Insteon SmartLinc

[Livin]

I'm with you on simple, usable, efficient. One nice thing about that UI is it will work for nearly any possibility I could think of. And, we could start to integrate other protocols once Insteon is done. OpenZwave is a free Z-wave API which is actively being developed... it should be very usable soon, if not already.

[Morvandium]

What's the best place to read up on z-wave? (I know I could google it, but as some people here seem to have experience, I figure a link here is worth 20 from google.)

btw, progress has gotten kinda slowed up, as I've had a bunch of stuff come up in my life lately. But, I'm still plugging away.

[Livin]

OpenZwave.com

[cfull1]

Thinking about upgrading my system to insteon...it's soo expensive.
x10 has become really unreliable and I'm ready for more functionality.

Would the MorningLinc and low volt I/O devices be supported?
Would the Insteon devices pick up x10 codes from the x10 plugin?

Are you guys pleased with your insteon devices?
Is it worth it or should I look into something else?

[Livin]

Insteon is less expensive than all other comparable products... X10 is not comparable. Insteon has been perfect for me and the dimmers are 10x better than zwave competition... I use both in my house.

I have a few I can sell you cheap if you want to try it out... I have lots of spares in case I move to a bigger place.

[cfull1]

Thanks for the offer, but it still wouldn't do me much good without the smartlinc...unless you have a spare one of those lying around
Is it possible the support for those other devices I mentioned could be easily added?
Is there any really difference between the ICON dimmer and the regular ones?
I noticed the leds but is that it?

[Livin]

I can get you a powerlinc. If you are using this you can support X10 & Insteon.

Insteon devices do X10

The Icon series has a lot less features. Look at this link, near the bottom under "Not sure which to choose?" for a comparison...
http://www.smarthome.com/2876DB/ICON-Di ... tch/p.aspx

[cfull1]

Is it a powerlinc modem or powerlinc controller?

Do you know the differences between them?
I'm pretty sure I heard one if not both were outdated.

Could the usb interface be more reliable/faster than the ethernet(smartlinc)?

[Livin]

it is a PLM... the PLC was discontinued a long time ago. PLM is the standard and the only thing Smarthome now makes. PLC required special way of communicating that was more difficult and slower. The all units are the same, ones with USB simply have a serial2USB interface built-in. Mine has a serial connection, this is more flexible if you decide to use an HA device (ISY, etc) as most only have serial interfaces for Insteon PLMs.

[cfull1]

So the PLC was discontinued, and PLM is the standard.
The ISY devices are controllers for the serial version of the PLM (pointless for me since I'm using eg).

Are the smartlincs discontinued? And the plugin works with the PLM correct?

[Livin]

Smartlincs are controllers with internal web software and are not made to use with apps like Homeseer, EG, Powerhome, mControl, etc... for this you want a PLM.

see here...
http://www.smarthome.com/2412N/SmartLin ... ler/p.aspx

[cfull1]

How soon could I expect the plugin to be updated?
Not meaning to rush, but I would prefer a stable plugin before I spend the money on Insteon devices

[Livin]

btw, progress has gotten kinda slowed up, as I've had a bunch of stuff come up in my life lately. But, I'm still plugging away.

Just checking in to see if you have any code you need tested?

For PLM support, here's a few links to look at with Python code/info:

Current dev project, might have everything you need... https://github.com/zonyl/pyinsteon

general example, PLM specific... http://www.smarthome.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=4229

Insteon Protocol in-depth... http://www.insteon.net/pdf/insteondetails.pdf

[cfull1]

Livin,

do you know if the pyinsteon code supports the usb plm?

[Livin]

don't know