HowTo: Aeon Labs MiniMote fully functional Scene Controller in UI5!

tazziefez · April 20, 2012, 6:01am

But you are not running on the newest version of the vera's firmware, maybe try updating your vera...

Apologies that was a typo, i am running the latest ver 1.5.346

It should appear as _MiniMote not as _Scene Controller though?

chixxi · April 20, 2012, 6:15am

Yes, it should appear as _MiniMote.

I guess you did all the steps described, including the reset of your minimote?

You could try to add it as a normal zwave device instead of a secondary controller. Make sure that you delete the device on the vera an reset your minimote before readding it.

Flagstaff · June 11, 2012, 8:01am

Just a quick update to this in case someone comes across the same problem I faced in the future. After adding the minimote sucessfully it would only let me use the two top buttons. The click and longclick could be used for both top buttons giving me 4 scenes but the bottom buttons didn’t work except when pressing both of them to turn off all lights. Anyway, resetting the device using the associate and learn buttons, removing the device from Vera and then adding it again using the process described in this pose seems to have sorted out the issue so that all 4 buttons can be assigned to scenes correctly including long and short click.

huib · June 15, 2012, 7:59pm

with help of the instruction in the beginning of this post i was able to get the minimote running satisfactory

only observation that if you are using the healing / repair function the system stops at the remote. at that moment when you press LEARN on the device the repair / healing continous succesfully

the second groups of buttons (long press) are also working properly

futzle · June 19, 2012, 12:17pm

Interesting, the same has happened to me.

Luup log from an unsuccessful bottom-left button press (“Electric blanket on”):

06 06/19/12 22:11:01.714 Device_Variable::m_szValue_set device: 170 service: urn:micasaverde-com:serviceId:SceneController1 variable: sl_SceneActivated was: 6 now: 5 #hooks: 3 upnp: 0 v:0x7dd228/NONE duplicate:0 <0x2bf59680> 07 06/19/12 22:11:01.715 Event::Evaluate 5 AUTO_GENERATED scene Coffee start time is false repeat 0/-1 <0x2bf59680> 07 06/19/12 22:11:01.715 Event::Evaluate 6 AUTO_GENERATED scene Bedside lamp to 40% or 60% is false repeat 0/-1 <0x2bf59680> 07 06/19/12 22:11:01.715 Event::Evaluate 7 AUTO_GENERATED scene Electric blanket on is false repeat 0/-1 <0x2bf59680> 06 06/19/12 22:11:01.715 Device_Variable::m_szValue_set device: 170 service: urn:micasaverde-com:serviceId:SceneController1 variable: LastSceneID was: 6 now: 5 #hooks: 0 upnp: 0 v:(nil)/NONE duplicate:0 <0x2bf59680> 06 06/19/12 22:11:01.716 Device_Variable::m_szValue_set device: 170 service: urn:micasaverde-com:serviceId:SceneController1 variable: LastSceneTime was: 1340107703 now: 1340107861 #hooks: 0 upnp: 0 v:(nil)/NONE duplicate:0 <0x2bf59680>

Luup log from a successful top-left button press (“Bedside lamp to 40% or 60%”):

