Wiser+iPad vs. Touch Screens

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by garcon, Nov 30, 2011.

  1. garcon

    garcon

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    Hi fellow C-Bus gurus,

    My parents are building a new house in Malaysia with C-Bus to control all lightings. We'll only have relays, dimmers & changeover relays for motorised blinds. Oh, we're getting Wiser for sure!

    I really liked the C-Touch Colour Touch Screen (Not Spectrum model), but not sure If we should get it for the price. The touch screen is almost A$4000 here but is it worth paying for?

    Questions:

    1. What can I do on a C-Touch that I can't with an iPad?
    2. Is there a maximum number of scenes that I can trigger from an iPad?
    3. is C-Touch an overkill for a basic C-Bus installation?

    Many thanks for your feedback, I hope to be convinced NOT to get a C-Touch.
     
    garcon, Nov 30, 2011
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  2. garcon

    kjayakumar

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    Colour C-Touch is an in-wall touchscreen that is capable of providing the fully flexible C-Bus user interface that can be created with PICED. The PICED download is free and you can simulate what you will see with the example projects that are provided. The iPad is a mobile device that is combined with a Wiser in order to run the Wiser user interface. You can have multiple iPads connected to one Wiser. These two products (C-Touch and Wiser) are complementary rather than competing devices. Note that the Wiser user interface is a fixed function user interface, you can not create custom buttons or custom map based user interfaces with it. Colour C-Touch provides greater user interface flexibility. So it really depends on your specific needs. I would recommend you download PICED, and experiment with the simulations that it has for both Colour C-Touch and for Wiser to get a feel for what you can do.
     
    kjayakumar, Nov 30, 2011
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  3. garcon

    garcon

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    Downloading PICED and C-Bus Toolkit right now. Thanks for the suggestion!
     
    garcon, Nov 30, 2011
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  4. garcon

    garcon

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    Hi there,

    After much thinking I think I don't need a custom interface made with PICED. However I'm not sure if the followings can be done without a C-Touch:

    -Creating a scene (How and where do I create one?)
    -Trigger a scene on iPhone wiser app (eg turn off all lights in the house then turn off master bedroom lights in 5 seconds)
    -Creating logic (eg. Using PIR to trigger welcome lights between 7.30pm and 7.00am)

    Please enlighten me if you could, thank you very much.
    -
     
    garcon, Dec 3, 2011
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  5. garcon

    ashleigh Moderator

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    Scenes can vary in complexity - for simple scenes of a few groups (think lighting circuits), then most standard key input units can store the scene so all you need to do is trigger it.

    (More info on scenes: http://www.cbusforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=439)

    Of course, many other units can store scenes as well - it all comes down to what you are trying to achieve - but in general simpler is better.

    Once you have a scene created you need to trigger it - and again this can be done from many devices. Logic can trigger scenes, as can most key units (some very old ones can too, but with limitations, and really you don't need to be worried about this technicality.)

    Wiser can run logic, store scenes, and allow remote (ie internet) control. Wiser does not HAVE to store the scenes or the logic for you to be able to use those things, provided they exist somewhere else in the network. So for example you might use a PAC, or a touchscreen to do some of those things. Or a key unit (but remember that they cant do logic).
     
    ashleigh, Dec 4, 2011
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  6. garcon

    garcon

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    Ashleigh,

    My questions are now completely answered, wow!

    Thank you so much, now I can save some money without a C-Touch, Wiser is all I need.
     
    garcon, Dec 4, 2011
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  7. garcon

    cbusnewbie

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    My Clipsal Colour Touch screen has blown - after 6 years. Since then every piece of technolgy has come down in price. $3000au - $4000au for a new replacement is a bit steep.

    I'm looking at getting a 5200PG Wiser Home Controller and running the same functionality from my laptop, desktop.

    How much is the 5200PG Wiser Home Controller ???
     
    cbusnewbie, Dec 4, 2011
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  8. garcon

    garcon

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    garcon, Dec 4, 2011
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  9. garcon

    NickD Moderator

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    Why are you using changeover relays for the motorised blinds? Have you seen the C-Bus Shutter Relay? It is designed for controlling motorised blinds (assuming you are using blinds with direct mains connections to the motor up and down windings). It is better suited to the job than the changeover relay, and is also simpler to control.

    Nick
     
    NickD, Dec 5, 2011
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