X10 Community Forum
🖥️ActiveHome Pro => ActiveHome Pro General => Help & Troubleshooting => Topic started by: jharris2 on December 21, 2008, 01:33:18 AM
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Why can't Activehome Pro and CM15A control the same devices like Activehome and CM11A?
Been using Activehome for years without issue. We use it to control a few lights (especially Christmas lights this time of year) and the water pump for the hot water system. The important part is the water pump so that we have hot water when we wake up in the morning. ;D
Got a new computer (XP Pro, SP3) that doesn't have a serial port, so needed to go to USB support. No problem, updated to Activehome Pro and CM15A interface. Installation went smoothly, and the software and hardware talk to each other fine. The CM15A is on more than 20 feet of USB cable, using the cable supplied in the box plus a 16-foot Vantec CB-USBARC repeater cable. Plugged the CM15A into the same outlet where the CM11A was, across the room from the computer.
Tested the CM15A and old modules using the Intro Wizard. All worked fine, so ready to move to the next step. This is gonna be a breeze!
Imported the old timers from Activehome to Pro -- they seemed to import fine, then downloaded the timers to the CM15A. So far, so good. But, none of the timers worked -- nothing turned on or off at its appointed time, meaning that the CM15A is not controlling the devices using timers. Using the computer to generate manual commands and using RF both work perfectly -- devices turn on and off as they are supposed to.
After a lot of searching and investigation, I found some posts on the forum and in the knowledgebase that indicate that the AHX file could be corrupted, so I created a new home file and rebuilt the timers. Made sure to use the advanced interface to ensure that "repeat" and "store in interface" are checked. Cleared the CM15A memory and downloaded again. Same issue, the CM15A does not turn devices on or off. Tried it while connected to the USB cable and while disconnected, no difference.
Activity Monitor does not show any commands being issued by the CM15A, although it records all RF commands and those issued manually from the software.
It doesn't make sense that the CM11A and the old software would work, while the CM15A and new software don't. The CM15A is in the same outlet where the CM11A was, so we can eliminate many variables associated with a new installation.
What am I missing?
Thanks in advance for the advice and patience!
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One other interesting symptom -- I just used Tools - Hardware Configuration to look at the CM15A again. The memory usage box showed dashes for all categories, as if the interface was empty. I re-downloaded the timers and now there are numbers there (95.44% available memory). Maybe the timers didn't successfully download? Guess we'll find out if we have cold water in the morning!
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Imported the old timers from Activehome to Pro - [then saved the file?] - then downloaded the timers to the CM15A.
An early mistake I made (not saying you made it) was I simply forgot to save the file [by name]. Without a saved file... I had no timers to download to the interface (that would explain the early no memory used).
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I recall a checkbox I missed the first time I used AHP that has to be checked to download that command to the CM15A.
Jeff
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Thanks for the suggestions.
I was optimistic this morning, but alas the water pump didn't do as programmed. The Activity Monitor has no new entries for the time when the timers should have been sent out. So it's clear that there is something awry.
So as to not make any assumptions, I followed your suggestions. First, I ran the Intro Wizard again and all works fine. Everything passed with flying colors, although it seems odd that when it creates the 60-second timer, what is reflected in the Activity Monitor is a macro.
Next, I created a new timer for a new module as a test. Tried to clear the interface memory, but it still showed as having 95.44% available. Downloaded the timers and macros, then Hardware Configuration showed 94.77% available memory, so something was stored. Timer did not execute.
Then, I created a new house file with a single module and timer, saved the file, cleared the interface (it showed as empty), and downloaded the timer to the CM15A. No joy and no change in symptoms.
To eliminate the length of the USB cable as a factor, I moved the CM15A next to the computer via a short USB cable and used an extension cord to connect the CM15A to the outlet. No joy. Manual control through remotes and through the AHP software work fine.
For some reason, the CM15A seems to be able to store timers and macros but does not independently execute them. That isn't normal based on my experience with the CM11A.
Any other ideas?
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Hmm... Not sure what else to try.
Are you making sure macros are not set to run from PC?
(Macros run from PC aren't downloaded to the CM15A and require the PC to be on and running AHP.)
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Hmm... Not sure what else to try.
Are you making sure macros are not set to run from PC?
(Macros run from PC aren't downloaded to the CM15A and require the PC to be on and running AHP.)
How do you check that? I have "Store in Interface" checked. Have also tried unchecking then rechecking it.
