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Other uses for LOR?


LightEnthusiast

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  • Paul C

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LightEnthusiast wrote:

^ Thought it would be a fun topic. I'm sure there are lots of uses other than using it for Christmas.

Haven't got my LOR boards yet so nothing to share as yet :D


Cheers

LE


Well, I'm using mine to control lights. I'm not sure what other use one would use it for.
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Well I have been wondering the same thing. I mean I do a Halloween display. I did run some props and some other things off of it for a Haunted House I helped with. Worked really great with the solenoids.

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LightsByGreg wrote:

I think that because the dimmers now support DMX, they might have a pretty nice application in home automation.

-Greg

There would need to be a way to control each channel of the units from some remote device.
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What is wrong with Ladder logic?

I have no problems with it, I love Ladder logic and PLCs. :dude:


X's are inputs
Y's are Outputs
C's are Virtual Relays
T's are Virtual Timer contacts
CT's are Virtual Counter contacts
SP's are like C's but do differant things

Just be carful about the outputs
EX Setting Y1 more then one time, You need to Use a SET or an OROUT

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garyfunk wrote:

LightsByGreg wrote:
I think that because the dimmers now support DMX, they might have a pretty nice application in home automation.

-Greg

There would need to be a way to control each channel of the units from some remote device.
It would still be run from a computer, but instead of traditional light switches to turn each light on or off, the lights would be plugged into the dimmer pack. Cat5 or coax cable would carry the DMX signal across the house to the controller, or the DMX would be converted to be run over ethernet and then back into DMX on the other end. The computer would accept input from custom-programmed keypads or touchscreens that would take place of the light switches. Additionally, proximity sensors (motion, pressure, etc) could tell of one's presence in a room so that less of these control panels would be required, and lights would fade up as soon as you enter the room.

This is already possible, although I am unsure how many home automation software programs support DMX. But it shouldn't be that hard to add DMX to whatever program (Homeseer for example) if you use an OpenDMX interface to connect to the computer, as documentation is available for these devices.

-Greg

EDIT: Spelling
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LightsByGreg wrote:

garyfunk wrote:
LightsByGreg wrote:
I think that because the dimmers now support DMX, they might have a pretty nice application in home automation.

-Greg

There would need to be a way to control each channel of the units from some remote device.
It would still be run from a computer, but instead of traditional light switches to turn each light on or off, the lights would be plugged into the dimmer pack. Cat5 or coax cable would carry the DMX signal across the house to the controller, or the DMX would be converted to be run over ethernet and then back into DMX on the other end. The computer would accept input from custom-programmed keypads or touchscreens that would take place of the light switches. Additionally, proximity sensors (motion, pressure, etc) could tell of one's presence in a room so that less of these control panels would be required, and lights would fade up as soon as you enter the room.

This is already possible, although I am unsure how many home automation software programs support DMX. But it shouldn't be that hard to add DMX to whatever program (Homeseer for example) if you use an OpenDMX interface to connect to the computer, as documentation is available for these devices.

-Greg

EDIT: Spelling

I don't know of any that support DMX. For Home Automaiton, I use Insteon and an ISY from Universal Devices. There needs to be API beteween the home and the LOR.
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Not necessarily. As long as DMX is supported, it shouldn't care what is on the other end of the DMX cable. Heck, you could even come home to a fog machine.

The only disadvantage that I can see (besides needing DMX support in the software) would be that there is no 2-way communication; LOR does not take advantage of pins 4 and 5 in the current product. While 2-way communication is still pretty rare in DMX fixtures/dimmers, it is in the protocol and could quite easily be adopted. This is where something like INSTEON has an advantage: most of the modules can be polled for status by the controller. In a "dumb" setup like LOR where the dimmer cannot report back that it received the signal, the computer would not be able to tell if the light was actually turned on, if the coffee pot was actually turned off, etc.

If more dmx products would start doing 2-way communication, it could possibly become the choice for hardwired HA. While INSTEON, Z-wave, etc are great for homes that did not come prewired for HA, I still think that hardwired setups are more reliable. The DMX HA system wouldn't necessarily be targeted at something like INSTEON, rather it would be compared as an affordable alternative to Lutron HomeWorks, Crestron, etc.

Let me know what you think.

Thanks,
Greg

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BadSCR wrote:

What is wrong with Ladder logic?

I have no problems with it, I love Ladder logic and PLCs. :dude:


X's are inputs
Y's are Outputs
C's are Virtual Relays
T's are Virtual Timer contacts
CT's are Virtual Counter contacts
SP's are like C's but do differant things

Just be carful about the outputs
EX Setting Y1 more then one time, You need to Use a SET or an OROUT




I use Ladder Logic AB all the time at work, It really makes me think. Used to use PLC's for my lights before I found LOR. Would trigger an input using a solid state relay connected to a stereo.
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A PLC sync to music, WOW good job. I love LOR and PLC.
But lets keep to what this thread is about.



Other Uses for LOR: (some Ideas)

1: Christmas light displays
2: Halloween displays
3: Motion Simulator/ Penumatic controls
4: Water fountain displays
5: Disco Room Lighting
6: Strobe light controller
7: Home Theater Special Effects (sync to the movie your watching) (I want to do it; It would be so KOOL :D) :dude::dude::cool::cool: ( I take credit on this one)

8: Special Effects
9: Practical jokes
10: Animatronics
11: Slot racing
12: maybe PTZ camera control




#3 and #7 together, wow, there is a Home Theater system

Regarding my #7 idea: What is the max length, resolution and File size of video that LOR can handle?

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jstein wrote:

Well I have been wondering the same thing. I mean I do a Halloween display. I did run some props and some other things off of it for a Haunted House I helped with. Worked really great with the solenoids.



Hello jstien,

Did you have to use diodes between the solenoids and LOR. One of the guys at work mentioned something about when the field collapses after the power is cut, that some residual power could be sent back to the SCR. That is, if it is a coil that you refer to.

I know this is not what this tread is about, I just could not help myself. Self control Self control :shock:
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No, I did not. I have read myself where it hs been talked about where a diode should be used, but I dis so reguardless and luckily it worked out okay. Although that may not always be the case.

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I had made a sort of monster in a box. I just had a sequence loop for like 5 hours and the solenoid would make the door on the front open up a little bit or I had a solenoid on the bottom tilt the whole box forward. Really the possibilities are endless with LOR!

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