UPB UPstart issues...

sniem1525

Member
Hey guys,
 
Having a weird issue with HAI PIM and UPStart. 
 
I have a UPB network running from OmniPro IIe with HLC controls with no issue. I'm able to slap a new switch in, go into setup mode, locate/configure, and I'm done. All is good.I have zero issues with the PIM communicating between the controller and the switches.
 
I bought a Simply Automated UPB receptacle to try out. I downloaded UPStart, bought the 36A05-2 adapter kit, and grabbed my Prolific USB-to-Serial adapter.
 
I've not had to use UPStart on my network yet, but it seems straight forward. I'm an IT engineer, so these things come pretty easy. I hook the adapter to the PIM and run upstart and begin testing. I select RS232 PIM as the interface type, specify the port, and start testing. Sometimes it detects everything correctly, sometimes it detects the wrong firmware, sometimes it doesn't detect anything, etc. It's a very sporadic detection.
 
When it does detect correctly, I go into UPStart and try the network scan. I stick in the network ID and password, then run discovery. Sometimes it picks up the devices, but each pass reports back a different network ID. It's not a random ID, but it's usually a few numbers high/low of what it's actually set at. If i try to detect a device in setup mode, it doesn't find it. Occasionally I will hear it buzz, so I know it's doing SOMETHING.
 
My question is if anyone has seen this issue and knows how to get around it. Most of what I've found is that people didn't have the adapter kit, or it wasn't in pulse mode. I've ran through the reset several times to get it in message mode and then tried to use UPStart to put it in pulse mode. I haven't found anything that says how to specifically put it in pulse mode outside of UPStart. Any help would be greatly appreciated, it's driving me crazy.
 
First Hi.
 
First I will say its always best to get a separate PIM for your PC.  Not that you can't do what you are trying to do, but its easier.
 
Next, I will say UPStart is pretty smart actually and converts the PIM into the correct mode automatically. In fact if you haven't changed the defaults, it also will set it back when you shut it off.
 
If UPStart is not complaining that it can't see the network, or PIM, then it can. 
 
So, in Installer Setup, you recorded the UPB Network ID and UPB Password from the panel, then you took that information and put it in UPStart, correct?  UPStart can't "see" your network unless it knows what to look for and it needs both of those things to find your network.
 
So I'm not understanding how the network ID is changing.  It is what the Omni iie says it is, since this is what programed your network. 
 
Try that and see what happens. It should find your devices.  Just remember some of the names, like for links are not stored in your network, so when UPStart reads your network, it won't see these so you will need to manually enter them in UPStart.
 
Thanks for the recommendation ano. I've thought about a second PIM but didn't want to splurge on #2 until I knew I could get #1 to work, ya know?
 
Basically what I did after I installed the OmniPro II with PC Access was configure the UPB settings then do the installation from there on the HLC switches. So I took the OmniPro settings and put that into UPStart to run the discovery. I guess I shouldn't have said network ID but rather the ID of the UPB device on the network. I know upstart is seeing the network because if I change the ID or password, results come back as no devices (as I would expect).
 
On the PIM, it's just odd that I can hit "connect" back to back and the results are rarely the same 3 times in a row. I guess I'm curious as to whether there's an issue with the PIM itself or with the link to it. Leviton claims that since the PIM works on HLC switches the issue sits somewhere in UPStart. 
 
This certainly wouldn't be the first time Leviton/HAI put out a buggy device.  Just because their PIM works with the panel in one mode, doesn't mean they have done any testing with it on UPStart.  Before you get too deeply in it you may just want to pick up a cheap Simply Automated or PCS PIM on ebay and see if the results are different.
 
I for a time tried to get the panel to communicate to a PCS PIM, and never got it to work.  Your best bet is to leave the HAI PIM connected to the panel, and get another PIM for the PC.
 
Fixed!!
 
The issue was the USB to Serial adapter. I found an old PC with serial port on mother board - no issues after that. Thanks for the recommendations!!
 
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