Changing Scenes

I had a C-Bus system installed into my house about 2 years ago. At the time the brief was mainly to keep everything simple so all could use it without needing an induction course for all visitors!!!! The electrician installed it constantly trying to push for more features to the system which I resisted. Since the initial system was installed he has been back a couple of times to alter scenes, however he is a nightmare to contact never returns calls and the consquence is that I don't want to use him anymore. It seems daft getting someone out each time to alter settings so I was wondering is there an easy way I can change settings etc... myself. As you can see from my name I am not the most techy of people although I can fly my way round a laptop and my smarthome (so not totally useless). I do not have touch screens etc... I have got a cable to link to the system though even if I dont have the software! I dont need to do anythging major just alter the odd button here and there.

Please help!

Thanks

 

Hi,

You can always download the Toolkit and Piced yourself and have a go but depending on your ability you could do more damage than good, and you'd need to give a bit more information on the equipment you have.If you want to just change a level within an existing scene it's pretty easy and could be explained, but you may want to consider getting a local integrator to come and change the scene for you and ask if he/she would mind you watching the process. If it all looks more than you want to take on then at least you have a new contact.
If you regularly want to change levels within scene's and depending on budget you may want to think about adding a Touch screen which can then be used safely and easily by yourself to alter levels and looks cool to boot. Have a look at the new colour spectrum screens, I fitted one last week and the customer is loving playing around with it. The other option would be a wiser which would enable you to make some changes but also use your smartphone to control the system.

 

Thanks for the help.
Is there not an app or something simalar so that I can use my ipad as a touchscreen to save paying ?1500 for one?

 

If the scene keys you have are configured as normal scene keys, and if the feature is enabled (it's enabled by default and is usually left enabled by installers), you can do some basic editing of scenes from any scene key in normal C-Bus key units (Neo, Saturn, Etc.).

You need to be able to control the level of the the lights from some units other than the scene key you are trying to edit.

If your installation fits this description, you can change lighting levels and change the lights you control for any scene key without the need for any software tools.

Hold down the scene key for longer than 10 seconds. The LED in the key should start to flash slowly with 50% on, 50% off.

While flashing, any light levels in the scene can be changed via the other units / other keys.
If you turn on a new light, it will be added to the scene providing there is enough room in the units memory.
If you double-click the scene key while it is flashing, the scene can be cleared. You can then define a completely new scene by turning on or changing levels of lights you want to include. Note that only changed lights are added to a scene, so if a light was ON through a scene edit, and was not part of the original scene or the scene was cleared with a double-click, that light will not be part of the new/ edited scene. To include the light, you would have to turn it off then on again, or at least change its level while in scene edit mode (slow flash of scene key)

A long press of the scene key will return it to normal operation.

I'm pretty sure all this is in the documentation that comes with the units somewhere.

 

I think that anyone who is reasonably savvy with computers or IT equipment in general could re-program a C-Bus system.

The software for configuring the various C-Bus products is freely downloadable from the Clipsal website. The primary software utility for re-programming C-Bus devices is called C-Bus Toolkit, which is free.

C-Bus operates using global variables to share status information. These global variables are called Group Addresses. When your installer originally configured the system he would have given these group addresses names such as "dinging room" or "kitchen" but these names do not live on the system; they are stored in a database on the PC used to configure the system. One of the challenges you will face without this database is that everything will just have a number, not a name. Groups can be toggled on and off within Toolkit so with a little patience you can determine what everything is, and re-name it, but it will take a little time. The easiest thing here would be to get your original installer to send you the Toolkit database. After all, it's your system and you paid for it.

Before deciding if re-programming the system is something you want to learn how to do, I suggest you have a read through the training material from the website. It's freely downloadable, split into Basic, Intermediate and Advanced, and will teach you all the basics. If you get overwhelmed you can stop there, but if you find it interesting then it's worth the effort to learn.

Regarding the app, yes, there is such a system. You need to purchase a unit called a Wiser and configure it for your system. That will serve up a flash-based user interface to any flash-capable web browser. You can also communicate with the Wiser using an iphone app. If you re-configure your system to move the storage location of your scenes from your switches to the Wiser, you can then edit them from the Wiser web browser interface.

 

Hello Newman
I havent had a lot to do with Wiser.
Can it function as a CNI for PICED, Toolkit etc?

 

I should have read the user guide before posting that.

 

The only "gotcha" here is that the Wiser stops acting as a Wiser when it's being used as a Toolkit/PICED interface. Once Toolkit/PICED disconnect from the Wiser, normal Wiser operation is restored.

 

Hi,

I have a number of clients in the south west and are often down that neck of the woods, so to speak. If I can be of any assistance to you, private message me and i'll forward you my contact details.

Paul