INSTEON-Compatible IP Bridge/Controller
- Thread starter upstatemike
- Start date
upstatemike
Senior Member
Yes it is expensive because it is a niche item. Still, access from any PC on the network without special software and the fact that it has triggers at all, plus scheduling. plus sunrise/sunset.
I'm thinking that a lot of core functionality can sit on this and work reliably even if the HA PC is off line or some other aspect of the system is down because I'm playing with it. The outdoor lights, some key triggers like the bedtime sequence, etc could be handled by this.
I'm thinking that a lot of core functionality can sit on this and work reliably even if the HA PC is off line or some other aspect of the system is down because I'm playing with it. The outdoor lights, some key triggers like the bedtime sequence, etc could be handled by this.
Well I can program a lot more than 20 triggers into the standard PLC and with $10 more in chips it could have a network interface too.upstatemike said:
It is nice to see that things are coming out though and I'll be interested to see how much the dlink insteon router sells for.
upstatemike
Senior Member
I have an Elk but have not installed it yet (rethinking whether I am going to) so I am remaining open minded on my strategies. Other options include:gregoryx said:I suppose it has some advantages over Elk... but if one already has an Elk...
Use Rozetta with Stargate - Software developer is seriously ill so no timeline on availability
Use Homeseer - Waiting for plugin conversion from PLC to PLM for stability
Try this new Gizmo - Looking at cost/benefit
Use PowerHome - Probably the quickest cheapest way to get the same functionality
If you already have the Elk, I'd recommend giving it a rip.
It took a while to set it all up - compared to PC stuff - but the reliability is consistent with the Applied Digital and other solid-state, hard-wired stuff I've used in the past. Stargate would be a good example, I'd suppose.
I have not found the programming to be difficult and I've done some motion / light stuff and eight zones of irrigation so far. I've also got triggers tied into MainLobby and played with emailing things.
Between Elk and MainLobby, I'm no longer using HomeSeer and both the reliability and user-ease-of-use are up. The programming side is split into two things, but it further allows me to deliver reliability for the things that are expected to be 100% ALL the time (Elk) and balance features, advances, and tweaks with the fancy touch-screen elements in ML without the hassles I used to have to go through on HS to get it to work this way.
FWIW, and all...
It took a while to set it all up - compared to PC stuff - but the reliability is consistent with the Applied Digital and other solid-state, hard-wired stuff I've used in the past. Stargate would be a good example, I'd suppose.
I have not found the programming to be difficult and I've done some motion / light stuff and eight zones of irrigation so far. I've also got triggers tied into MainLobby and played with emailing things.
Between Elk and MainLobby, I'm no longer using HomeSeer and both the reliability and user-ease-of-use are up. The programming side is split into two things, but it further allows me to deliver reliability for the things that are expected to be 100% ALL the time (Elk) and balance features, advances, and tweaks with the fancy touch-screen elements in ML without the hassles I used to have to go through on HS to get it to work this way.
FWIW, and all...
