Same key input, switching different groups?

I'm sure I saw some discussion on this, but can't find it now.

Can ayone think of a way for me to switch different group addresses (one of two possible) depending on how a particular (NEO) key input button is pressed?

Specifically, I want a short press to operate one output, but a long press of the same button to operate a different output.

I don't have a PAC, but I do have a b&w ctouch (not that that helps much).

Would appreciate anyones thoughts on this one.

 

You can make one switch control either one group or two groups, depending on the way it is pressed by taking advantage of the fact that timers are set-up according to block, and not by key.

You could assign the long press for example, to start a 1 second timer with expiry command recall (100%), so the timed group will turn on. Meanwhile, the long press on another group will issue start but if the timer value is set to 0 or if expiry command is idle, nothing will happen to that group. A short release of the same key could then apply any normal function to both groups.

There probably is a way to do more, but this might get you started.


Don

 

Hmm, that's a tricky one.

The best I can come up with, without some fancy logic like a PAC, is to get it to change between having one group address on or another one, i.e. a short press of the key turns on group 1 and off group 2, vice versa for a long press. This is also assuming that the output unit is a Relay and has turn-on thresholds.

 

Scenes

This is possible to do using scenes. Write your required scenes into your touch screen and then trigger them using different levels from your key input.

short press = toggle.
long press = recall 1.
recall 1 = 50%

group adress at 100% (short press) trigger scene 1 (GA1 on)
group address at 50% (long press) trigger scene 2 (GA2 on)
group address at 0% ( short press after either initial short press or long press) trigger scene 3 (GA1 off and GA2 off)

Hope this helps, if its not clear enough let me know and I will try to clarify it when I have a bit more time.

Regards,

Peter Brown

PS you dont have to use trigger control if there are other keys an the same plate that you want to leave on lighting control. PICED will warn you about this but you can ignore this and it will work fine, just dont use your scene trigger any where else.

 

a few good suggestions, but it always make life difficult with complicated operation. for example, if you recall a group to 50%, the next toggle must turn it to zero and then next one is 100%...that means scene 3 is a must between scene 1 and scene 2....

with timers, you can, say, switch on and off GA1 and 2 with short press, and Turn on GA1 only with long press. But there you have no "only GA1 off"...Also you need NEO switch with firmware 1.6.0 or higher to have correct operation on multi-group control....

So, it always come back to what exactly you need at that site. The basic idea is that you can't have a key to turn on and off GA1 only with short press and turn on and off GA2 only with long press. Even if it does (with PAC), it make life difficult for user to operation different lights with the same key.

 

As wanricky said - Even if it were easy to assign 2 GAs onto different press types of the one button, I also reckon it would be bloody hard (for the user) to remember how to operate both the scenarios.

It's bad enough trying to remember what each button does on a 6 or 8 gang switch anyway - you gotta love seeing clients do that C-Bus "push a few buttons until I find it" switch shuffle. Why is it that many integrators use 8 gang plates instead of 2x4's placed more sensibly??

Anyway if you need to hide something like a Panic or something behind a normal button, perhaps it'd be better with the idea someone told me the other day... using a special coloured dolly (button) for the "special function", and making it only function on a long press.