SQ blaster 'down'

[mikee123]

I just notice mt sq blaster device shows 'down', and commands send via sq blaster (and vera) do not work any more. If i use my blaster via the iphone app everything is working as normal, so i have not noticed that the vera plugin was down for a while, i hardly use vera to send ir commands. Is there a way to find out why it is down, and how can i reconnect to my blaster ? The IP address is still correct in the device (I am using a static IP for my blaster) and i have not changed anything sice i installed the blaster plugin

[guessed]

The plugin periodically polls the Blaster.  If it's unable to talk to it, for any reason, then it'll mark it as down.

Restarting the blaster itself would correct the issue.  In early (pre-release) firmwares I'd use it to help know when the plugin wasn't working or if the blaster had locked up.

[mikee123]

Ok thanks. I thought that might be worth a try but i always try to avoid restarting my blaster, i always end up having problems getting it connected again to my ipad sq app, which means i am without TV... and the other half does not appreciate that... so probably wait until daytime tomorrow, gives me a few hour window to sort the app after restarting...

[mikee123]

I had to unplug my blaster anyway as I lost connection to my iPad anyway, that connection is now back up and running, but in my Vera the blaster is still marked as down. Is there anything else I can do ?

[guessed]

If the SQRemote <-> SQBlaster connection is working, and the Vera <-Plugin-> SQBlaster connection is showing as "down", then my first guess is that you're running DHCP and a new IP Address was assigned to the Blaster.

SQRemote uses mDNS to automatically discover where the Blasters are, but this functionality doesn't exist in the Plugin.  Instead, you have to manually configure the Plugin with the IP Address of the Blaster.

If this address changes, then the Plugin will point to the "old" IP Address, and it will look like the Blaster isn't contactable (aka "down").

It would be worth checking if you allocated a Static DHCP-assigned IP address mapping to the SQBlaster within your home's router.

... but that's a guess...

[mikee123]

You were right. Although i had given my blaster a static IP (or so i thought) it had changed. After updating the IP in the device, the blaster is up again. Still dont understand how and why the IP has changed but one of those things. Networks do not always do what they are supposed to do. That might explain as well why i sometimes cannot connect to the blaster with one of my ipads.

[Da_JoJo]

most of the routers have an option for manual assignment of a IP to certain setted MAC adresses in the DHCP server settings. If you dont use this option and put a static IP in the device itself, it might reset at a point and revert back to DHCP.

[PurdueGuy]

My blaster locks up and goes down ALL the time.  Multiple times per day.
I put it on a Z-Wave outlet, and have Vera scene check every 5 minutes or so.  If it is down, the scene executes, which turns the outlet off and back on 5 seconds later.

Here is the LUUP code for the scene:

Code: [Select]

luup.log("Testing SQBlaster")
local sqStatus = luup.variable_get("urn:squareconnect-com:serviceId:SQBlaster1","Status", <BLASTER_DEVICE_ID>)
luup.log("SQBlaster.Status = " .. sqStatus)

if (sqStatus == "Down") then
  return true
end

return falseReplace <BLASTER_DEVICE_ID> with your Device ID corresponding to your blaster.

[mikee123]

That is a good idea. I think i have finally found the reason why mine goes down. On the ipad/iphone when you go into the blaster settings, mine had a local name, under hostname/ip address was something like sq-blaster-59b4... i replaced that with the blasters IP. Since then (so far) no problems any more