WayneW
Senior Member
SmartHome plans to ship the first 3 Insteon SKUs on May 25th, 2005. Prices start at $19.99. I believe they are the RF Signalinc, the Controlinc and the LampLinc dimmer module.
The Controlinc is similar to an X-10 maxi controller. It has a tilt/swing stand on the back so it can stand up (on its front edge). The tilt stand can be removed and then the Controlinc is designed to wall mount in a double gang box. The unit would still hang out the front, it is not flush to the wall, so it would appear similar to a thermostat or alarm keypad. The price is expected to be $29 ($39 at the most).
The ApplianceLinc and LampLinc modules (and presumably the wall switches) ARE fully backward compatible with good old X-10. Of course they don't offer much advantage when used this way, but it offers compatibility with existing systems. The receivers actually listen for both the old X-10 PLC commands (using housecode/unitcode) and the new Insteon PLC commands (24 bit hardware serial, like a MAC address). They do not need to be switched between an old X-10 (slow) mode and the new Insteon (fast) mode, like we were previously led to believe.
The network is advertised as dual-band, but that is a bit misleading at this stage. The only units to use RF so far will be the RF SignaLincs, which are used to bridge the residential phases. The modules and wall switches so far are Insteon & X-10 PLC, but not RF. This is primarily done to reduce costs as adding RF adds significantly to the basic module cost. Eventually there will be battery powered RF devices (motion detectors, thermostats, etc). These devices MAY be RF repeaters as that choice is left up to the manufacturer, but that may be a waste of battery resources. It makes more sense to let AC powered devices (such as a SignaLinc) do the RF repeating.
SmartHome claims that when using the Insteon protocol, devices can respond in 0.04 seconds, then add another 0.04 seconds for the acknowledgment as Insteon is fully 2 way. If the command needs to be repeated to reach its target, then the response time would multiply. If you are using the old X-10 addressing, then it is the expected 2/3 second response time. SmartHome claims an RF range of 150 ft and a speed of 10 messages per second. The command can also have a payload of up to 16 bytes, so you can actually transmit data via Insteon.
There are a total of 10 Insteon products planned to be released by the end of July. These 10 products are actually 18 SKUs, which I believe is due to 2 pin vs 3 pin, etc
All LEDS are now white & color caps will be available. The KeypadLinc can have different colors for different buttons.
The Software Developers Kit should be released within 30 days. It is $99 and will include a computer interface and at least one module. The protocol will be open. There will be a Hardware Developers Kit available sometime later. This is essentially the same thing, but in a raw circuit board format suitable for mounting in a panel (such as JDS, HAI, Elk).
There is a PowerLinc module planned which can emulate an X-10 TW-523 module. This would give instant Insteon support to legacy hardware panels (such as JDS?) I suggested that they also needed a CM11a or 1132C emulater to give the same instant access to more modern software applications (such as HomeSeer) and they seemed receptive.
When SmartHome tested the fist batch of hardware they had 3 mangled data commands/packets out of 63,000 sent, so the error rate seems pretty low. Insteon mode operates at 131.65 kHz for PLC and 902-924 MHz for RF. Computer interfaces are planned with RS232, USB and Ethernet interfaces.
The Controlinc is similar to an X-10 maxi controller. It has a tilt/swing stand on the back so it can stand up (on its front edge). The tilt stand can be removed and then the Controlinc is designed to wall mount in a double gang box. The unit would still hang out the front, it is not flush to the wall, so it would appear similar to a thermostat or alarm keypad. The price is expected to be $29 ($39 at the most).
The ApplianceLinc and LampLinc modules (and presumably the wall switches) ARE fully backward compatible with good old X-10. Of course they don't offer much advantage when used this way, but it offers compatibility with existing systems. The receivers actually listen for both the old X-10 PLC commands (using housecode/unitcode) and the new Insteon PLC commands (24 bit hardware serial, like a MAC address). They do not need to be switched between an old X-10 (slow) mode and the new Insteon (fast) mode, like we were previously led to believe.
The network is advertised as dual-band, but that is a bit misleading at this stage. The only units to use RF so far will be the RF SignaLincs, which are used to bridge the residential phases. The modules and wall switches so far are Insteon & X-10 PLC, but not RF. This is primarily done to reduce costs as adding RF adds significantly to the basic module cost. Eventually there will be battery powered RF devices (motion detectors, thermostats, etc). These devices MAY be RF repeaters as that choice is left up to the manufacturer, but that may be a waste of battery resources. It makes more sense to let AC powered devices (such as a SignaLinc) do the RF repeating.
SmartHome claims that when using the Insteon protocol, devices can respond in 0.04 seconds, then add another 0.04 seconds for the acknowledgment as Insteon is fully 2 way. If the command needs to be repeated to reach its target, then the response time would multiply. If you are using the old X-10 addressing, then it is the expected 2/3 second response time. SmartHome claims an RF range of 150 ft and a speed of 10 messages per second. The command can also have a payload of up to 16 bytes, so you can actually transmit data via Insteon.
There are a total of 10 Insteon products planned to be released by the end of July. These 10 products are actually 18 SKUs, which I believe is due to 2 pin vs 3 pin, etc
All LEDS are now white & color caps will be available. The KeypadLinc can have different colors for different buttons.
The Software Developers Kit should be released within 30 days. It is $99 and will include a computer interface and at least one module. The protocol will be open. There will be a Hardware Developers Kit available sometime later. This is essentially the same thing, but in a raw circuit board format suitable for mounting in a panel (such as JDS, HAI, Elk).
There is a PowerLinc module planned which can emulate an X-10 TW-523 module. This would give instant Insteon support to legacy hardware panels (such as JDS?) I suggested that they also needed a CM11a or 1132C emulater to give the same instant access to more modern software applications (such as HomeSeer) and they seemed receptive.
When SmartHome tested the fist batch of hardware they had 3 mangled data commands/packets out of 63,000 sent, so the error rate seems pretty low. Insteon mode operates at 131.65 kHz for PLC and 902-924 MHz for RF. Computer interfaces are planned with RS232, USB and Ethernet interfaces.
