Logitech 890Pro

The Logitech Harmony® 890 and Harmony® 890 Pro had Z-Wave integration which was mainly designed to work with Logitech's Harmony® RF Wireless Extender. Although this device works well with typical Z-Wave devices, it's very tricky to include it within your home automation Z-Wave network. I found that by creating my entire Z-Wave network on the 890 Pro as the Primary Controller, then copying the Z-Wave network by including ThinkEssentials 2.4 as a Secondary Controller, that I could successfully control all my devices as I originally assumed. Here are my basic steps:

1. Follow Logitech's very cumbersome way to include it's RF Wireless Extender(s) into it's NEW Z-Wave network
2. Include all devices (Switches, Dimmers, Thermostats) using the 890 Pro as the Primary Controller
3. Use the "Add Secondary" option on the 890 Pro to include ThinkEssentials 2.4's ThinkStick as a Secondary Controller.
4. At this point you will see all your Z-Wave nodes within ThinkEssentials, you will then tell ThinkEssentials to become the Primary Controller. (From this point on, the 890 Pro will just exist and work with the existing nodes, any other nodes would need to be added to the 890 Pro and the process in ThinkEssentials would have to start over)
5. Add Vera as a secondary controller
6. Update Vera from ThinkEssentials, all nodes will be available in Vera, Vera will be a Secondary Controller.

I then added some other devices to my Z-Wave network through ThinkEssentials, another Leviton controller as a Secondary Controller and a multi-funtion motion/light/temp sensor. I then updated Vera as a Secondary Controller, works great!

If I didn't want my Leviton Secondary Controller in the mix, I would most likely attempt to switch the controller roles between Vera and ThinkEssentials making Vera the Primary controller and eliminating the need for ThinkEssentials.

METHOD #2:

VERA AS PRIMARY (NODE 1), HARMONY 890PRO AS SECONDARY:

Well, I figure I've done enough research online and yet to find a how-to on this - mostly because everyone says it's not possible. I will begin by saying it is possible, I've had my Harmony 890 pro set up as a secondary controller to my ControlThink Thinkstick. In that scenario, I set up the network with the H890P as the primary and added the thinkstick as a secondary, then shifted the primary role from the Harmony to the ThinkStick. Ever since I got Vera, however, I wanted Vera to be node 1, and the H890P's to be secondary nodes. The instructions below will outline how to do that, but let me begin with two quick notes... First, with these instructions, the H890P's will think they are primary controllers, but they are actually accepting the network id and node numbers from Vera. I will also state that I added my ControlThink Thinkstick as a secondary to Vera, and it thinks it's a primary as well, but that's not an issue (yet), because they will still accept updates from Vera. Second note, the only issue I've found while using my H890P's as secondaries is it takes a few minutes for Vera to pick up any device changes. For example, if I turn on a light manually at the switch, Vera picks up on that pretty quickly and polls it properly within a few seconds. If I turn the light on with the Thinkstick or the H890P's, it'll take a few minutes for Vera to pick up that change. This doesn't bother me, since if I'm using the H890P's to control lights, I'm probably not looking at Vera when doing it. I am still working on finding a resolution to the latter problem. --woodsby 10-02-02

GETTING READY:

1. Reset Harmony 890 Pros - On all H890P’s in your setup, select System Options > RF Network Tools > Reset RF Network. I had to do this twice on one of my controllers; it didn’t actually reset the first time, so I always reset 3 or 4 times when doing this – it can’t hurt.

2. Reset Harmony Extender(s) – Plug in Harmony Extender to power, and hold down the Connect button for about 60+ seconds until the RF & Status lights flash rapidly.

3. Clear all virtual devices and links in Harmony 890 Pros – Load the Harmony software, and select Modify Setting > Lights – Modify > Modify, and delete all z-wave devices. Then go back to the main page and update remotes. Make sure you update the remotes to delete any of the Z-wave device references from the remote. I could not get this method to work without updating the remotes at this step.

4. Set up Vera as primary – and add all z-wave devices as usual (don’t add H890P’s or Extender yet). If your network is already set up with Vera as your primary, you can skip this step.

