Indigo 1.5.0 beta (with PowerLinc Controller support) posted

[matt (support)]

As I mentioned previously, we've been hard at work adding support to Indigo for uploading scheduled actions and triggers to Smarthome's new PowerLinc Controller. With this new Indigo feature you will be able to have basic home automation even with your Mac turned off.

We now have a public beta that supports uploading to the PowerLinc Controller (1132CU, not 1132U) ready for testing. Please email me (indigo-support at perceptiveautomation.com) with any bugs or comments on the new version. I don't expect this to be a long beta cycle (around a week or so), so please give it a try as soon as you can. Thanks for the feedback!

Regards,
Matt

Download:

    http://www.perceptiveautomation.com/indigo/download/Indigo_beta.dmg

How to upload Trigger and Time/Date Actions:

  1) If you haven't already, create Trigger and Time/Date Actions that describe the home control you want (ex: turn porch light on 10 minutes before sunset).

  2) Within the preferences dialog, make sure you have the "Enable X10 Interface" checkbox on and the PowerLinc option chosen in the "Interface type" popup. These are the defaults, so if you haven't changed these you'll already be set.

  3) Choose the menu item Interface->Upload Actions...

  4) Select the Upload checkbox for all the actions you want to upload (default is to try to upload everything).

    a) Note the "Compatibility" column. Actions marked "good" will translate very well to the PowerLinc Controller's control logic. Actions marked "lossy" will translate and still upload, although there will be differences in the behavior between Indigo and the PowerLinc Controller. An example of this is the amount of sunrise and sunset offset you can specify. The PowerLinc Controller can only handle offsets within +/-60 minutes. Therefore, any amounts larger (or smaller) than this will be capped at the maximum allowed value. Actions marked "poor" will not translate at all and will not be uploaded regardless of the Upload checkbox setting.

    b) You can select the actions in the list view (note you can use cursor keys to change the selection) for more information on each action's incompatibility. Actions marked as "lossy" or "bad" will show you incompatibility information about what portion of the action does not translate correctly.

  5) Press the Upload Actions button to push everything to the controller. Now you can turn off your computer and still have your essential home control logic processed by the PowerLinc Controller.

Details:

You can have either Indigo handle your home control logic, or the PowerLinc Controller. You cannot have both of them online and processing actions at the same time. Indigo enforces this by always taking the interface offline after you upload, and likewise, always clearing the PowerLinc Controller's memory when you connect (go online) with the interface. Indigo has to enforce this exclusive operation logic or both Indigo and the PowerLinc Controller will get hopelessly confused as they try to process the same actions at the same time.

If you select the "Auto upload to interface on disconnect or application quit" checkbox from within the Upload Actions dialog, then Indigo will automatically re-upload your actions for you. Select this option if you want to normally use Indigo to manage your home control but would like to occasionally turn off your computer (for example, if you go on vacation) and have the PowerLinc Controller automatically handle the processing. Having this option on will slow down the quitting of Indigo, as Indigo will first have to upload action logic to the PowerLinc Controller before it can disconnect from the PowerLinc Controller.

[matt (support)]

A new beta has been posted:

http://www.perceptiveautomation.com/ind ... o_beta.dmg

Indigo now converts any Time/Date Actions in Indigo that have a randomize time amount that is not zero into the PowerLinc Controller's security time actions. The PowerLinc only supports a security randomize amount of 15 minutes, so the conversion isn't perfect.

I changed the terminology of Actions that do convert to PowerLinc Controller logic, but not perfectly, from lossy to okay. Lossy wasn't the best term -- some folks thought I had misspelled lousy.

There are a few smaller UI bug fixes, as well as an attempt at fixing a CM11 connection problem.

Additionally, we have extended our promotional bundle through Smarthome to include a PowerLinc Controller option. After purchasing Indigo, you can get the PowerLinc Controller (1132CU) and a LampLinc for $69.99.

Regards,
Matt

[matt (support)]

Oops! The beta I posted yesterday has a few glitches. It appears the PowerLinc Controller opcodes for randomized sunset and sunrise actions are backwards from what I thought they were, which means my bedroom lamps came on very early this morning since they thought the sun had just set. Additionally, other randomized Time/Date Actions don't appear to be working correctly in all cases. I think I might owe some folks a cup of coffee...

I've temporarily removed compatibility of PowerLinc Controller randomize amounts. The UI doesn't reflect this -- it will say that it is capping the randomize amount at +- 15 minutes, when in fact it will use no randomize amount. This is a temporary hack while we get the randomize functions translating better. The new build is posted here:

http://www.perceptiveautomation.com/ind ... o_beta.dmg

Regards,
Matt

[matt (support)]

New (and likely final) 1.5 build posted here:

http://www.perceptiveautomation.com/ind ... o_beta.dmg

Randomize settings (+/- 15 minutes) are now working correctly. Some of the Upload settings have been simplified to reduce confusion. Indigo now automatically keeps the 1132CU synchronized with user changes every time you disconnect from the interface or quit Indigo.

Future versions will likely have further improvements and translation of Indigo Trigger and Time/Date Actions into the logic code the 1132CU uses. As always, please post or email comments/questions/suggestions.

Regards,
Matt