Insteon PLM Tear Down & Repair

In this quick tutorial I’ll repair an Insteon PowerLinc modem. The PLM is a USB home automation interface that connects to a computer such as a Raspberry Pi and can be used to operate lights, electrical devices, thermostats, monitor sensors and more.
A full write up with photos and code is available on my website: www.rototron.i...

[@washoecreative595]

I enjoy your videos very much, though I confess I understand very little of what you are communicating. That doesn't bother me, though. When I first got into computers in the early 1980s I'd buy a copy of Byte magazine every month and read it cover to cover, even (especially) the ads (it was about 3/4 of an inch thick in those days). I didn't understand most of that either, but gradually I figured out what I was reading. It's a nice, relaxing way to learn. Your videos are clear, concise and chock full of nifty details. Someday I'll finally understand what it's all about.

[@colanuss4985]

I reaaally appreciate your objective, precise and fully comprehensive style. It must be hard work and needs a very deep knowledge and experience over a broad field. So thank you !

[@jjlouder1]

Great fix! Thanks for the tips on the caps.

[@ahmedelwan9129]

Nice work I really learnd more about esr and badcaps form this video

[@kurtsanger716]

Great Video on Insteon device and rebuilding it. Did not realize we can still have capacitor issues without having the capacitor show externally. Wondering whether this is why I have a few switches that need to be reset periodically. Maybe I'll take one apart.

[@pilotguy13]

the switches and relays ALL need cap replacement when they start getting weird. I've overhauled most of my first versions successfully. Have a youtube vid on it somewhere....

[@larrydavis4064]

Very nice. Very informative. Good work.

[@spacewolfjr]

You make excellent videos, thank you!

[@hard2handle]

Thank you for a great video

[@mikecampione2909]

rockstar analysis!

[@DrexProjects]

Good job.

[@MarcMarchioli]

Thanks for the nice informative and organized video. I've done this repair after extensive research and talking with Brian on universal devices. He's a valuable resource and great help. I recapped my older v1.9 PLM and tested it and it works great. I had in the mean time purchased a new v2.4 PLM which I used until about 2 months ago when it stopped working. I may go through it and recap it too. The big question I wanted to ask you as it has puzzled me a bit. My older v1.9 after being recapped worked flawlessly until a few days later then it stopped responding. It still has the green light, resets like it did from factory and beeps on reset. However, it won't respond to my Indigo powered Mac Mini. I felt it might be the FTDI driver or something that got 'magically' updated by Apple which changed the driver. I haven't been able to filter out what exactly has happened. If you have any ideas on troubleshooting my problem, I'd love to hear. I don't have a Py or the skills (yet) to do the Py test you did. I've tried multiple times to removed, reinstall/update the FTDI driver without luck. So, any ideas or anything is appreciated.

[@UpcycleElectronics]

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[@ronaldshepard4625]

I can only get a 1.85 full signal from this device using my X10. Is this common? Or should it be more? It's not working now and it was the other day. I tried another one and I get the same voltage output. Will changing these capacitors help?

[@artytecmty]

Hi because of the fall of Insteon company I’m trying to do something for mi big Insteon arrange of devices The plm’s are very difficult to find I found one but need to factory reset Do you have some ideas Thanks for the video

[@rdagger]

To reset the PLM to its original factory settings, unplug it from the wall outlet and wait 10 seconds. Press and hold its SET button, plug it back in, continue holding the SET button for 3 seconds and release.

[@jjones8587]

All good if you are an electrical engineer but I need to be able to send my PLM to a reliable source for repair. Any suggestions?

[@rdagger]

Anyone that knows how to solder can fix the PLM. Recapping the board should fix most broken PLM’s. Therefore electronic diagnosis is probably not required. If you can’t find a buddy to do it then I would try a local stereo/electronics repair shop. Anyone who repairs vintage audio equipment will have the tools and knowledge to easily replace the capacitors. Just tell the repair guy that you want all the capacitors replaced with good quality low ESR Japanese caps rated for at least 105°C. There is also a guy on eBay who fixes PLM’s (just search eBay for Insteon PLM). Please note that I think Insteon is now out of business. I am migrating my Insteon modules to Shelly modules and I use Home Assistant which can control both in addition to much more. However, there are many other brands of Wi-Fi modules and solutions that might be more consumer-friendly.

[@jjones8587]

@@rdagger thanks. I found a guy on eBay that can do it. Cheers