-
Notifications
You must be signed in to change notification settings - Fork 130
InsteonPLM
The PowerLinc Modem (PLM) is the device which enables MisterHouse to communicate with the Insteon network.
There exists a device called the PowerLinc Controller (PLC), it appears similar than the PLM and is cheaper. However, the PLC cannot be used by MisterHouse to communicate with the Insteon Network. This is because the PLC lacks specific functionality.
The PLM is traditionally offered in an Serial (denoted by S in the model name) or USB (U) variants. Functionality the devices are the same and MisterHouse supports both. So purchase whichever variety works for your setup.
Recently, support was added to MisterHouse that enables it to work with "networked PLMs." To date, this includes the Insteon Hub (2242-222), but any other Insteon device which exposes raw access to the Insteon interface over a telnet-like port will likely work. This feature was only recently added, so there may be some bugs. Of note, using the web interface on the Insteon Hub itself to control devices will cause the state of the device to become out-of-sync in MisterHouse.
A PLM of some sort is required for MisterHouse to work with Insteon devices. Detailed code documentation for the Insteon_PLM Class.
The following are the required settings:
The PLM needs to be configured in two places within MisterHouse.
Insteon_PLM_serial_port=/dev/ttyS4
Insteon_PLM_use_TCP=1 Insteon_PLM_TCP_host=<ip.address.of.device> Insteon_PLM_TCP_port=9761 # The following setting is recommended, but not required. # The Insteon Hub seems to be slightly slower in responding # to commands. The following setting will force a half a # second delay between each command sent to the device. Insteon_PLM_xmit_delay=.5
INSTEON_PLM, PLM
Under Linux, at least the 2413U model uses the "USB FTDI Single Port Serial" driver, which then makes it accessible via a /dev/ttyUSBxx device, just as the 'S' model is accessible via a /dev/ttySxx device. On recent linux kernels, a unique, consistent, persistent path to the PLM can be found in the /dev/serial/by-id folder. In my case, my device is known as /dev/serial/by-id/usb-FTDI_FT232R_USB_UART_A501LCKJ-if00-port0. The /dev/ttyXXXXX paths, may change depending on the order in which the devices were connected to your machine. The long path never changes and is therefore much more reliable as a definition in your ini file.
It is possible for MisterHouse to be configured to use multiple PLMs. However, to my knowledge, this functionality has never been used nor tested. You likely want to seek help on the DiscussionForums if you plan to do this.