INSTEON SynchroLinc

Posted on
Wed Aug 07, 2013 3:00 pm
jay (support) offline
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INSTEON SynchroLinc

This topic is to discuss the SynchroLinc and it's use with Indigo.

Device Details
How to use with Indigo

Jay (Indigo Support)
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Posted on
Thu Jan 29, 2015 9:04 pm
dstrickler offline
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SynchroLinc and false triggers with an LCD

I have a new 60" LCD TV that I've plugging into a SynchroLinc. The idea is when I turn on the TV, I'd like the lights to dim. Setting this up in Indigo was a snap but...

When the LCD fades to black, as it often does between scenes in a drama, the voltage the LCD draws drops dramatically, and can fool the SynchroLinc into thinking it's been turned off.

Is it possible to override these "spikes" ?

[Added/Updated] I know how to set a variable to say "TV came on 1 min ago" and thus not turn it off, but these spikes happen every few minutes while I am watching TV, so I can't see how to get around the SynchroLinc being fooled by them. I love that my TV is so energy efficient, but in this case, it's not helping ;-)

Dave

Posted on
Fri Jan 30, 2015 6:39 pm
jay (support) offline
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Re: INSTEON SynchroLinc

I had a similar problem with my washing machine. My solution didn't involve timers but you could probably start a timer when it drops, then cancel the timer when it comes back up. If the timer expires then bring the lights back up. Then you just have to figure out how long the timer should run before brightening.

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Posted on
Sat Jan 31, 2015 12:47 pm
dstrickler offline
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Re: INSTEON SynchroLinc

I saw this post, but my problem is more sensitive to the timing. With you washer, it's reasonable to say "if no power 'spikes/dips' for 10 minutes, then it's with signaling you saying it's done. It really doesn't matter if you know exactly when it stops - within 10 minutes is fine.

My problem is that when the movie I am watching is over, I'd like the lights to come on as soon as I turn the TV off - otherwise we're in the dark ;-)

So when the TV is running, the SynchroLinc sees spikes and dips in the power at random points in the movie. It doesn't seem to sense when the TV is really off.

Maybe a better question to pose is which setting do I change to set a very low threshold for the SynchroLinc to sense the TV being off? I'm not quite comfortable with what-does-what in the SynchroLinc configuation options in Indigo.

Thanks

Dave

Posted on
Sun Feb 01, 2015 5:29 pm
jay (support) offline
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Re: INSTEON SynchroLinc

The docs describe the various values that the Configure Synchrolinc... menu item can set. It is somewhat tricky though. For your usage, you might actually want to use a iMeter Solo instead - it actually reports the usage values in real time, so you (and Indigo) can actually see where you probably want to add thresholds.

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Posted on
Mon Feb 02, 2015 8:45 am
dstrickler offline
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Re: INSTEON SynchroLinc

Yes, I saw the docs, but still found them a bit confusing.

I have, through a bit of experimenting, found these numbers to work on a VISZO 60" model E550i-B2.
Code: Select all
Trigger Watts: 2.0
Threshold Watts: 1.5
Delay Seconds: 10.05


If I am understanding the settings correctly (please correct me if I am wrong), assuming an OFF state of the TV, the Trigger Watts is what the TV needs to draw to be seen as ON. The Threshold Watts is the the level is what the watt drawn needs to return on, after being ON, before the TV will turn OFF. The Delays Seconds is to enforce a quiet period between triggers (ON or OFF) so that false triggering doesn't happen. The Delay Seconds is important as a "fade to black" scene in a movie rarely lasts for more than 5 seconds, so the 10 (10.05) seconds is more than enough to prevent false triggering.

So, in my case above, my TV, when OFF, can draw up to, be not including, 2 watts before it turns ON. Then, when ON, the TV's power must drop below 1.5 watts for 10.05 seconds before sending an OFF signal.

Did I get this right?

Since most power bricks seem to draw about 1W when the unit is off, that's where I guessed at my settings. So far, they seem to be working well.

Oh, and I think you're right, an iMeter would have been a better module to work with. Lesson learned ;-)

Dave

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