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[PajamaGuy]

Trigger Conditions SH624=2 - Home Arm Instant and
It's daytime
End Trigger Conditions
WAIT for 1 Second
Turn Back Door Light ON
Turn Front Door Light - Outside ON
WAIT for 2 Seconds
Turn Back Door Light OFF
Turn Front Door Light - Outside OFF

This will not run.

The CM15A is plugged in, and it's clock is spot on. 
The Front & Back lights are WS467's (soft start)
If I remove "Daytime" it works.

When there's an ELSE - the ELSE immediately runs, this never even lights-up.

[Puck]

Trigger Conditions SH624=2 - Home Arm Instant and
It's daytime
End Trigger Conditions
WAIT for 1 Second
.
.
.

Sometimes starting a macro with a delay if that macro has ELSES can cause strange problems. Since there is already an inheritant delay in OnAlert macros, maybe remove the 1 second delay. Also, does the ELSE (assuming for nighttime) macro have the Nighttime condition? If not make sure it does. Make sure no condition can exist that can satisfy more than one macro in an ELSE sequence.

[PajamaGuy]

Well, the problem really is that AHP timers won't turn on the soft-start WS467's 
Telling AHP they're LM14A's enables the timers to control the lights correctly, but their "status" is NOT reflected in AHP.
If I tell AHP they're LM465's, AHP reflects the timer commands & status, but the lights stay off.

C'mon x10 - fix the software!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[PajamaGuy]

Ev Arms    SH624-2 - Home Arm Instant
Daytime    Delay for 1 Second
      (D8) Front Door Light - Outside    ON
      (D7) Back Door Light    ON
      Delay for 2 Seconds
      (D8) Front Door Light - Outside    OFF
      (D7) Back Door Light    OFF

              ---ELSE---

Lights Off-On    SH624-2 - Home Arm Instant
Nighttime    (D8) Front Door Light - Outside    OFF
      (D7) Back Door Light    OFF
      Delay for 2 Seconds
      (D8) Front Door Light - Outside    ON
      (D7) Back Door Light    ON
      Delay for 2 Seconds
      (D7) Back Door Light    Brighten then dim to 72%
      (D8) Front Door Light - Outside    Brighten then dim to 70%
---------------------------------------
This works - BECAUSE AHP has been lied-to!  I told AHP that the WS467's are LM14A's !!!!
The modules in the room in AHP don't change from "OFF", but the real lights follow the macro correctly!
======================
caveat - this works during nighttime - the sun's coming up in 45 min.....

## - Update - When I stopped and restarted AHP, the correct status of the LM14A's is displayed.

[PajamaGuy]

Here's another associated quirk - 

With the working macro below - when I hit the security remote's Arm Home - the macro fires AND the DS7000 arms (as it should) - BUT the normal security-light-on-off sequence from the DS7000 only did an "ON" - and the security lights stayed on.
However, adding a 1-sec delay at the beginning of the ELSE fixed it.

Lights Off-On    SH624-2 - Home Arm Instant
Nighttime   Delay for 1 Second
      (D8) Front Door Light - Outside    OFF
      (D7) Back Door Light    OFF

[Puck]

If I remove "Daytime" it works.

Well, the problem really is that AHP timers won't turn on the soft-start WS467's 

  You've confused me... I thought your first post above was about a problem with the daytime condition of the macro you presented. Now you state the issue is with timers. 

[PajamaGuy]

YOU're confused!?!?!? -  You're an expert!  (I'm more confused than you are!)

I've been trying to do 2 separate, but related, things. 

1st: I have 2 outside, door entry lights, both run off soft-starting WS467's (addressed as D7 & D8).  I want them to come on (100%) at dusk, then about 30 minutes later dim to about 75% - finally shutting off at dawn.