INCLUDING HARMONY:

5. Add Extender – Plug Harmony Extender back into power outlet. Unplug dongle from Vera, and put it in inclusion mode. Hold dongle close to the Extender, and hold down the Connect button on the Extender for 1-3 seconds until the Status LED comes on. When the dongle stops blinking rapidly, take it out of inclusion mode.

6. Add the first H890P’s – On your first (or only) H890P, select System Options > RF Network Tools in preparation to include the remote. Put the dongle in inclusion mode and hold close to the remote. On the H890P, select Set Learn Mode. When the dongle stops blinking rapidly, plug it back into Vera. Please note that the H890P will tell you that it is now the primary controller. Don’t worry about that – I don’t – see initial notes above.

VERA CONFIGURATION:

7. Set up New Devices – Load Vera setup page, and wait until the new Extender and H890P appear. Name them, place them in a room, and save. Then go into the z-wave device settings for the added H890P, and select No under Automatically Configure. I also select 0 for poll interval, although I don’t think you have to. Save and exit Vera setup page.

HARMONY CONFIGURATION:

8. Create Device Names – Log back into Harmony software and select Modify Settings > Lights – Modify > Modify and add the names of the devices that you want to be able to control with the H890P(s). You don’t have to add all of your devices, only the ones that you want to control. Don’t add thermostats, sensors, or door locks, etc. since Harmony can’t control those anyway.

9. Load Inclusion Tool – Click the Lighting Setup button at the top of the page; plug your remote into an available USB port and press next. This will load the inclusion tool on the remote.

10. Quit the Harmony Software – When the inclusion tool has finished loading on the remote, you will see a page that tells you to unplug the remote, pair all lights, plug it back in, and click next. Don’t do any of this. After the inclusion tool has loaded on to the remote, quit the software. Make sure to quit it completely – including the little icon in your system taskbar. I couldn’t get this to work without quitting the software at this step.

11. Link Software Devices to Real Devices – Walk back through the house with your H890P to each light switch that you listed in step 9. At each switch, follow the on-screen instructions on the remote, and be sure to just tap the light switch to add it. Make sure not to hold down the light switch for too long, or do anything else that would cause the switch to reset. All you’re doing in this step is literally identifying device nodes to the H890P.

12. Link Harmony Extender – When finished adding all lights, press I’m Done on the H890P, and select Go To RF Extender Setup. This will prompt you to add the Extender. To add, just hold the remote close to the Extender, and press the connect button on the Extender for 1-3 seconds until the status light comes up. Keep the remote close to the Extender until it tells you that it successfully added.

13. Load Network Configuration – When finished adding devices and the extender, load the Harmony software and log in. Then select Modify Settings > Lights – Modify > Load Network Configuration. Plug the H890P into an available USB Port, and click Next. This will load the device mapping into the software. When finished, the software should tell you all devices have been successfully paired. If so, move on to step 14. If you forgot to pair a device or more, quit the software, unplug the remote and repeat steps 11-13, but don’t forget to pair any devices this time!

14. Create any Scenes – since you still have to update the remotes, which is the most painful part of the process, you might as well create any scenes you need. When finished, click done.

15. Update Remotes – In Harmony software, click Update Remote. Follow the on-screen prompts, and make sure to update all remotes/extenders. If you only have one H890P, you are finished. Your remote should now be communicating with the Extender, as well as controlling any lights you’ve added. Vera can still control your lights.

ADDITIONAL H890P’s:

1. Include H890P’s – unplug dongle from Vera and put it inclusion mode. On additional H890P, select System Options > RF Network Tools, Set Learn Mode. Again, the dongle will blink rapidly, and again, the H890P will tell you that it is now the primary controller. When finished, plug dongle back into Vera.

2. Name and Save New H890P – Load Vera setup page, and again name and save the new controller. Then go into the z-wave device settings and select No under Automatically Configure. Then click save, and you are finished.

ADDING NEW NODES:

1. Add Nodes to Vera – as you normally would.

2. Update H890P’s – unplug dongle from Vera, put it into inclusion mode, and put each H890P into learn mode (update only one H890P at a time, obviously). When finished, plug dongle back into Vera.

3. Repeat Steps 8-11 above

4. Repeat Steps 13-15 above