secondary controller, which must in turn send something back to the I/O module if you want to generate an output.  
"Note that outputs can only be activated via UPB commands, and NOT via inputs within the same module.  The UMI cannot control an output with an input on the same module; the UMI cannot "hear" itself when transmitting UPB."
 
This is the source of my convoluted setup.  I'm pretty happy with the HAI button turning on or off the fireplace, which I can do from the panel or from Snaplink.  I just need the wall switch to work for WAF.
 
I'm pretty sure when I flip the switch, something is being sent - I can hear a faint buzzing at the module.  The light for the input goes on when the contacts close.  
 
Alan

 

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Addendum: Too Much Traffic!
 
I think I have solved a majority of my problem.  In looking through the configuration of the I/O module in Upstart, I saw under the "Advanced" tab the following options: Transmit Type and Transmission Attempts.  Transmit type is Link Packet, which seems OK.  For Transmit Attempts, I had "Multi-Packet3 attempts)".   I think I set this during a prior stab at this project a couple of years ago.
 
I changed this to "Uni-Packet1 attempt), and retried the switch.  Sure enough, the fireplace popped on.  It also turned off successfully from the wall switch.
 
In addition, I was able to show that receiving a link command causes the I/O module to be unable to receive another link command for an unspecified number of seconds.  After flipping the switch, I was unable to turn off the fireplace for a number of seconds.  Not a showstopper.  I noticed that the button commands are more responsive - maybe because they use different link numbers? Or maybe just because of the intermediate step with the HAI panel.
 
I think I can mark this one Solved.  However, I have an ancillary question.  What is the best way to track the status of the fireplace?  I can set a flag to respond to the button or the link commands directly.  However, this would be unreliable if the signal to the module fails or something.  Is there any way to poll the module to see if the contacts on Receive Channel 1 are closed?
 
For safety, the output is set to N.O. (normally open), so in the event of a power outage, the fireplace should turn off.  In addition, I will add a line of programming to turn off the fireplace daily at 6AM or something.
 
Thoughts?
 
Alan

 

[tmbrown97]

Wow - very educational for me - that seems like some pretty irritating limitations of that module - but probably only comes into effect in the rare case that someone is using it as an intermediary device as you are.
 
One solution might be to toss in a delay from the time it sees the switch activation until it tries to control the fireplace so the commands have a moment to complete.
 
I did a different approach to UPB fireplace control (link in my signature) and added a handful of safeties to turn the fireplace off - such as on a 4-hour max timer, when "downstairs off" is activated, when "armed away" is activated on the Elk, etc.  I then left a key override to use the fireplace when the power is out (millivolt systems generate their own electricity regardless of the power situation).
 
Good find though so far!