Powerlinc Serial and Powerhome

[Digger]

They are rethinking the firmware......

From what I was told it seems that they rushed to get it out and did not really implement the full protocal and that is causing a lot of the grief. So if tehy rewrite the firmware they think it will address a lot of the problems. The rumour is that it is being worked on.

If I could just flash what I have I would be fine with it.

If yours does what you want it to do then I guess its not a big deal. Mine is very unreliable so I am concerned.

All of my information is third hand.

 

[dhoward]

Based upon what Ive read of the Insteon Conformance Spec, I would say that primarily the protocol would be changing (and consequently the firmware to support it). I can only speculate at this point but Im thinking that the whole method of peeking/poking for link maintenance will be going away. Particularly since the latest SDM release notes states that the SetupLink command will be renamed and is no longer supported.

Is this good or bad? Don't know yet but it's going to be alot of additional work for developers.

Mike, if you're still interested in testing, let me know and I can generate you an extension key.

Mike and Digger, if you have VNC or similar on your machine and are up for it, I can remotely connect and try to help you through the issues. Send me a PM if you're interested and we should be able to get it worked out.

Dave.

 

[upstatemike]

I can only speculate at this point but Im thinking that the whole method of peeking/poking for link maintenance will be going away. Particularly since the latest SDM release notes states that the SetupLink command will be renamed and is no longer supported.

By not supported do you mean that SetupLink will not be available? In other words, developers will only be able to manage links on devices with the newer firmware?

 

[gregoryx]

If I could just flash what I have I would be fine with it.

I'd generally agree with that... 'cept it looks like I'm going to end up replacing all my KeypadLincs to eliminate the flicker on them anyway... so I guess I don't really care so long as I can do one big replace instead of two or three more. :angry:

 

[gregoryx]

...I can generate you an extension key.

What does that mean? Can you do a firmware update? :angry:

 

[Digger]

Dave,

Thanks for the offer but can I take a raincheck. Powerhome is on the back burner for me. I am working on Sage TV right now since that has a high WAF and KAF. I got it running for the most part today but have some kinks to work out.

Its another "not quite ready for public release" type of product but when it works its actually pretty neat.

Hopefully we will hear from Smarthome officially in the coming weeks how they will handle what is already out there. I called and got absolutely no information from Customer Service. I was told I could only return defective merchandise for exchange and new merchandise purchased the last 30 days. Cant complain I guess since the policy makes sense.

There is always eBAY :angry:

 

[Mike]

...I can generate you an extension key.

What does that mean? Can you do a firmware update? :angry:

I think that was to me, to generate a key to extend the demo.

 

[Mike]

Mike, if you're still interested in testing, let me know and I can generate you an extension key.

Mike and Digger, if you have VNC or similar on your machine and are up for it, I can remotely connect and try to help you through the issues. Send me a PM if you're interested and we should be able to get it worked out.

Thank you. I'd be willing to try and work through the issues. It was frustrating as the biggest critic in the house was not very forgiving (and from her perspective things got worse than they were before).

I don't have VNC setup at the moment but can work on setting that up. I think I already uninstalled powerhome when I got the 'trial expired' message (if that affects how an extension key is generated).

 

[Digger]

Just for teh record my problems with Powerhome may not be (probably not) Powerhome but the SDM.

 

[Mike]

That is probably a good assessment, combine that thought with the rumors that they are re-thinking the protocal and I think we have a reason why insteon software has been so scarce and why there have been comments on virtually any implementation that some issues have been seen.

If all this speculation is true, it will be interesting to see what kind of company Smarthome is. If they fix the issue with their initial loyal customers (and mostly the exact kind of customers they want, who will purchase 'new' and 'untested' items) then it seems they are 'honorable'.

If not.... well I'm not going to stick around and keep buying upgrades. I've already been through two rounds of Smarthome switches (no complaints on the first, as I Was using V1 swithchlincs which were x10). If it is firmware, then sell a flash programmer or the like, even if it is $100 it would be more reasonable than leaving customers out in the cold.

I have no reason to believe however, that they would not support their customer base. They have cheerfully exchanged defective insteon items to date, and I would hope that they will stand behind their product. It will only help them.

 

[upstatemike]

I wonder if all the UPB switches out there will be eligible for exchanges when they implement a firmware fix for the double tap delay?

Likewise all the Z-Wave switches that do not currently transmit their status when controlled locally.

 

[Digger]

I have an ICON that doesnt turn off all of the time even locally. I can try 5 or 10 times and it still wont turn off (and I wonder why my electric bill is so much). I guess its due for a return. Its about 6 months old now.

 

[gregoryx]

Does a full factory reset make a difference?

 

[Mike]

I wonder if all the UPB switches out there will be eligible for exchanges when they implement a firmware fix for the double tap delay?

Likewise all the Z-Wave switches that do not currently transmit their status when controlled locally.

Ha! Interesting point. I'm hoping the insteon case is a little different.

Well let me turn this around, how do you feel on the issue? You have several times the number of Insteon devices that I have. Do you feel it is reasonable to repurchase them to make them work properly if the rumors are true?

 

[upstatemike]

I wonder if all the UPB switches out there will be eligible for exchanges when they implement a firmware fix for the double tap delay?

Likewise all the Z-Wave switches that do not currently transmit their status when controlled locally.

Ha! Interesting point. I'm hoping the insteon case is a little different.

Well let me turn this around, how do you feel on the issue? You have several times the number of Insteon devices that I have. Do you feel it is reasonable to repurchase them to make them work properly if the rumors are true?

No, I don't think that would be reasonable but I also don't think it is likely. I think either the rumors will turn out not be to true or some sort of fix will be made available for the currently installed base.