C-Bus Course

["Nigel Giddings" <nigel.giddings@xxxxxxx>]

I attended the first course after Niall's departure.

There were a few teething problems, including accommodation...

Having played with X-10 for a number of years I was looking for
something more robust. I could not convince my wife that X-10 had
benefits over traditional switches, this was caused, in the main, by the
time delays that have been discussed.

CBus is great, I am a fan. However, on the downside there is no central
control. I currently use Homeseer with X10 which I think is great. If I
could integrate CBus with Homeseer I would have everything I want, at
least until I thought of something else.

The architecture of CBus, distributed rather than central control, is
also its strength. With careful planning there is no single point of
failure (Supply of Bus power needs careful planning).

Attending the course is well worthwhile, if only to understand the
limitations of the logic and the various switches available...

I also agree with the cost issues, I think that CBus is slightly more
expensive than a similar X10 system but better value for money if you
consider all aspects of the products.

I am lucky to be doing a new build so fitting is easy, retrofitting
would be more involved although they are developing a set of compatible
wireless products.

HTH

Nigel

http://primrosecottage.no-ip.com



-----Original Message-----
From: Doogie Brodie [mailto:ukhad@xxxxxxx]
Sent: 04 December 2003 13:17
To: ukha_d@xxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [ukha_d] X10 - how ?

Ross McKillop wrote:

> What does the C-Bus course entail... sounds quite interesting (and
what
> free stuff? :P)

C-Bus course covers the basics of wiring for C-Bus and programming
C-Bus. In the course you build a demo board of C-Bus components and LV
lights. You then make faults in other people's boards and troubleshoot.
At the end of the course, you go home with:-

A DIN rail mount dimmer (normally 4 channel 2A, the ones on my course
were 8 channel 1A)
A 4 key E2000 input unit (4 button 1 gang "lightswitch")
A light level sensor
An indoor PIR (not 360 degree ones)
The C-Bus programming software
4 LV lights and transformers
A fantastic bit of wood it's all screwed/glued onto
The knowledge in how to design, wire, program and troubleshoot C-Bus
installs.

When I did the course, Niall was running them, but he's now away doing
his own thing. Not spoken to anyone yet who's done a course after Niall
left.

HTH

--
Doogie