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[orcusomega]

For some reason, I cannot get Dawn/Dusk working properly - more accurately, at all...

Simple need for a macro: If it's between dusk and dawn, and a garage door opens, turn on the light.  Simple enough.. only it runs all the time.

I created a macro that will set/clear a flag between 9pm and 6 am and using that to define night time, but has anyone else run into this problem?

I am on 3.305 and don't want to upgrade/downgrade if possible - I have enough stuff in here that it would be a SERIOUS pain to start running into new bugs...

Thanks,

Bob

[Noam]

This bug has been around for a while, but it only affects some users.
Here is a link to the current Bug List:
http://forums.x10.com/index.php?topic=22373.0

Have you checked that your date, time, time zone, and location are all correct, both in Windows, and in AHP?
Are you triggering the macro from OUTSIDE of AHP? (Triggering it by clicking on it inside AHP ignores the conditions).

With that said, there are a number of users who have reported this issue over the years, but the developers have not been able to reproduce it.
I reported this thread to the developers, so they can take a look, and may contact you to get some more information and/or files from you.

[orcusomega]

Thanks - I have tried all sorts of things, but this seems to work best as a cheat - simply have a "Daytime" flag, (in my case #16) and an associated timer - turn it on at 6 am, off at 9 pm.  Ir requires two macros and a "fake" switch, but it works

Bob

[Dan Lawrence]

Thanks - I have tried all sorts of things, but this seems to work best as a cheat - simply have a "Daytime" flag, (in my case #16) and an associated timer - turn it on at 6 am, off at 9 pm.  Ir requires two macros and a "fake" switch, but it works

Bob

My electric blanket is on X10 with an Appliance Module, here are timers for it: TURN ON at 9:00 PM OFF at 8:00 AM.  Works perfectly and has for 8 years.   

[Knightrider]

My electric blanket is on X10 with an Appliance Module, here are timers for it: TURN ON at 9:00 PM OFF at 8:00 AM.  Works perfectly and has for 8 years.   

And what, just what does that have to do with a smart macro CONDITION?

[orcusomega]

Timers by true times (like 9 to 5) work great - but designating dawn and dusk doesnt work...  But thanks for the electric blanket idea!

[Knightrider]

I use the flag method listed above.  Have a security light on O11 that turns on at dusk and off at dawn.  I set up a simple macro to flip a flag when the light comes on and reset the flag when it goes off.  I then use that flag for my dawn/dusk condition.

If you don't have a unit that you want on during the night, just set up a phantom/dummy module.

[beelocks]

How about rewriting the macro along the lines of...

IF a garage door is opened AND Dan's timed electric blanket is ON, THEN turn on light.

You would probably need some really tricksy monitoring to make it work exactly spot-on, but I think it's entirely possible - it could be a problem if, at the height of Summer, Dan installs a new AHX file because he doesn't need the electric blanket  

[orcusomega]

Lol I ended up just "cheating".  Since I previously had issues with time periods that ran past midnight, I just created the "Daytime" flag.  A dummy module trips macros that set the bit at 6 am and clear it at 9 pm.  Then just use the flag as a condition.  The cool thing about this approach is I can trip the dummy moduke and instantly the system thinks its night, so I can test more easily.

[dave w]

How about rewriting the macro along the lines of...

IF a garage door is opened AND Dan's timed electric blanket is ON, THEN turn on light.

You would probably need some really tricksy monitoring to make it work exactly spot-on, but I think it's entirely possible - it could be a problem if, at the height of Summer, Dan installs a new AHX file because he doesn't need the electric blanket  

 

[Noam]

AHP version 3.315 was released this past Thursday (6/9/2011), and is supposed to have a fix for the time-based macro conditions.
Please try it out, and report back here.

--Noam

[RichardS]

Lol I ended up just "cheating".  Since I previously had issues with time periods that ran past midnight, I just created the "Daytime" flag.  A dummy module trips macros that set the bit at 6 am and clear it at 9 pm.  Then just use the flag as a condition.  The cool thing about this approach is I can trip the dummy moduke and instantly the system thinks its night, so I can test more easily.

I used a "Daytime" flag too, but set and cleared by timers&macros activated by dawn and dusk.  That way you get true dawn and dusk times regardless of the season. 

Note that I am running AHP 3.308 (UK/Europe version) so some details may differ from US version.

[Noam]

Lol I ended up just "cheating".  Since I previously had issues with time periods that ran past midnight, I just created the "Daytime" flag.  A dummy module trips macros that set the bit at 6 am and clear it at 9 pm.  Then just use the flag as a condition.  The cool thing about this approach is I can trip the dummy moduke and instantly the system thinks its night, so I can test more easily.

I used a "Daytime" flag too, but set and cleared by timers&macros activated by dawn and dusk.  That way you get true dawn and dusk times regardless of the season. 

Note that I am running AHP 3.308 (UK/Europe version) so some details may differ from US version.

The Euorpean version is developed by a separate group.
If you are in the US, you might want to try the latest US version, and see how it works for you.

As for the "daytime" flag, that is the workaround that most of the users who had the problem ended up using to get around this issue. It is useful to be able to trigger it to test the conditions, but you are still using up one of your flags, as well as a module address for the macros to turn the flag on and off.
You don't need a dummy module, though. You can set timers on macros, so they trigger at specified times.

Conditions crossing midnight sometimes had to be done as an if-then-else macro, with the first condition covering the time before midnight, and the second one covering the time after midnight. That may have been corrected in later versions, though.

[RichardS]

Thanks Noam

I am in Australia so, even if I have a choice, I am probably better off with the UK/Europe version.