Phantom groups question

I finally discovered how to create a phantom group in C-Gate ("new phantom <groupID> <level>"; not "new group <groupID> phantom" as per the pdf documentation) but I still can't figure out how to change the level after the group is created.

When I issue "set <groupID> level NNN", it eventually responds with "200 OK: <groupID>" on the command port, but the event port shows "827 1 C-Bus Send Error: (#)(retrying)" and the level remains unchanged.

It seems that it should be possible, because Homeminder is able to set the levels of such groups. What's the secret?

 

After sending the "new phantom" command, does the new group appear in the "tree" command ?

You should be using "on", "off" or "ramp" commands to set levels. See whether they work for you.

 

Still no go

Yes, the object appears in the tree, and I've tried ON, OFF, RAMP, and SET:

From port 20023:
==============
new phantom 1/8/1 0
tree 1
320- Groups:
320- 1/8/1 ($1) level=0 state=ok units= (phantom)
on 1/8/1
408 Operation failed: 1/8/1
set 1/8/1 level 255
200 OK: 1/8/1
get 1/8/1 level
300 1/8/1: level=0
ramp 1/8/1 255 0
408 Operation failed: 1/8/1
get 1/8/1 level
300 1/8/1: level=0

From port 20024 (this message is repeated several times following each ON, SET, or RAMP command above):
==============
20040809-112706 827 1 C-Bus Send Error: (#)(retrying)
20040809-112706 827 1 C-Bus Send Error: com.clipsal.cgate.cbus.CBusCommandException: C-Bus Send Error:
Send failed (no confirm) : Send failed (no confirm)

Looking at port 20023, SET appears to work (200 response) but the level remains unchanged, and errors are reported to port 20024. Does the syntax needs to be slightly different when addressing phantom units?

 

Using application 8 is a bad idea for a start. Although it is not well documented, you should only use applications $30 to $5F (48 to 95) for lighting.

Try application $38 (56) and see if it works.

 

Thanks - application 56 seems to works fine. I hope I don't run out of group numbers...

 

I eventually ran out of numbers in application 56, so I set about trying to figure out why my attempts to get phantom groups working on a different application number were failing.

In the end I discovered that it was because I had been attempting to set up the phantom groups using an application number that was not assigned to any physical device. As soon as I assigned at least one group within the new application to a physical device, the errors I described ceased.