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Hmm... Not sure what else to try.
Are you making sure macros are not set to run from PC?
(Macros run from PC aren't downloaded to the CM15A and require the PC to be on and running AHP.)
How do you check that? I have "Store in Interface" checked. Have also tried unchecking then rechecking it.
Having "Store in Inteface" checked would be correct.
What is the version number of your AHP software?
What kind of module are you trying to control with the timer?
Have you tried in "Tools" setting all house codes to "transceived"? There was some sort of issue way back when where timers and macros didn't work unless the house code was checked to be tranceived.
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Having "Store in Inteface" checked would be correct.
What is the version number of your AHP software?
What kind of module are you trying to control with the timer?
Have you tried in "Tools" setting all house codes to "transceived"? There was some sort of issue way back when where timers and macros didn't work unless the house code was checked to be tranceived.
Thanks -- we'll get this one sorted out yet! AHP version is 3.236 dated September 3, 2008, with the Smart Macros, iWatchOut, MyHouseOnline, and OnAlert plug-ins. All of these were downloaded last week, but using just the base software for now. The CM15A is also new, having arrived from X10 just a few days ago.
The modules are 3-pin appliance modules (AM466) and lamp modules (LM465). We currently have 6 appliance modules and 4 lamp modules to control. After Christmas it will be 1 appliance module and 2 lamp modules.
The monitored house codes is set to A. The transceived house codes field was originally set to "Auto" but I have since tried specifying A and specifying all without success.
It also seems strange that if I clear the interface memory, the Hardware Configuration dialog does not show it as empty, even after restarting AHP.
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Thanks -- we'll get this one sorted out yet! AHP version is 3.236 dated September 3, 2008, with the Smart Macros, iWatchOut, MyHouseOnline, and OnAlert plug-ins. All of these were downloaded last week, but using just the base software for now. The CM15A is also new, having arrived from X10 just a few days ago.
The modules are 3-pin appliance modules (AM466) and lamp modules (LM465). We currently have 6 appliance modules and 4 lamp modules to control. After Christmas it will be 1 appliance module and 2 lamp modules.
The monitored house codes is set to A. The transceived house codes field was originally set to "Auto" but I have since tried specifying A and specifying all without success.
It also seems strange that if I clear the interface memory, the Hardware Configuration dialog does not show it as empty, even after restarting AHP.
JHarris,
As others have attested, it sounds like you've got all your settings correct. V3.236 is the latest version as well.
When in doubt - pull the batteries from the CM15a and unplug it for a few minutes.
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JHarris,
As others have attested, it sounds like you've got all your settings correct. V3.236 is the latest version as well.
When in doubt - pull the batteries from the CM15a and unplug it for a few minutes.
Funny that when I saw your post, I had just done that! Gives me confidence that I'm on the right track. Unfortunately, it didn't help.
So the next step I took was to uninstall and reinstall the software from scratch. This time around, to reduce complexity, I installed just AHP and not the additional plug-ins. No change in behavior.
Thanks for the help so far. Open to any additional ideas.
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Thanks -- we'll get this one sorted out yet! AHP version is 3.236 dated September 3, 2008, with the Smart Macros, iWatchOut, MyHouseOnline, and OnAlert plug-ins. All of these were downloaded last week, but using just the base software for now. The CM15A is also new, having arrived from X10 just a few days ago.
The modules are 3-pin appliance modules (AM466) and lamp modules (LM465). We currently have 6 appliance modules and 4 lamp modules to control. After Christmas it will be 1 appliance module and 2 lamp modules.
The monitored house codes is set to A. The transceived house codes field was originally set to "Auto" but I have since tried specifying A and specifying all without success.
It also seems strange that if I clear the interface memory, the Hardware Configuration dialog does not show it as empty, even after restarting AHP.
Yes, as Boiler stated, everything sounds correct.
Some people have been unable to get timers to work in 3.236.
I'm running out of ideas.
Are you clicking the little clock on the module icon to create the timer, or some other route?
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Funny that when I saw your post, I had just done that! Gives me confidence that I'm on the right track. Unfortunately, it didn't help.
So the next step I took was to uninstall and reinstall the software from scratch. This time around, to reduce complexity, I installed just AHP and not the additional plug-ins. No change in behavior.
Thanks for the help so far. Open to any additional ideas.
JHarris,
Congratulations - your first day on the Job and you've already found a bug.
