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    Need Help - Documentation for Compose PLC Firewall

    I inherited a project house that includes 4 Compose PLC Firewalls. I cannot find any documentation on these firewalls and their capabilities. I understand that their primary purpose is to separate noisy circuits from the X10 circuits and to repeat X10 signals between the circuits (and phases).

    However, these seem to have much more functionality. They have RS-485 connections between them and RS-232 connection capabilities. I know they have some sort of scheduling feature, but I'm not sure what for. I have searched everywhere and cannot find a reference manual. Can anyone help?

    Thanks!
    Jim

    #2
    Here's what I have on them. I use them only for isolation, so the only connection between mine (I have two) is one cat5 wire. I don't have any experience with the serial interface, but found a document for it.

    In my experience they are pretty robust, so if they are working I'd recommend leaving them alone. The biggest problem is that they are no longer supported actively, though you might be able to find someone at Phillips who came over when they bought Lightolier who knows something about the product.

    Do you have the switch manual?
    Attached Files
    Mike____________________________________________________________ __________________
    HS3 Pro Edition 3.0.0.548, NUC i3

    HW: Stargate | NX8e | CAV6.6 | Squeezebox | PCS | WGL 800RF | RFXCOM | Vantage Pro | Green-Eye | Edgeport/8 | Way2Call | Ecobee3 | EtherRain | Ubiquiti

    Comment


      #3
      Thanks for the docs Mike. Much appreciated! Do you know if these firewalls have anything to do with storing scenes? Or have any smarts of their own at all?

      This is a very frustrating project. The lights were driven from an OmniPro II / TW523, but I don't seem to have control of any lights right now. I've checked house/room codes and replaced the TW523. I see commands being sent from the TW523, but none of the firewalls show any LED activity and none of the lights respond. Even with the TW523 disconnected lights can go on and off by themselves. All hardware is Lightolier.

      I'm going back with a simple X10 controller to see if I can make the lights respond properly with that. Again, thanks for the documents. That will help to make sure everything is configured properly in the firewalls. I wish I had the protocol documents as it seems this can be configured/controlled over the serial port as well as over X10 commands. Any other suggestions to test?

      Thanks,
      Jim

      Comment


        #4
        If you don't have a manual for the switches and/or keypads, I've attached a copy. That would be a good place to start.

        The scene information is stored in each switch. That is, the switch interprets an X10 Preset Dim command as a scene designation. The switch can be programmed to dim/brighten its load to any predetermined level for each of 6 preset dim values. The ramp rate can also be programmed for each level as well. I'll look for a table that translates Preset Dim into Scene and post that too when I find it.

        Keypads are typically used to generated the Preset Dim commands, but a controller such as the HAI (or Homeseer) can also do so. Here's a site that describes the HAI interface. I can't comment on it, though, because I've not used HAI. Homeseer 2 has a plug-in that simplifies the Compose scene generation, but that has been dropped for HS3. On the other hand, it's actually quite straightforward (relatively speaking) to get HS to send a specific preset dim command, so a basic HS3 controller with X10 capability would be one option to use as a controller if you don't have Compose keypads installed.

        I think the Serial interface board may be able to store some scene information and trigger scenes - possibly on a time schedule, but as I noted, I have no experience with that, so I'm just guessing. But if you are seeing unexplained lighting changes, that would be a place to look.
        Attached Files
        Mike____________________________________________________________ __________________
        HS3 Pro Edition 3.0.0.548, NUC i3

        HW: Stargate | NX8e | CAV6.6 | Squeezebox | PCS | WGL 800RF | RFXCOM | Vantage Pro | Green-Eye | Edgeport/8 | Way2Call | Ecobee3 | EtherRain | Ubiquiti

        Comment


          #5
          It turns out that the HS2 Compose plug-in users guide has the table. You can find it here.
          Mike____________________________________________________________ __________________
          HS3 Pro Edition 3.0.0.548, NUC i3

          HW: Stargate | NX8e | CAV6.6 | Squeezebox | PCS | WGL 800RF | RFXCOM | Vantage Pro | Green-Eye | Edgeport/8 | Way2Call | Ecobee3 | EtherRain | Ubiquiti

          Comment


            #6
            Michael: Thanks for all of this information/help. I've planned a series of tests for next week. I'll let you know how it goes.

            Thanks!
            Jim

            Comment


              #7
              Jim,
              After some digging I found another document that you may find helpful.
              Attached Files
              Mike____________________________________________________________ __________________
              HS3 Pro Edition 3.0.0.548, NUC i3

              HW: Stargate | NX8e | CAV6.6 | Squeezebox | PCS | WGL 800RF | RFXCOM | Vantage Pro | Green-Eye | Edgeport/8 | Way2Call | Ecobee3 | EtherRain | Ubiquiti

              Comment


                #8
                More great information. None of this stuff is available online anywhere, until now (this thread). Thanks for all of your help.