06 06/19/12 22:14:54.430 Device_Variable::m_szValue_set device: 170 service: urn:micasaverde-com:serviceId:SceneController1 variable: sl_SceneActivated was: 5 now: 1 #hooks: 3 upnp: 0 v:0x7dd228/NONE duplicate:0 <0x2bf59680> 07 06/19/12 22:14:54.431 Event::Evaluate 5 AUTO_GENERATED scene Coffee start time is false repeat 0/-1 <0x2bf59680> 07 06/19/12 22:14:54.431 Event::Evaluate 6 AUTO_GENERATED scene Bedside lamp to 40% or 60% is true users:(null) allow:1 <0x2bf59680> 08 06/19/12 22:14:54.431 Scene::RunScene running 6 Bedside lamp to 40% or 60% <0x2bf59680> 08 06/19/12 22:14:54.432 JobHandler_LuaUPnP::HandleActionRequest device: 60 service: urn:upnp-org:serviceId:Dimming1 action: SetLoadLevelTarget <0x2bf59680> 08 06/19/12 22:14:54.432 JobHandler_LuaUPnP::HandleActionRequest argument newLoadlevelTarget=40 <0x2bf59680> 06 06/19/12 22:14:54.432 Device_Variable::m_szValue_set device: 60 service: urn:upnp-org:serviceId:Dimming1 variable: LoadLevelTarget was: 40 now: 40 #hooks: 0 upnp: 0 v:0x8e5308/NONE duplicate:1 <0x2bf59680> 02 06/19/12 22:14:54.433 ZWJob_SendData UPDATE MANUAL ROUTE 3=(nil) <0x2bf59680> 07 06/19/12 22:14:54.434 Event::Evaluate 7 AUTO_GENERATED scene Electric blanket on is false repeat 0/-1 <0x2bf59680> 06 06/19/12 22:14:54.435 Device_Variable::m_szValue_set device: 170 service: urn:micasaverde-com:serviceId:SceneController1 variable: LastSceneID was: 5 now: 1 #hooks: 0 upnp: 0 v:(nil)/NONE duplicate:0 <0x2bf59680> 06 06/19/12 22:14:54.435 Device_Variable::m_szValue_set device: 170 service: urn:micasaverde-com:serviceId:SceneController1 variable: LastSceneTime was: 1340107861 now: 1340108094 #hooks: 0 upnp: 0 v:(nil)/NONE duplicate:0 <0x2bf59680>

Oh, I see what’s happened. The buttons have shifted. What used to be on button 3 is now on button 2. I wonder if it’s because I’d left button 2 unassigned and the other scenes have bunched up to fill the gaps?

Edit: Looks like the Minimote is sending 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 as top-left-short, top-left-long, top-right-short, top-right-long, bottom-left-short, bottom-left-long, bottom-right-short, bottom-right-long, and that Vera is no longer mapping this to 1, 3, 5, 7 for short presses and 2, 4, 6, 8 for long presses. No idea why.

Edit: Since the continued operation of the Minimote is essential for the WAF, I gave up and excluded/reset/included the Minimote. Unlike Flagstaff, that wasn’t sufficient, and the Minimote is still misbehaving, thinking the on buttons are 1, 3, 5, 7 and the off buttons 2, 4, 6, 8. So I dug into the Advanced tab and fooled Vera into thinking I had 8 buttons, and assigned events only to the odd+on buttons and even+off buttons. That seems to have done the trick.

Edit edit: Turns out it was a regression in the private beta I was testing. Not the same issue as Flagstaff.

cw-kid · August 14, 2012, 9:02pm

[quote=“tazziefez, post:19, topic:169756”]Hi

I cant seem to get mine to work. From the instructions it should appear as _MiniMote however every time i add it it appears as _SceneController. I have upgraded the firmware v1.17 Au for australia, running UI5 1.5.246.

It seemed to pair to the dongle fine, still works with all lights on/off by holding 1&2/3&4.

Any ideas?[/quote]

I’ve just tried adding my minimote and mine also has not been detected properly and appears as _SceneController, see screen shots, also the Scenes tab looks all wrong.

EDIT: I removed the _SceneController and followed the steps again and this time it seems to have added it correctly!

cw-kid · August 14, 2012, 9:16pm

[quote=“intveltr, post:17, topic:169756”]One small issue though: it seems that it is no longer possible to associate Minimote buttons to devices instead of using the to trigger scenes. For one of my Minimotes I’d like the ability to dim lights up/down, and for that I need to associate a button directly with the dimmer.

