Subject: From: Date:

RE: [ECS] Newbie help A.J. Griglak Fri, 14 Jan 2000 10:07:26 -0500

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Hey, Mark...  thanks for the reply!

I've been tweaking so more and kind of have it worked out...  With that
light, the percentages of the dimming are not quite accurate, not sure why,
but I could live with adjusting it.  The percentages are actually lower than
expected.  For example, 36% is just about off - what I would consider like
6%.  As far as the ALL LIGHTS OFF, I think I isolated the problem.  After
many trials and errors, I've found that DSS receiver is causing havoc with
X-10 signals.  I've ordered a plug-in blocker that should do the trick.

Some other questions have popped up, though...  I was looking at your sample
events that do something every two minutes, for example..  I'm not sure of
the logic behind it - could you briefly explain how to do something every
two minutes?

Thanks again!
-=A.J.

-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Gilmore [mailto:omnip@usit.net]
Sent: Tuesday, January 11, 2000 11:32 AM
To: ecs-list@netbloc.com
Subject: Re: [ECS] Newbie help


Hi A.J.,
When you say "it" goes to 0%, are you referring to
the physical lamp or the LIGHT Item State (or both) ?
Note that ECS sets LIGHT dim levels based on what it
"thinks" they are currently set to. If the light has
been manually dimmed via the switch/module, ECS's
internal State will be off, resulting in erroneous
dim levels. This problem does NOT occur if you dim the
lamp with an X10 console/remote, since these send X10
commands to the lamp (which are detected by ECS).

Regarding ALL LIGHTS OFF, what do you mean by "isn't
working correctly". If all lights on house-code A/B
do NOT turn off, then try sending the same commands
with an X10 console/remote (I suspect an X10
transmission/noise problem).

Your logic looks, fine, but I would use "IS NOW"
rather than "IS GT NOW": ECS Events "see" ALL State
transitions (they will always detect when the
timer becomes 90).

A "PLC OVERFLOW" error usually is caused by an Event
that is sending out REDUNDANT commands. For example,
this logic would cause ON commands to be sent for
the entire 60 seconds:
	If	Time	Is	8:00PM
	Then	Light	Set	ON

Use of an IS NOW would prevent this.

Feel free to call...
--
Mark Gilmore
Omnipotence (ECS home automation software)
http://www.usit.com/omnip
423-745-0026


> A.J. Griglak wrote:
>
> OK, I've been a casual lurker for like a year, and just finally moved
> into my new house and fired up ECS for the first time.  I've read
> through all the help files and the web site, and I still struggled to
> get my items and events working properly.
>
> For my first event, I would like to hit a X-10 button (A-7) after I
> climb into bed and have the bedroom light (controlled from a wall
> switch 2031) dim 10% less every 2 minutes, till it hits like 12%.
> Then, at 80 minutes, have the light dim to 0%, so that if I'm still
> awake and watching TV, I could hit any X-10 button to reduce the sleep
> timer by 30 minutes.  When 90 minutes is reached, the light is
> switched off, the TV is switched off, and all lights in the house are
> switched off.  The event that I've programmed isn't quite working like
> that, and I would like a little help in refining it.  I've included a
> Asleep flag for future use - I would like to have a motion detector on
> the way to the kitchen to light the fridge raids at midnight (only if
> the asleep flag is true)
>
> Here is what I've got - after like a week of tweaking  ;-)  I can't
> seem to get the lamp dimming every 2 minutes like I wanted, so I just
> set one dim to 24%.  It also isn't too accurate - I set the dim to
> 24%, and it goes to 0% - not sure why.  I included the "Bedroom Lights
> Set On" because I've noticed that ECS isn't aware when the 2031 is
> manually turned on.  Also, the All Lights Off isn't working correctly
> - not sure why.  I used the BeginIf/EndIf because without them, I
> would get Transmission overload errors.
>
> If I could get a push in the right direction, I think I would be able
> to handle the other stuff I wish to accomplish.
>
> Thanks in advance!!
> -=A.J.
>
> |Event: Sleep    Called ?:No
> | BEGINIF A-Button  Is Now  7/Off
> | Then Sleep Timer  Set  Start
> | Do Bedroom Lights  Set  On
> | Do Asleep Set  True
> | ENDIF
> |
> | BEGINIF Sleep Timer  Is Now  2
> | Do Bedroom Lights  Set  24%
> | ENDIF
> |
> | BEGINIF Sleep Timer  Is Now  80
> | Do Bedroom Lights  Set  0%
> | ENDIF
> |
> | BEGINIF Sleep Timer  Is GT Now 90
> | Do Bedroom TV  Set  Off
> | Do Bedroom Lights  Set  Off
> | Do Sleep Timer  Set  Stop
> | Do Sleep Timer  Set  0
> | Do PLC-Command A  Set  All Lights Off
> | Do PLC-Command B  Set  All Lights Off
> | ENDIF
> |
> | BEGINIF Sleep Timer  Is GT  60
> | And Sign of Life  Is Now  True
> | Do Sleep Timer  Subtract 30
> | Do Bedroom Lights  Set  24%
> | ENDIF
> |
> |

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