PowerHome now supports INSTEON!

[electron]

Dave, the guy responsible for PowerHome, let us know that the latest beta (1.03.4.5) now supports INSTEON, but the really great news is that it is one of the first software packages to support linking, device discovery, real-time status update and direct/group control. Very impressive!In case you haven't heard of this software, head over to power-home.com, and check it out. Here are some of the features the application currently supports:

• Fully programmable interface via your choice of languages. You can use the internal Macro and formula scripting or any language supported by Windows Script Host (for example: VBScript, JScript, etc.)
• Internal Web server for remote control and monitoring. Supports user defined dynamic content via PSP (PowerHome Server Pages.)
• Voice Recognition
• Text to Speech
• User definable remote layouts allow for virtually any keystroke combination
• Touchscreen friendly interface
• Customizable display allows you to show floorplan layouts and place controls over actual photos
• X-10 control via CM11A, CM17A firecracker, MR26A Mouse Remote, CPU-XA/Ocelot, W800, W800RF32, PowerLinc RS-232, PowerLinc USB
• Infrared control via CIR, Multi-CIR, RedRat2, RedRat3, CPU-XA/Ocelot, USB-UIRT, Slink-e
• Digital Input, Digital Output, and Analog Input control with the CPU-XA/Ocelot and additional Adicon modules
• Full DI/DO and AI/AO support for the Velleman K8000 controller.
• Up to 5 infrared controllers, 5 X-10 controllers, and 5 Other controllers can be defined. Supports multi-zone IR
• CD jukebox player control with playlists and autoprogramming
• CD database with freedb support
• Video database
• Macros
• Triggers
• Timed Events
• Full event and Web logging
• Multi-X control allows a sequence of X-10 commands for control (access 256 macros from your palm pad by pressing 2 buttons, 64 macros from your keychain remote by pressing 3 buttons.)
• Sunrise, Sunset, and Civil Twilight calculations
• Socket Server for remote control of PowerHome from other applications and machines
• Windows Messaging Interface for additional remote control capabilities
• Windows Script Host Interface
• Built-in WAP server for remote control via an internet enabled cell phone

 

[dwarf]

Awesome, I think the best news is the auto discovery and linking...downloading beta now. :angry:

 

[dhoward]

All,

Just discovered a minor glitch in the PowerHome install.

If you choose to install the SmartHome Insteon DM (typical and custom setup options), the installer does not completely register the activex control.

Simple enough to fix however...just navigate to the Device Manager directory beneath PowerHome (default c:\program files\powerhome\smarthome\device manager) and launch the SDM3.EXE. The Device Manager will launch in the tray and will register the activex control. You only need to do this once.

Sorry,

Dave.

 

[dhoward]

Dwarf,

Let me know how your testing goes and if you encounter any problems or questions. I was rushing to get this out and may have overlooked some things (like the activex control registering above).

Also, check out this thread for a little more info on the device discovery and linking: What Insteon Control Software Is There TODAY?

Dave.

 

[mmoore99]

Is there any documentation available for the Insteon functionality? If so, where is it located?

Thanks.

 

[dhoward]

You can get the Insteon notes here: http://www.power-home.com/download/phinsteon.rtf

Dave.

 

[fitzpatri8]

Hey Dave,

I installed the beta listed on your website and found it didn't support Insteon. So I uninstalled that version, downloaded .45 using the link here and installed it. It now coughs up an error about having the wrong database version and quits. How can I fix it?

Tom

 

[dhoward]

Navigate to the PowerHome database directory (default c:\program files\powerhome\database) and copy ph1038.db and overwrite pwrhome.db. Make sure PowerHome is closed when you do this. Also, go up one directory and copy/overwrite the pwrhome.10345.ini file to pwrhome.ini. Restart and you should be good to go.

When you uninstalled the old version, the INI and DB files were left (all configuration is stored here). When you installed the new version, these files were not overwritten.

Let me know if you have any other problems or questions.

Dave.