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Web Mountain Technologies
Page 59
Introduction to Upstart
In case you are not familiar with the UPB setup and programming tool, Upstart,
Upstart is a Windows based program that is used to setup your initial UPB
network, then program and add devices to that network. In order to use
Upstart, you must connect a serial or USB PIM (PC Interface Module) to the PC
running Upstart. This PIM must be plugged into a power outlet so that it can be
used to transmit and receive signals from the PC to and from the powerline
network.
UPB is a powerline home automation protocol. Signals are sent over the
powerline to control lights and appliances. However, the devices that are used
to control these lights and appliances must be programmed to behave in the
fashion you desire. That’s the purpose of Upstart.
In addition, Upstart provides some of the best, if not the best, diagnostic tools as
compared to other home automation technologies.
The most common way of using Upstart is with a local PC connected to either a
serial or USB PIM which is plugged into an outlet in the house. In many cases,
this is inconvenient, in that the location where you are plugged in with the PIM
in order to program devices might not be the final location or the best location
for the PIM, in terms of signal strength, and if you are programming a large
number of units, you are constantly moving your laptop, causing you to
constantly reconnect to the PIM, thereby dramatically reducing your
productivity.
The RUC unit, used as an Ethernet PIM with Upstart, can greatly improve your
productivity and performance.
Acquiring Upstart
Upstart is a freely downloadable program from the Web Mountain website. Just
go to
www.webmtn.com
, click on Support, then click on Downloads. Register
with your email address, then download the file. This file is a compressed zip
file, so you will need to decompress the file somewhere on your PC, then double
click on the icon for the program to start the installation process on your PC.
It is recommended that you be running at least V5.1, Build 45 of Upstart.
Using a Virtual Serial Port
When using Upstart locally, you merely connect the serial or USB PIM to the PC
you are running Upstart on. Then, within Upstart, you tell the software if you
are using USB, or what COM port the PIM is connected to. Since there is no
local connection when using the RUC, we want to “fool” Upstart into thinking
there is.
We’re going to use a piece of software that creates a virtual serial port. The
recommended software is HW-VSP from The Hardware Group, freeware that can
be downloaded from this site:
Summary of Contents for RUC-01
Page 1: ...Web Mountain Technologies Page i Remote Universal Controller RUC ...
Page 6: ......
Page 46: ...Web Mountain Technologies Page 40 Click on Add Trigger Command and you see the completed page ...
Page 63: ...Web Mountain Technologies Page 57 Now merely click Restore and wait for the process to finish ...
Page 95: ...Web Mountain Technologies Page 89 Zwave VACATION X10 VACATION Button VACATION ESI RQ POST ...
Page 98: ...Web Mountain Technologies Page 92 Chapter 10 Troubleshooting To be determined ...
Page 99: ...Web Mountain Technologies Page 93 Appendix A General Information For future use ...
Page 100: ...Web Mountain Technologies Page 94 Appendix B More General Information For Future Use ...