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[DeltaNu1142]

i had a funny thought- i thought i'd only need 1 wall switch but the two pack was only $5 more..was thinking about where i'd need one other than my bedroom..& i thought (hypothetically of course)..these things work by RF signals right? since i'm in an apartment..i thought it'd be cool to hack into the nearby elevator & connect my extra wall switch. Would i be able to call the elevator from my apartment? Could i schedule the elevator to come to my floor at a certain time in the morning?
i'd never do it..but it'd be cool. Ah, well..i'll figure something to do with the other wall switch.

That might be the coolest idea I've heard on this forum.  Just make sure to schedule your hack the day after the annual elevator inspection, so you get the most longevity out of it...!

Keep in mind that if the elevator is a few floors down, the RF signal would have a lot of building material to travel through...   

[bilyth]

yeah, well. like i said..i'd never actaully do it.

well, i was thinking i'd hack into the push button on my floor (which is probably 40 feet away). Just to connect the circuit, as if i was pushing the button. So, it wouldn't matter what floor the elevator was on..i'd have to somehow jam the switch behind the casing for the button in the wall...

again, i'd never do it..but how awesome it would be. 

[DeltaNu1142]

Well, I suppose I was thinking you could install multiple switches inside the interior panel of the elevator, to command it to go to whatever floor you wanted!  I'm SURE it can be done, but definitely not plug & play with X10...!

[dave w]

You guys are being funny...right?   

[bilyth]

You guys are being funny...right?   

of course i'm kidding..think i would risk my neck re-wiring the elevator buttons? no way..plus how in the world would i jam a ligth switch into the button compartment...it was just a funny thought.

i'm no electrical engineer..but i figure an elevator button is just closing a circuit & so does a switch.

why would i need to call it to any floor anyways...i'd just want it for my floor so it's there as i'm laeaving my place...

but, it's just a fun thought. i'd never do it.

[dave w]

OK, but switch won't work, they are made for 120V. I used a "Universal Module" (UM 506)  to provide closure across the button contacts. 

[bilyth]

ok, got my software & hardware parts..playing around with things. it's pretty cool. i could see how if i had a big house with mulitiple rooms & appliances..this would be really cool.

but, i've only a small apartment & for now..want to get this dawn simulation alarm clock going.

i've been having some issues getting a loop macro working. it seems to start the chain of events but i can't get a continuous brightening as the loop is supposed to. i left a few comments on what's going on in the steven r dawn simulation instructions.

the other thing i'm wondering is whether my modules are actually "soft start". i thought soft start meant you could go directly from off to say..%20. as opposed to %100 first then down to %20. It seems like my lamp module can do that (using the mini controller)..but using AHP- if i set it to %20..it will tell it "ON" then dim to "%20"..which results in full brightness then %20....

does it sound like my lamp module is soft start? i believe it is..but how to make it work that way in AHP.

On the other hand, the wall switches don't seem soft start at all. i can see the difference between my lamp module when i use the mini controller. there's no way to dim it up without going to full %100 first. X10 promised my they were..so i'm going to ask for an exchange.

[Walt2]

the other thing i'm wondering is whether my modules are actually "soft start". i thought soft start meant you could go directly from off to say..%20. as opposed to %100 first then down to %20. It seems like my lamp module can do that (using the mini controller)..but using AHP- if i set it to %20..it will tell it "ON" then dim to "%20"..which results in full brightness then %20....

does it sound like my lamp module is soft start? i believe it is..but how to make it work that way in AHP.

If your LM465 modules are indeed the new "soft start" type, you need to "lie" to AHP, and install them as the LM14A modules.  That's because AHP only knows how to control, using the new extended commands, when the LM14A is selected.

Its been a while for me, but if you can't find "LM14A" specifically in AHP, look for "2-way Lamp Module" too.

In macros, make sure you depress (turn dark gray) the "Set Absolute" button on the icon.

[bilyth]

thanks for that. i was playing around with things & it seems like i don't need to trick AHP by labelling the lm465 as something else. it actually will soft start it ok. So that's working for me.

However, the same cannot be said for the WS467 wall switch. X10 has asssured & re-assured me that it's soft start..but it doesn't appear to be (either using ahp or my mini-controller). Anyone know if there's a way to trick ahp into thinking this WS is soft start?

Another issue i'm having is whenever i use macros; the level of brightness is never the same if i'm running a macro with the module off vs when the module is on (any %..even if it's 0%). Why is that? For ex. if i have a macro set to turn light on at %40...it is much dimmer light if it starts from off than when it starts from any on position (even though it's always set at %40).

Any solutions? i know i could adjust the macro..but sometimes i'll want to run it from off..sometimes from an on position. I guess one solution is to never turn my lights off...but i don't want to do that; & it defeats the purporse of getting soft start lights to me...

[Walt2]

thanks for that. i was playing around with things & it seems like i don't need to trick AHP by labelling the lm465 as something else. it actually will soft start it ok. So that's working for me.

You need to install the lamp modules as a "LM14A', and not LM465, not to support "soft start", but to enable/use/support the new direct, absolute, dim level commands.  These are the newer extended commands.

AHP supports the LM465 only in the old way, and that's relative dim levels.  By that I mean, dim up by 5%, or dim down by 5%.  But from what?  For the LM465, AHP needs to set it to a known dim level first, and that is at 100%.

AHP supports the LM14A (and if selected as a LM14A, the new LM465 too) the new way, and that's with absolute dim levels.  By that I mean, set dim level at, for example, 40%.  It doesn't matter what the current dim level is, or if the module is even 'on' at all, the module with go directly to 40% (keeping with the same example).

Another issue i'm having is whenever i use macros; the level of brightness is never the same if i'm running a macro with the module off vs when the module is on (any %..even if it's 0%). Why is that? For ex. if i have a macro set to turn light on at %40...it is much dimmer light if it starts from off than when it starts from any on position (even though it's always set at %40).

That makes sense if you are have only relative dimming available in the macros, and that is because you have them defined to be a LM465 and not a LM14A.

[bilyth]

i see. thanks- i will switch it over.

what about  my ws467 wall switch? X10 customer service is convinced that it has "soft start"..so i suspect that means "newer" also? is there a different wall switch model i should use for it as well to trick ahp?

[Walt2]

what about  my ws467 wall switch? X10 customer service is convinced that it has "soft start"..so i suspect that means "newer" also? is there a different wall switch model i should use for it as well to trick ahp?

You might need to use the LM14A for the wall switches too.  Again, just to be able to use the new extended dim command within AHP.

[bilyth]

tried it...seems to make the light on/off only with no dimming abilities.

edit: now i switched it back to the wall switch & none of my macros are activating it anymore. I hope it's a temporary thing cause i can't figure out why.