I am getting this error...
Apr 13, 2012 [Apr 13] 3:29:09 PM
Error changing motor speed not compatible with this model PowerLinc (extended message support is required)
Sent (offline) "Fan Music Room - Fan" set motor speed to low

Can you tell me what I am doing wrong?

Do I need to have a RemoteLink for each fan or should I be able to control each fan from Indigo 5 ?

Many thanks,
John

Hi John,

That error message means you have the older PowerLinc 2414U, which does not support extended INSTEON messages. The FanLinc requires an extended message to control the motor speed directly. So a newer PowerLinc 2413U (or 2412U) would work.

Hi there. Thanks for the terrific product. I am having a few confusing issues with the fanlinc module. I have it connected to an 8-button switch. It seems the way I have to do this to make it work is to always have button 1 (the load) on. I have linked buttons 2-4 to the low, medium and high speed settings, respectively. It seems that I have to have the load button turned on for anything to work. Then I have to choose any of 2-4 for the desired speed. However, I cannot switch from one desired speed directly to another. Choosing a second speed turns the fan off. Then I have to press the button again for it to go on.

Ideally, each button would directly control the speed I want (deactivating the other no-longer-specified) speed. The load button would alternate between either turning the fan on to its prior set speed, or if the fan is already on, turning the fan off completely. Is there any way of setting it up this way? Just not entirely clear as to what the optimal settings might be.

Thanks!

You shouldn't connect the load from the KeypadLinc to the FanLinc - it (the FanLinc) should be wired directly to the line so that it always has power (at least that's how I've got mine installed).

On the KeypadLinc, you'll cap off the load wire and just link the various buttons to either the light part of the FanLinc (to control the light) or to the 4 fan states (Off, Low, Medium, High). As for switching directly to the speed - you have to configure the 4 KPL buttons you want to control the fan speeds as a radio group and set them to non-toggle (ON) mode. At the moment you have to do this manually by following the instructions that came with the KPL.

The next Indigo release will have a plugin that will make setting up this type of functionality easier and I'll write a How-To with the steps to get it done. The next release will hopefully be available sometime this coming week.

jay (support) wrote:You shouldn't connect the load from the KeypadLinc to the FanLinc - it (the FanLinc) should be wired directly to the line so that it always has power (at least that's how I've got mine installed).

On the KeypadLinc, you'll cap off the load wire and just link the various buttons to either the light part of the FanLinc (to control the light) or to the 4 fan states (Off, Low, Medium, High). As for switching directly to the speed - you have to configure the 4 KPL buttons you want to control the fan speeds as a radio group and set them to non-toggle (ON) mode. At the moment you have to do this manually by following the instructions that came with the KPL.

The next Indigo release will have a plugin that will make setting up this type of functionality easier and I'll write a How-To with the steps to get it done. The next release will hopefully be available sometime this coming week.

Thanks Jay... I may have my line / load terminology backwards, actually. I think it is wired as you suggest. In any event, I set up a few action groups that did the following: ensure the main KPL switch is on, then sets the fan speed, then turns on or off the respective KPL buttons as needed. It is a bit of a kluge, but seems to be working ok. I will look forward to the updates this week though!

When I select the fanlinc device in Indigo, then click the low, med or high buttons, indigo sends a "set motor speed to low" command, and the low button is highlighted. In other words, clicking Low works as expected, but Med and High result in Low being sent.

Thoughts?

So, when you click the "High" button in the control area of the Home window:



What shows up in the Event Log is:

Code: Select all

  Sent INSTEON                    "FanLinc - Fan" set motor speed to low

Except of course it's the name of your fan?

That is exactly correct.

I'm not sure what would cause that. Do a complete Define and Sync of the device, then press the Off, Low, Med, High buttons (in that order) and copy/paste the Event Log results into the forum for us (of everything included and Define and Sync).

Hey Insteon Support guys -- You should probably update http://www.perceptiveautomation.com/ind ... on_modules since it doesn't indicate that the FanLinc is supported yet. I wish I had found this post BEFORE purchasing the FanLinc so I would realize that I also need to upgrade my PowerLinc and upgrade to Indigo 5.

It would also be nice if the Hardware Support page would tell you which software versions are required for certain modules. Otherwise, great product, guys!

We're not INSTEON support, we're Perceptive Automation support and these are the Indigo forums, not the Smarthome forums.

True, the FanLinc isn't on that particular chart. However, it is discussed in several places on the forums. If you ever have a question about whether a device or feature is supported the prudent thing is to ask here (or send us an email) before you purchase. The assumption should be that if a device isn't on the list then you should ask about support (or search the forums to see if someone else has asked about it).

We've been warning people for several years now here on the forums that the 2414 hasn't been updated to support extended messages (and most likely wouldn't be) and that almost every new device type for the last couple of years has required extended messages for some aspect of the operation. It's an unfortunate fact of life: technology marches on.

Keeping the website up-to-date with every device supported, particularly with the quantity of new devices coming out, is a big task. It will always likely to be behind what's actually supported since there are only 2 of us to do everything (development, testing, support, website updates, documentation, etc). We generally only update that part of the website when we do a major release (FanLinc support wasn't part of the initial Indigo 5 release). Adding Indigo versions is out of the question - too much maintenance work that would take time away from actually delivering features and for very little benefit since you can't purchase previous versions.

Can someone clarify the exact behavior of the fanlinc (and the accompanying Indigo commands).

I see that we can tell a fanlinc to increase speed or decrease speed. If the fan is set to low, and I decrease speed, does it go to off (or do I need some stupid, separate 'off' command. Likewise, does increasing speed on a fan that's currently off set it to low?

The implementation for the fans in my home are 2-gang boxes, with a light control and a fan speed control. Rather than going the keypad route, I'm thinking I want to just put in a switchlinc (with no load on it) where the fanlinc is. Then I'll just tell Indigo that whenever it gets an 'on' command, to increase fanlinc speed, and vice versa. Does anyone see a problem with this implementation?

Thanks.

Decrease speed goes all the way to OFF, and Increase speed will set the fan speed to LOW if it is OFF.

I implemented it that way specifically so it would be easy to create triggers from a pair of KeypadLinc buttons (or a SwitchLinc would work, as in your example) for full control of the motor speed.

matt (support) wrote:Decrease speed goes all the way to OFF, and Increase speed will set the fan speed to LOW if it is OFF.

I implemented it that way specifically so it would be easy to create triggers from a pair of KeypadLinc buttons (or a SwitchLinc would work, as in your example) for full control of the motor speed.

Perfect! That's exactly what I wanted to hear!

Thanks!

I did only a few searches on this so maybe I'm running for help a little too soon, but my toddler will be awake in a few minutes so I'm just going to throw the question out.

I ordered 2 FanLinc's to work with my Indigo 5.x install and reading through the documentation it mentions incompatibility with fans that have existing remote controllers built into the motor. My question is, for those fans I have with existing remote modules separately wired and stuffed into the cowling, does that have to come out before wiring?

I guess I'm asking whether you can daisy chain remote modules within the cowling, or do you have to replace the existing remote with the FancLinc in all cases?