HomeSeer and Stargate SG_IP

[TCIII]

Hi all,

I am presently using a Stargate SG-IP for HA.

The SG-IP interfaces with a GE Caddx NX8e.

I am using the JDS HomeRunner on several Fujitsu 3400 tablets which act as touch screen interfaces to the SG. I also have Pocket WebX on a PPC for mobile access to the SG.

Question: What would I gain by purchasing HomeSeer and interfacing it with the SG plugin to my SG-IP.

I have done a search for HS on this forum, but really could not determine if it would be a value added purchase in relation to my SG-IP.

Anyone on the forum using HS with the SG-IP?

Regards,
TCIII

 

[upstatemike]

If it is a SG-IP then you don't have a voice card in your Stargate. Homeseer + a Way-to-call modem will restore that functionality. Homeseer can also load info from a weather station into Stargate variables using the VWS plugin. It is also a way for Stargate to control Insteon.

 

[TCIII]

Hi upstatmike,

Thanks for the response. Much appreciated.

Will HS do TTS when receiving ASCII character strings from the SG on the Com channel?

Also, how do HS and WinEVM communicate with the SG on the same Com channel? Is it necessary to create a virtual Com channel for one of the applications?

Regards,
TCIII

 

[upstatemike]

Hi upstatmike,

Thanks for the response. Much appreciated.

Will HS do TTS when receiving ASCII character strings from the SG on the Com channel?

Also, how do HS and WinEVM communicate with the SG on the same Com channel? Is it necessary to create a virtual Com channel for one of the applications?

Regards,
TCIII

I have not tried sending ASCII strings to HS so I would have to look at how you would do that. Since Stargate variables have realtime HS equivalents, you would normally just create your TTS text in HS with the SG variables you want to speak included in the string.

Somebody on the HS Stargate Plugin Forum is using a virtual Com port product that lets him run HS and WinEVM at the same time and it supposedly works great (but costs $100!) I plan to try this out within the next couple of weeks because it seems like an ideal way to use both.

 

[TCIII]

upstakemike,

I have researched several commercial vitrual com port software applications and you are right that they are not cheap.

The Eltima serial port splitter application (www.serialportsplitter.com/splitter.html) goes for $69.99 and has a two week trial period.

The Fabulatech serial port splitter application (www.fabulatech.com/virtual-serial-port-kit.html) goes for $99.99 and has a 15 day trial period.

There might be some freeware/sharware virtual port splitter applications out there, but I have yet to find them.

Regards,
TCIII

 

[upstatemike]

This guy is using Eltima but I get confused between the "Serial Port Splitter" product and the "Shared Serial Port" product.

 

[TCIII]

upstatemike,

The Eltima "Shared Serial Ports": "Virtual serial ports created by Shared Serial Ports ensure that all applications receive data from a physical serial port simultaneously." In this case there is only one COM1 port that is both real and virtual. This application goes for $99.99.

The Eltima "Serial Port Splitter": "Splitter creates several virtual copies of a COM-port. Each virtual port is connected to the real port and has its unique name in the system. Applications refer to corresponding virtual ports (for instance, COM2, COM3), which send data to the real COM1 and to a connected device. Then, all data a real port receives from the device is transferred to the applications via virtual ports." This application goes for $69.99.

It looks like the Eltima "Shared Serial Ports" application is the one to use if both the SG WinEVM and HS require COM1. Otherwise, if each HA program will let us use selectable COM ports, then the Eltima "Serial Port Splitter" should work and cost less.

Comments?

Regards,
TCIII

 

[electron]

I am not sure what exactly you guys are trying to do, but I can vouch for the Eltima software, it's pretty solid, I use it in an enterprise environment supporting many serial ports. I am not using the Splitter software tho.

For the 'client' side, I use hw_vsp , which lets you create a local com port, which can be mapped to any ip/port. It's also totally free, and I used this for a while to add IP support for my.elk (which can only support serial).

