New to HA, ordered a Raspberry Pi and need to pick lighting control protocol

[JonW]

I can't comment on MH because I don't use that.  For UPB, if you outfit most of your house with UPB switches, you should consider getting two PIM's.  Keep one for programming, testing, and as a backup and leave the other attached to the RPi.  I've seen used PIM's go for $25 and new ones for $50 on ebay.  You may also want to search for "UPB starter kits".  You can get a PIM, signal bridge, a couple of switches and a scene controller for a reduced price.

 

[bbrendon]

My friend just got Pytomation running successfully with some UPB lighting. He tried a few things and Pytomation seemed to work best. Apparently he says Misterhouse's web interface is too old and he didn't want to rewrite it. 
 
He showed me the Pytomation docs, I was very impressed with how much good looking documentation they have created.

 

[bbrendon]

Just do serial over ethernet. That's what I do for UPB. I load upstart in non-connected mode, then when I'm done making all my changes, I stop the HA server, connect and send the changes, then do the reverse.
 
Also, you can't use the USB PIM for UPB. Every manuf I've talked to in the past few months says "don't do it". I think it might work if all you do is upstart, but not with HA software.

 

[rogersmj]

My friend just got Pytomation running successfully with some UPB lighting. He tried a few things and Pytomation seemed to work best. Apparently he says Misterhouse's web interface is too old and he didn't want to rewrite it. 
 
He showed me the Pytomation docs, I was very impressed with how much good looking documentation they have created.

 
That looks great, I'm definitely going to check it out. Love the solid documentation and REST API. Somehow, in all the time I've been searching the web for home interface software, I never came across this. Which I think illustrates the biggest problem for someone just trying to get started with this hobby -- you don't know what's out there, and most of it is hard to find.
 
 

Just do serial over ethernet. That's what I do for UPB. I load upstart in non-connected mode, then when I'm done making all my changes, I stop the HA server, connect and send the changes, then do the reverse.
 
Also, you can't use the USB PIM for UPB. Every manuf I've talked to in the past few months says "don't do it". I think it might work if all you do is upstart, but not with HA software.

 
Can you elaborate on how to do serial over ethernet? Do I need another device to do that, or is there some way to configure my Linux computer to enable connection to the UPB over ethernet?
 
Update: here's what I've tried on that front so far. My Raspberry Pi recognizes the USB-serial converter and has it at /dev/ttyUSB0.
 
I've downloaded and compiled Remserial on the RPi, and HW VSP3 on the Windows machine running UpStart. Then on the RPi I run this:
 
remserial -d -p 23000 -x 1 -s "4800 raw" /dev/ttyUSB0 &
 
However, trying to connect to it from my Windows machine using the VSP software doesn't work -- results in an error. I'm having trouble determining what the problem is.

 

[rogersmj]

Got it working by fiddling with some of the settings in the Windows VSP software -- emulating strict baud rate I think is the one that did it. This is cool -- now I can program the network via UpStart while leaving the UPB PIM connected to the RPi.

 

[McKinneySmart]

I have been using both configurations, USB-PIM and serial PIM-RS232->USB.   With no problem.
 
If you are using the USB->RS232 adapter with a serial PIM, make sure you use a good USB-serial adapter.  After some failures, I found that the KeySpan model 19-HS is the best.
 

The only USB-PIM I have used is from PCS.   Make sure you have the right drivers.
 
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I got my Raspberry Pi setup and Misterhouse installed. I can't really do anything until I have a controller, though. HAI's PIM looks to be serial only. My initial reaction was...seriously? Who still has a computer with a serial port on it? But the more I dig around, it sounds like a lot of people are having problems with USB PIM's. Some have reported success by using a quality RS232-to-USB adapter with a serial PIM (here's a thread on this forum about it, although it's several years old).
 
There are some USB PIM's out there (SA, PulseWorx) but they have very mixed reviews. What does everyone think about getting the HAI UPB PIM and then an RS232->USB adapter so I can connect it to my Raspberry Pi? Has anyone done this?

 

[McKinneySmart]

Rasberry Pi?
 
Has anyone loaded HAI's WebLink 2 onto a Rasberry?

 

[linuxha]

Rasberry Pi?
 
Has anyone loaded HAI's WebLink 2 onto a Rasberry?

 
Does it run on Linux ? The impression I got was that Web Link II was Windows only. I don't think Windows runs on the Pi.

 

[McKinneySmart]

Yes WL2 runs on Windows.  
 
I should have done a little research first.  A 30 second Google search reveals that Windows can not be loaded.  There goes that idea out the window.    ....pun intended.
 
Sorry to bother.

 

[garbled]

I run NetBSD on my raspberry PI, and I have 3 USB->Serial devices crammed into it.  I have had zero problems with them regarding reliability.  As long as you use an *external powered* usb hub with it, everything will be fine.