If Insteon is a single point of failure for you - read this!

Just a quick bit of info on my Insteon USB indigo interface

I meant to send this info out when availability of the Insteon Indigo interfaces became unobtainium, but I neglected to do that until today. Sorry about that

Wanted to pass along how I have my Indigo Insteon USB interface set up, why I did it and how long it has been working…

Back around 2015 (or 16, can’t remember) when I first set up Indigo, I had my Insteon USB hub malfunction a short while after installing my system. It was under warranty and was replaced. The day it happened was stormy and I was wondering if a power surge was to blame for the failure.

Since I had many Insteon plug in modules, I decided to put my Indigo USB interface behind a big honking surge suppressor (I know, I know that it is not a recommended practice). Since it was dual-band - I would just collocate a plug-in module (also dual-band) close by and the interface would talk to the plug-in module (which was not behind the surge suppressor) and then it would work normally from that point on.

I at least wanted to see if that would work and it did - I noticed no difference when it was protected so I left it that way and that same interface has been working since. Maybe it would have worked anyway, but I can tell you that I have lost two phase couplers over that time and neither was behind any surge protection.

I know the current theory is the USB interfaces have poor quality capacitors and folks say they find cold solder joints and that may be true but I can also tell you cold joints (in the vast majority of cases) would either work or not work they would not likely degrade over time (based on my 40 years in a very technical hardware field). And sure, I have seen capacitors split open and or leak and fail so I’m sure better capacitors would be always better (if you had a choice) but maybe those lesser quality components are just a bit more susceptible to surges. That might also explain things in some cases.

Anyway, food for thought — if your interface is your single point of failure - maybe it is worth a quick test to see if your setup runs fine behind some protection. If it does, why not hedge your bets and go with a safer setup.

I luckily purchased a backup interface a long while back (when they were half off) - just so if I did have a failure I would not need to wait for shipping - now it is a backup so I can try to fix mine if it does crap out.

Sorry for the long post but I’m sure a lot of folks don’t have a back-up and this info might help someone postpone the end of Insteon in their setups - better to do that transition slowly over time so you don’t have a big bill and spend a ton of time in an emergency trying to swap tons of stuff over to Z-wave…..

So when you say; "a big honking surge suppressor" what specifically is it plugged into? I'm going to assume a Power Strip.

Taking this a bit further, plugging it into a UPS, might be an even better form of protection.

Thanks for sharing your experience, I hadn't considered anything other than plugging the modem directly into the wall.

It is plugged into a USP - it has a rating far better than a small single port or low end power strip…..

Thanks for this recommendation!

I'm trying it now b/c we live in a place with lots of summer storms, lightning, and power surges ... combined with the lack of replacements.

Survey Plugin shows some loss of speed and reliability on a few Insteon modules but most stayed within about 100ms of what I usually see in the Survey reports. That's acceptable, here.

Just hope this helps prolong the 3412U's life for a smooth transition from the many Insteon devices I still have, while waiting for the *next, great* communication protocol, and whether Thread will Matter.

Sure, hope it helps - between this and the repair info I have seen here (posted by Kory, I think) - you should be able to keep things operational for a gradual transition. I have so many leak sensors, wish I could find some z-wave modules with ~10 year battery lives….

Norm, thanks for sharing your experience and the idea of using surge protection between the power outlet and the PLM.

A couple of ideas are to install a whole house surge protectors at your breaker panel(s). In the last couple years, this is now an NEC requirement for new homes and great idea for every home! Good report on the minimal impact of putting the PLM behind a surge protector. Those are usually very good at filtering noise and they also kill the Insteon powerline signal. One alternative is to use a plug-in surge protector that only has MOVs and no capacitors or inductors so the powerline signal can move in and out.

Lastly, beginning with PLM revision 2.3 in 2017, the capacitors were changed to longer-rated components and in rev. 2.5, the problem that contributed capacitors issues was fixed with updates to parts in the snubber circuits around the switching transformer.

-Pinch

Good info, thanks - funny you mentioned the whole house surge protector - I just put one in a few days ago - everything seems to be working fine (including my sense energy monitor).

Good info, thanks - funny you mentioned the whole house surge protector - I just put one in a few days ago - everything seems to be working fine (including my sense energy monitor).

I can't read that label. What surge protector did you install? I really should do the same.

Leviton 51120-1 120/240 Volt Panel Protector, 4-Mode Protection, Light Commercial/Residential Grade, In NEMA 1 Enclosure

Amazon link is https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00081K55Q

I did not have any empty spots for additional breakers left in my panel so added it in using a quadplex breaker - mounted under the panel just because it was the easiest spot - if I had to do it again I would mount it up higher since the LEDs are hard to see with the box that low - it would have been a bit harder since (for me) I would have had to drill through a stud to come into the box higher.

Easy hookup - you just need some 12/3 romex since it is a 4 wire hook up. Mounting the box was not too much fun - I can provide details if you’re interested - if your panel is on an un-sheetrocked garage wall (or any unfinished wall) the install will be much less of a pain. My garage is finished so it was less fun.

Not sure why I waited so long, seems like everything in the house that is plugged has a circuit board in it and one big surge could put me in a world of problems……

PS, forgot to mention I paid 169.00 for it but as it goes in and out of stock on amazon the price changes - it was much higher a day before I purchased it - I was going to get it at Homedepot but it was out of stock - luckily I had a price watch set and got it cheaper via amazon…