I can confirm that the AM466 interface is seriously whacked when using a timer (haven't tried a macro yet).
Please try the AM486 (2 PIN appliance) interface - should work a bit better for you.
BTW - that rates a helpful. Had you not been so methodical in your testing, this might have gone uncovered for some time. You've already helped several forum members by doing this.
Boiler
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JHarris, Congratulations - your first day on the Job and you've already found a bug....
Ditto on the congradulations!
...I can confirm that the AM466 interface is seriously whacked when using a timer (haven't tried a macro yet)....
I'm pretty sure the timers I have set for my AM466s are working but the timers were setup before I updated. I'll have to keep an eye on them and see.
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Yes, as Boiler stated, everything sounds correct.
Some people have been unable to get timers to work in 3.236.
I'm running out of ideas.
Are you clicking the little clock on the module icon to create the timer, or some other route?
I'm clicking the little clock to create the timers.
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JHarris,
Congratulations - your first day on the Job and you've already found a bug.
I can confirm that the AM466 interface is seriously whacked when using a timer (haven't tried a macro yet).
Please try the AM486 (2 PIN appliance) interface - should work a bit better for you.
BTW - that rates a helpful. Had you not been so methodical in your testing, this might have gone uncovered for some time. You've already helped several forum members by doing this.
Boiler
Thanks -- hoped that this would be plug and play like the old software was. I've changed the definitions from AM466 to AM486 to see if it makes a difference.
And thanks for the comments about being helpful !
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Last update for the evening.
Two of the lamp modules were supposed to have turned on a few minutes ago. As you have already guessed, they didn't. So changing the Appliance Modules to AM486 didn't affect the behavior of the CM15A.
The Activity Monitor doesn't show any commands having been sent. I'm betting the Christmas lights won't go off at midnight, either. ;)
We'll try again tomorrow.
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Sort of to satisfy my curiosity, try building a macro and tell it to run from the computer. Leave the computer on with AHP running and the CM15A attached. I want to see if macros will even work at all.
While I've never known anyone to have this problem, could the memory in his CM15A be defective? Could defective memory cause his kind of problem?
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Sort of to satisfy my curiosity, try building a macro and tell it to run from the computer. Leave the computer on with AHP running and the CM15A attached. I want to see if macros will even work at all.
While I've never known anyone to have this problem, could the memory in his CM15A be defective? Could defective memory cause his kind of problem?
Haven't built the macro yet, but thought I should respond to the question of the memory. I'm beginning to think that the CM15A is defective -- either a bad part or a manufacturing problem that got past Quality Assurance (it happens). A bad memory chip is definitely a possibility. The processor inside the CM15A could also be defective, or the chip that contains its programming may be failing.
It just seems very odd that the unit talks to AHP, but running the "Clear Interface Memory" command does not result in the CM15A reporting a change in what's in the memory.
It will be later today that I will have time to try the macro. The macro written in the Intro Wizard works.
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Last update for the evening.
Two of the lamp modules were supposed to have turned on a few minutes ago. As you have already guessed, they didn't. So changing the Appliance Modules to AM486 didn't affect the behavior of the CM15A.
The Activity Monitor doesn't show any commands having been sent. I'm betting the Christmas lights won't go off at midnight, either. ;)
We'll try again tomorrow.
Very strange.
Over the past month I've gone through a series up updates:
3.204 (start)
3.228
3.236 (Driver update)
3.236 (Full update)
Since the 3.236 Full update things have been a bit strange (including the AM466 problem noted above).
This morning I "Downgraded" to V3.204 - Things appear to be correct again. What's more, after re-applying the 3.236 update the AM466 timer is working again.
If I had to guess, I'd say that AHP is not building the program file properly for the CM15a. The file name is ahpEEprom.txt and it is typically located in the following directory : \Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Active Home Professional.
We may need to see this file to figure out what is going on.
As an alternative, you could try the old V3.204 to see if it fixes things. You can download from here ahp_updt_204.exe (http://software.x10.com/pub/applications/activehome/ahp_updt_204.exe). [quote
It just seems very odd that the unit talks to AHP, but running the "Clear Interface Memory" command does not result in the CM15A reporting a change in what's in the memory.
I see the same thing on my system. I believe this is a software calculation for convenience rather than an active measurement of what is contained in the CM15a.
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Clicking the little clock is exactly how I create all my timers. It's the easiest way.