It seems that the individual buttons can be switched between scene buttons and regular buttons through configuration parameters 241 - 244. I’ve tried setting these in the Vera interface, but sending the configuration to the Minimote always fails at: “purging associations”. Vera will keep trying this purge for up to several minutes without success, and fails when I finally let the Minimote go to sleep again. Any workaround for this?[/quote]

This is also a problem for me, previously when using my other Z-wave software before using VeraLite I just directly added the Z-wave lamp modules to the minimote. I could turn the lamps on and off and also dim or brighten them with the minimote, I now cannot dim or brighten with the minimote after adding the minimote as a secondary controller to VeraLite. I have just added my lounge on and lounge off scenes I setup in VeraLite to the button 1 on/off on the minimote this works and the lamps turn on and off but I have lost the ability to dim or brighten them, any ideas ?

Thanks

chixxi · August 15, 2012, 5:26am

[quote=“cw-kid, post:27, topic:169756”][quote=“intveltr, post:17, topic:169756”]One small issue though: it seems that it is no longer possible to associate Minimote buttons to devices instead of using the to trigger scenes. For one of my Minimotes I’d like the ability to dim lights up/down, and for that I need to associate a button directly with the dimmer.

It seems that the individual buttons can be switched between scene buttons and regular buttons through configuration parameters 241 - 244. I’ve tried setting these in the Vera interface, but sending the configuration to the Minimote always fails at: “purging associations”. Vera will keep trying this purge for up to several minutes without success, and fails when I finally let the Minimote go to sleep again. Any workaround for this?[/quote]

This is also a problem for me, previously when using my other Z-wave software before using VeraLite I just directly added the Z-wave lamp modules to the minimote. I could turn the lamps on and off and also dim or brighten them with the minimote, I now cannot dim or brighten with the minimote after adding the minimote as a secondary controller to VeraLite. I have just added my lounge on and lounge off scenes I setup in VeraLite to the button 1 on/off on the minimote this works and the lamps turn on and off but I have lost the ability to dim or brighten them, any ideas ?

Thanks[/quote]

You could use luup code to do the following:

Create a scene and the write a code which “gets the current dim-level, adds 5% and then sets the lights again”.

Create a second scene which “gets the current dim-level, subtracts 5% and then sets the lights again”.

Then you can use two buttons on the minimote (or one with short and long hold) to dim your lights up and down.

cw-kid · August 15, 2012, 10:01am

Hello

Thank you for the reply, I am a newbie and know nothing about writing Luup code, do you have any examples of some code that might do this?

cheers

cw-kid · August 15, 2012, 11:29am

Do you also lose on the Minimote All Lights On / All Lights Off function? Pressing top two buttons together = All Lights On Pressing bottom two buttons together = All Lights Off.

This isn’t working any more since adding the minimote to VeraLite. What is the advantage of adding the minimote to VeraLite over just directly adding the Z-wave modules to the minimote ?

If I add a dimmable lamp module directly to a button on the minimote I can then turn on/off and also dim that lamp all from the one button, by adding the minimote as a secondary controller to VeraLite and assigning the scenes to a button on the minimote from VeraLite, I am losing functionality of the minimote.

Thanks

chixxi · August 15, 2012, 11:43am

Use this forum and the wiki to learn howto use luup in scenes.
The advantage of connecting the minimote to the vera is that the logic is done on the vera and you can therefore run scenes, this allows to use the minimote for much more complex scenarios than just turning on and off lights.
The all-on/off function is also lost when you add the minimote to your vera, but is is ridiculously simple to create a scene which does the same. So the function is not really lost, you just do it with one button.

If you don’t see any advantages, just don’t do it…

cw-kid · August 15, 2012, 12:30pm

OK thanks, I can see the advantage of being able to run more complex scenes from the minimote, but to get the minimote setup how it was before VeraLite I don’t have enough buttons on the minimote to run all the scenes I would need.

Cheers

LightsOn · August 15, 2012, 12:43pm

Hi CW-Kid,

I think you loose the all on all off fuction when you add it to vera. I am sure I read this somewhere.

