Guest guest Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 Dan,Can we all get some more information about this wireless functionality? I'd love to know what kind of range we can expect from the device, etc. I'd love to get the neighbors involved with this, but the idea of running a cable across the street doesn't sit well with me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 Don,We have not done enough testing yet to give a recommended max distance. It works great at 300ft but we expect that we will be able to double or triple that number. That is line of sight with no obstructions.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 Dan - you are probably tired of questions on the wireless, so sorry in advance for asking another one.Is it going to be something we can attach to exisiting boxes, kind of like doing wireless internet in the house, or are they going to have to be new cards/boxes?Thanks! Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 I'll jump in on that one.Currently, they are addon, separate units.Basically, if you need to send the signal across the street, (because the city you live in doesn't seem to think they should come cut open the street, lay down some conduit so you can run CAT5 cable thru it - nor do they like it when you stretch tha cable across the street - either in the air or on the street....but I digress), you would need two RF units. One by each controller - they have an ethernet port and you run the cable from Controller #1 to the RF unit - send signal - to RF unit #2 where you run another cable to Controller #2 - perhaps the attached diagram would better illustrate. Attached files Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 Rob -- do the RF units need to be strictly paired, or could you have one transmitter (say your house) sending RF signals to two neighbors (say, for example, you can't run a cable to either neighbor for some reason).-Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 Tim,I better defer for a definitive answer from Dan on that one.My guess:I would guess you would just need one RF per controller - and the controllers still having their own Unit ID would act upon signals received by the RF units that belong to each unit. Assuming you have line of sight for all three RF units (roof to roof or what have you)-Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 Sounds like you know alot about it rob. How did you become so privy to this information??? Would love to know more, and just curious if the little birdie that told me that there was some discussion with the PVC KING and LOR in order for that individual to do sequences that could them be pre-programmed with the controllers, or bought through the LOR site, is reliable??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 Steven Singleton Jr. wrote:Sounds like you know alot about it rob. How did you become so privy to this information??? Steven - never underestimate the power of being a pest, or as the CEO of an un-named Lighting Control manufacturing company may have stated in another thread, staying on their heels Steven Singleton Jr. wrote:just curious if the little birdie that told me that there was some discussion with the PVC KING and LOR in order for that individual to do sequences that could them be pre-programmed with the controllers, or bought through the LOR site, is reliable???I do not know anything about that - but sounds intriguing-Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 The wireless is multi-drop one transmitter as many receivers as you wish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 mike isaacs wrote: Is it going to be something we can attach to exisiting boxes, kind of like doing wireless internet in the house, or are they going to have to be new cards/boxes?Yes it can attach to existing boxes/cards. The only issue is the power requirement. I have not tested it on all cards. With the 8 channel cards you may need two of them to power the RF unit. It gets its power through the CAT5 cable from the controller.... We will be adding a "Power Injector" to the product list for accessories like the RF unit and MP3 player so this will become a moot issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 Ok you may have to do a search here but I have a big I TOLD YOU SO.A little over a year ago I asked why we could not make these wireless. Many came on and sdaid well we run wires anyway so what is the problem. I think I mentioned driveways and sidewalks but did not mention streets. So I am really glad to see this and hope it is coming soon to my home.Thanks Dan,Now is there a way to fade in and out while in twinkle mode? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 Robin wrote: Now is there a way to fade in and out while in twinkle mode?Not automatically (at least with the current version of software!) but...You can make a long fade on all the channels you want then take the OFF tool and turn off random sections of the fade! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 Wireless update:I hooked up the RF units tonight and the two neighbors' homes across the street are now dancing with my lights (and my next door neighbor). :waycool:Plug-n-play ease - it worked without a hitch.Yay Dan & the LightORama gang - I promise not to pester you anymore... this year4 houses a flashin' together in Central Ohio - it's all good!-Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 It's all good - and I'm all jealous. Can't wait for the new toys next year Dan! Thanks for putting so much effort into this. This is becoming and incredibly flexible system.Scott Hardin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 13, 2005 Share Posted December 13, 2005 Dan,Are you using the 2.4 GHz spectrum for the wireless addon card?I worry about usingmore RF around my house since I am a wireless engineer and have way too many RF devices as it is.If you are using the 2.4Ghz range, then I am assuming that since you have a single transmitter with multiple recievers that you are doing something similar to 802.11b/g point-to-multipoint links and using the controller ID in place of the usual MAC address on 802.11 devices?I think the only difference is that 802.11 devices are bi-directional (TX and RX) and your units are not.Have I got this right?Maxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 13, 2005 Share Posted December 13, 2005 Expanding on the last post, is the controller using a standard wireless protocol? If so, I have seen wireless repeaters. I'd imagine one of those every several houses could extend the range indefinitely... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 14, 2005 Share Posted December 14, 2005 We are using 916mhz. There are 32 channels to choose from. Our units are transceivers which operate in a half duplex mode which is fine because we use a half duplex mode to communicate.All RF units are the same. They simply plug into the CAT5 and act as an extension of the wire. You do get 1 to many (one xmitter, many recvr ) as you would want.As far as protocol, it is a proprietary LOR protocol. You get a repeater function by selecting different channels and plugging another unit in... For example... Say you used channel 16 on the PC.... The neighbors have channel 16 on their units. One neighbor down the street has a RF unit set to channel 16 which will act as a receiver and will be the start of the chain of controllers in their yard. At the other end of the chain put in another RF unit set to channel 18. That unit will become a transmitter retransmitting all information. Neighbors further down the street would set their units to channel 18....In the normal case there is nothing to setup you just plug them in out of the box and they work. (as folks who have used them can attest to)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 14, 2005 Share Posted December 14, 2005 LightORama wrote:(as folks who have used them can attest to)...I'll jump in and give the RF unit an A+ in plug-n-play ease-Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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