The Fate of true Insteon PLM support from an already great product

📢 Feedback Feature Requests
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2 things (A) Getting this to work (my tips and discoveries, hopefully, to help others) and (B) looking for help getting a driver to dim, related, but thought this really needs to be here, as its all about Insteon PLM support :slight_smile: At least... I HOPE that's right ! Almost added it here :slight_smile:

(A) NOTES ABOUT GETTING THIS WORKING, WITH Express Server, No Homebridge, No Hub (PLM only) on Raspberry Pi
The guide in this post from SmartHomePrimer is VERY GOOD (Thank you!) and got me 90% there, BUT that last 10% was a killer!

  • It's partly confusing as the words "Insteon Hub" and "PLM" are used interchangeably within HE community board. Models such as the 2242, which are hubs, are sometimes simply called PLM's (Yes, they have a PLM, but they are also more).
    • If you have a PLM - only (i.e. 2413U), the config instructions can be confusing (there is no user, password, etc, so deciding what to enter, is not straightforward).
  • Connections and Commands
    • CONNECTION: You can also test the USB connection, which in and of itself is difficult for the uninitiated.
      • I used the path with ID. I did this by first finding the device ID ( I used udevmonitor then plugged in the USB to get this).
      • Then I ensured it existed and found it (example [obfuscated]: /dev/serial/by-id/usb-FTDI_FT232R_USB_UART_ABCDEFG-ifNN-portY ).
    • COMMAND LINE TEST: I installed python and (using pip3 command) pyinsteon, which allows direct connect from a terminal. After install I...
      • Run : pyinsteon
      • Type: list_devices
        • RESULT: Should be zero list_devices showing its not connected YET
      • Type: connect [PATH_TO_USB] (my example: connect /dev/serial/by-id/usb-FTDI_FT232R_USB_UART_ABCDEFG-if00-port0 )
        • RESULT: Returns to the input prompt
      • Type: list_devices
        • RESULT: Should show the modem ONLY -- The devices stored in the modem's database will NOT appear in that output.
        • TEST SUCCESS !
  • Setting up the insteon-server module in Node.
    • My hint came buried in a comment kuestess wrote on a git issue for another project ( homebridge-platform-insteonlocal ) . The important bits are
      • To connect to the PLM, just specify PLM as your model and set host in your config to the device path you want to use
      • Means set model to something reasonable but NOT TO A HUB MODEL NUMBER! (I used 2413U)
    • You can leave out the user, pass, and port in your config - not used for a PLM connection
    • Set "host" to the path for the serial USB
      • EXAMPLE: "host": "/dev/serial/by-id/usb-FTDI_FT232R_USB_UART_ABCDEFG-if00-port0"
    • Take note of the server_port (and the Pi's IP address for that matter)
    • Start the server and ensure it connects to the PLM: node insteonserver.js
      • RESULT: Its should only show "Connecting to Insteon PLM" then after a short time show "Connected to Insteon PLM"
    • With server running, from another computer go to the IP address and port
      • RESULT: a blank page should load with a brief error. If you get a cannot connect to host error in your browser, you have another issue.
    • From the web browser view the links in the modem DB.
      • go to the URL: http://[Server_Ip_Address]:[Configured_server_port_value]/links
        • RESULTS: Should get a json package. Each entry is a device on your Insteon network!!
      • TIP: THIS is where I got my list of devices, and their addresses, to add to HE!
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