2nd: I'd like an outside visual indicator for my wife so that when she arms or disarms the DS7000.  (The DS7000's L5 security lamps' flashing at ARM are hard to see through the windows, and don't flash on disarm)  So I thought since she's usually standing by one of the outside doors, I'd have their lights flash just once, On&Off during daylight, and Off&On (then dim to 75%) during nighttime.

I'm using timers to #1: Turn D7 on to 100% at 4:30.
                           #2: Dim D7 to 70% at 5:30 and turn it off at DAWN.
                           #3: Turn D8 on to 100% at 4:30.
                           #4: Dim D8 to 75% at 5:30 and turn it off at DAWN.

These timers NOW Work correctly!  - but only when I changed the modules for D7 & D8 to indicate they are LM14A's.

I'm using a MACRO with an ELSE to flash the D7 & D8 lights whenever my wife arms/disarms the DS7000.  (for testing purposes, I'm using my #2 SH624 as the trigger)

Ev Arms    SH624-2 - Home Arm Instant
Daytime    Delay for 1 Second
      (D8) Front Door Light - Outside    ON
      (D7) Back Door Light    ON
      Delay for 2 Seconds
      (D8) Front Door Light - Outside    OFF
      (D7) Back Door Light    OFF

              ---ELSE---

Lights Off-On    SH624-2 - Home Arm Instant
Nighttime   Delay for 1 Second
      (D8) Front Door Light - Outside    OFF
      (D7) Back Door Light    OFF
      Delay for 2 Seconds
      (D8) Front Door Light - Outside    ON
      (D7) Back Door Light    ON
      Delay for 2 Seconds
      (D7) Back Door Light    Brighten then dim to 75%
      (D8) Front Door Light - Outside    Brighten then dim to 70%

Puck - I've done so much testing - changing - testing - changing, that I can't remember the exact configuration of these 2 macros or the modules before I got them working, but they NOW WORK CORRECTLY!!!

I always had the CM15A connected to the PC. I always downloaded timers & macros after I made a change.  With the Modules as WS467's AND using DAYTIME in the first macro, the ELSE always fired (At that time I did NOT have any condition in the ELSE) - when I removed "daytime" the primary macro fired.
After changing the modules to LM14A's (to get the timers working) - the first MACRO did recognize DayTime and did fire correctly, HOWEVER without the Delay at the beginning of the ELSE, the DS7000 turned ON the security lights, but did NOT turn them off when the ELSE fired.  With the delays in the macros, the DS7000's arming indicator of flashing the security lights works correctly.

These 2 macros now work correctly!!  (I test by swapping the DAYTIME & NIGHTIME parameters.)


 

[Puck]

PajamaGuy: Thanks for clearing up the confusion... now I understand ALL that you are doing. 

The (new) softstart modules have been causing lots of problems and work-arounds.

Because the DS7000 is not a polite device, and with the newer ones sending the armed on/off indication, any OnAlert arming macros have to take this into consideration to avoid signal collisions. In this case a preceding delay is required. Just be aware that starting a macro with a delay when elses are involved can cause reliability issues.

Whenever I have to start a macro with a delay, I place a Clear Flag 16 command in front of the delay. Flag 16 is not reliable since it is used internally, so this just acts as a dummy command so that the possible delay issue is mitigated.

[PajamaGuy]

Those macros I listed - DON't WORK!

I've just spent 4 hours screwing with my system....  And I've learned some things.

1. Move your equipment as far from your PC and peripherals as possible.  My CM15A receives MUCH better when I added a 16' USA extension and mounted it high up in a closet away from my desk/workstation.  I also added an 18¼" piece of coat hanger.
2. I moved my DS7000 into the same closet.  Prior to the move, although the Security Remotes worked well, the KeyChains did not work from outside the front door.  Now they work from the sidewalk out front.  And the closet is actually farther away!
3. Daytime/Nightime/Dusk/Dawn as CONDITIONALs don't work for me.  Using FLAGS and PHANTOMs have the problem/issue almost fixed.

