Insteon Bridge to FirstAlert Smoke Detectors

I've been looking for something like this for a long time. Anyone know if it's the real thing and will work as advertised?

http://www.smarthome.com/2982-222/INSTE ... =HML13RA18

I just got a notification on it as well. I already have those smoke detectors, so this seems like a no-brainer. Would like to know if it can be managed by my Indigo software though before I pull the trigger. I like the idea of being able to turn lights on and stuff when triggered.

[matt (support)]

The current beta of Indigo 6 has preliminary support for the INSTEON FirstAlert Bridge, so that you can create Triggers to catch the alerts it sends. I only have an older early beta of the bridge myself, so we cannot commit that Indigo is totally compatible with what will be the shipping version of the bridge. But in theory it should work.

And if theory does not pan out, is it safe to assume that you'll work out those bugs? Point being, it's a device you plan on supporting?

[matt (support)]

Correct -- if there are any issues we can reasonably handle on our end then we will.

Awesome, ordered. Says backordered until the end of the month. We'll see how it goes.

Ken

The current beta of Indigo 6 has preliminary support for the INSTEON FirstAlert Bridge, so that you can create Triggers to catch the alerts it sends. I only have an older early beta of the bridge myself, so we cannot commit that Indigo is totally compatible with what will be the shipping version of the bridge. But in theory it should work.

Will it also be compatible with Indigo 5? or will we need to upgrade to 6 for it to recognize the First Alert Bridge?

[matt (support)]

It will not be compatible with Indigo 5 -- supporting it requires code (and not just device definition) changes that we will not be back-porting.

Received mine and it seems to work good.

Looks like things are setup where you can setup a trigger to look for an INSTEON Command Received from the Device Smoke Detector Bridge. You look for a received ON: Command and you will have the following sub-choices:
Group 1 (smoke detected)
Group 2 (carbon monoxide detected)
Group 3 (test executing)
Group 4 (unknown error)
Group 5 (all alerts clear)
Group 6 (low battery)
Group 7 (malfunction)

Or you can just set it to On Any Command instead of a received ON.

I have it set to deliver an email to me, as well as send an iMessage page when this is going off. Additionally I have it set to turn on all devices to light up the house so I can see what is going on of course.

Here's what I'd like to do, without setting up a whole bunch of different triggers. I like how it can understand different states of the devices, I'd love to be able to pass that as a variable to my message. So for instance, if it's a smoke detection versus a CO2 detection, I'd like to reflect that in the message/text that is sent. If it's a low battery alarm, I don't necessarily want to turn on on the lights. If it is a test only, I only want to turn off all the lights automatically after 2 minutes. If I use the Any Command one, then when I'm doing a test, or if I get a batter low error, I would get all of my lights to turn on and not go off automatically. Is this Possible?

Additionally, I have multiple detectors linked together....when each one goes off, I think it triggers another event. Minor issue, I'd rather receive too many of this type of alert than not enough!

Any thoughts on my last note? Or do I just need to create different triggers for each of the different types of alerts?

ok so I have my Smoke Bridge and FA setup. Just a few questions on the indigo side.

What exactly is the local ramp rate duration setting? It's set to half a second in the setting but I don't know what it's for.


Secondly, know how to set it up for sending a message and what not. But I would want indigo to send it after 20 seconds of the alarm actually going off, not necessarily 20 seconds after the SB reports reports it to indigo. The reason being is that if my batteries start dying, the alarms will activate for a few seconds then shut off. I would like to avoid getting a message for that reason. Wouldn't want to cause a panic to me or the wife if we get message saying the house is burning down when in fact it's only the batteries.

I bought a hardwired First Alert to replace one of my current smoke detectors (also a first alert). I was happy to discover my current wire connector is the same as the newer One Link Alarm. Just had to replace the base to the ceiling and attach the detector after installing the batteries.

What exactly is the local ramp rate duration setting? It's set to half a second in the setting but I don't know what it's for.

I think this is a carry-over from the LampLink that this unit is basically built in. The Smoke Bridge is clearly a re-worked LampLink.

