Lutron RadioRA 2 (and Caseta) plugin

Ok, ok, I see. That's helpful.

So far be it for me to sound like an ingrate. (I'm super grateful for this plugin to even exist)...

But if you're maintaining a list of requested features, here's mine: I'd like to see the keypad device basically send commands as buttons, but reflect the STATE of the corresponding LED..

Of course at some point I'd like to figure out a way to just set LED state on its own, maybe as a seperate device type (thinking ahead to integrating garage door activation and status via VCRX, with button acting as a toggle, and LED state being set by different set of contacts. Sounds like I'm rambling now.

But if you're maintaining a list of requested features, here's mine: I'd like to see the keypad device basically send commands as buttons, but reflect the STATE of the corresponding LED..

Got it. That's pretty much the way the plugin handles phantom button/LED pairs. When I added support for keypads I decided to decouple buttons/LEDs as pairs because they could be operated independently. Buttons can be pressed or released (although I've yet to encounter a situation where sending a button release from Indigo would be useful for anything). LEDs can be turned on or off. So I made the design decision to define keypad buttons and LEDs separately. It looks a bit odd in Indigo's home window GUI, but most of us use that for setup and troubleshooting only, relying on control pages or keypads/remotes/touchscreens to handle user interaction. The current method also works fine with Indigo triggers, schedules and action groups but I will look into providing an option to set button state to it's corresponding LED state (although I must again repeat that RadioRA 2 button cannot actually be "on" or "off", only "pressed" or "released").

Of course at some point I'd like to figure out a way to just set LED state on its own, maybe as a seperate device type (thinking ahead to integrating garage door activation and status via VCRX, with button acting as a toggle, and LED state being set by different set of contacts. Sounds like I'm rambling now.

Easy one! Just define an LED on the VCRX the same way you would on a keypad and you can turn it on or off from Indigo.

But if you're maintaining a list of requested features, here's mine: I'd like to see the keypad device basically send commands as buttons, but reflect the STATE of the corresponding LED..

Got it. That's pretty much the way the plugin handles phantom button/LED pairs. When I added support for keypads I decided to decouple buttons/LEDs as pairs because they could be operated independently. Buttons can be pressed or released (although I've yet to encounter a situation where sending a button release from Indigo would be useful for anything). LEDs can be turned on or off. So I made the design decision to define keypad buttons and LEDs separately. It looks a bit odd in Indigo's home window GUI, but most of us use that for setup and troubleshooting only, relying on control pages or keypads/remotes/touchscreens to handle user interaction. The current method also works fine with Indigo triggers, schedules and action groups but I will look into providing an option to set button state to it's corresponding LED state (although I must again repeat that RadioRA 2 button cannot actually be "on" or "off", only "pressed" or "released").

Of course at some point I'd like to figure out a way to just set LED state on its own, maybe as a seperate device type (thinking ahead to integrating garage door activation and status via VCRX, with button acting as a toggle, and LED state being set by different set of contacts. Sounds like I'm rambling now.

Easy one! Just define an LED on the VCRX the same way you would on a keypad and you can turn it on or off from Indigo.

Ah, ok. I'm getting smarter on this bit by bit. The fact that RadioRA2 only understands a 'press' is more interesting than anything.

I guess what I REALLY would like then (and again, let me just say I'm happy to have what we have right now!) is the option to set up a button/led in three ways:
1) Combo LED, Button. This basically reflects the state of the LED, and any action on it sends a button PRESS. I think this would basically replicate the keypad functionality (I use Indigo Touch a lot, and not much control pages, so this would be cool for that).
2) LED Only. I think this is the functionality you already have. Basically, reflects LED state (and I assume you can turn the LED on or off - haven't tried yet).
3) Button Press. Basically just a button. Sends a Press.

The more I think about it, the more I think only the first option is necessary. (Again, thinking back to Garage Door setup). I'll have a contact closure to a VCRX, and Indigo will use that to set the LED state of a button. And whenever that button is pressed, it uses the open/close of the garage door. Should totally work. The only question is... if I actually define the button press to contact closure action in RadioRA2 software, does the plugin still have the ability to control that LED, or does that action need to be defined in Indigo.

Regardless, This plugin is great, and now that I'm up and running on it, I'm convinced to go ahead on rolling our RadioRA2 to the rest of the house. Thanks!

I think it's a good idea to add the option of displaying either the status of last button press (press=ON, release=OFF) or the status of it's corresponding LED. If anybody has a strong feeling about which option should be default, please chime in.

BTW, I attempted to test Swancoat's scenario about setting the state of a VCRX LED and realized there is a bug in the implementation that sends an incorrect command when turning an LED on or off. The same bug would also apply to keypads. So I apparently lied about the ability to control LEDs but I'll get that fixed ASAP.

Anybody interested in beta testing these changes, please PM me with your email address.

Thanks,
-Jim

PM sent!

So Jim ...

Do you then define two devices for each button on the keypad? A "button" and then an "LED"? (I was doing one or the other, and confusing myself.)

Also - I have found that if there isn't a load assigned to an LED, I can't switch it on via Indigo. I assume the brains of the repeater say "no load, no LED"

My current adventure is repurposing a single keypad button to do basic control of Sonos. I'm thinking:

- Define artificial dimmed load attached to keypad button
- Turning button on will trigger Play for Sonos
- Dimming (using up/down) on keypad will adjust volume accordingly
- Turning button off will trigger Sonos Pause

I could either watch the artificial load for the triggers, or watch the keypad. Not sure which makes more sense yet.

Will let you know how it works...

Tony

I could either watch the artificial load for the triggers, or watch the keypad. Not sure which makes more sense yet.

