Pushover.Net Plugin for Perceptive Automation Indigo Control System.

Thanks to Chad Francis for the initial work on the Indigo Pushover plugin.

Additional information for completing the Plugin configuration can be found in the Pushover API

Known Shortcomings

• The "receipt" callback function of the Emergency priority is not implemented.
• The sound list update from Pushover.Net action is not implemented.

General Indigo support can be found at the Indigo Forum

INSTEON Garage Door Control with Interlock

A SimpleHomeNet INSTEON EZIO8T is used with Perceptive Automation's Indigo home control software to monitor and control three garage doors and three lawn irrigation zones. A hard wired interlock is incorporated to prevent the INSTEON system from opening the garage doors. This was done to eliminate the chance of a home control error exposing the house and garage to an open door when no one is home. The EZIO8T was choosen because it incorporated 3 inputs and 8 TRIAC outputs. The outputs can be used to directly control the irrigation zone valves and also directly control the interlock output relays. This post will focus on the garage door control interlock circuit.
WARNING: Do not build this control circuit unless you are willing to take the risk of the garage door accidentally closing on your head or on your children or on your car or anything else. Even if your garage door system has a interference detector at the floor, it could still hurt you if the door closes unexpectedly.
The interlock interrupts the output control circuit when the garage door is closed, preventing the EZIO8T output from operating the output relay. If the garage door is open, the EZIO8T momentary output operates the output relay which is wired to the garage door button circuits. See diagram.

The EZIO8T was purchased from machomestore.com and the relays were purchased from B and B Electronics. The 24VAC irrigation control transformer can be purchased at most builders supply stores.
Indigo was configured with an action group to operate the door if the door is open. This is just an additional interlock. A simple timer could be used to close the door after a fixed time of being open. The Indigo system here keeps track of who is home and has a timer that expires when no one has been home for a give period of time. If any of the garage doors are open, Indigo closes the doors and emails a message and webcam photo to assure the door is closed. Indigo also checks the doors at bed time and closes them if they are still open.

A diagram for the system using a SmartHome INSTEON I/O Linc with relays is also included below. Click the diagrams for PDF files.

A diagram for the system using a SmartHome INSTEON I/O Linc with a solid state interlock is shown below. Click the diagram for a PDF file. This design is much cheaper and smaller than the relay versions.

Indigo, Venstar and INSTEON

A collection of information about using a Venstar thermostat with INSTEON and Perceptive Automation's Indigo home automation software.

Links

• SmartHome Venstar WiKi
• Advanced Thermostat Script
• Usage Monitor
• MRTG with Venstar
• Battery Backup

Dictionary

You can tell the thermostat to run in programmed mode (the program set up in the T1900) by using the following applescript:

set hvac mode of device "YOUR THERMOSTAT" to runProgramAuto

Available words via the AppleScript dictionary are:

• fan mode: fanAlwaysOn or fanAutoOn
• hvac mode: offMode, heatOn, coolOn, heatCoolOn, runProgramHeat, runProgramCool, or runProgramAuto

INSTEON Commands

Relevant Features

When using the AC to dehumidify the "running" LED flashes every 8 seconds. Indigo also sees an INSTEON device "off (button 1)" and "on (button 1)" every 8 seconds.

It appears that a temperature set point change from Indigo or manually at the Venstar holds until the next scheduled program set point change or until midnight.

Circuit Board

Photo references capacitor C4. The battery backup project referenced above has not been tried by this author. It could destroy the thermostat.

WeatherSnoop with Indigo and Oregon Scientific RMS300

WeatherSnoop integrates Oregon Scientific RMS300 Temperature and Humidity sensors into Perceptive Automation's Indigo home control system on a Mac running OS X 10.6.3 Snow Leopard. Previously VMware was required to run the Oregon Scientific native app to collect the data. WeatherSnoop eliminates the need for VMware. WeatherSnoop is a simple program that makes the sensor data available to AppleScript. A Time/Date Action is used in Indigo to collect the Oregon Scientific sensor data from WeatherSnoop on a 5 minute schedule and store the data into Indigo variables and into RRDtool for historical access and graphing.

WeatherSnoop does cost $20 US and its worth it. WeatherSnoop does not list the Oregon Scientific RMS-300 as an option but it works. Selecting WMR100 works fine.

Note that a simple C program for Linux and Mac OS X exists now. It can be downloaded here. Thanks to a commenter on an earlier post for the tip.

INSTEON PowerLinc 2413U FTDI Driver Details

Currently using version 2.2.14 of the FTDI driver for the INSTEON PowerLinc 2413U with Perceptive Automation's Indigo on Mac OS X. It was released 21-Oct-2009. It is located in /System/Library/Extensions/FTDIUSBSerialDriver.kext/. It is available from FTDI Chip. Also available is an Installation Guide.

