Archive
FaceTime yourself to help with electrical work
April 11, 2016
If you have an iPad and an iPhone, did you know you can actually FaceTime yourself? Why in all hell would you WANT to do this? If you do a lot of electrical work in your house alone, it’s a…
Tivo Bolt’s skip feature is awesome
April 15, 2016
Hi, my name’s Matt and I loath commercials. Care to join my Commercial Hater’s Anonymous group (CHA!)? Then check out the Tivo Bolt. I’ve been a Tivo guy for years now, but recently upgraded to the Tivo Bolt – and…
Power Insteon wireless devices with a DC adapter
April 19, 2016
Tired of replacing batteries in your wireless Insteon devices like motion sensors or hidden door sensors? Power them from the wall with a 9v wall adapter. The process is similar to what we did making a USB connector, splicing the…
The Echo Dot is another winner from Amazon!
April 23, 2016
Wow. You guys know about my love of Amazon’s Echo, my forays into developing Alexa skills, the thrill of trying out the ISY-994i integration the first time, and even the warnings about the placement of the Echo. The Amazon Echo…
Beware of sleazy ad networks on legit sites like CNN.com
August 1, 2016
Sorry to step off script here, but I’ve just been disgusted with CNN ads lately and had to throw this out there. CNN is my go-to news channel; I mostly trust them and their largely unbiased content. But their ad…
ISY-994i QuickStart: Accessing the java application
November 1, 2016
It’s been a while since I’ve written here, and wow do I have a backlog of posts I want to get written! Let’s get started with a “QuickStart” mini-series to help out those of you just getting started with the…
ISY-994i QuickStart: Adding devices to the ISY-994i
November 3, 2016
Continuing our QuickStart series of posts about the fundamentals of basic ISY configuration, today we’ll cover two ways to add a device to the ISY-994i. Without getting too technical, when we add a device to the ISY, in addition to…
ISY-994i QuickStart: folders and naming conventions
November 5, 2016
Today’s ISY-994i QuickStart post addresses the question: “Once I’ve added devices, how should I organize them?” There’s no “right” way to organize your folders and devices, but here are a few tips that I’ve applied over the years to keep…
ISY-994i QuickStart: scenes and link tables
November 7, 2016
I’ve written extensively about Insteon Scenes, and discussed some things to consider when diagnosing problems with scenes, but I thought for the sake of completeness in the ISY-994i QuickStart mini-series, scenes should be included. So here’s a question from reader…
ISY-994i QuickStart: basic programming (conditionals)
November 9, 2016
Continuing our QuickStart mini-series, let’s cover the basics of ISY-994i programming. I’ve covered lots of programs over the years, but apparently, as a reader pointed out, I never covered the very basics of the structure. Programs follow a pretty basic…
ISY-994i QuickStart: basic programming (actions)
November 11, 2016
On the heels of the post about ISY-994i programming conditionals, let’s take a look at possible actions you can take in “Then” and “Else” clauses of your programs. You can see the list after clicking the “Action” button under “Add…
Home automation tips for new construction projects
November 15, 2016
A few months back, reader Billy wrote: We’re building a new house, and what better way to get in when you have all the walls open to begin with. I was wondering if you had any recommendations? Maybe you could…
Communicating from the ISY-994i to Blue Iris
November 19, 2016
A few months back I wrote about the Blue Iris Mobile App, and how you could configure it with a geofence similar to MobiLinc that allows Blue Iris to record video and notify you of motion detection when you’re not…
FaceTime yourself to help with electrical work
April 11, 2016
If you have an iPad and an iPhone, did you know you can actually FaceTime yourself? Why in all hell would you WANT to do this? If you do a lot of electrical work in your house alone, it’s a… Tivo Bolt’s skip feature is awesome
April 15, 2016
Hi, my name’s Matt and I loath commercials. Care to join my Commercial Hater’s Anonymous group (CHA!)? Then check out the Tivo Bolt. I’ve been a Tivo guy for years now, but recently upgraded to the Tivo Bolt – and… Power Insteon wireless devices with a DC adapter
April 19, 2016
Tired of replacing batteries in your wireless Insteon devices like motion sensors or hidden door sensors? Power them from the wall with a 9v wall adapter. The process is similar to what we did making a USB connector, splicing the… The Echo Dot is another winner from Amazon!
April 23, 2016
Wow. You guys know about my love of Amazon’s Echo, my forays into developing Alexa skills, the thrill of trying out the ISY-994i integration the first time, and even the warnings about the placement of the Echo. The Amazon Echo… Beware of sleazy ad networks on legit sites like CNN.com
August 1, 2016
Sorry to step off script here, but I’ve just been disgusted with CNN ads lately and had to throw this out there. CNN is my go-to news channel; I mostly trust them and their largely unbiased content. But their ad… ISY-994i QuickStart: Accessing the java application
November 1, 2016
It’s been a while since I’ve written here, and wow do I have a backlog of posts I want to get written! Let’s get started with a “QuickStart” mini-series to help out those of you just getting started with the… ISY-994i QuickStart: Adding devices to the ISY-994i
November 3, 2016
Continuing our QuickStart series of posts about the fundamentals of basic ISY configuration, today we’ll cover two ways to add a device to the ISY-994i. Without getting too technical, when we add a device to the ISY, in addition to… ISY-994i QuickStart: folders and naming conventions
November 5, 2016
Today’s ISY-994i QuickStart post addresses the question: “Once I’ve added devices, how should I organize them?” There’s no “right” way to organize your folders and devices, but here are a few tips that I’ve applied over the years to keep… ISY-994i QuickStart: scenes and link tables
November 7, 2016
I’ve written extensively about Insteon Scenes, and discussed some things to consider when diagnosing problems with scenes, but I thought for the sake of completeness in the ISY-994i QuickStart mini-series, scenes should be included. So here’s a question from reader… ISY-994i QuickStart: basic programming (conditionals)
November 9, 2016
Continuing our QuickStart mini-series, let’s cover the basics of ISY-994i programming. I’ve covered lots of programs over the years, but apparently, as a reader pointed out, I never covered the very basics of the structure. Programs follow a pretty basic… ISY-994i QuickStart: basic programming (actions)
November 11, 2016
On the heels of the post about ISY-994i programming conditionals, let’s take a look at possible actions you can take in “Then” and “Else” clauses of your programs. You can see the list after clicking the “Action” button under “Add… Home automation tips for new construction projects
November 15, 2016
A few months back, reader Billy wrote: We’re building a new house, and what better way to get in when you have all the walls open to begin with. I was wondering if you had any recommendations? Maybe you could… Communicating from the ISY-994i to Blue Iris
November 19, 2016
A few months back I wrote about the Blue Iris Mobile App, and how you could configure it with a geofence similar to MobiLinc that allows Blue Iris to record video and notify you of motion detection when you’re not… 