Secondly, know how to set it up for sending a message and what not. But I would want indigo to send it after 20 seconds of the alarm actually going off, not necessarily 20 seconds after the SB reports reports it to indigo. The reason being is that if my batteries start dying, the alarms will activate for a few seconds then shut off. I would like to avoid getting a message for that reason. Wouldn't want to cause a panic to me or the wife if we get message saying the house is burning down when in fact it's only the batteries.

I think you would want to set your triggers based on the message that comes to the Smoke Bridge. A "low battery" alert (group 6) is different from a "smoke detected" alert (group 1).

What are you having Insteon do after it receives a message from the Smoke Bridge? What group are you triggering from?

Thanks for the reply.

After I posted my questions, I found the different trigger settings once I set the type to "Insteon Command Received". I guess all I would want it to do is notify me and my wife via our iphones if smoke was detected in the house. I did set up one for low battery and another for a test. But my main concern is actually a fire in my home.

I need to try testing one of my other non- one link detectors to see what message (if any) is sent from the one link to the SB to Indigo.

What exactly is the local ramp rate duration setting? It's set to half a second in the setting but I don't know what it's for.

I think this is a carry-over from the LampLink that this unit is basically built in. The Smoke Bridge is clearly a re-worked LampLink.

Secondly, know how to set it up for sending a message and what not. But I would want indigo to send it after 20 seconds of the alarm actually going off, not necessarily 20 seconds after the SB reports reports it to indigo. The reason being is that if my batteries start dying, the alarms will activate for a few seconds then shut off. I would like to avoid getting a message for that reason. Wouldn't want to cause a panic to me or the wife if we get message saying the house is burning down when in fact it's only the batteries.

I think you would want to set your triggers based on the message that comes to the Smoke Bridge. A "low battery" alert (group 6) is different from a "smoke detected" alert (group 1).

What are you having Insteon do after it receives a message from the Smoke Bridge? What group are you triggering from?

[matt (support)]

What exactly is the local ramp rate duration setting? It's set to half a second in the setting but I don't know what it's for.

I think this is a carry-over from the LampLinc that this unit is basically built in. The Smoke Bridge is clearly a re-worked LampLinc.

I just improved (for the next beta of Indigo 6) how Indigo handles the Smoke Bridge. It will no longer show the LampLinc UI. It will have an ON/OFF state (like a door/window or motion sensor) that will go to ON when the Smoke Bridge detects Smoke (group 1), Carbon Monoxide (group 2), or Test Mode (group 3) and will go to OFF when the Smoke Bridge sends the All Alerts Clear (group 5).

So you'll be able to create a Device State change trigger to catch if there is an important alert (smoke or carbon monoxide). At this point you'll still need individual INSTEON Received Triggers for the other messages (like battery low).

Once beta 8 of Indigo 6 is released re-sync your Smoke Bridge device to update how Indigo shows/handles the device.

Thanks Matt. So here's my next question:

I just ordered two smoke/CO detectors. Can my one SB still alert to indigo if there is either smoke or CO from my 3 OneLink detectors? I'm not particularly concerned about telling me the location. I know if I wanted that I would need a SB for every OL detector.

What exactly is the local ramp rate duration setting? It's set to half a second in the setting but I don't know what it's for.

I think this is a carry-over from the LampLinc that this unit is basically built in. The Smoke Bridge is clearly a re-worked LampLinc.

I just improved (for the next beta of Indigo 6) how Indigo handles the Smoke Bridge. It will no longer show the LampLinc UI. It will have an ON/OFF state (like a door/window or motion sensor) that will go to ON when the Smoke Bridge detects Smoke (group 1), Carbon Monoxide (group 2), or Test Mode (group 3) and will go to OFF when the Smoke Bridge sends the All Alerts Clear (group 5).

So you'll be able to create a Device State change trigger to catch if there is an important alert (smoke or carbon monoxide). At this point you'll still need individual INSTEON Received Triggers for the other messages (like battery low).

Once beta 8 of Indigo 6 is released re-sync your Smoke Bridge device to update how Indigo shows/handles the device.