Zone vs Scene

[BrianSBC]

Hi, I am trying to use this driver for my VRCZ4, and it is not configuring as I expected. The device should be presented as 4 independent dimmers, even though they do not directly control any loads. Some of the button labeling, and the naming inside the driver seems very much like 'scene' nouns, not 'zone' nouns. Could someone, especially the author, give me some guidance here? Thanks. Brian

[michaelphilip]

Hi Brian,

You're using both the driver and the app?

[BrianSBC]

I sent via email, the following.

Good morning,

Thank you for your message. I will explore that and advise .

Best regards, Brian

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added now...

I have created the app, and it has made some difference, which I will continue to explore. Later this weekend I will write an explanation of what I am expecting and why I am expecting the responses, and how I intend to use this device. Thanks, Brian

[michaelphilip]

Thanks for the update. I think you'll find that mapping devices to the switches through the app should get things working.

Please do keep me posted

[BrianSBC]

Good morning, Michael, I’m writing this to explain my expectations of the VRCZ4, and how I came to those expectations. Nothing in this note makes any assumptions of what you know or do not know about the VRCZ4. It is a clean slate, and you should know that I am thankful for your support and have nothing but respect your skills, knowledge, and community spirit in creating and sharing drivers and apps. My history with home automation (HA) started in the late 1980s, and the HA technology of the day was X10. I had an array devices and controllers. Also in those later 80s, I got a Macintosh II at work, and eventually I bought a Mac to replace the Commodore 64 at home. X10 produced the CP-290 interface, and my home automation under Mac control started. In 1996, a Macintosh specific X10 application came to the market, and it was aptly named XTension. My HA system expanded with more X-10 devices and the scripting opportunities offered by XTension. In 1999, I ported all my devices when I moved (job related) from Canada to the US. A few years later, I brought it all back when I retired into my new home in Canada. Since then, my home is my laboratory in many ways. Over time, every in-wall light switch/dimmer was either X10 or Z-Wave. Today, the only X-10 components left are the serial interface (via my LAN), one X-10 Pro XPT4 transmitter, and two Leviton HCC4D controllers. It is to replace these 3 last X-10 units with VRCZ4 units, because their functionality is exactly the same by design. Perhaps it is because I am using the XTension application that I am able to see the valuable functionality of these devices, which are, in the simplest terms, non-load-bearing on/off transmitters in a package that neatly fits in a standard single household outlet box. In my house, one is located on the wall near the kitchen sink, one is at the end of the kitchen peninsula, and one is in the hallway wall. Although they transmit X-10 codes, there are no devices associated with those codes. In the XTension app, these X-10 addressed units have On/Off scripts to command the appropriate and separate Z-wave devices (under cabinet lights, kitchen ceiling lights, peninsula pendants, dining room table lighting, etc). I bought one VRCZ4 in 2015, and have been trying to get it configured properly ever since. Long discussions with Vera went nowhere. Vera development came to an end so I added a Hubitat Elevation. That has not been an uplifting experience. I took some things off the Vera net, but could not get them to function as well on the HE net, so I put them back onto Vera. Following various discussions on the Internet, it would seem that very, very few had any experience with the X-10 XPT devices, and no-one in the Z-Wave world seems to have caught on to the usefulness of multi-switch simply as a transmitter. Elsewhere, I have installed a Velleman K8046, which offers a touchscreen with 8 touch-points that can be wired individually as momentary contacts or as on/off switches. But this unit is comparatively large, and requires a minimum of 10 leads from a device that collects that input and turns in to action. For this I am using a Barix Barionet 100, LAN-connected to my XTension system (currently being the sole production app on a Mac mini). These input points trigger various scripts to achieve various objectives. Now, as I write this, I also have to face the fact that Leviton has discontinued the manufacture of the VRCZ4, just like they abandoned the X10 device HCC4D. Even if I got it configured the way that I expected, what then? Would I replace one of the X-10 transmitters with the VRCZ4 that I have in hand? To what benefit? I’d still have to keep the X-10 interface to serve the other two devices. We can easily function without any of them, since I have added most switches to my HomeKit list, using the Home interface within XTension. It is easy to say “hey, Siri, turn on the kitchen pendants,” or to pull out my iPad and touch the appropriate button in the Home app. I guess it sort of like a dog with a bone, not willing to let go. I am close to the conclusion that the correct step is to get rid of the VRCZ4 (out of sight, out of mind) and move on and create some other solution. I am at a crossroad on this. I have so many other projects ongoing, many related to HA. I’m finding new uses for my Raspberry Pis, with new parts currently on order. My system has upwards of 100 scripts, some are time-of-day triggered, others by ambient sunlight triggers, and others by motion sensors, indoors and out. In addition to the standard household wiring and lighting (i.e 120/240 vac) I have an RV power centre supplying RV and automotive light fixtures throughout the house, and, of course, the 12 VDC for the my Barionets and Barix extensions, and the Velleman interface. We are never, unwillingly, in the dark, and the house looks the same when we are away as when we are home. As mentioned, my house is my laboratory. HA is but one hobby. I hope that you don’t find this disappointing, but it is likely that I have come to the end of the road regarding the VRCZ4. I am open to discussion. Thanks for reading. It was helpful to me to write down my thoughts to share. Best regards, Brian

[BrianSBC]

Good morning, Thank you for your message. I will explore that and advise . Best regards, Brian

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On Jun 2, 2022, at 22:19, Michael Philip Kaufman ***@***.***> wrote:  Hi Brian, You're using both the driver and the app? — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub, or unsubscribe. You are receiving this because you authored the thread.