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Update:
1. Talked to Brett in technical support -- he thinks it's a line noise issue because of the compression used to create the timers (note -- he stated that the timer used in the Intro Wizard is *not* compressed, but there is no option to store uncompressed timers in the CM15A). He e-mailed with instructions to build a couple of test macros to be able to isolate the line noise. See #2.
2. Built a macro to turn on all units when "A1 on" was issued. Stored in timer; it worked perfectly. Built a second macro to turn units off when "A1 off" was issued. Also worked perfectly. Clearly it's not a line noise issue.
2a. I've responded to Brett's e-mail with the results of the macro. Also told him how the Activity Monitor shows no activity for a timer, but shows all activity for the macros and RF commands issued.
3. I can't upload the ahpEEprom.txt because it's too large for the limits of this site (128KB max, file is 237KB). If there's a portion you'd like to see then I can upload that.
4. I've found a way to get a serial port on the new laptop so there is a way backwards if I decide to abandon this effort.
At this point, going back to 3.204 sounds like the most reasonable approach.
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I applied the 3.204 file with no change in symptoms. (where's the "bang head" emoticon when you need it?? ;D )
Perhaps a fresh install of 3.204 would make a difference? If so, then where might the file be? Or does ahp_updt_204.exe install fresh if there is no base install?
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I applied the 3.204 file with no change in symptoms. (where's the "bang head" emoticon when you need it?? ;D )
Perhaps a fresh install of 3.204 would make a difference? If so, then where might the file be? Or does ahp_updt_204.exe install fresh if there is no base install?
Yippee!! Suddenly I have been able to get 3.204 to work to control a single lamp via timers. And the CM15A does show the activity on the Activity Monitor.
Next step is to re-load the 3.236 update to see if it corrupts the behavior again.
Boiler, you're a genius!
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Bug In 3.236 Found!
OK, I updated from 3.204 to 3.236. Stored timer worked fine, but then I created a new one that failed. Upon investigation, it appears that the Advanced Timer Layout in 3.236 is the source of the problems.
I have some timers that run on specific days of the week -- for example, the water pump starts earlier on Monday than on other days of the week so that the shower is ready for an early-morning flight. Once you click on a day other than "daily", then 3.236 inserts start and stop dates into the timer. Unfortunately, it inserts "January 1" to "January 1" and the timer ignores changes to the date fields. Net is, you end up with a timer that seems to work on one day of the year only.
I've backed off to 3.204, will modify the timers I want to use, then load them into the CM15A. If I get it done in an hour, then we'll have a definitive answer. Once I know that the timers are working, then I will post again.
Thanks for the pointers and for being so helpful, Boiler -- you put us on the right track!
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Bug In 3.236 Found!
OK, I updated from 3.204 to 3.236. Stored timer worked fine, but then I created a new one that failed. Upon investigation, it appears that the Advanced Timer Layout in 3.236 is the source of the problems.
I have some timers that run on specific days of the week -- for example, the water pump starts earlier on Monday than on other days of the week so that the shower is ready for an early-morning flight. Once you click on a day other than "daily", then 3.236 inserts start and stop dates into the timer. Unfortunately, it inserts "January 1" to "January 1" and the timer ignores changes to the date fields. Net is, you end up with a timer that seems to work on one day of the year only.
I've backed off to 3.204, will modify the timers I want to use, then load them into the CM15A. If I get it done in an hour, then we'll have a definitive answer. Once I know that the timers are working, then I will post again.
Thanks for the pointers and for being so helpful, Boiler -- you put us on the right track!
Thank you for taking the time to test so thoroughly and report back to the rest of us users with the results!
#:)
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Thank you for taking the time to test so thoroughly and report back to the rest of us users with the results!
You're welcome. More importantly, thanks to everyone for the pointers that led to the answer. >!
The timers are working -- the water pump has turned on and off as scheduled this morning, the Christmas lights turned off. Life is good! :)
To let X10 know about the software bug, I have e-mailed Brett with the information and pointed him to this thread. Is there something else I should do to get this in front of X10? Let's hope that it gets fixed soon.
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I usually have a thread for bugs found in the current AHP version Posted in the software problems and bugs section!
This doesn't mean X10 programmers will look there But at least If they do they can get a quick list for their TO DO List ;)
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I usually have a thread for bugs found in the current AHP version Posted in the software problems and bugs section!
This doesn't mean X10 programmers will look there But at least If they do they can get a quick list for their TO DO List ;)
Found it and posted to it. Let's hope the X10 developers see it.