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SeymourAV Screen Control w/ Insteon, Help Requested.

post #1 of 11
3/16/09 at 10:57pm
Thread Starter 
Hey gang... so I'm about to pull the trigger and order a screen from Chris at SeymourAV.

What I'd really like to be able to do is press a button on my Insteon KeypadLink to make the screen go up and down.

SmartHome has this nice pic on their site:


But I think it assumes low voltage? Can anyone here help me figure out exactly how to make this work? I think I could do it with 2 IO Links or 1 EXIO2x4? But I'm not feeling very confident about the low vs/ line voltage application. Chris has some nice options which I'd be willing to consider, but I'd really like to link it in with the Insteon stuff I've already got. Hopefully one of you is much better with this than I am and can suggest a plan of attack.

Thanks a bunch!
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post #2 of 11
3/17/09 at 10:15pm
To help the discussion, here are the options from my side in increasingly rare order:
* IR: Both the 4-wire control box and Somfy motors can be IR controlled, and with receivers included in your macros. The Gen4 even has several different types of IR receivers. Tying an IR receiver to an IR repeater is easy.
* Dry contact: There are dry contact inputs on the 4-wire control box and the Somfy wall switch. They look for momentary contact, <0.5 seconds, that can be provided via relay closure.
* Gen4 special order product: We have a Z-Wave version of the control box, or can order interfaces for Ethernet, RS-232, or RS-422 using Serial ASCII strings.
* Somfy special order product: In addition, the Somfy motor can be controlled by adding one of their pricey interfaces. This can get you into RS-485, RS-232, Ethernet, or Wi-Fi control.

Cheers,
Chris
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post #3 of 11
3/18/09 at 4:12am
I'm not familiar with Insteon or Seymour AV, but the wiring shown in the drawing represents LV wiring. You will need to power the screen motor with 110 high voltage, but the control interface will be low voltage. You can probably use an 18/4 wire.
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post #4 of 11
3/27/09 at 12:49pm
mkanter,

I'm pretty familiar with the Insteon line of products. Are you still needing assitance? I'm at work right now plus it's Friday afternoon so my brain is pretty much shutting down but I'd be happy to put my brain to it when it's more awake.

Cheers.
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post #5 of 11
3/27/09 at 1:23pm
Thread Starter 
sbal,

The answer I got from tech support at SimpleHomeNet was that I could use the EZIO2x4 to control the 4-wire motor (though I really could use some more detail on the exact, I assume, 4 wires the motor has). However, in order to make the KeyPadLinc buton presses and the EZIO2x4 control "momentary", I'd need to use the SimpleHomeNet free software and store the config using a PLC.

So I think I'm in business... and I'll probably try it and see how far I get.

Anything you can add to that to clarify exactly how to implement what I described I'd be happy to hear!

Thanks for your interest!
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post #6 of 11
3/27/09 at 7:13pm
The EZIO2x4 looks like the way to go. You'll need the dry contact control box that Chris describes. Perhaps you can contact him to get the specs on the control box before you buy anything so you can get the wiring configuration worked out before spending any money.

Cheers.
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post #7 of 11
3/27/09 at 10:52pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks, good idea about getting more details on the wiring. I must be missing something.... what would I need the dry contact control box for?
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post #8 of 11
3/28/09 at 3:28pm
My DIY screen is fixed frame so I don't have first hand experience with the motors but looking at the SeymourAV website, the basic 4-wire motor requires a continuous closed switch to open or close the screen. So you'd have to program the EZIO to maintain the relay closed for the total time it takes to lower or raise the screen. The 4-wire control box accepts a pulsed input and it takes care of keeping the circuit closed long enough to lower or raise the screen.

Send Chris an email to clarify. He's pretty good at answering questions. Basically, what you want to purchase is the ability to lower or raise the screen using a pulsed or momentary input.

Cheers.
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post #9 of 11
4/30/09 at 10:07pm
Thread Starter 
Well, I've now got the screen installed and the EZIO2x4 programmed to turn on and off the relays (which works, I can hear them) but the screen, she isn't moving.

I've got the red and black wires connected from the 4-wire motor to R2_A & R2_B on the EZIO2x4... and I've got the green and white wires connected from the 4-wire motor to R1_A & R1_B on the EZIO2x4. I'm really just guessing at the 4-wire motors wiring.

Also, using the Simplehomenet Utility Suite I've enabled the Output1 & Output 2 timers to last 3 seconds though I can't tell if it's working.

I didn't think I needed the control box Chris offers because the EXIO2x4 states that its relays are rated for .5A at 30VDC or 120VAC.

Anyone have suggestions for me?
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post #10 of 11
4/30/09 at 11:20pm
Thread Starter 
Ok, I'm now pretty certain that I'm able to successfully set the timers as intended since I can hear the relay click again after 3 seconds.

What I've realized though is that while I can successfully program the KeyPadLinc to control the EZIO2x4 without the 4-wire motor attached to the relay ports... I cannot seem to do it when it is. I think I got relay 1 responding once this way but it did nothing for the screen but couldn't get relay 2 responding.

I've now factory reset the EZIO2x4 without the 4-wire motor attached, established a link between the A and B buttons on the KeyPadLinc and the Relays 1 and 2 on the EZIO2x4. I've been doing this in an outlet near the wall switch and not near the screen (not sure if that would matter). I then unplug, attach the 4-wire motor wires and move the EZIO2x4 to the outlet in the hole for the screen. At this point I seem to loose control from the KeyPadLinc... when I attempt to re-establish the links again with everything wired in I can't. I then unplug the EZIO2x4, detach the 4-wire motor wires and perform the rest procedure as I plug it... then start over.

I just tried the reset and test connections with the EZIO2x4 up in the whole for the screen and it worked, though I had trouble and had to try twice to make the connection with relay 1.

I'm thinking that either the EZIO doesn't have enough amps to drive the 4-wire or I don't understand the purpose of the 4-wire motor wires. Argh, I want to see the screen move!
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post #11 of 11
4/30/09 at 11:27pm
Thread Starter 
So what are the 4 wires... Green, Red, White, Black?

Is it one positive and one negative for up and then another set for down?

Or... Is one for up, one for down, one for common/neutral and one for ground? This would mean that I need to split one of the wires and feed it into a port for both relay 1 and relay 2.

Anyone know?
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