Migrating to a PowerLink 2448A7 from a 2413U

I received my new USB Stick due the the failure of my 2nd 2413U (viewtopic.php?f=75&t=18009) and got it set up!

Some things I noticed that I would love some feedback on:

1. It took a long time to "sync" all the links. I know Matt that you said it would be slower, so I expected that.
2. Command reliability.

I use mostly Insteon Scenes inside Actions Groups triggered by either a wall-button or a software app like the control panel in Indigo Touch... I noticed consistently that many of my devices would not change (like turn off, dim..ect) like they should. I did a quick check up on all my access points. I have 5 total access points. 2 "newer" ones and 3 older ones. 2 upstairs, 3 downstairs. I noticed that one of the older one's green light does not even blink and is extremely dim. Perhaps is it bad? Also, I see that you no longer can buy an Access Point?

I turned on "Group Cleanup" and this seemed to solve the reliability follow-through when the clean up happens, but that is slow of course.

So,
Would you recommend still using Insteon Scenes? or perhaps switch to a Virtual Group or adding the devices manually to my action groups.?

Also, is "Group Cleanup" my best option for reliability here?

Or! any other suggestions? Are these findings congruent with other users?

Thanks for all the help,
- Matt T

[matt (support)]

Is the problem mainly with scenes that start as the result of a switch or keypad button press Trigger versus using a Control Page? I ask because in the former there can be issues with command collisions. The switch or keypad might still be sending out its own cleanup commands for the key press when Indigo starts executing the scene. If the problem happens even when executed with Control Pages then it sounds more like a general INSTEON signal or bridging issue.

Do you have many (or any) dual-band lamp or switch modules? If so, you might want to try (at least for troubleshooting) unplugging all of your Access Points (I'd start with the old ones but also try with them all unplugged). It is possible, if they are marginal, they are causing problems with the signal quality. Presuming that isn't he case, I would suggest moving them around to other locations. Having one in close proximity to the 2448A7 isn't a bad idea so that it can more quickly get commands on to the power line.

I don't really recommend the group cleanup functionality. If the scene has a lot of modules then it can be pretty slow. If you aren't able to track down why the reliability isn't as good as it should be you can double-up the scene commands and have Indigo send them 2x or 3x times (just duplicate the action). That will likely be as reliable as the cleanup commands but much faster.

I see mostly the problems when triggered from the Keypad link. I just pushed a button a min ago and nothing happened. I had to use the control panel, and then it worked. I attached a pic of my topography of devices. I do have several newer dual-band asI have replaced devices that have died over the years. These all seem to be new problems when switching to the USB stick.

I can remove all the access points and keep only the 2 new ones for fun and report back my finding and try removing all them.

Two questions:

1. Should I do another "clear" and "sync-all links" on the controller?
2. Should I ditch Insteon scenes and just use action groups?

-MT

[matt (support)]

Based on Norm's email it sounds like you might have gotten a marginal 2448A7. Hopefully the replacement he sent works better.

I see mostly the problems when triggered from the Keypad link. I just pushed a button a min ago and nothing happened.

Does Indigo log the incoming KeypadLinc command, but then the problem is the scene command sent by Indigo isn't received by all the modules? If that is the case then I would try duplicating the scene action once or twice. If the problem is a collision with the KeypadLinc's cleanup commands that might help.

1. Should I do another "clear" and "sync-all links" on the controller?

That shouldn't be necessary just because of removing the AccessPoints. They are passive in that other devices don't really know about their existence so nothing needs to be done when adding or removing them.

2. Should I ditch Insteon scenes and just use action groups?

You can, and it probably will be more reliable albeit obviously slower. I personally use action groups for most of my scenes because I like to be able to easily edit the scene and it lets me identify problematic modules (because of the failures that will show in the Event Log). For some folks not having a true lighting scene where all the lights turn on/off at the same time is a deal breaker though. Personally, I don't mind the synchronous nature of the lights turning on/off but I can see how some would find that annoying. I don't have that many lighting modules in single rooms/areas though, so for me it isn't as noticeable.