What Insteon Control Software Is There TODAY?

eufreka

Active Member
Well, I successfully installed my first 11 Insteon light Switches (both SwitchLinc v2 and Icon)...

Then I went to set them up as devices in the Trial version of mControl I have been testing with my 4 LampLincs...only to discover that mControl does NOT appear to support the switches in its current version!?!?!?!!?

So what options are there today? I see that Homeseer is beta testing an insteon plugin...is anyone here using that?

My original interest in mControl lay in its Media Center Extender support...and it seems that Homeseer offers something similar.

Is anyone here using Homeseer's Insteon/MCE plug-ins?If so, hyow is it? If not, what are you using?

I took a brief look at the Smarthome Timer software, but experienced very poor results when I only had the 4 LampLincs...I don't know if it was a software issue or a RF coverage issue...before I try that again, is anyone using IT successfully?
 
eufreka,
The Insteon software is in beta testing as we speak and you can follow the plugins progression here if you would like:

http://board.homeseer.com/forumdisplay.php?f=792

The beta plugin works well but SmartHomes SDM control software is still really unstable. This causes problems for the plugin. There's supposes to be a new SDM being released sometime this week which will hopefully correct some crashing problems as well as add new functionality.
 
Last week Embedded Automation posted a beta version of mControl (v1.31A), which provides event-based status update of SwitchLinc and KeypadLinc ON, OFF, Fast ON and Fast OFF paddle presses. There is also a related application note.

Ted
 
tedsingh said:
Last week Embedded Automation posted a beta version of mControl (v1.31A), which provides event-based status update of SwitchLinc and KeypadLinc ON, OFF, Fast ON and Fast OFF paddle presses. There is also a related application note.

Ted
Thanks for the information, Ted. They didn't post any info about the new Beta in their support forums, so apparently the only way to know about the betas is to visit the actual download page.

The application note is pretty extensive and somewhat worrisome.

Have you tested the new Beta?

Will it work with the Icon switches as well as the SwitchLincs? (It is unclear from the application note.)

At this point I am unsure whether to persist in testing MControl, or tryout Homeseer instead...
 
Rupp said:
eufreka,
The Insteon software is in beta testing as we speak and you can follow the plugins progression here if you would like:

http://board.homeseer.com/forumdisplay.php?f=792

The beta plugin works well but SmartHomes SDM control software is still really unstable. This causes problems for the plugin. There's supposes to be a new SDM being released sometime this week which will hopefully correct some crashing problems as well as add new functionality.
Rupp,

Thanks for the link. Yes, I have been following the plug-in development discussion; but never having used Homeseer, I don't know how functional the Insteon support is now...much less the MCE extender functionality.

Hopefully, more info will be forthcoming soon...
 
I usually post any mControl update news on the front page, but I haven't received anything new recently.
 
Cinemar has their Insteon plugin close to beta launch. Still waiting on an update from Smarthome to make it a bit more robust before Cinemar releases it. This plugin enables MainLobby to control Insteon devices.

I believe ELK also has a Insteon update for their security system. With the Cinemar ELK plugin, you could also control Insteon via Mainlobby user interface (which includes automation capability too).
 
We also have Girder 4 plugin in beta. The Smarthome Device Manager is just not there yet. All that really works is basic on/off control and simple on/off events. Detailed device tracking is just not possible - meaning you have to resort to polling of devices. It is very difficult to enumerate devices on the network and linking devices (especially if you have many) is a painful task. To top it off, their own software is simplistic. They do not have a comprehensive device manager ala UPB. This is badly needed. Anything other then a basic network will be a nightmare to maintain if a device goes down. If you have a device die that's part of a group lighting scene controlled by a keypad... look out.
 
I installed about 18 Insteon switches over the past week, in a combination of V2 dimmer, V2 relay, Icon dimmer and Icon relay switches. Also added the necessary 2 RF lincs, a serial controller and a couple of lamplincs. I am using the Insteon plugin with Homeseer.

All in all, I'm happy. More reliable than X10 by a long shot based on early observations. As others have said, though, the Smarthome device manager (SDM) software (necessary for any third party software to work with Insteon from what I understand) is the real rate-limiting step. It's a bit unstable, although I have had only one crash.

For some odd reason many of us have found that some switches on some circuits just won't work. It appears to be something with the SDM rather than the switches themselves or line noise, from what I hear on the HS board.

As Rupp mentioned, an update is expected this week. Jon Ort (author of the W800 application and the newer ACRF application, both for HS) is working on the Insteon plugin, so it should be first -rate once Smarthome gets the SDM under control. I expec t major advances over the next few weeks and months from what I hear, which is why I've jumped on the Insteon bandwagon for a changeout in our house.
 
AutomatedOutlet said:
You also need to keep in mind that as you add more Insteon switches, you'll need to add more of the SignaLinc RF devices.
Actually I think the opposite may be true. Since each Insteon device acts as a repeater the overall signal strength and coverage improves as you add more switches. This may mean that after you add more switches, signals get to remote areas via powerline where early on they needed an RFLinc.
 
I thought the SignaLinc RF devices were only used to bridge the separate phases of the powerline? So once this is done it's done? Is this not true?
 
Rupp said:
I thought the SignaLinc RF devices were only used to bridge the separate phases of the powerline? So once this is done it's done? Is this not true?
They are also used to route signals around problem areas. Say you have a big TV halfway down a particular circuit that is trashing powerline signals but for some reason you can't put a filter on it. If there was a light on the very end of that circuit you might have trouble controlling it because of the TV.

You solve this by plugging an additional SignaLinc into an outlet at the end of the circuit near the light you want to control. Insteon signals are then re-injected onto the line at a point after the problem TV so the light gets a good strong signal.

Not eveybody will have a situation where they need to do this but it is a handy option if you do run into a signal problem.
 
For all of those interested in Insteon software, Ive just posted the next beta release of PowerHome. The webpage is not updated yet, but you can get it here: http://www.power-home.com/download/ph10345setup.exe

After installing, be sure and read the phinsteon.rtf file (It's in the PowerHome program folder) to learn how PowerHome works with Insteon.

This beta supports full software linking, real-time status updates, direct and group control, device discovery, and link discovery. This software is beta, but has been working pretty stable in my test environment.

Let me know how it goes and if anyone has any questions, I'll be monitoring CocoonTech as well as the PowerHome message board.

Dave.
 
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