Official IRLinc How To Thread

Posted on
Tue Sep 02, 2008 8:00 am
matt (support) offline
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Hi Craig,

Thanks for the follow up, and I'm glad you got it working.

CraigM wrote:
I can't stress enough how important it is to keep a spreadsheet listing EVERY program attempt [1,2,3...], Button name, IR code used, device controlled, etc. ... Imaging someday you want to create a trigger. How will you ever remember that the module you want to control via IR was program #47 ?

I don't know that you need to do that, unless I'm misunderstanding the complexity. This is what I would do:

1) Create a new IRLinc group/scene for every remote control button you want to use (this is the hard and time consuming part).

2) Press one of the buttons you just linked to the IRLinc. For this example, let's presume you pressed the button labeled "UP."

3) Check the Event Log to see which INSTEON group/scene number the IRLinc just sent.

4) Create a new Trigger Action for that group/scene number and give the Trigger Action the name, "Harmony UP Button Pressed."

That should do it, right? It doesn't matter that the UP button sends out the IR Command for button #3 and that the IRLinc assigned that to its internal INSTEON group/scene #8 as long as you get the end result that you want which is when that button is pressed you want Trigger Action "Harmony Up Button" to execute. You can us the Event Log to see what is being sent to Indigo when that button is pressed, which is INSTEON command you'll want to assign to the trigger.

CraigM wrote:
Matt, is there any way for Indigo to 'dump' the data contained in the IRLinc to a text file or the Event Log?

Not currently. And I'm not sure how Indigo would show anything meaningful for the IR command assigned to each group/scene. It might be possible, I'm not sure.

Regards,
Matt

Posted on
Wed Sep 03, 2008 3:04 pm
ctgreybeard offline
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Location: Bethel, CT, USA

IRLinc now comes with its OWN REMOTE!

http://blog.smarthome.com/2008/09/03/cr ... th-irlinc/

I plan on ordering one and setting up the Harmony One with it and submitting that to Logitech.

Edit: I've ordered the new IRLinc. Unfortunately the remote is NOT compatible with the older IRLinc so they are cross-shipping a new IRLinc and remote. I'll post results after I've received it and had a chance to play a bit.

Bill W

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Bill W

Posted on
Sat Sep 06, 2008 8:33 pm
CraigM offline
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Spoke too soon!

Just when I thought I solved my IRLinc/Harmony/Indigo nightmare...I woke up to more issues.

RECAP:

Harmony 880
Indigo 3.0.4
IRLinc

Programming was/is successful with these Harmony 'custom' buttons for my IRLinc device:

#3 = UP = IRcommand 3
#4 = DOWN = IRcommand 4
#5 = STOP = IRcommand 5
#6 = Fan ON = IRcommand 5
#7 = Fan OFF = IRcommand 7
#8 = Theater Lighting = IRcommand 8
#9 = Sofa Lamp ON = IRcommand 9

[#1 & #2 were skipped because of programming issues - see prior post]

The above are from the default IRcommands in Harmony's 'device' drop down menu.

I like the idea of having the 'program sequence number' [#] the same as the 'IRcommand', but Harmony only has numbers 0-9 as a choice.

A level 2 tech at Harmony was able to add more numbers to my device list, 10-50, so that I could continue with my sequence.

UNFORTUNATLY:
#10 shows in Indigo's log as Button 1?
#11 shows in Indigo's log as Button 2?

So I thought that those new numbers 10-50 are not NEC? So I abandoned my numbers and made another choice from Harmony's default list.

#12 = Sofa Lamp OFF = IRcommand Add/Erase

This shows in Indigo's log as button 1?

? stumped ?

I believe the IRLinc can hold 255 programs, but where do you find that many usable codes that work? most users will only program <30, but I seem to have run out at 9.

Posted on
Sat Sep 06, 2008 11:36 pm
CraigM offline
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Continued from last post.

#10 [10] shows in Indigo's log as Button 1
#11 [11] shows in Indigo's log as Button 2
#12 [add/erase] shows in Indigo's log as Button 1

More testing results [I don't sleep much these days]

#13 [Audio] shows in Indigo's log as Button 2
#14 [Auto] shows in Indigo's log as Button 10
#15 [ChanelDown] shows in Indigo's log as Button 11
#16 [Clear] shows in Indigo's log as Button 12
#17 [Clk/Count] shows in Indigo's log as Button 13

Has anyone out there [with a fresh brain] been able to program the IRLinc well into the double digits and have Indigo report a sequential button number order?

