If you could start from scratch 2/2010

Community Playground General Discussions
#1

I just recieved a Vera2 and some devices including WD thermostat. I’m a bit confused by the User interfaces and firmware numbers…

How would you start if you have nothing paired yet and in what order would you recommend?

And finally what should I watch out for or devices to avoid?

All you guys are great and support looks very good…I just have no frame of reference for some of the discusions or from where I should start.

Thanks,

#2

If we did that, you’d miss out on all the “joys of discovery” we’ve all been through and which have become our common heritage. :wink:

But seriously, if you want to share some details of what you’re trying to accomplish and what your budget is, etc., we can help you along.

#3

Which UI you should choose is a touchy subject. Personally, I prefer UI2 because it’s easier to navigate around, and it’s much simpler for my wife and kids to use. UI3 does have a few extra features though (such as floorplans, device notifications, etc.), so some people prefer it. You might want to start out with UI2, since all the wiki documentation and most of the forums refer to that UI, so it will be easier for you to find answers to any questions or problems you encounter. Then, once you’ve got the hang of things, you can give UI3 a try (be sure to back up your settings so you can revert to UI2 if you want).

Regardless of which UI you choose though, you should definitely upgrade to the latest firmware for that interface, as it includes the latest bug fixes and device support. Currently, the latest firmware for UI2 is 1.0.987, and for UI3 it’s 1.1.228. You can find the links and info for both of them here: [url=http://forum.micasaverde.com/index.php?topic=3171.0]http://forum.micasaverde.com/index.php?topic=3171.0[/url]

#4

Great point discovery is half the fun right :o…I realize I may be cheating myself out of some long hours and late nights and fully expect to be lost and confused, I just have yet to plug anything in and wondered where to start.

I am wanting to control a couple of lights, a camera ,Panasonic bl-c131a, the WD thermostat, and eventually a deadbolt lock. Oh yes a water sensor because it is in a vacation home.

It seems that MCV is responsive with updates but without experience Im worried I’ll miss a posting that could send me off because I have no frame of reference for the nomenclature

#5

I intend to stick with UI2, because I will be running an iPad. Since Steve Jobs is on a one-man mission to kill Flash, and I want to use my iPad as a remote, I’ll have to go that way. If UI3 would be reprogrammed to run off HTML5, then, by all means I’ll go with an advanced interface.

#6

Hi Sball

I too am using Vera for a 2nd home, at present I have the Schlage lock and Trane t’stats. I chose the lock over the dead bolt because I could lock the lock remotely just in case one of the contractors forgot to lock the dead bolt. The only scenes that I have running are; when someone unlocks the door Vera lets me know who & at what time and when the temp falls below temp. Very simple stuff, plan on adding a GE light/dimmer switch this coming week. I set all the devices up and tested everything at home before installing in the vac house. The only thing that you need to operate the thermostat is a 24 volt transformer, you can use a hair dryer to raise the temp of the t’stat for testing. Using Vera 1 with .979 UI2, been rock solid, once the painters unplugged Vera I received the message that Vera was not operating, called the painter and reminded him that they unplug my stuff.
Good Luck Wayne :slight_smile:

#7

Sball,

You shouldn’t have much trouble with your setup, although I’m not sure about the camera. It just needs to have a still JPEG page you can point Vera to, so it’s not too difficult to find out if it will work. The other stuff is pretty easy. I think BigstickCarpet’s points are well taken regarding UI choice. If you really do have a late night or two available, you can pretty easily give each UI a try and see which you like better. The Schlage locks require a different inclusion procedure than other devices, so be sure to read the wiki before you do that one. If you have questions, just ask us.

#8

Hopefully, the SQ app will be available before the iPad.

#9

Are Trane thermostats better than WD? And should you pair one device at a time and make sure they work before adding others?

by the way MCV is lucky to have such a great forum…it truly influenced my purchase and will for months to come.

finally I get the u12 and u13 are user interfaces but what are .979 and 1.1.228? (operating system?or versions of the userinterface) are they independent of one another?

thanks…

#10

.979 is UI2, but I think you should go to .985 as an update to .979. 1.1.228 is UI3.

I love my Trane, which is built a little more solidly than the WD. Trane offers a wider range of tstats depending on your HVAC needs, too. But there are far more WDs in our group, probably because they’re much less expensive, but still reliable.