If you are trying to assign an IP to a serial port, then the best bet would be either the Lantronix print server, or a Serial IP device server.

 

[upstatemike]

What we are trying to do is to run Homeseer (with the Stargate Plugin) and WinEVM at the same time. Both need to talk to Stargate via the same serial port so they need something that lets them both access that port (Com1 for example) at the same time.

I think Eltima lets Com1 look like Com2 to WinEVM and Com3 to Homeseer so they both get to use Com 1 without a "port in use error" and without interfering with each other.

No need for IP based terminal server stuff in this situation.

 

[Mark S.]

Yes, there are a few guys who have reported that they successfully run HS and WinEVM simultaneously with a serial splitter. I believe Tim Lacey is one. You may want to ask about the details over on JDSUsers or the HomeSeer message board (JDS Plugin forum).

But with all due respect, I think you'll find that there is limited use to simultaneously running HS and WinEVM. Once you have the JDS plugin running, routinely running WinEVM doesn't really add much since nearly all functionality is available in HS. In general, I only open WinEVM on the rare occasion when I need to download a revised schedule or create a new flag, etc. The only benefit that I see, and I believe why Tim and others do it, is for occasional troubleshooting purposes - maybe useful, but not necessary - otherwise you need to shut down one to open the other, and back and forth. Maybe that's worth $60-100 to you?

In the past I have run both - albeit on separate COM ports - and experienced occasional flaky behavior that went away when I stopped doing it. Maybe it's better now.

Mark

 

[upstatemike]

I don't know enough about the plugin to confirm that I don't need WinEVM. One thing I do a lot now in WinEVM is thermostat control. Probably 4 or 5 times a day I will tweak the Tstat settings from my desk if I think the furnaces are running too much or I feel a draft or whatever. I'll have to look at how to do that from a screen in the plugin.

 

[Mark S.]

I don't have thermos up and running right now. But since the HS-SG plugin does not directly support thermos attached to SG, you would create variables and flags to communicate thermo information back and forth - e.g., variables for setpoints and actual temps and flags for heat/cool, etc. Since HS can control those variables and flags from the Status screen (or events, scripts, touchpad, etc.), you're there.

Mark

 

[upstatemike]

I suppose I could just do it from the Stargate web page. Just don't like the extra login step. So easy to just hot key over to WinEvm and adjust things!

I'm sure I could rig up something in HS using flags and variables as you suggest but I think that would consume more than $60-$100 worth of my time. I will most likely just install the Eltima software.

 

[TCIII]

upstatemike,

I have decided to give HS a try so I am presently putting together a PC for HS to run on as I do not want to have it running on my personal PC as I have the JDS WinEVM doing.

I will put HS and WinEVM on the new PC and give the Eltima software a try like you plan to do.

Please let us know about the Eltima software as soon as you have it up and running.

Regards,
TCIII

 

[TCIII]

upstatemike,

I have had my JDS Stargate SG-IP for about a year and have been very happy with it, but have determined that interfacing it to HomeSeer would very advantageous.

However, I ran into an interesting problem when trying to use HomeSeer and the JDS Stargate plug-in with my Stargate SG-IP.

I was able to install HomeSeer and the JDS Stargate plug-in on a newly built PC running Windows XP Pro. HomeSeer was able to communicate with the SG-IP through the plug-in and I was able to control the SG-IP much the same way that the JDS Mega Controller does.

I am running the JDS WebX and HomeRunner on my LAN connected PCs and Tablets for remote control of the Stargate and have found that trying to control the SG-IP through the WebX webpage and the HomeRunner application, caused the SG-IP to become very sluggish and eventually lockup so that I had to shutdown HomeSeer and reset the SG-IP.

I am beginning to think that HomeSeer and the JDS Stargate plug-in is really meant to work with a Stargate Lite without the IP interface.

So I am wondering if there is a solution to this dilemma or will I have to remove the Stargate IP interface or just not use it if I want to pursue using HomeSeer and the Stargate together?

Regards,
TCIII