Re: Re: insteon/UPB

[Gerry Duprey <gerry@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Howdy,

Ian Lowe wrote:
> Gerry, do you have any links on UPB stuff?

Sure do

First, a thumbnail overview:
Like X10, UPB uses the powerlines to talk to devices.  The protocol is
inherently bi-directional and unless specifically commanded not to, all
devices acknowledge the receipt of a command, so you know it got there.

UPB uses higher frequencies and much higher voltages than X10, so it
generally blasts though most household noise.  It can cross phases of power
easier (again, larger voltage spike, though a UPB coupler is not a bad idea
on larger houses (an existing X10 coupler will NOT work)).  Because of the
frequencies, UPB commands complete in less than a 1/3 of a second and the
sustained command rate is 10 commands per second over the powerline.  The
commands all contain checksums and do automatic retries if the data is
corrupted (so packets have a tough time getting mangled/lost).

Most UPB wall switches are really two different devices in one package. 
One
device is a button/rocker that reacts to people pressing it and in
response,
sends out commands.  The other half is a dimmer module that listens for
commands and acts on them.  You don't have to see this difference outside
the switch, but it is useful as it makes reactive to a person turning a
light on somewhere in the house very easy.  Some UPB wall switches offer
several different buttons -- one (or more) or which can control the local
load and the others can control individual lights or scenes.

Most all UPB devices (wall dimmers, wall relays, fixture modules, plugin
modules, etc) support scenes -- called "links" in UPB
terminology.
Basically, a scene is simply a number, 1-250.  Each device can associate
itself with upto 16 of those numbers and for each "association"
(link), you
tell it what level to be at (if the device does dimming) and how fast to
get
there.  So you can have 250 scenes and each switch can be part of any 16 of
them (which has not been a limit for me yet).

Devices report changes to their status (configurable) and you can even tell
the switch what color LED to use and how to change the LED color to reflect
the load status (i.e. always show blue (regardless of state), show blue
when
on, red when off,  show red when on and no color when off, stay off all the
time, etc).


Now for some docs, overviews and products.

--------
UPB Technical Documentation
http://www.pcslighting.com/TechNotes.htm
(low level protocol stuff

Simply Automated
http://www.simply-automated.com/
They make some really nice switches with very flexible switchplate
configurations.  Worthington is a good distributor for them with good
pricing (USA, not sure if they work outside).

HAI
http://www.homeauto.com/Products/HLC/hlc.asp
Very nice switches, though less flexible switch plates.  But for standard
decora switches, they are a lot cheaper (and fully support all the cool
stuff UPB supports).  HomeControls is one of their largest distributors and
seems to have the best price (USA again).

PCS
http://www.pcslighting.com/UPBProducts.htm
The originators of UPB.  THey make pretty nice stuff, though sometimes a
bit
less exploitive of UPB and a bit pricier.

You'll find UPB stuff under other names sometimes.  HAI calls their version
HLC.  PCS has a PulseWorks like of products.  They are all 100% UPB
devices,
but then the company lays a sort of "architecture" on top (not
any different
hardware, just a unified "framework" for managing the switches). 
This may
seem superfluous (and I think it is), but these switches can be quite
complex and having a framework done up by someone who knows the ins and
outs
of them can help folks who just want an setup and forget it system (such
frameworks usually come with their own "controller" hardware).

For folks here, most would probably either integrate with an existing house
controller (like HomeVision) or would do it themselves (with the xPL UPB
module I'm writing and some xPL scripts, I'm getting some incredibly
powerful and responsive configurations here.  Even members of the family
are
doing little ohs and ahs over how the house is starting to behave.

Feel free to ask any questions -- I'll answer if I know (and make something
up if not :-)

Gerry
--
Gerry Duprey
Ann Arbor, MI 48103
http://www.cdp1802.org