Wiser 2 upgrade advice

Discussion in 'C-Bus Wiser 2 Controller' started by Carrera, Nov 17, 2015.

  1. Carrera

    Carrera

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    I have just order the wiser 2 to replace my wiser 1. My system has been in and running fine, without issue, for the last 3 years.

    To try and make this as painless as possible some advice would be appreciated:

    Prior to removing wiser 1 from the network, is there anything I should do to the cbus network? I am hoping it will carry on working via switches etc? As I am conscious I will not be able to get back in as the cni won't be there.

    Anything to watch out for when installing wiser 2? Do's and do nots?

    Many thanks in advance
     
    Carrera, Nov 17, 2015
    #1
  2. Carrera

    WiserSux

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    How did the upgrade go for you?

    Was there much of a difference? I'm having nothing but headaches with my wiser 1, I'm thinking if I upgrade it might help
     
    WiserSux, Oct 2, 2017
    #2
  3. Carrera

    bmerrick

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    Hi Poster,

    Your forum 'name' is probably not really conducive to C-Bus people experienced with Wiser wanting to give you advice as you seem to have preconceived views of the platform, but I will to try to give you a perspective from a C-Bus Wiser installers viewpoint.

    The Wiser 1 was voted Home Automation Controller of the year in 2010 and was the first of what is now a slew of other copycat automation controllers providing an iPhone (.. and Android and PC) Home automation GUI. It's now 7 years later and whilst newer controllers are available, the Wiser 1 was a revolutionary product of its time and undeserving of disparagement like 'WiserSux'. I had a Wiser 1 in my home for 4+ years and it was my primary home 'remote' for all that time. All my family used it extensively and it worked welll both locally and remotely. Could it sometimes need the odd reboot?, yes but did it do a great job, overwhelmingly yes.

    For troubleshooting, the most usual 'failures' I came across with the Wiser 1 was that in some sites the 12v plug pack power supply needed replacing after around 3 years (like many similar router based products of the time period) and also the link between the Wiser and CNI (the 'Harmonica') could need re-seating from time to time as it sometimes worked itself loose due to heat expansion over long periods or could get some RJ45 connector oxidation if situated near the water. In such instances I always replaced this 'harmonica' with a direct cat 5 cable to reduce the potential for mechanical RJ45 dis-lodgement due to heat or oxidation and this made it very reliable. Some IOS upgrades seemed a source of challenge for the development team over the years as the GUI sometimes broke when Apple upgraded but this was rare and always resolved quickly.

    In time the Wiser platform went on to now describes a range of Schneider Electric / Clipsal products under the 'Wiser' banner/designation that work together in your Smart Home.

    The Wiser 2 was a well received (though a 'little' late in arrival) upgrade to the platform 2 years ago allowing what was usually a quick and easy project upgrade within the same PICED platform for Wiser 1 projects adding nicer looking GUI elements and additional features. Most of my clients were well and truly up and running on the new, much nicer GUI within hours of replacement, depending on project size and complexity and most completed this transition a year or so ago. The Wiser 2 is a good platform for clients who want a reliable and nicely updated GUI experience over the Wiser 1 GUI with an easy low cost installation using the same PICED configuration tool that keep schedules, scenes configuration and logic coding the same as preceding C-Bus platforms.

    The Wiser SHAC (and its commercial variant the Wiser NAC) are the newest examples of the continued evolution of the platform the humble Wiser 1 started, the Wiser 'platform' or range. The Wiser SHAC is a new residential controller but does not use PICED to configure it, but rather a Web based configuration utility that is inbuilt to the unit. Scenes, Schedules and logic are all done differently in this new platform but in a more future facing open standards direction. Wiser 1 projects are not directly upgradable to SHAC projects and so additional work will be required to recreate your home's project into a new GUI.

    So I guess your current choices would be between a Wiser 2 and a Wiser SHAC being the likely best options. The Wiser2 would be an easy upgrade path using the same PICED software to configure it with an easy project upgrade path, but the SHAC will be a new platform moving forward but requires recreating your 'project GUI' from the ground up using the inbuilt configurator. This would cost far more in labour costs (if you are not doing it yourself), but possibly sets you up better for the future.

    Hope this helps you in your deliberations,

    Brad

    a BIG Wiser Fan
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 2, 2017
    bmerrick, Oct 2, 2017
    #3
  4. Carrera

    ChrisJC

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    I opened the Wiser1 project in PICED, saved as a different project name, went into project details and kept pressing back to get to unit type, changed it to WISER2, clicked finish. Then I had to re-enter in some groups on some STATUS widgets and saved the project.

    You have to set up the WISER2 and to the original settings as the Wiser1 for Access and LAN and WiFi and swap them over. Then use the WISER2 App to connect through devices. No Port Forwarding required.

    Then comes the fun bit - nothing ever goes smoothly but you might just be lucky.

    Or you could just put a timer on a spare relay channel and interupt the power to your Wiser1 once a day, say at 2am for 1 minute and turn it back on - might just fix the problem.
     
    ChrisJC, Nov 11, 2017
    #4
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