Newbie help with Node inputs (for Lutron)

General
1

I just started playing around with Node Red a couple days ago, and I'm having trouble understanding how to format the message for certain nodes (in this instance Lutron Caseta Control Node).

I don't see any info for the Lutron nodes in the Help section, and others I have tried to use (Neato Botvac) don't have much help. I have set up the Lutron configuration, and using the Status node, I have gotten the events and IDs for the devices, so that part is working.

I have tried sending just a number as the payload for the brightness I want, I have tried creating a JSON (I'm new to JSON too, but familiar with Javascript) based on the Status node output in the payload, and also adding the properties to the msg object, but I haven't had any luck.

Is there a way to determine the input requirements for a node if it doesn't specify in it's help file? And specifically for this case, what I need to send the Lutron node to control the devices?

2

The fact that no-one has replied probably means no-one here has experience with those nodes. You could possibly ask the author via the node's github page, if there is one.

1 Like
3

Thanks. I'm just starting to learn, I looked into the .js file for that node, and it looks like it does use a number from the payload:

            if (!isNaN(msg.payload)) {
                configNode.sendLutronCommand(this.devId, msg.payload);
            } else {
                console.log('Error could not converted input value to number val=' + msg.paylaod);
            }

... so I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong in this case. I'll have to see if I can contact the creator.

I'm not so much looking for help with just that node (that's just an example of one of the ones I haven't figured out yet), I'm looking to learn how to determine what a node needs. Some have very helpful 'help' files which describe the inputs/outputs, but many do not.

I did find that some nodes have examples, and I have now been able to use one of the ones I was having problems with. The Broadlink examples includes nodes that can be added, and I was able to use those to record and send a 'mute' command to my TV, so I think I will be able to figure out everything I need to know. Only 2 of the packages I have installed so far seem to have examples available.

Also, for some reason I can’t seem to post to this forum on my Mac. I have to type out a response, then open on my iPhone to send (haven’t tried my PC yet or a different browser)

4

Also, there are multiple Lutron nodes available, i may have downloaded both, not sure if there's any way that could conflict (I did get a notice when I tried to download a different that had a conflict, so I'm not sure that could be the case).

I'm currently running the server on my PC, until i get the Raspberry Pi Zero that I ordered to be my permanent server, so I'll try to make sure which version i download when I set that one up.

5

Any node that I would describe as reputable should have documentation describing what has to be given to it. I don't think I use any that do not have that.

1 Like
6

I'd agree. Especially for a complete beginner in that frustrating state where I know what I should be able to do, but can't figure out why it isn't doing what I think it should.

There's only 2 that I see for Lutron Caseta, and one that I found for my Neato Bottvac, and neither of them have much in the way of help. I think the Neato might have slightly more info. The Lutron has spelling errors on their page (Configuraiton), they both have the same text so one may have been ported from the other. I'll take a look at the javascript and html for the two to see if I can determine any differences. I have some familiarity with Javascript coding, and very little with html.

Edit: I was able to post this reply on my mac in Microsoft Edge. Perhaps this site has an issue with Safari.

7

I checked the pages for the 2 Lutron entries, and it looks like the one I had installed (nodered-lutron-caseta), may have been an unattributed copy of the other one (node-red-contrib-lutron). It even has the same misspelling in the documentation.

I got my Raspberry Pi set up this weekend, and once I installed the correct version, it’s now working properly. I’ll have to compare the code between the two to see if I can determine what the differences are.

8

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