                Comment


                  #9
                  HS3 Compose Plug-in

                  Is anyone working on a Compose plug-in? I have 50 Compose devices in my house, looking for scene control.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by Richfd View Post
                    Is anyone working on a Compose plug-in? I have 50 Compose devices in my house, looking for scene control.
                    AFAIK, no. On the other hand, I am planning to control my devices with preset dim commands as I originally did with Stargate and then HS2. The HS2 Compose plug-in actually adds a bit of convenience, mostly.

                    You should be able to do what you want with native HS3 commands and Status/Graphics tables. At least that's what I'm counting on, but I haven't started yet.
                    Mike____________________________________________________________ __________________
                    HS3 Pro Edition 3.0.0.548, NUC i3

                    HW: Stargate | NX8e | CAV6.6 | Squeezebox | PCS | WGL 800RF | RFXCOM | Vantage Pro | Green-Eye | Edgeport/8 | Way2Call | Ecobee3 | EtherRain | Ubiquiti

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Compose & HS3

                      Sorry to bring up this old thread, but I am a late HS3 adaptor.

                      Like others I have 40+ Compose devices in my home. It has been a reliable system & does not warrant (IMO) a change in hardware just to get be able to communicate with HS3. It is apparent that a plugin is not being developed most likely due to a limited market.

                      How are the remaining Compose users adapting to HS3?

                      Uncle Michael .... If you project is operational, I would like to give it a go!
                      Larry

                      Comment


                        #12
                        I have my Compose switches and controllers all working well in HS3. It was a bit more involved than I originally envisioned, but the X10 plug-in provides all the necessary device controls and script commands. The trick is figuring out what those are!

                        I'll follow up with some useful links to other threads in another post.
                        Mike____________________________________________________________ __________________
                        HS3 Pro Edition 3.0.0.548, NUC i3

                        HW: Stargate | NX8e | CAV6.6 | Squeezebox | PCS | WGL 800RF | RFXCOM | Vantage Pro | Green-Eye | Edgeport/8 | Way2Call | Ecobee3 | EtherRain | Ubiquiti

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Here are some threads that have useful information.
                          http://board.homeseer.com/showthread.php?t=173065
                          http://board.homeseer.com/showthread.php?t=179522
                          http://board.homeseer.com/showthread.php?t=178701

                          It is VERY important - did I mention that this is VERY important? - that you follow Mark's instructions for creating X10 devices TO THE LETTER!!!!

                          Unfortunately, it can happen (it does in my system frequently) that when you click on Add Device, the device configuration window will not open, but a new device with Floor / Room of Unknown / Unknown will be created. When that happens while trying to create an X10 device, your only option is to delete that device and try again.

                          For Compose devices you do need to translate the %dim values to their Preset Dim meaning. I found that 'On' = 3, 'A' = 6, 'B' = 10, 'C' = 13, and 'D' = 16 work for me. Off is 0.

                          I'll include a screen shot of a compose device in the next post.
                          Mike____________________________________________________________ __________________
                          HS3 Pro Edition 3.0.0.548, NUC i3

                          HW: Stargate | NX8e | CAV6.6 | Squeezebox | PCS | WGL 800RF | RFXCOM | Vantage Pro | Green-Eye | Edgeport/8 | Way2Call | Ecobee3 | EtherRain | Ubiquiti

                          Comment


                            #14
                            I found that naming the device and supplying floor and room names followed by going to the X10 tab to enter HC and UC and select PreSet then pressing Done on the X10 tab worked well. I'd then go back and add information on the Status Graphics tab.

                            I also found that if I only added preset values without changing any of the pre-configured values or ranges that the plug-in would accept my changes. If I deleted anything, the device would not work properly. (I didn't try all permutations. Just stopped when I found something that worked.)
                            Attached Files
                            Mike____________________________________________________________ __________________
                            HS3 Pro Edition 3.0.0.548, NUC i3

                            HW: Stargate | NX8e | CAV6.6 | Squeezebox | PCS | WGL 800RF | RFXCOM | Vantage Pro | Green-Eye | Edgeport/8 | Way2Call | Ecobee3 | EtherRain | Ubiquiti

                            Comment


                              #15
                              As far as using the Compose devices in events, there is one quirk that I encountered. Although the device is created with scene names, those only work as conditions, not as control commands.
                              So, you can test if a Compose scene is 'Mealtime', but you cannot set a device to 'Mealtime'. You have to set it to a preset dim value like this:
                              Attached Files
                              Mike____________________________________________________________ __________________
                              HS3 Pro Edition 3.0.0.548, NUC i3

                              HW: Stargate | NX8e | CAV6.6 | Squeezebox | PCS | WGL 800RF | RFXCOM | Vantage Pro | Green-Eye | Edgeport/8 | Way2Call | Ecobee3 | EtherRain | Ubiquiti

                              Comment

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