Posted on
Mon Sep 08, 2008 8:49 am
matt (support) offline
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Good questions Craig. I'm not sure what IR commands to choose once you exhaust the obvious ones.

I wonder if choosing "10" for the Harmony is sending 2 IR commands (1, then a 0). If so, then I don't believe that will work with the IRLinc. But I would expect you to be able to choose the other NEC IR commands (Audio, Auto, ChannelDown, etc.).

Have you tried calling Smarthome support to see if they have any tips?

Anyone else out there programmed more than 10 or so IR commands into the IRLinc?

Regards,
Matt

Posted on
Tue Sep 09, 2008 6:59 pm
ctgreybeard offline
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Location: Bethel, CT, USA

New IRLinc now with Remote

Well, I received my replacement IRLinc today that comes with a "credit card remote"

This SHOULD have been what they shipped in the First Place IMHO!

The improvement in the IRLinc itself is that the silly green LED is now pretty visible. But with the addition of the remote capabilities this isn't nearly that important any more.

NO MORE SET BUTTON! The remote has two buttons "Add to Scene" and "Remove from Scene" which function as the Set button. Hooray!

The remote itself has 24 buttons:

Eight Scene On and Off buttons (Scene A through H)

Four Scene On buttons (Scene I through L)

All On and All Off buttons

Add to Scene and Remove from Scene buttons

Syncing to Indigo is a little tedious as you need to sync each button separately. But since you don't need to actually use the Set button on the 2411R it's merely sitting and pushing buttons.

Then I had to go back and set up the Harmony One to mimic the remote. I've got mine set so that:

Vol+ is Scene A On and Vol- is Scene A Off
Ch+ is Scene B On and Ch- is Scene B Off

Those are the two Scenes that I would be using most frequently the way I have it set up in Indigo.

1 through 4 are Scene I through L

+ is Add to Scene
E is Remove from Scene
ArrowUp is All On
ArrowDown is All Off

And the rest are in the Extra buttons.

Maybe I'll call Logitech tomorrow and let them grab my settings if they are interested. Would that be a good idea, do you think?

All in all I'm a happy camper right now.

Bill W

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Bill W

Posted on
Thu Sep 11, 2008 3:30 pm
CraigM offline
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ctgreybeard

You haven't lived till you have phoned Harmony tech support! Take several Vicodin and be prepared to spend 1-2 hours talking to mind-numbing, un-knowledgeable, arrogant, Macintosh haters.

I have over 75 hours of troubleshooting my clients 880 just in the last month!
The following are my opinions after this ordeal, which hasn't ended:

- Level 1 & 2 support have NO CLUE what an IRLinc is or does. So they will never be able to help you.

- When you create an IRLinc device there software treats it as a Lamp Module! Which means tech support will troubleshoot it as a Lamp Module!

- Harmony remote 'could' be a kickass product if Logitech would sell off this division to someone who cares.

- I could not get the remote to update via their software after installing OS10.5, the tech told me it was because I own a Mac, "works fine on Windoze" he said. This tech asked me to delete all the related files from my computer folder by folder. I asked "isn't there an 'uninstaller'? He responded "you can't do that on a Mac, we have one for Windoze" [if you look in the software download you will see 2 items, an INSTALLER and UNINSTALLER]
FOLKS THIS IS A LEVEL 2 TECH!!!! Can you imagine the stories I have about Level 1.

- I will NEVER EVER recommend any Logitech product to any client of mine. I can't afford to be a full time, no-fee beta tester for a company that treats its customers like dirt.

- Anyone out there thinking about buying a universal remote from Harmony should think long and hard about who will support you when you need help?

- It is vital that everyone contribute to this IRLinc/Harmony thread:

http://www.perceptiveautomation.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2941

The only support available will come from us users.

Posted on
Sat Oct 18, 2008 8:00 pm
nojstevens offline
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I have my Harmony 880 set up with IR Link, and I can see from the Indigo Log that if I press the button and release I send an on/off command, and if I press and hold I send a brighten/dim command.

