CM15 on a modern OS issues (was Re: Major Machine and OS update)

[James Sentman]

There should still be a menu item for “Install USB Support” under the File menu. Unfortunately the drivers for the CM15 are not properly signed as I would have to pay to join Apple’s new kernel developer program in order to make those official. Apple is also going to disable older extensions as there is a new way of building them now. There is no danger of problems with the current CM15 driver as there is not a single byte of actual executable code in it, it’s nothing but a data file that tells the system to make a device with those ID and manufacturer codes available to apps requesting it. 

It MIGHT be necessary to specifically allow the driver to load in the privacy panel after restarting it the first time. And if that doesn’t work it might be necessary to turn on a kernel developer mode to force it to load. I’m not sure off the top of my head how to do that but if it proves necessary we can find it on apples developer site somewhere.

Then comes the problem of actually getting the plugin to run. It is no longer included in XTension proper but can be downloaded in the legacy plugins package from here:

https://machomeautomation.com/files/xtension/legacy_plugins.zip

OS versions since Catalina refuse to run 32 bit applications, and I cannot remember off the top of my head if the CM15 plugin was one that I recompiled to be 64 bit or not. To install it in XTension unzip that file and use the “install plugin” menu item from the database menu in XTension to copy it into your database folder. Once that is done you should be able to create an interface for it in the newer XTension versions but it may still refuse to run  due to the 32 bit issue. If that is the case I can PROBABLY rebuild it for 64 bit without too much difficulty as I did the other older plugins that are still included. Let me know what it does. An error at startup probably means that it needs to be rebuilt for 64bit, just not finding the CM15 PROBABLY means a driver error.

The best solution would be to find a used Cm11a on ebay or elsewhere or possibly from a list member here who has fully converted to ZWave or something similar. Since that is a simple serial device and not a USB native device like the CM15 it only needs a $20 USB/Serial adator to work with even the most recent OS versions. If you also need the wireless functions then a w800 from wgldesigns.com is the best receiver, but their website seems to be offline. I don’t know if they have gone out of business or are just having server issues this morning? If you can’t get one of those then the newer software defined radio plugin can also receive X10 motion sensors and such but it does not feel like it works as well as the dedicated devices to me. Though I have not tested it extensively. If you want to experiment with this I can help setup the frequency and other things that would be needed with that as the radio. That definitely still works in the latest OS versions as well as I have several of them connected here on different frequencies or running different programs.

> On Sep 21, 2022, at 1:27 PM, Andy Poggio <apoggio at pacbell.net> wrote:
> 
> If you look around in the XTension directory and XTension bundle, I think you can find the legacy CM15 plugin — I’ve enclosed the version I used. You can then install that. I was able to make this work in Feb — hopefully it still works. 
> 
> —andy
> 
> 
>> On Sep 21, 2022, at 10:17 AM, Heather James <thewebgal at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> Ok, for ages and ages I'd run a late 2009 MacPro tower here, hacked with updated hex processor, memory, multiple drive and Wifi card. With other changes I was able to upgrade it to run Mojave - upgrades past that were problematic, so there I stayed, happy. 
>> And with all the Cellular updates, we updated our iPhone 6S to iPhone 13Pro. Nice camera!.
>> But the IOS 16 update on my iPhone broke Photos - I could no longer import photos to my Mac! 
>> Time to bite the bullet and update the MacPro - and the newer macPros are out of my budget.
>> Checked eBay and a local liquidator had a late 2015 MacBook Pro for sale - snagged it Saturday, picked it up Monday, and migrated all my data. 
>> It can run Monterey, but I upped it to the final revision of Big Sur and paused there.
>> I did the latest update to XTension 9.4.47 a few moments ago, and found my 
>> venerable CM15 is no longer supported.
>> 
>> My system is quite simple - 7 X10 light switches spread through the house, with some basic scripts to manage sunrise and sunset events
>> So - what is the currently approved interface device?

Thanks,
 James


James Sentman                       http://www.PlanetaryGear.org		http://MacHomeAutomation.com