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Hi,

Can anyone tell me how well does X10/A10 works when doing very long/slow light dimming?
Say, turning a light from 100% on to 0% gradually over 1 minute. Can it be done without "glitches"?

Also, there would be several other different lights that could happen to be having similar slow dim cycles at the same time.

My purpose is: I have sensors turning up the lights on corridors (no X10 stuff yet, just a common sensor). Instead of a "hard" off, i'd like to have the lights gradually dim slowly, so it would make a more enjoyable environment.

I'd also like to know if those X10/A10 dimmers make that "frequency noises" while dimming.

Thanks.


p.s. As far as X10/A10 interfaces go, is the CM11 the best option? I'm ready to order one in the next few days, together with a couple of modules to start my "experiences".

Most X10 units that are capable of dimming can be dimmed in about 22 steps. So each step is about 5%. This does not mean that you will expierience every step as a light intensity change of 5%. At high light levels you will not see the difference between 95 en 100%.
If you have units that are using the so called extended code commands the step size can be smaller.
Most dimmers also have a feature that takes care of fading if you switch them on (or off). So the light will go from off to on in lets say 3 seconds.
All X10 units with the same House and unit codes will dim/bright at the same time.
If you do a series of X10 dim commands, there will be a lot of X10 traffic on the powerlines (A 100% Dim command takes about 4 seconds). If you have a number of units on separate addresses, you will not be able to dim them at the same time.
And yes, most dimmers produce quite some noise. If you could look a the power line during the dimming proces, you would see a glitch moving from 1 zero crossing to the next zerocrossing of the 50 (60) Hz power.

Han Alink

Hi Han,

Yes, I understand the way the dimming process occurs, cutting the AC sine wave.
So, between a DAIX10 dimming module (hopefully with the extended codes) and a Marmitek LD11 DIN Dimmer, which would you recommend?
Because, in here, the DAIX10 is over two times as expensive as the LD11, and I'd like to know if it's really worth it - or if I should go with the cheaper unit.

Carlos

I'm not familiar with the DAIX10, so I cannot give advise regarding this choice.
There are not many devices out that work with extended code (as an example: http://www.act-solutions.com/pdfs/PCCIn ... _instr.pdf).
If you are interested in the technical details about X10 and dimming, read http://www.act-solutions.com/kingery15.htm


Han Alink

Hi Han,

Great link indeed, had nice info on those preset dims and scenes...
Pieter, can you tell me if the DAIX10 dim modules supports that extended commands for "scenes" da "fade rate"? If I could set the fade rate to "1 minute" or so, I think it would solve my problem.

Carlos

Carlos
According the manual the DAIX10 is capable of handling extended commands, see http://www.bwired.nl/images/how/Xanura_technical.pdf It's in Dutch [:D] Here a paragraph translated:
The DAIX10 reacts on the A10 power line command "ON", "OFF", "DIM", "BRIGHT" and on the extended XANURA commands. The extended is the dim level which can send in percentages (0 to 100). It has a memory for the last Dim level, and it has a soft start function. For Example if a "OFF" command is received the light goes slowly to off. I will try to get the manual in English as well.

www.bwired.nl Online Domotica, Home Automation house.

Thanks Pieter, you guessed right, my Dutch is not very good!

I'm contacting the guys where I'll buying the modules, and ask them about any module supporting the fade rate command... that would be perfect.

(I'll show them your site too... so they can see what you can REALLY achieve with home automation!

Carlos
There are a lot of domoticalinks, home automation links and information about domotica on http://www.domoticalinks.nl. On this link page everything is divided in groups.
btw in Spain they know Bwired [;)] http://www.protechnica-europe.com/index ... 6&Itemid=2

Don't worry, I'll get them to know you too, here in Portugal (if they don't already!).

The issue is, that most people just use the modules in the "simple" way, and don't really make use of the more advanced functions. For instance, the "slow" fading I want is just a "minor detail"... they tell me: "Want to DIM? It's this module." and that's it. They don't care (or might even know) if it has extended commands, fade rates, if it reports back the dim level, etc.

I guess I'll have to spend a a few hundred Euros, get a couple of modules, and do the tests myself.

I've called them, asking if they had any modules supporting "fade rate" control. They only have the common marmitek Dimming modules, and the Xenura Micromodules.

The only module I found with the programmable fade-rate was those from ACT like the: http://www.smarthomeusa.com/Shop/ACT/Item/RD134/
anyone knows if something like this is available for 230V/50Hz?