I have one button on the remote that does this by running scenes that do the same.

I think you just have 4 buttons with quick press and long press fuctionality.

You cna get pretty crerative with macros though by addign plug ins and playing with luup code - lots of examples here in the forum and people very helpfull

good luck.

-Lights_On

chixxi · August 15, 2012, 12:56pm

[quote=“cw-kid, post:32, topic:169756”]OK thanks, I can see the advantage of being able to run more complex scenes from the minimote, but to get the minimote setup how it was before VeraLite I don’t have enough buttons on the minimote to run all the scenes I would need.

Cheers[/quote]

You should have enough button’s, at least not less than before. ;D You basically can control 8 scenes (long and short hold for each of the 4 buttons). If you then create smart scenes you have way more options than before. For example you don’t need two buttons and two scenes to turn a light on and off, you can create a scene which does “turn on light if light is off, else turn light off”.

I don’t really have time to prepare the code specifically for you, but it is really simple, and as alrady said in this forum and the wiki there a lot’s of example’s.

I use a function, just add this to “Apps => Develop Apps => Edit Startup Lua”:

[code]-- toggleSwitch(41, status or nil, serviceId eg: “VSwitch1” or “SecuritySensor1” empty for defaul)
function toggleSwitch(devID, newstatus, serviceID)
local command = “Status”
if(serviceID == nil) then
serviceID = “urn:upnp-org:serviceId:SwitchPower1”
elseif(serviceID == “urn:micasaverde-com:serviceId:SecuritySensor1”) then
command = “Armed”
end

if(newstatus == nil) then
    switchStatus = luup.variable_get(serviceID, command, devID)
    if(tonumber(switchStatus) == 1) then
        switchStatus=0
    else
        switchStatus=1
    end
else
    switchStatus = newstatus
end
luup.log("mirkLog[i] switchToggle("..devID..", ".. switchStatus.. ", "..serviceID..")") 
if(command == "Armed") then
    --luup.variable_set(serviceID, command, switchStatus, devID)                                                                                    
    luup.call_action(serviceID, "SetArmed", {newArmedValue = ""..switchStatus..""}, devID)
else
    luup.call_action(serviceID, "SetTarget", {newTargetValue = ""..switchStatus..""}, devID)
end

end
– END toggleSwitch[/code]

When you then want to toggle a switch you can add one simple line in the scenes “Luup” tab (Replace DeviceID with the switches DeviceID):

toggleSwitch(DeviceID,nil)

Example: toggleSwitch(10,nil)

When you want to toggle a Motion Sensor:

toggleSwitch(DeviceID,nil,"urn:micasaverde-com:serviceId:SecuritySensor1")

Hope this helps a little…

cw-kid · August 15, 2012, 1:03pm

OK thanks, think I will have to do some learning and play around with it then.

I was able to turn on say a lamp with one button and turn if off with the same button, short press for on scene long press for off scene etc.

Please see attached

chixxi · August 15, 2012, 1:07pm

Exactly, and if you now use the function I provided above you have the same functionality with only 4 Buttons. Instead of using two scenes for one light, you just use one…

cw-kid · August 15, 2012, 1:11pm

OK cool many thanks for your insight! I will certainly see if I can get this code working.

sparkejj · August 15, 2012, 1:43pm

Also, note that [tt]ToggleState[/tt] is an available action that you can pick on the [tt]Advanced[/tt] tab in the scene editor. So you can set up a single scene to toggle a light / appliance module. Then assign that scene to a minimote button. No code required. (Previous context.)

chixxi · August 15, 2012, 1:45pm

oh, very true! sorry for making that so complicated, but maybe you still learned something, sooner or later you’ll get into coding

cw-kid · August 15, 2012, 1:53pm

Sounds even better! But yes I am sure I will need to learn some code at some stage.

Thank you both very much for your help! I’ve been using VeraLite for a day & a half, still trying to get the basics configured so I am back to where I was with my old system.

Cheers