Since several people have got in touch with me recently about this arduino shield for insteon, I thought I'd share the latest update on it...
We've designed a new version of this shield that is much smaller and easier to assemble (one of the main barriers to producing more of the old one was that it was taking way too long to make each one). The new version also addresses some other issues with the older shield as well - for example we use screw down terminals to attach external wires and sensors (the previous snap-in ones were a bit of a pain), and we also got rid of the jumpers too. Here's what the new design looks like:
The main features of this new shield are:
An input terminal for reading a dry contact (e.g. button, relay, magnetic contact switch etc)
An output terminal switched by a relay: can operate other low-power circuits or act as a dry contact (e.g. for an alarm system)
An ethernet plug that can be attached to the Insteon PLM to send/receive insteon commands
A push button that can be read by the arduino for interface purposes
I'm still waiting on a quote for the first 150 PCBs of this new shield. But if things go as planned I should have a new batch of these shields in a couple of weeks. If you'd be interested, please get in touch with me at alan [at] goodrobot [dot] com.
Good news! Last week I received the batch of PCBs for the new home automation shield. Here's a photo of a few of them (just a small sample as there's 150 in total):
I've now assembled and tested these boards, and they work great. Here's what they looks like fully assembled and mounted atop an arduino:
One important note, for this shield to work with Insteon you will need the PowerLinc Modem (2413S).
I'm building a lot more of these and will soon have a larger batch ready to ship out. If you want one, just get in touch:
alan [at] goodrobot [dot] com.
I am very interrested in this Insteon control with Arduino .
From what I am reading here , I would need :
An Insteon shield + a PowerLinc Modem (2413S).
Dual band Insteon dimmers + switches to control as required.
I have read so much on Insteon lately that I am confused ...will this be all that is required to set up control of the Insteon devices using commands from the Arduino ?
I will spend more time reading your wiki page to see if there are answers there that I may have overlooked.
BobbyD
Yes, you're correct. You need an arduino, shield, and powerlinc modem (2413S) in order to connect to your chosen home insteon equipment (dimmers, switches, etc). You can receive data from sensors too, but I don't have a simple demo sketch of that at the moment (if someone else has this, please share).
One you have those hardware basics, you can begin using sketches to send insteon commands (don't forget to link your devices with the powerlinc modem).
Alan
BobbyD:
I am very interrested in this Insteon control with Arduino .
From what I am reading here , I would need :
An Insteon shield + a PowerLinc Modem (2413S).
Dual band Insteon dimmers + switches to control as required.
I have read so much on Insteon lately that I am confused ...will this be all that is required to set up control of the Insteon devices using commands from the Arduino ?
I will spend more time reading your wiki page to see if there are answers there that I may have overlooked.
BobbyD
Thanks again for the assistance with ordering the Insteon Shield Alan , it looks good ! I placed an order for the Modem , two dimmers and a wall receptacle today. I will try to study the Inteon manual until they arrive . Then it will be time to tackle the Arduino side of things .
I will keep you posted with any progress!
BobbyD
Insteon is a nice platform to work with . Alan's Insteon shield works well with the Insteon serial modem . Lots to learn , but getting there !
Thumbs up GoodRobot !
Bob
Everything here looks great, and applies very well to my Project, But I've got to ask.
Has there been any headway as to building an Insteon device, rather than a controller?
To Elaborate a little bit I'd Like to add a bunch of digital I/O to my Insteon system controlled by Houselinc.
The idea is that I will be able to add wired in motion sensors and magnetic door/window sensors, as well as be able to control window blinds and air duct dampers.
The only product I've found on the market to do this is the EZIO8SA panel combined with an insteon plm ( http://www.smarthome.com/31273/Smartenit-EZIO8SA-INSTEON-Compatible-Input-Output-Controller/p.aspx ) however, it does not have all of the IO to meet my needs and the price of one unit given the need for a PLM for each unit makes buying multiple units prohibitively expensive for my particular situation. I need 16 Inputs and 10 outputs, which would require 4 separate panels and PLMs and then leave me with a lot of unused outputs.
Littlefoot,
From what you are saying , I think ( and Alan from GoodRobot may be able to add to this ) that you can connect your input devices ( motions and door contacts ) to an arduino with the insteon shield attached. When your Arduino program runs you look for signals from the input devices to meet the logic required to initiate output commands to the Insteon PLM.
As far as controlling blinds, you could leave this task to the Arduino as well. It would get very costly to use the Insteon product you specified.
My personal view on automation is if the devices you are installing can't " pay for themselves" in energy savings or convenience ,then look for some other way to solve the problem...or move on to something else. Automated blinds in a room with southwest exposure with major heat gain in the summer is a good candidate . I also have a headend system for RF and video distribution that shutting down from 11:00 pm until required late morning is worth the price of an Insteon receptacle . I will in time save money that will pay for the initial cost of devices.
Have you looked over the GoodRobot site as Alan has some very usefull info and code to get you heading in the right direction.
Maybe somebody is still interested in Insteon. I had an idea to get an eight button switch and connecting the LEDs to the input of an Arduino and the contacts to the output of an Arduino. Using an ISY controller I could have 8-bit digital i/o to the Insteon network.
Hi OldSurferDude,
I am just getting back to working with Insteon and PLM. I also thought of hacking an 8 button Insteon switch to select scenes, but have not purchased one yet.
Let me know how you are doing with your project.
Bob D
Yeah, Bob, I've taken a long time to get back here. Literally, I've been around the world since then and now involved in trying to get a wireless mesh network up and running. This project is back burner for now, but, someday, I'll get back to it, unless the Insteon people make a cheap interface first.
I did in fact get an Arduino interfaced and working with the KeypadLinc, but I got a major caution from my ISY buddies that going inside a 120V Insteon device is very dangerous. The so-called 5V logic board may, in fact be floating at a very high DC voltage relative to house ground!
As a far safer alternative, I popped open a wireless Mini Remote Keypad (2342-232), and there are eight easily accessible buttons for lead soldering. My ISY can issue IR commands, and I can get confirming statuses back to the Arduino if I think that's necessary. So please take care.
