Insteon here we go !

[bobdurkservice]

Hello all !

  I have been playing around with Arduino for a few years now and thoroughly enjoy all the possibilities that Open Source offer . Up until now I have progressed to the point where I can use an Android tablet + a Google phone to control my Home Audio + some low voltage lighting. 

  I searched all the usual lighting control formats available and thought Insteon looked very interresting . Then I discovered Alan's Insteon Shield and it looks like a great addition to my existing Home Automation. I now have a shield , 2 Insteon dimmers + an Insteon receptacle.I am however still waiting for the modem !

  What I am hopeing to do ( and this is beyond my experience level ) is use an Arduino Mega + Insteon Shield + Ethernet Shield + RTC together . I have worked with different parts of this system ...but never combined them together . I have yet to test the Cron library , which I think will be key to having a system that responds according to time of day . 

  I know that the Insteon can control lighting schedules as long as the software is running on a computer ; though I would rather have a stand alone controller like the Mega with a real time clock running.Eventually adding in some motion detectors will offer even more decission making and control possibilities. 

  I am looking forward to testing the possibilities !

Bob Durk

       

[Kevin Mark]

Hi Bob!

That sounds great. We'd love to see your progress/final product. It definitely sounds like what you're proposing is possible: Have the Arduino execute Insteon commands based on the clock data. Biggest problem will be managing the I/O to be certain that there are no conflicts, especially with the Ethernet shield. Since you opted for the Mega, this should be less of an issue though. Best piece of advice I can give you for the software is if you run into issues with a certain component, isolate it. Save your sketch and then start a new one with just the code you want to test. If it works by itself you can rule out hardware issues and focus on how other components of your larger sketch are interacting with it. Eg: Not enough memory for both components (memory leak?), interrupt conflicts, Serial conflicts, etc!

Best of luck,

Kevin

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[Bob Durk]

Kevin,

  I have done some sketch combining and run into issues you describe . Programming is fascinating ...and daunting . I feel comfortable with the hands on hardware side of things , but I need to improve on programming . Setting goals like this help me to realise that persistance pays...eventually :) 

  Thanks for the advice,

Bob   

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[Bob D]

Hello to all , 

  Here is the progress on the project so far . I have spent some time learning more about the DS1307 RTC , that was a learning curve for sure ! I had tried unsuccessfully in the past to set one up and had a few different libraries that I think were causing issues . Long story short I removed any and all RTC libraries and used the trusty Adafruit endorsed RTC library and a  http://www.dipmicro.com/store/DS1307BAT-MOD . I like the way this works and I think it is a keeper for the project.

  I just set up the Insteon modem and House link software + a single dimmer . Sweet ....liking what I see so far for sure . 

Question: Can you use the RS-232 from the modem  to HouseLink AND the TTL from Alan's Insteon shield together to control the Insteon modem ?

I worked on a dual control application where we had a Crestron controller that would output timed messages ( via serial command ) and also used a keypad to send specific messages ( via serial command ) . All that was required was a few diodes to couple the signal while blocking them from crashing heads . In our case it would be a matter of deciding which device was master and letting the master make the control decisions so there is no conflict.

  The other thing that I have been working on was a result of researching the RTC . I happened across this instructables  http://www.instructables.com/id/Arduino-Powered-3-zone-thermostat/ . I liked what I seen in the code , so I built it on a breadboard and tried the DS18B20 temperature sensors as well ...nice . I proceeded to make the project in Fritzing with the newest version of the software program . There was a bigger Sparkfun library available and the " feel " of Fritzing also is better than previous versions.

What this means: I will be making Fritzing drawings for this project as it progresses . 

What I need help with now : The pin out for the cable for the Insteon shield to the modem + any code that exists that has good commenting so I can send signals to the Insteon dimmer that is confirmed to be working with HouseLink.

Reminder: I am not a "natural" at coding ...I am a hardware guy who wants to learn coding . I gain most of my understanding of coding by reading and re-reading code from others.

Eventually that light bulb in my head flickers and I realize that I may have just grasped a new concept or idea ...and then it is time to move on to understand the next concept :) 

Bob       

   

      

On Tuesday, March 4, 2014 10:19:04 PM UTC-5, Bob D wrote:

Kevin,

  I have done some sketch combining and run into issues you describe . Programming is fascinating ...and daunting . I feel comfortable with the hands on hardware side of things , but I need to improve on programming . Setting goals like this help me to realise that persistance pays...eventually :) 

  Thanks for the advice,

Bob   

On Tue, Mar 4, 2014 at 9:48 PM, Kevin Mark <kmar...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi Bob!

