Wiser vs. Colour C-Touch - differences?

Hi Guys,

Been out of the game for a while. Good to see the forum still going strong, keep up the good work and a happy 2013 to all!

Basically my Color CT screen crapped itself a few weeks back after some sort of weird utility power supply 'over voltage' situation. (none of my surge diverters went, but around 50% of equipment with switch-mode power supplies were dead, and also lost numerous other pieces of kit around the house, which was really timely in the lead up to the festive season)

Anyway, long story short, my CTC power supply (the original mkI type) died, have since replaced it, the unit now fires up OK, but wont connect to c-bus on com 3, have new flashcard sent over from tech support, this did not help.

FYI also lost 1 off ELV unit and the remainder of my c-bus network has been unstable (but mostly still usable) ever since, but more on that below.

Since the CTC has become the 'nerve center' of my system, and houses a fair amount of logic, (as well as a bucket load of scenes and schedules) and with it now dead, i have been using PICED on one of my desktop PC's, connected to c-bus in an attempt to get by. But i am now getting all sorts of unusual behavior from the logic (this could be due to the unstable network, but not sure).

Anyway getting back to the point, being slightly cash strapped right now i was thinking an easy way out of not keeping a desktop PC running 24/7 and not having all the logic functioning as it did in the CTC, could i simply add a wiser to the system in the interim? does it do *everything* the CTC can do in terms of functionality? or are there some limitations, or possibly improvements? (i expect there may be limitations of some description, but don't know what)
Can it also be the 'stand-by' or 'master' if i can manage to resurrect the CTC (in the same manner as two CTC's can), also already having wireless devices, what happens to the existing wireless gateway i have, can it simply be a range extender somehow?

Alternatively is there any other options i am failing to consider here to get similar functionality back. (maybe even homegate on a touchscreen PC)

I cant seem to find to much in terms of functionality description, only nice glossy marketing material on the www.

And for those interested, it seems PICED cannot monitor or control HVAC system IO, and some other limited system IO, and HVAC Actuator application functions, which is why i'm pretty keen to get some sort of logic engine up and running again.

Love to hear your thoughts and experiences.

Cheers

Grant

 

Hi Grant,

There is a summarising comparison of the technical capabilities of the various C-Bus home automation touch screens, Wiser, and PAC on this page: http://www.cleverhome.com.au/Clipsal-C-Bus-Touchscreen-PAC-Wiser.shtml

If you need more details, these are available in the PICED help that is available after you install the free PICED software.

 

Thanks Brendan,

Your summary was great, but digging deeper...This is what i was looking for...

Would still love to hear all your experiences with wiser...

Thanks Grant

 

C-Bus CTouch versus Wiser.

Hi Grant,

As you are aware, the Wiser is not a replacement for the 6.4" colour touch screen home controller, or vise versa - and most of the differences are covered in the above postings.

In terms of experience with the Wiser, we find that the prevalence of wireless smart phones and Internet tablets makes providing an IP home automation user interface a must-have in most home automation installations. We would normally include a Wiser controller, and then determine what other touch screen controllers are required depending upon the layout of the home and the home owner's requirements and preferences.

We normally prefer to use C-Bus touch screens, a Wiser or PAC, rather than a PC and homegate software, because these dedicated home automation controllers are more stable than a PC when they are properly installed and programmed.

(BTW: You might also take into consideration the recent release of the new Version 3 6.4" colour touch screen controller, with the new features and benefits provided here in the post of 19/12/2012: https://plus.google.com/b/100230119212743158910/100230119212743158910/posts )