Positioning Network Camera via Indigo Home Control

Panasonic Network cameras like the BL-C10A can be positioned to presets via http URLs. Currently cron is used to move them out of the sun on fixed times. Using Indigo would make the moves more flexible based on conditions such as sunrise and outside temperature. The old cameras tend to get stuck when its cold. Below is a test script that is embedded in the action pane of an Indigo Trigger.

property position : 5
property camURL : "webcam4.homecontrol.net.:8684"
try
do shell script "curl -s http://" & camURL & "/mobile?A=P" & position & "> /dev/null"
end try


Clothes Dryer Status Indicator via INSTEON

Remote clothes dryer status was implemented by interfacing the clothes dryer to an INSTEON SwitchLinc Relay with sense. Perceptive Automation's Indigo home control software is used to control a lamp indicating the dryer status and is used to send an email to the family when the dryer stops. Additional indication is a voice statement from an iMac computer near the home theater system.

Several methods were considered and then it was realized no relays or other interface components would be required if the new V5 INSTEON SwitchLinc Relay with sense was used. This method requires modification to the 110VAC circuits in the 240VAC dryer and should not be attempted by unqualified people. The dryer is a new model with full 5-wire power source. The complete dryer schematic was stored inside the control housing so it was easy to understand the circuit. Hot, neutral and ground were connected to the SwitchLinc. The sense wire was connected to the drum motor supply. An INSTEON "on" is sent when the drum motor starts and an "off" is sent when the drum motor stops.

INSTEON and Indigo Monitor Garage Door Status

Seco-Larm SM-226LQ magnetic switches from SmartHome (Amazon part number B0013CQXO6) were added to three garage doors to monitor the door status. The switches were interfaced to an INSTEON IO Linc. Perceptive Automation's Indigo home automation software was used to monitor the doors and alert the home owner if any door is left open after 9PM. The alert is an voice reminder on an iMac and an email sent to the family iPhones. Also the door status is used to turn on additional lighting in the garage if the doors are opened after dark.

The magnetic switches were attached to the top of the door frame and the magnet was attached to the top of the door. The switches operate with up to a 1/4" gap so there is no problem with the loose fitting doors. The switches are less than 1/2" thick and are easily cleared by the door as the door lifts up and away from the frame. Plastic utility boxes were used as junction boxes for the low voltage wire into the attic and down to the IO Linc. Additional 110VAC receptacles were installed to accommodate the growing number of modules and power supplies in the garage near the lawn sprinkler system.

The switches were wired in series so any open door is detected. The switches are normally open with the magnets holding them closed. Any door open opens the circuit. Click the photo for more pictures

INSTEON and Indigo today

Here are some things to try when the INSTEON devices do not always respond to commands and some things to know when purchasing INSTEON devices.

Troubleshooting

• Enable "Report error on all NAKs" in Indigo PowerLinc 2414U Interface Options. It will help identify problem modules that are responding intermittently to Indigo commands.
• Enable "Always send group/scene cleanup messages" in Interface Options to help troubleshoot intermittent INSTEON devices. Cleanup messages dramatically slow down the INSTEON process so it should be turned off if there are no operational problems.
• Know what side of the 240VAC power system the INSTEON devices are on. Its a good idea to have a panel schedule and mark it for ready reference when troubleshooting. It helps to quickly look and see if the troublesome device is on the same or opposite leg from Indigo or the device sending the command.
• Use a 50 foot extension cord to try modules and controllers on other circuits to solve the problem.
• Read Perceptive Automation's troubleshooting tips
• When linking a RemoteLinc from Indigo, put it in listen mode by holding the Bright and Dim buttons for 10 seconds. Do not put it in program mode by holding down a key for 10 seconds.
• You may need to configure triggers to listen for "On" and for "Instant On". Its common for the on paddle to bounce on a SwitchLinc relay causing it to send an instant on instead of a plain on.

Purchasing

• Only purchase the V5.2 or later SwitchLinc Relay wall switches. They just work better.
• Purchase the newesst power line interface, currently the 2412U. It might have the improved circuits that the v5.2 SwitchLinc Relays do.
• Purchase only the 6 button KeypadLinc Relay (no dimmer). They can handle the extended command set and it is assumed they have the improved circuits that the SwitchLinc Relays have. The 6 button KeypadLinc can be converted to 8 button with a button kit.
• Purchase KeypadLinc button kits with the devices to save shipping costs later.

Running Indigo Home Automation as a daemon

Perceptive Automation's Indigo Home Automation server for INSTEON and X10 is designed to run in a logged in user account on Apple Mac OS X. It is useful to be able to have it auto start on boot and not require a login to run. This is possible with a few file modifications. Perry the Cynic on Perceptive's forum has documented the procedure.

