Using 2448A7 with Home Assistant - It barely talks to my Micro Dimmer

[Tango]

It's been a while since I've done any kind of adaptor cable and I have a tendency to reverse numbers and sequences. Could you help me verify the connections?

I'm using T568B for ethernet wiring, so in this photo, these are the critical connections (https://www.showmecables.com/blog/post/rj45-pinout):

RJ45-1: Orange/White: DB9S-2
RJ45-7: Brown/White: DB9S-5
RJ45-8: Brown: DB9S-3

And since I'm using a DB9S female on the other end of the cable, the pin numbering follows the chart on this page (https://www.multitech.net/developer/...port-pinout/):

The one thing that snags me is making sure I'm counting from the right side of the connector and haven't reversed the numbers (or kept them in order) when I'm supposed to do the opposite.

Also, since there's RX and TX from each end, do the wires for TX and RX (pins 1 & 8) reverse within the cable?

I have tried a cable according to the chart above. I have no way of checking to see if HA is connecting to the PLM, but I know others have done it. I didn't see anything show up as a possible new device (but it didn't show up as a device on the ISY, either).

Beyond the wiring, I can see removing the 2 devices I'm using, then removing the 2448A7 and seeing if I can add them successfully with the 2413S connected. Also, I know I can try phase detection to see if that makes a difference.

Again, when I rebooted, HA read the states of the devices (at least the dimmer) accurately, but it does not read if the states change after that.

[Tango]

SUCCESS!

First, I went through the Developer Tools (or Supervisor mode?) in HA and I found out that my cable was working. I could see the device information under the USB info in /dev/serial/by-id/... I still had problems getting things to behave. In the long run, I found an email reply from someone that I had not seen early with instructions for adding an Insteon device to HA:

• Go to Developer Tools and click on the Services tab at the top.
• In the Service box select Insteon: Add all link
• Fill in the form with the following:
  Group: 0
  'Mode: controller`
• Press Call Service

I did a reset on my Micro Dimmer and then went through this. HA gives you an override method where you just specify the address and device info. I don't know if that's the main issue (that I wasn't adding it correctly) or not. But here's what I found, that might help others:

1. When I had the 2448A7 in a powered USB hub, HA could not recognize or communicate with it.
2. When I tried putting the 2448A7 in an unpowered hub, it didn't work. I'd have to test more to find out for sure if that was the problem.
3. When I was first testing the 2448A7, I had the 2413S plugged in but NOT connected to the computer. Things worked.
4. When I unplugged the 2413S (did it while the Pi with HA on it was powered down) and rebooted, my 2448A7 could not talk to my Micro Dimmer

So if I have the 2413S plugged in, things work. If it's unplugged, things didn't work. I did NOT have to have it connected to the Pi, just plugged in nearby. At this point, my opinion is the 2448A7 has a rather weak signal.

I may do more testing, but for now I just want to keep things as they are - working properly! I'm also unsure whether I want to ditch the 2448A7 and just leave the 2413S plugged in or to just use only the 2413S. (I still have to test to see if it'll work with only the 2413S.) It's a lot easier to set things up if I don't have to plug the 2413S in close to the Pi (so the serial cable can reach it), but I'm thinking it'd be nice to just return the 2448A7 and get a refund.

[BLH]

Glad to see you have made progress and have a working system to do further refinements too,
Rf can be strange. Any obstruction between the two can effect range or direction ability. So can the antenna position in each of the modules.

[Tango]

Glad to see you have made progress and have a working system to do further refinements too,
Rf can be strange. Any obstruction between the two can effect range or direction ability. So can the antenna position in each of the modules.

There is more I could test - a lot of factors, but the problem is time. I could use the USB extender again and see if the 2448A7 can control the dimmer if I use the USB cord extension so it has direct line-of-sight. I've also considered testing from different locations and doing each test with and without the 2413S to determine exactly what the issues are. The more I think about it, the more I think I'd rather not have my system depending on the 2448A7 if the signal from it is so poor. I could return it or keep it and see if it might be worth using in our barn if I put any Insteon devices in there.

[sonalford]

I've noticed a couple of blogs advising against utilizing the GPIO pins for "regular" RS232. I have a USB to Serial/DB9 cable waiting for that part, and once it arrives, I'll make my own cable.
super mario bros

[Tango]

I've noticed a couple of blogs advising against utilizing the GPIO pins for "regular" RS232. I have a USB to Serial/DB9 cable waiting for that part, and once it arrives, I'll make my own cable.
super mario bros

Check up-topic on the GPIO issue. I remember reading about that and I saw a few blogs or articles warning NOT to use the GPIO for "normal" RS232. I don't remember why. I think there was some reference to possible damage, but I don't remember for sure. I do remember reading in at least one place that there was at least one significant issue with that.

I just re-read my comments a few posts up, since I did use USB to DB9 adaptor, then my own cable to the RJ45 on the PLS. I can't remember if I tested the 2413S alone, without the 2448A7 or not. I do remember that when I had the PLM hooked up by serial AND the 2448A7 working, that the 2448A7 did not use the PLM and that didn't work.

When I initially set up my first system, using an ISY-994i, I remember getting a lot of warnings about the 2413S not being used in a power strip and to try to plug it in without any computers near the outlet, since that may interfere with the signal. I thought that was odd and unrealistic, since it has to be connected to some kind of home automation hub (at the very least) and there's a good chance such a hub could be on a UPS and that it a hub might likely be in a "tech area" where a person has things like a wifi hub and maybe any other devices that are used remotely. (In other words, backup devices or a media server or any other device that is not directly physically interacted with like a desktop computer or an entertainment system.) With those warnings in mind, I decided I'd rather be able to plug the PLM in someplace that would be in range of the 2448A7 but on a different breaker than my Pi running Home Assistant, since that breaker has quite a bit of computer equipment on it.