Adding 2487s - issues

[drh1965]

I've got an existing 3-way circuit controlling a single load. There are 2 2477S and mini-remote controlling this. Works fine but we find the mini-remote to be a nuisance in practicality for our situation.

So. I'm trying to add a 2487s keypad where it has a different load than the 2477S wall switches. I can control that separate load without issue. However, I'm trying to link one of the scene buttons to control the 3-way circuit load and FAILING miserably. Can anyone explain how to do that (or maybe I can't)?

TIA.

Darrell

[SeanM]

Are you doing this manually or through software?..if software which one?

[drh1965]

Manually. I don't have a hub.

[drh1965]

I got it working yesterday. I had to remove a range extender. It must have been failing and causing issues on the network. The mini-remote works better now as well. Do those range extender have a pretty short life span? This one was probably a couple years old...

[SeanM]

Shoot. Forgot to hit "post." ...sorry about that but Im glad you got it working. Ill leave it below in case someone else has the same issue. I haven't experienced any issues with the range extenders but it is always possible one can fail. You can do the beacon test to see if it's still passing signals. If it isn't Insteon will probably replace it if its around 2 years old.




OK. So you have switch 1, switch 2 and a keypad button that needs to be combined into a 3-way.

Right now you have switch 1 and switch 2 cross linked so they perform like a regular 3-way where you turn one on and the other responds accordingly.

Start out by making sure both Switch 1 and 2 are ON.
Go to the keypad button you want to use and tap it so that it is in the On position. (the back LED should be ON)
Press and hold the set button for 3 seconds on the keypad. The button should start blinking.
Tap the set button 1 time so the keypad goes into multi-linking mode.
Go to switch 1 and press and hold its set button for 3 seconds to link to the keypad button.
Go to switch 2 and press and hold its set button for 3 seconds to link to the keypad button.
Tap the blinking button on the keypad to get it out of link mode.

Try tapping the button and make sure that switch 1 and switch 2 respond to the button. (The switches will not control the keypad yet)

Next

Verify that the two switches and the keypad button are in the On state.

Starting at switch 1, press and hold its set button to put the switch into linking mode.
Go to the keypad and press and hold its set button down to link it top switch 1
No, Starting at switch 2, press and hold its set button down to put it into linking mode.
Go to the keypad and press and hold its set button down to link it top switch 2.

Now, no matter witch button, or switch you use, they should all respond together.

Things to consider:
If you are no longer using the remote you might consider unlinking it from the switches otherwise you may see a blinking red light from time to time.
The above process does not take care of button grouping. (Where you hit a button on the keypad for one scene and then hit another causing the last scene to turn off and the new one to turn on. (That would be a separate post. )

[drh1965]

Wow. Thanks for that tremendous write up. Very much appreciated! Would you answer a more generic question if you know the answer? If I start to create a link and something goes wrong, does creating another link with the same devices cause the links saved in NVRAM for those same devices to be replaced? In other words, is it possible to wind up with multiple bogus links for the same addressed device?

[drh1965]

Thanks for the response.