That sounds great. We'd love to see your progress/final product. It definitely sounds like what you're proposing is possible: Have the Arduino execute Insteon commands based on the clock data. Biggest problem will be managing the I/O to be certain that there are no conflicts, especially with the Ethernet shield. Since you opted for the Mega, this should be less of an issue though. Best piece of advice I can give you for the software is if you run into issues with a certain component, isolate it. Save your sketch and then start a new one with just the code you want to test. If it works by itself you can rule out hardware issues and focus on how other components of your larger sketch are interacting with it. Eg: Not enough memory for both components (memory leak?), interrupt conflicts, Serial conflicts, etc!

Best of luck,

Kevin

On Tue, Mar 4, 2014 at 9:39 PM, bobdurkservice <bobdurk...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hello all !

  I have been playing around with Arduino for a few years now and thoroughly enjoy all the possibilities that Open Source offer . Up until now I have progressed to the point where I can use an Android tablet + a Google phone to control my Home Audio + some low voltage lighting. 

  I searched all the usual lighting control formats available and thought Insteon looked very interresting . Then I discovered Alan's Insteon Shield and it looks like a great addition to my existing Home Automation. I now have a shield , 2 Insteon dimmers + an Insteon receptacle.I am however still waiting for the modem !

  What I am hopeing to do ( and this is beyond my experience level ) is use an Arduino Mega + Insteon Shield + Ethernet Shield + RTC together . I have worked with different parts of this system ...but never combined them together . I have yet to test the Cron library , which I think will be key to having a system that responds according to time of day . 

  I know that the Insteon can control lighting schedules as long as the software is running on a computer ; though I would rather have a stand alone controller like the Mega with a real time clock running.Eventually adding in some motion detectors will offer even more decission making and control possibilities. 

  I am looking forward to testing the possibilities !

Bob Durk

       

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[Russ Tooley]

Bob D...

For my Insteon Arduino Shield (original version), I just use a standard Ethernet cable - works great. As for some code ideas, Alan's site is great. References from the Arduino Forum to Alan's site here: http://forum.arduino.cc/index.php?topic=60926.30

I'm a Mac guy, so HouseLink is not in my immediate future. Being able to connect HouseLink as well as the Arduino Insteon Shield to the PLM sounds interesting and I look forward to hearing your progress.

Thank you for sharing your work.

Russ

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[Bob D]

Greetings!

  If you have not seen it yet , check out Alan's new code to "ReadInsteon" posted today . I made some comments in that thread so I won't repeat myself , other than to say it is a great step in the right direction.

I am sitting in my recliner watching my lower basement lights switch off and on every 5 seconds , while my serial monitor displays the insteon information at each transition. If anyone is interrested in the sketch let me know as it works great as a simple test for the PLM and a single device. It also helps to check different outlets in the house to ensure signal is getting to the Insteon device.

  Getting back to my progress with the RTC + ethernet shield and Insteon shield ...I run into a conflict with the ethernet shield when using the Insteon with software serial . I will go back to it eventually , but let's face it ....there is always another way with electronics :) . Because my goal is to have scheduled Insteon events as well as control using my wifi enabled " smart phone " ( I don't use it as a phone...it is a cost effective wireless Home Automation Controller  :) ) , all I need is the serial out from my existing Automation Controller to talk to my Insteon Controller . What would I want them to say to each other you may wonder ? The schedule will know our basic routines and respond to them , what it will not know is when there is a temporary change required. An example would be a few friends dropping by unexpectedly ...or maybe it is a planned gathering . By changing " Modes " in the Insteon controller using the Home Automation Controller ( I will call it HAC to keep it simple) , I can select an alternate lighting scheme. I could then choose a full override , or just until the next timed event occurs. 

  I will lay out more of the plans as time goes on , including full schematic and code. 

Bob               

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[Bob D]

Greetings !

  I have settled into another project for a friend , and will likely get back to the insteon plans later this month . I just wanted to let everyone know that is why there has not been any activity on this thread. 

Bob D