Dying PowerLinc 2413U?

I have been using Indigo and Insteon for many years with little problems. Running it off a 2006 Mac Pro on OS X 10.7.5. Over the last few months the system has become unreliable. It gives me the "send failed (no acknowledgment)" error quite often. And tonight I can't get it to control anything. I swapped in my new MacBook Pro, and still nothing. Are there any other possibilities I should check before I order a new 2413U? I only have Insteon devices, is the 2413U still the best interface?

Thanks for any thoughts!

- Joe

Additionally, I just noticed that if I manually switch a light SwitchLinc or KeypadLinc, I see the Received INSTEON message in the log without fail.

[jay (support)]

If you're getting no acks, then it's more likely a signal issue. Try running a long (outdoor) extension cord from your PowerLinc to an outlet in another room and see if it gets any better. If so, then it's definitely some kind of signal issue, and you can start looking for noise on the circuit where the 2413U was originally plugged. Check the signal troubleshooting page for tips on dealing with signal problems.

My 2413U died last night. I tried a lot of things to revive it, but it's dead - no lights, no beeps nothing. We had a power surge a couple of weeks ago and I think that killed it. I dragged out my old 2414U which has a hard time working on my network and is incompatible with some of my devices. Gotta have that dual band.

So my question is this: Is the 2413U still the best choice for an all Insteon Indigo system? I've lost track of how many Insteon interfaces that have failed me over the years so I'm not enthusiastic about buying another one.

[matt (support)]

Yes, the 2413U is still the newest and recommended USB INSTEON interface. They have a 2 year warranty, so if you bought it less than 2 years ago then see the dealer about getting it swapped out.

Note when you replace it you'll need to Re-Define (top button in the device dialog) the modules you have which are i2CS firmware, not just re-sync them. We hope to improve Indigo's house wide resyncing to be able to resync ii2CS modules when a PowerLinc is swapped, but the current version of Indigo cannot and requires the re-Define process to be executed.

Note when you replace it you'll need to Re-Define (top button in the device dialog) the modules you have which are i2CS firmware, not just re-sync them. We hope to improve Indigo's house wide resyncing to be able to resync ii2CS modules when a PowerLinc is swapped, but the current version of Indigo cannot and requires the re-Define process to be executed.

Thanks Matt for the tip on using re-Define. My automation system is intended to be create/set/forget. While I like learning about Indigo and Insteon and tweaking things, eventually life gets in the way and I need the system to just work. What then happens is that I forget all sorts of little details I learned during setup. When the system breaks it becomes super frustrating to re-learn the things needed to get it working again. Tips like your help a lot.

If I get organized some day, I'll make some setup notes to help me out when the inevitable happens.

I guess mine died today.

first lost connection, after power cycle it came back. then again ... recycled several times. Now no response anymore. Tried to reboot the MAC, changed cables and USB outlets... no change.

Also tried the reset (off for some seconds, then switch on while pressing the set button.. for 15 secs ... no led light comes on, no beep)

I guess, I will have to buy a new one and then "redefine" all 60 Insteon devices? = for each of them do { click on "define and sync" and then click the sync button} ?


should i replace with the 2413U or the usb stick version 2448A7 .. any suggestions?

Karl

[jay (support)]

You don't necessarily have to do it for every device depending on the age of your devices. Older ones (i1 and i2 firmware) should automatically resync when Indigo sees the new PowerLinc and throws up the sync dialog. But, yeah, it could be a bit tedious.

I wouldn't switch to the RF-only dongle - that would basically force an extra hop for any non-dual band powerline devices you have.

ok went through the process:

1. you essentially need to define and sync each receiving device (dimmers, switches, outlets etc), takes between 10 and 30 seconds, depending on how fast the communication goes.
2. the "morning link" needed special attention. had to try all kinds of things, but got it work work after 5 minutes.. - disconnect from power, put back in and press the set button for 10 secs.
3. the battery operated (sensors) you need to create an event = open close window etc. to get them back.

found 1 outside device switch that was dead in doing the sync process.

total effort after new modem was put in ~ 3+ hours for 50+ devices.

Karl

.

It sounds like I should have a spare 2413U on hand as my Indigo is mission critical.

I wonder what the best practices/processes are to swap the 2413U out? I would like to have a game plan when the day comes my 2413U kicks it!

Mine looks like it just failed this weekend. I was out of town, but we had a power outage that the system was able to recover from (most equip is on a UPS or surge protector, but not the PLM for obvious reasons).

At this stage, I pretty much use Insteon only for door sensors and only have ONE device still connected by IR (IR Linc receiver). If I can find another workaround for that thing... then I'll just get the dongle...

I still have some of the wireless powerline bridge things kicking around... if I plug one of those in, then hopefully that'll be sufficient.

On several occasions after power failures or after intentionally unplugging my 2413U, after power is restored or after manually plugging back in, the unit would not connect to Indigo and appeared to be dead. I thought "oh no" I don't want to go through a replacement and re-syncing everything.

After the first time this occurred, I happened to plug the unit back in after about an hour and suddenly it was connecting and working again. Each subsequent time I've had the "can't connect problem", I've left the unit unplugged for 30 minutes or so, and then plugged it back in. Magically it's working again. Every time!

I've had sporadic interface issues as well. Thought maybe it was a subtle Sierra thing, though it worked just fine for several days after the MacOS update. Installed the FTDI driver, rebooted, and things worked well for a few days. Then we had another power outage and I was barely able to get the PowerLinc to stay alive. Indigo logged various interface/port/unknown command bytes errors. Looks to be completely dead now. Seems odd to have a slow decline thru assisted living then hospice care. I ordered a new 2413U this morning from Amazon which is supposed to be here tonight. Hope it works ... but not looking forward to getting my 70-ish devices linked and synced

[matt (support)]

Have you tried unplugging the PowerLinc (from the Mac and wall) for several minutes? Sometimes they can come back to life after that.

Note if you are replacing the 2413U then you'll need to re-Define/Sync each device individually (via the Device dialog). Unfortunately, the batch Sync All option doesn't work with most INSTEON modules because of a change in their firmware (i2CS). Indigo's Define/Sync command can reprogram them to point to the new PowerLinc, but Indigo's Sync All operation cannot. We hope to have that improved in the next major release of Indigo 7, but that unfortunately won't help you the next day or two.

Tried every iteration of unplugging, etc but it finally kicked the bucket. Yay for Amazon getting me a new one same day. Took it two hours to re link everything and me about 30 minutes to redefine a few things after it was done. Oddly, after that was all done a couple 8 button keypads came up dead. Insteon costs are pretty high for such unreliable hardware. Oh, and most of my installs are "old" firmware so Indigo did quite well all by itself. Maybe 10% are i2cs