I found the plist file in /Users/indigouser/Library/LaunchAgents and moved it to /Library/LaunchDaemons, then added the UserName tag. The documented procedure does not mention this so it might be a variation with the later versions of Indigo. I know it works on Snow Leopard Mac OS X 10.6 with Indigo 4.0.2 Pro. This method of running Indigo is not officially supported so do at your own risk. The premise of the procedure is to move the launchd action from the user account to the /Library/LaunchDaemons location and make sure it runs as the non-admin user you choose.

INSTEON Home Control Thoughts

Here is the current thinking about INSTEON after about a year of use. A significant amount of money has been invested and the investment will continue. The system is not perfect but its not bad.

• They operate very fast
• They are very flexible
• There has been one signal strength problem. A SwitchLinc Relay installed on a bathroom fan does not always hear the Indigo signals. It is on the same circuit as a dehumidifier and it may be losing the signal when the dehumidifier is operating.
• Bridging the 220VAC legs with RF bridges is a good idea. No special 220VAC work is required.
• The INSTEON specification includes radio and power line transmission but very few modules actually have both.
• The EZSrve controller from simplehomenet.com was tried but it was replaced it with Indigo from Perceptive Automation. The EZSrve was pretty good but since it does not have any logging capabilities it was difficult to troubleshoot.
• Only relay modules will be bought in the future because there is no point in getting dimmers for CFLs and there are some theories that even a fully-on triac adds power consumption to the CFL power supply with the slightly distorted AC wave form.
• Disclaimer: This house has an X10 repeater on the 220 in addition to the INSTEON wireless bridge devices. That may impact experiences positive or negative.
• Only Decora style wall devices have been purchased so there is no experience with non Decoras.
• X10 wireless controllers are used to operate INSTEON by translating in the Indigo software. It works very good.
• Configuration can be complex if more than one to one on/off is desired. Each device, either controller or responder has to be configured with the INSTEON address of the other device either controller or responder. This is called a link. If there are lots of controllers with status LEDs, there are a lot of links. Indigo does a good job of handing this.
• It would be nice if the INSTEON modules all included RF in a addition to power line control because there will always be troubles with the power line signals.
• They say CFL lights interfere with the X10 and Insteon signals but that has been a problem here.

Indigo and Module-to-Module Links

Indigo can be used to manage all the INSTEON links in the INSTEON modules, just like in EZSrve. The difference is with Indigo, it works and the log files help with troubleshooting. INSTEON scenes/groups were created and the links added to the KeyPadLinc, RemoteLinc and LampLincs. Now as with the EZSrve, the RemoteLinc, the KeyPadLinc or Indigo can command the scene with active status on the KeyPadLinc LEDs and in Indigo. Operation is instantaneous because all the controllers are sending INSTEON commands directly to the modules.

Indigo Triggers were used to adapt old X10 controllers to operate the INSTEON modules. The triggers were configured to hear the X10 commands and then operate the INSTEON action groups. This control process takes about 1 second.

Looks like custom control web pages will be easy to create using the Indigo RESTful URLs

Indigo vs EZSrve, first impressions

Perceptive Automation's Indigo Home Automation software paired with a Smarthome PowerLinc 2414U USB INSTEON/X10 power line interface is working quite well. Running on an iMac with Leopard OS X 10.5.7, the software is full featured with very good log files that distinguish it from the SimpleHomeNet EZSrve (EZServe). Indigo is a welcome relief after struggling with the EZSrve for almost two years.

UPDATE: June 6, 2009 -- No problems after initial configuration. One nice feature of INSTEON is its module to module communication which adds to its "instant on" behavior. Indigo can be a central server with all control requests processed by it but this takes about 2 seconds to process. Indigo can also be used to build module-to-module links in the INSTEON devices just like the EZSrve. This results in faster operation and provides control capability outside Indigo in case Indigo is not running.

All the timers worked last night. The X10 to INSTEON triggers work so X10 controllers can be used to operate INSTEON modules. Everything is working as it should.

The logging on Indigo is great. It revealed a problem with a wireless INSTEON controller. There seemed to be an endless list of empty link records to unload. The RemoteLinc had to be reset to factory because Indigo couldn't get past the downloading of empty records. Now the RemoteLinc is suspect as being part of the EZSrve issues. The EZSrve has no logging however and so all difficulties are in the blind.

I hope to factory reset all INSTEON modules today to get rid of the EZSrve links and then pursue the module to module links. Perhaps Indigo will store those links even if it won't create the links.

Indigo is really a client server architecture. The client on the MacBook Pro is the same client as on the iMac where the server is running. Screen sharing was used to configure Indigo but it all, except applescript, could have been done from the MacBook Pro.

The Indigo Touch iPhone app is spectacular. Download from the iTunes App Store.