I now use timers to simply flip a PHANTOM (P10) - 2-pin appliance module on at Dawn and off at dusk.
Macros sense P10 and when flipped ON, set FLAG-1 to ON, and OFF when P10 goes OFF.  Flag F1 indicates DAYTIME/NIGHTIME.

Any KeyChain ARM transmission flips PHANTOM P1 ON.
Macro On-Off is triggered by P1 and if FLAG-1 is ON, it turns my outside lights On for 2 seconds, then Off - and then turns P1 OFF.
ELSE Macro Off-On (also triggered by P1) and IF FLAG-1 is OFF, turns the outside lights OFF, then ON and resets P1 OFF.

It was important to include the IF FLAG-1=OFF in the ELSE!  Wouldn't work without it.

The Outside light switches still MUST be identified as 2-Way Lamp Modules and NOT WS467's.  AND the MACRO preference of "On instead of Bright 100%" must be checked.
The AHP Outside Light modules do NOT reflect the On-Off activity - but the lights themselves work. 

So - the only issue left is that if I use the same KeyChain twice to ARM, the system will ARM correctly, and P1 will get flipped ON, but the ON-Off macros don't fire.  Usually on second ARMing, the lights flash and P1 goes OFF, but not from the same KeyChain 2-times in a row - weird!

Time for some single-malt and reading the boards....

[Puck]

Back to confused....

1. Move your equipment as far from your PC and peripherals as possible.  My CM15A receives MUCH better when I added a 16' USA extension and mounted it high up in a closet away from my desk/workstation.  I also added an 18¼" piece of coat hanger.

Even though moving the CM15A as electrically far away from a PC as possible improves the reliability of it's operation, it will have no effect of your original issue of Daytime / Nighttime macro conditions not working. By the way, usng an X10 filter on the PC is the best way to elimate the PC's electric noise for your house wiring.

3. Daytime/Nightime/Dusk/Dawn as CONDITIONALs don't work for me.  Using FLAGS and PHANTOMs have the problem/issue almost fixed.

I now use timers to simply flip a PHANTOM (P10) - 2-pin appliance module on at Dawn and off at dusk.
Macros sense P10 and when flipped ON, set FLAG-1 to ON, and OFF when P10 goes OFF.  Flag F1 indicates DAYTIME/NIGHTIME.

Daytime / Nighttime Timer Flag Macro 

[Makaira]

PJ Guy,

Thanks so much for posting the WS467 / LM14A work-around.  I'm a new X-10 owner and have spent days trying to program the first X-10 unit I ever installed - a WS467 of all things - I thought I was going insane trying to make the damned thing work. . . called it an LM14A and voila!

Makes me a little nervous about installing the rest of the modules.

Thanks again.

[PajamaGuy]

Makaira - It wasn't me that "found" the workaround - I discovered it by searching and reading these boards!   

There are some guys here that have many years experience in X10 stuff - and the best part is they're eager to share. 

Do searches, especially "Advanced Searches" - and ask questions - this forum has highest GoodGuys-to-dorks ratio I've seen.

[mike]

I've developed a theory about ANY time conditions, be they dusk/dawn, before, after, or a range with so called smart macros:


No time condition works directly on any REAL module or function (send email etc).

A corollary to above:

Time conditions ONLY work in macros controlling a PHANTOM module.

So far, from KDR's 3 macro-to-send-email, many others with similar problems, my trying to record snapshot or video in 1 macro with time condition, and even macro turning on directly a real existing module, they just don't work.  But having the trigger with conditions turn on a phantom non-existent module, and then use THAT to trigger the event wanted, seems to work.

How can X10 be so incompetent!!???!!?

[dave w]

How many times do you plan on cross posting this?

[Puck]

mike: Please do not repeat posts throughout the forum. It only takes once to be seen by all. More than once tends to be seen as hi-jacking someone else's thread. I have removed the others and left this one since it was your first.

If you feel your post would contribute to another thread, then please post a hyper-link to the original. This way when members sign in they know they read that message before.

Thanks