You can pair lots of devices at a time, or one after another without reconnecting Vera between them, but both the tstat and lock should be done one at a time.

#11

As with any software, there are multiple versions of the Vera firmware. It can get a little confusing though because Vera has multiple UIs, and each UI has its own version numbers. All of the UI2 firmware versions start with “1.0.”, and all of the UI3 firmware versions start with “1.1.”. Whenever you see someone refer to a firmware version without specifying “1.0.” or “1.1.”, they’re probably referring to UI2. So, when you see “.979”, it actually means “1.0.979”.

Regardless of which UI you use, the underlying engines (the guts of Vera) are the same. So, the 1.0.987 firmware and the 1.1.228 firmware are actually running the same version of the engine – just different versions of the UI.

#12

[quote=“BigstickCarpet, post:11, topic:165609”]…

Regardless of which UI you use, the underlying engines (the guts of Vera) are the same. So, the 1.0.987 firmware and the 1.1.228 firmware are actually running the same version of the engine – just different versions of the UI.[/quote]

although differnt versions have different versions of the engine.

I wonder if it’s time for the golks at MCV to start using 2 numbers for the firmware- sort of like smartphones do. Cell phones sometimes have one for the radio part and one for the computer part. Maybe vera should tell us what the engine number is and what the ui is …

#13

[quote=“michaelk, post:12, topic:165609”][quote=“BigstickCarpet, post:11, topic:165609”]…

Regardless of which UI you use, the underlying engines (the guts of Vera) are the same. So, the 1.0.987 firmware and the 1.1.228 firmware are actually running the same version of the engine – just different versions of the UI.[/quote]

although differnt versions have different versions of the engine.

I wonder if it’s time for the golks at MCV to start using 2 numbers for the firmware- sort of like smartphones do. Cell phones sometimes have one for the radio part and one for the computer part. Maybe vera should tell us what the engine number is and what the ui is …[/quote]
I’ve been thinking the same thing. The other thought I had was that if the only difference it truly the UI, there is plenty of room on the device to hold both UIs, so why not have a single firmware with multiple UIs. I know they didn’t plan on keeping UI2 alive, so it makes sense that they didn’t do this originally, but I wonder what it would take for them to include UI2 as something that could be installed through the MOIS marketplace.

#14

Hi,

Since we started UI3, the specific number for the UI is part of the URL we provide for upgrade:

From post http://forum.micasaverde.com/index.php?topic=3171.0

UI2 url: http://download.controlmyhouse.net/firmware/wl500gP_Luup_[b]ui2[/b]-1.0.988-1.trx
UI3 url: http://download.controlmyhouse.net/firmware/wl500gP_Luup_[b]ui3[/b]-1.1.228-1.trx

#15

UPDATE, Thanks for your thoughtful help!!!
I’m up and running…moved back to u12 right away because u13 was not very intuitive to me. I’m a little worried about what I am missing but am more interested in getting devices paired and going. Water/freeze sensor…check, Pany Camera…check…Light dimmer…Check.
Thermostat and lock this weekends project.
I don’t understand the scenes and events yet. Again not very intuitive but have just tried pairing. My wife is very impresses that I have spent over 5 bills to turn a light on and off in the front hall with my iphone, she just doesn’t get the nuances of technology, dose she.
I’m a little worried about setting up the Lock and haven’t seen any screenshots of how the WD thermostat should look and what controls I should get with Vera but will keep you posted.

#16

Question for Ctvrod;

I too am setting up my system for a vacation home and have been testing the system at another location. Did you have any problems when you changed locations? Specifically, how does findvera.com know where you are after you registered your Vera at a different location from your vacation home?

#17

[quote=“robertd202, post:16, topic:165609”]Question for Ctvrod;

I too am setting up my system for a vacation home and have been testing the system at another location. Did you have any problems when you changed locations? Specifically, how does findvera.com know where you are after you registered your Vera at a different location from your vacation home?[/quote]

Hi

I have also set up Vera at a vacation home, and when you are at a remote location, findvera uses your login id to find your network. When you are local, findvera senses Vera on your local wireless network and you can access it without logging in. It all works pretty well.

Good luck and keep posted to these forums, because this is the only effective way to navigate through Vera’s often-choppy waters in my opinion.