Quoting myself... I think it would make more sense to watch the load. Then I can have other keypads triggering that same load, and then maintain only one set of triggers. I think.

Tony and Swancoat:

I did find a bug with LED control and will email each of you an updated plugin to try.

This version allows you to turn keypad LEDs on or off without needing to create a dummy load.

Also, I implemented Swancoat's neat idea. You now have the option of displaying the state of an LED on its corresponding button in Indigo. Example: for keypad 101, button 5, create a new keypad LED 85 and select the option to display LED state instead of button press status.

After updating to this version, you will need to re-save each keypad button or LED: select the device in Indigo's main menu, click Edit, Click Edit Device Settings..., select options and click Save.

Cheers,
-Jim

Thanks Jim, I've got the new plugin loaded up. After a few hiccups getting devices defined correctly etc, and reboots, I think I've got it running correctly.

Here's how it works for me.

So, setting up a 'keypad' I now see a pop up menu with two options:

1) "Keypad Button". Specify the Integration ID, and then the Button (1-7) or LED (81-87) ID:
-This basically replicates the old behavior and seems to work accordingly. Turning on gives a button press, but the state is sort of irrelevant. Basically goes to 'on' the first time you use it and stays there unless you shut if off (which actually doesn't do anything other than show it being 'off').

2) "Keypad LED". Specify the Integration ID and then Button (107) or LED (81-87) ID. Also an option to 'Display LED state instead of button press status'.
So, I'm not sure what to specify here, the Button ID or the LED ID.
-If I specify a Button ID and leave the checkbox off, it's just like option 1.
-If I specify a Button ID and check the checkbox, then activating the device results in a button press, but also throws errors into the log. It also seems to hang Indigo from updating the devices promptly. Manually turning the device 'off' also throws an error.
-If I specify an LED ID and leave the checkbox off, then acting on the device turns it on briefly (then it appears the Main Repeater overrides it, and sends an LED off signal, as it goes back to 'off' shortly. When the buttons are activated directly from the keypad or Lutron app, then the state appears to update appropriately. This is probably the exact behavior I'd expect to see if I specified an LED in option 1. (There's still a whole issue of can you control the LED of a button you've defined with the RadioRA2 software, but I think that's not so much plugin issue as it is a RadioRA2 issue).
-if I specify an LED ID and check the checkbox, it throws an error even if I activate that button from the Lutron App. Again, Device updates seem to lag and/or get lost. Acting on the button directly, also throws an error. Doesn't appear to cause any action on the scene either.

So basically, to sum it up, Option 2 either replicates Option 1, or else causes a bunch of errors (I can get logs if you want). Seems like a lot of options conceptually too. I think it could be defined simpler.

Option 1: Basically exactly as you have it. Maybe change the label to "Button or LED" or something, but whatever.
Option 2: This would be like a 'button replica' or "button/led combo" or whatever. I would think you should only define the button ID: X. Turning it on or off will send the exact same command (a button press) and any LED status for ID 8X, can just be parsed into the status for X.

Thanks for all the work on this!

I need to figure out a better way to validate the device settings as they're being entered (or at least provide clearer instructions), but there are three options:

1. Keypad Button: please specify an ID in the range of 1-7

2. Keypad LED: please specify an ID in the range of 81-87

3. Keypad LED with option of pushing status to its corresponding button: specify an ID in the range of 81-87 and tick the checkbox

Entering a value that's not in the range of 81-87 for an LED and also checking the box can cause the plugin to act erratically until it is restarted and under some circumstances could cause Indigo to stop communicating with the repeater entirely. Update the keypad LEDs with valid values if that happens and reload the plugin (or restart the computer if all else fails). I'll add some error handling but that should get everything operational again for the time being.

Cheers,
-Jim

Ahhh, I think I missed something key when I was testing this.

I think I need to create a button device, AND an LED device, and ticking the checkbox will push LED status to the button device. Is that right?

I was thinking it was just one device creation.

User error!

Ahhh, I think I missed something key when I was testing this.

I think I need to create a button device, AND an LED device, and ticking the checkbox will push LED status to the button device. Is that right?

I was thinking it was just one device creation.

User error!

Precisely! Both the button and the LED need to be defined because Indigo needs to watch both for messages.

I will improve the configuration dialog to make this requirement more clear.

Ok, I did that and it works. There were some initial errors after I first defined the new LED devices, but a restart of the plugin cured it. Thanks!

Just an update... I've been slowly rolling out the RadioRA 2 installation here.

One of my big worries was that RadioRA 2 doesn't have any kind of door sensor. I have several Insteon ones and they are linked directly to the switch they control. I figured with RadioRA 2, I'd have Indigo handle the work. Basically, I set up a simple trigger so that when Indigo sees the sensor open, it activates the light (and vice versa).

It works MUCH better than expected. The RadioRA 2 plugin is so fast that the latency is going to be of zero impact. (Everyone here probably understands that on things like this, latency can be a big issue. Just an extra 'beat' between opening the pantry door and seeing the light can get pretty annoying after going in there several times each day).

I'd characterize the difference between the Insteon direct linking and having the software handle it as: With direct linking, the light was on before I finished opening the door. With the software running the rule, the light is coming on as my hand is coming off of the door knob. Slower, sure, but absolutely not going to be a problem.

Hi all,

I posted an updated plugin on the Downloads page. Changes are:

-Fixed a bug with setting LED status
-Added an option to display a keypad button's corresponding LED status (instead of button press status)
-Improved the keypad configuration dialog

Users upgrading from previous versions of the plugin should edit and re-save all keypad devices.

Thanks,
-Jim