When I send an on/off, I have a trigger action set up in Indigo that calls an action group that brightens 8 different lamps by 10% each time. I have this set up so that it sends an individual command to each lamp - so the result works but its not very 'smooth' or slick. Ideally I would like to have all the lamps ramp up and down as I press or hold the button on the Harmony. Is this possible in Indigo? I've never been quite able to figure this out.

Any help appreciated

Jon

Posted on
Sat Oct 18, 2008 8:11 pm
ctgreybeard offline
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Location: Bethel, CT, USA

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nojstevens wrote:
I have my Harmony 880 set up with IR Link,
Which IRLinc do you have, Jon? Do you have the newer one with a remote?

I upgraded (luckily Smarthome was very forgiving because I bought the first IRLinc a week before they announced the one with the remote. It took a while but I was able to build a usable configuration for my Harmony 880 to "talk" to the IRLinc.

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Bill W

Posted on
Sat Oct 18, 2008 8:16 pm
nojstevens offline
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Location: KY

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Hi, yes I have the new one with the remote, although I am not using the supplied remote I am using the Harmony 880.

Would be great if I could get smooth and unified dimming!

Jon

Posted on
Sat Oct 18, 2008 8:35 pm
ctgreybeard offline
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nojstevens wrote:
Would be great if I could get smooth and unified dimming!

Hmmm. I have my buttons linked with scenes so I don't look for smooth dimming. If you link a button with an individual device can you get it to dim smoothly?

In particular, the Vol Up and Vol Down with the Chan Up and Chan Down are set (I think by default) to Scene A (button 1) and Scene B (button 2)

When I press Vol + and hold I get "Received INSTEON "IRLinc" start brighten (button 1)" and when I release it I get "Received INSTEON "IRLinc" stop brighten (button 1)"

Can you make that do what you want to do?

Bill W

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Bill W

Posted on
Sat Oct 18, 2008 9:00 pm
nojstevens offline
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Location: KY

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I guess I could use Scenes and that would give smooth response, yes, however, if I understand Scenes correctly I can only give a fixed set of brightnesses to a scene - it isn't possible to say 'make this scene 5% brighter' or 'make this scene 5% dimmer'. Unless I am missing something.

Being able to make Powerlink scenes certainly gives a slicker effect, but do you know how to ramp up or down a scene by a certain %?

I guess I could have 10 scenes all the same with increasing levels of brightness and then set a variable and execute each one based on the variable. Its a bit of a faf but it would do the job I think.

Unless there is an easier way that I am missing?

Jon

Posted on
Sat Oct 18, 2008 9:19 pm
ctgreybeard offline
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nojstevens wrote:
Unless there is an easier way that I am missing?
I'd suggest you just experiment.

I'm pretty sure that if you link one device to the IRLinc buttons then it will dim smoothly (although I'm not set up that way)

But if you want to brighten/dim a scene I'm stuck on how to do that but it does sound useful.

Maybe someone else will chime in with some suggestions?

Bill W

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Bill W

Posted on
Mon Oct 20, 2008 5:56 pm
matt (support) offline
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The IRLinc can dim/brighten smoothly as you press and hold some IR buttons (like Volume+ and Volume-). But this only works for INSTEON modules that are directly linked to the IRLinc.

It isn't currently possible to have Indigo interpret the amount of dimming/brightening specified in a case like this, so it isn't possible to re-route this information to other modules. This is an area that might be improved in a future version of Indigo, but dimming/brightening in a case like this (where a button is held down) is very timing sensitive with no absolute values ever specified. Point being, it will be tricky to implement. :-)

Regards,
Matt

Posted on
Mon Oct 20, 2008 6:05 pm
nojstevens offline
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Location: KY

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Matt,

Thanks for your input.

What I am actually looking to do is use the on/off send not the dim/brighten - but when I send it I want Indigo to respond by brightening or dimming a scene by 10% on each press.

I can figure out how to make a scene, but I can't figure out how to make a scene get 10% brighter without sending individual commands to each light. If I do this then they all get brighter at slightly different times which looses the professional/cool feel.

So I have a choice - brighten/dim by 10% and have it jerky, or have two scenes - a brighter scene and a dimmer scene, and use my IR link to 'switch' between them.

Am I missing something though - is it possible to brighten/dim a scene Powerlink links feature?

Jon

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