Indigo Domotics

Use this forum to discuss the INSTEON LED Bulb.

Device Details
How to use with Indigo

Originally posted by jitnol on a different thread
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I'm sure this is probably NOT the right place to ask, but I'm hoping someone has some experience with this problem and might can lend a hand.

I have 2 Insteon LED light bulbs, and they are connected to my Indigo Automation System.

Indigo can see the bulbs, but can't control them. Right now, one is stuck at 40% brightness, and the other at 100%. Nothing I can do will change that. I've deleted them in Indigo, and re-created them as devices, but still no go.

However, when I ask Indigo to get the status of the bulbs, it does so correctly. So the software and the bulbs ARE communicating. But there is not control.

Any suggestions?

If you have a floor/table lamp then put one of them in there and move it somewhere else - preferably to the same outlet as your PowerLinc and see if that makes a difference.

Also, when you turn the bulb on/off are there any errors in the event log?

Well nothing seemed to work... so I just deleted the devices again... plugged them into the same outlet as the modem, and reinstalled them... Now that they are back to where they are supposed to be, they seem to be working..

There were no errors in the log.... I'm just hoping this system doesn't become something I have to maintain all the time.. that will be very disappointing..

If I have three different Insteon led bulbs in three different fixtures. One bulb controlled by a regular light switch, and the other two in fixtures with power continuously on. Can I set up indigo to turn the other two bulbs with continuos power on and off, when the third bulb is switched on and off from a regular switch? I know the third bulb will lose power and can't connect to indigo, but will indigo see that the bulb connect and disconnect from the insteon network, and be able to trigger the other two.

Can I also set up indigo so between a certain time always have the 2 bulbs on, and when outside that time block follow the other Insteon bulb (controlled by the switch) status?

greybush wrote:

If I have three different Insteon led bulbs in three different fixtures. One bulb controlled by a regular light switch, and the other two in fixtures with power continuously on. Can I set up indigo to turn the other two bulbs with continuos power on and off, when the third bulb is switched on and off from a regular switch? I know the third bulb will lose power and can't connect to indigo, but will indigo see that the bulb connect and disconnect from the insteon network, and be able to trigger the other two.

I'm not actually clear on what you're asking. Indigo will not see when the bulb connects/disconnects from the INSTEON network. It will only know if it tries to send it a command and the bulb doesn't respond. And even that isn't known in a way that can be easily triggered off of.

greybush wrote:

Can I also set up indigo so between a certain time always have the 2 bulbs on

You can create a schedule that turns on the 2 bulbs and then turns them back off.

greybush wrote:

and when outside that time block follow the other Insteon bulb (controlled by the switch) status?

You can't have them follow the INSTEON bulb that's controlled by the switch for the reason I mention above - nobody knows when an INSTEON device disappears/reappears on the network.

Just installed three of these bulbs and they are working fine. I have two questions though:
1: Is there a way to cross-link the bulbs?
2: Is there no way to manually turn the bulbs on/off using the switch?

rgspb wrote:

1: Is there a way to cross-link the bulbs?

The bulb can be linked using INSTEON links as a responder to any controller. Since it has no manual operation it can't be linked as a controller.

rgspb wrote:

2: Is there no way to manually turn the bulbs on/off using the switch?

Well, yes - if your switch cuts the power to the bulb then it'll go off. Of course, you won't then be able to control it from your automation. I believe if you restore power via the switch then the bulb will go back to what it was before it lost power - at least that's what the PAR bulb does. Can someone with one of these confirm?

Here's the confirmation:
Manually turn off lamp with INSTEON LED Bulb and no more Indigo control.
Manually turn lamp back on and it goes to last setting and is once more under Indigo control.

Here's the log:

Sent INSTEON "Living Room Small Lamp" on to 43
<Manually turned off Lamp w/ INSTEON LED bulb>
Feb 1, 2014 4:31:10 PM
<Asked Indigo to give me Status Check of Lamp>
Error "Living Room Small Lamp" status request; send failed (no acknowledgment)
<Turned lamp back on manually and then asked for Status. Bulb came back on at 43%>
Feb 1, 2014 4:32:30 PM
Sent INSTEON "Living Room Small Lamp" status request (received: 43)

Thanks. I failed to mention that these bulbs are installed in wall sconces operated by two wall switches, but the results should be the same.

Are these bulbs supported by Indigo 5? I just purchased a bulb, and Indigo indicates that it cannot communicate with the device.

Depends on the bulb, but make sure you are running the latest version of Indigo 5. The bulbs didn't come out until a while after v5 was initially released.

I installed v5.1.10, and still no go. I put v6 on another system to test, and it found and installed the bulb just fine, so it's clearly a version issue. SHOULD 5.1.10 support the bulb??

Might be a moot point anyway -- the bulb emits an irritating high-pitched whine when it is dimmed... to the point that I'm probably going to send it back. Is there a quiet dimmable PAR38 bulb that works well with Indigo????

The PAR38 bulb came out after Indigo 5.1.10 was released, but we will get support for it added to the next release (v5.1.11).

I don't recall hearing the high-pitched whine with the PAR38 Smarthome sent me -- maybe just a bit of a whine when I was within a foot or two of the bulb. I wonder if yours is particularly noisy?

When do you anticipate 5.1.11?