Re: X.10 for lighting - still limited???

["Harrison, Mark (Alliance)" <Mark.Harrison@xxxxxxx>]

Keith,

In some ways, I'm reassured to hear your view - here's some more =
information
for you on the NJD solution we implemented:

The boxes we are using are the "NJD MP820"s.

They have a MIDI in (standard 5-pin din MIDI cable) and two Bulgin P552
sockets out, carrying 4 power lines each. (I seem to remember that you =
have
to buy the Bulgin plugs separately.)

The power handling is 5A per channel =3D 1.15kVa @ 230V AC with a limit =
of
20Amps per box overall, as you say 1000 watts per channel beats X.10 =
hands
down.

Control is through the MIDI in - you set a MIDI channel, and a range of
Notes by internal switches - each lighting channel responds to a =
different
note, and you turn a light on by sending a "MIDI ON" message to
the =
right
channel and note, with the attack volume corresponding (1-255) to the
desired lighting level. As with a MIDI sound device, you turn a light =
off by
sending a "MIDI ON" message with attack volume of 0.

You may be amused to know that as a result of this, an old MIDI =
keyboard
becomes a useful tool for debugging the electrical installation ;-)

In principle, you can control fade times using MIDI CONTROL CHANGE =
commands
- At the moment we only have ON-Level / OFF functionality implemented =
in the
software.

If you need more than 8 channels, you need to buy more NJD boxes
(obviously), but will also need to get a "MIDI distribution
amplifier."
Something like the Phillip Reese V8 or V10 (8 and 10 MIDI channels thus =
64
or 80 lighting channels resptectively) which Turnkey sell for =
=A335.95+VAT and
=A339.95+VAT. With the power handling on the NJDs, these are =
"independant
lighting channels" rather than "lights", so this could be 4
=
lights/channel
giving 240 lights - hopefully enough for most domestic installations! =
(Not
sure on my spelling of that product, Turnkey are on 0171 419 9999.)

The software we're using to hold it all together is P. Scargil's =
"APPCON"
(CIX users can find him on the CIX homeautomation conference.) The =
software
doesn't support MIDI devices, but he gave one of the partners a copy of =
the
Visual Basic source code, so we had to add a shareware MIDI library.

Given we were completely rewiring, we put in "normal switches"
but then
wired them back to a central patch panel separately from the lighting
wiring. This meant that we could patch them through to lights bypassing =
the
Home Automation stuff completely if required, or patch them through to =
the
serial switch handler on the Appcon control ring. I lose track at this
point, because I don't understand the Appcon stuff in detail - the MIDI
interfacing and the electrical wiring I could handle, the Appcon stuff =
is
dealt with by one of my partners. (There are three of us.)

We felt it was important to be able to cut the "home automation"
out of =
the
loop completely if required (either cos it all failed, or to allow the =
house
to be sold on to a neanderthal if later required.) The patch-panel =
approach
gives us this flexibility. (Accurate labelling of cabling runs is =
critical.)

Mark Harrison
European IT Manager
BP/Bovis Alliance
Tel: +44 181 869 1439
Fax: +44 181 423 7711
VT: +44 181 423 7349
SMTP: Mark.Harrison@xxxxxxx

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Keith Doxey [SMTP:keith.doxey@xxxxxxx]
> Sent:	Tuesday, October 20, 1998 12:03 PM
> To:	'ukha_d@xxxxxxx'
> Subject:	[ukha_d] Re: X.10 for lighting - still limited???
>=20
> Tell me more about the Midi solution.
> I though about using NJD's Midi Packs when I went to PLASA 97 at=20
> Earls Court but never took the idea any further as NJD didnt send me =
the=20
> technical spec I asked for and I forgot about it due to too many =
other
> projects
> on the go.=20
>=20
> It occurred to me at the time that everyone who was using a PC as the
=

> basis of a Home Automation system would already have the Midi =
interface
> on their soundcards. What I needed to know from NJD was how much
> control you have over the 8 channels.
>=20
> I disagree with your comments regarding X-10 being available "Off
the
> Shelf"
> so far the only readily available kit for the UK are Lamp/Appliance
> modules
> and the CM12U plus a couple of mini controllers. The most wanted and
> needed
> items, namely the Wall Switches are STILL not available  :-((
>=20
> The NJD midi packs on the other hand are readily available, made in =
the UK
> and most likely more cost effective per channel controlled, and at =
1000
> watts=20
> per channel easily beat any X-10 dimmer for power handling.=20
>=20
> Any further info you have on your software and design would be very
> interesting.
>=20
> Regards
>=20
> Keith
>=20
> Keith Doxey
> http://www.btinternet.com/~krazy.keith
> Krazy Keith's World of DIY Home Automation
>=20
>=20
> Any X.10 gurus out there???
>=20
> The last time I looked at X.10 for lighting it was fairly limited in =
terms
> of its dimming capabilities. In particular, you couldn't go from zero
=
to
> an
> arbitrary setting (say 70%). Instead, you had to go all the way on, =
and
> then
> dim back to the required state.
>=20
> This proved to be unnaceptable for a current client (who is himself a
> lighting-designer), because he needed to be able to go straight to =
set dim
> levels at night.
>=20
> We went for a whole set of NJD MIDI lighting controllers, which not =
only
> can
> be given fancy fade effects through a cheap PC/soundcard combo, but =
will
> also take the kind of high-impedance loads that in-line halogen =
dimmers
> present. It actually worked surprisingly well, considering that we =
thought
> we might have to end up using DMX kit which is rather more expensive.
=
Of
> course, there was a significant amount of programming work involved =
in
> interfacing the (MIDI) lighting control back to the HA software.
>=20
> Clearly, doing everything through X.10 would cut down tremendously on
=
the
> workload, and allow us to use a lot more off-the-shelf components...
>=20
> Does anyone have experience/views on this? HA Consultancy isn't my
> full-time
> job (yet).
>=20
> =
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