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    Microdimmer follow dimmer keypad

    Hi is it possible to set microdimmer as a responder and dimmer keypad as a comtroller, connect load to the micro dimmer, then have the dimness comtrolled via the dimmer keypad by pressing and holding the On or Off keys?

    The manual for the microdimmer says during pairing I have to first press and hold the set key on the controller (dimmer keypad in my case), set on the microdimmer the desired light level by press the on or off buttons, then press the set key on the microdimmmer. This sounds like it is setting the microdimmer to only reach a fixed dimness when I press a key on the controller (dimming keypad). Or is it just going to reach that dimness initially and thereafter would still allow me to dim or bright remotely via the controlling dimming keypad?

    #2
    Do you use a Hub, an ISY, software or something else to create scenes or do you create all your scenes manually?
    Message from Forum Admin: stusviews passed away in April 2018. Stu was a huge fan of Insteon and a huge presence on both the Smarthome and Insteon forums, helping thousands of us along the way (he had nearly 20,000 posts to his name). We thank him for his contributions, dedication, and passion for making the Smart Home a reality. He will truly be missed.
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      #3
      Stu I use the Insteon Windows App. I tried creating the scene from the Windows App for some 6 button dimming keypads but because I wasn't able to find the function in the app to set which one is the Controller and which one is the Responder, I thought all the app can do was to allow us to turn on / off lights or adjust brightness from within the app and the scenes created in the app won't be useable outside of the app.

      For the microdimmer device, the question is can we use the 6 button dimming keypad's on / off buttons to remotely control the load's brightness level via the micro dimmer acting as a responder? Looking at the manual it appears that we have to set the micro controller to a desired fixed dim level during the linking stage. So does this imply all I can do with it is to reach that dim level but not vary that dim level from the 6 button dimming keypad acting as a Controller?

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        #4
        Based on several of your other forum posts you're using the HUB II with the Windows smart application? Its apparent the Windows Application isn't as robust as the others for iOS / Android. To answer your question directly you can use the 6 button keypad to dim the micro dimmer. If you manually link the device(s) together you will see the 6 button KPL can dim the micro dimmer directly with the required brightness when pressing and holding the button.

        You can also define the ramp rate and dim level too - all of this is made much easier with a smart application which lets you define both through a UI though. My humble suggestion is you borrow a iOS device and load the smart application for the HUB II.

        Then configure all of the scenes and linked devices to your needs otherwise this whole experience will be very frustrating to say the least.
        Want to make a real difference? Please cast your vote to make the PLM Pro a reality: http://forum.insteon.com/forum/main-...t/8221-plm-pro

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          #5
          EVIL Teken thanks for replying and confirming. So I guess the brightness set during the link is irrelevant.

          I actually am running an Android emulator on my Windows also but didn't notice anything available for linking. I'll take a second look tomorrow. Having said that the manual doesn't say anything about being able to link as well.

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            #6
            Normally the end device that controls the load is programmed with the ramp rate and dim levels. I've taken lots of this for granted as I use the ISY Series Controller and often times forget others don't have the same capabilities.

            Let us know how you make out good or bad . . .
            Want to make a real difference? Please cast your vote to make the PLM Pro a reality: http://forum.insteon.com/forum/main-...t/8221-plm-pro

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              #7
              Update from here. I'm able to now use the Android app in the Android emulator to do the linking. It's a real pain however because the linking process is extremely slow. For example, I've just updated a scene to set the same button on all the keypads to be synchronized (set as Both) and it needs to add 156 links. This is a rather long and painful process. I'm sure with the ISY you can do all of that offline and just connect and let it do it when you can go away to do something better. I have so far been here all day long doing this. Having the Internet connection as a mandatory thing is also a pain. I can see how it can be useful and handy but making it a fixed hard requirement is silly. I have to do the following.

              Mobile phone on Hot Spot -> Wireless Bridge -> Wireless Router -> [Insteon HUB + Windows PC running Android Emulator]

              The painful part was the Wireless Router need a RJ45 connection on the WAN side so I have to buy a Wireless Bridge. The Wireless Bridge was a pain because I had the hotspot on one of my phone with an apostrophe in the SSID and it stops working after reboot after joining the SSID (took me about 4 hrs to find out last night). The Windows App was a pain because it doesn't allow you to specify any one of the 8 individual buttons on the 8 buttons keypad, and doesn't allow you set a button as Both (both responder and controller). The Android App also is a pain because the fonts are super tiny and a few times the Rooms or Devices I added went missing, and it's bloody slow.

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                #8
                The little HUB II is a nice starter package in terms of ease of use and over all set up. But as you quickly noted the initial setup requires a connection to the Internet not just the LAN. As you also found out any remote control, adding, deleting, scene creation, etc must all happen in the cloud connected service.

                No cloud = No remote control or device management . . .

                As noted early on if Home Automation (HA) is more than a novelty and short term fad. I would encourage you to purchase a ISY Series Controller because it requires no Internet connection, 24-7-365 computer, etc. All it requires is a LAN connection and a computer for the initial setup process and than you can disconnect the computer system.

                The only time a Internet connection is required is of course (IF) you wish to take advantage of other network related services / hardware. The little HUB II has come a long way from the initial launch and over all offers lots of value for the money. But it simply can't offer the conditional logic, local first, and breath of I/O / network support that the ISY Series Controller does.

                To be fair the HUB II costs less than a quarter of the price of the ISY but you also get 100 - 1000 times more power, features, and options.
                Want to make a real difference? Please cast your vote to make the PLM Pro a reality: http://forum.insteon.com/forum/main-...t/8221-plm-pro

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