"Varilight" Dimmer Switches (IR, not X10)
Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2005 6:56 am
I just got some room lighting working with dimmers, controlled by a JP1 remote, and I am posting my experiences here in case it helps anyone else (this wasn't the first solution I tried, but I wish it had been, it's so simple).
This is probably of UK interest only, as the items are 200-250V only, and in the normal UK plateswitch format (i.e. 85mm x 85mm).
The dimmerswitches are made by Varilight, and the cheapest place I found them in the UK is TLC-Direct.
The beauty of them is that they are capable of learning codes from your remote (so you don't need a JP1 remote, but of course you will need a button that is truly spare, or something else will get operated at the same time !). With a JP1 remote I constructed some codes that were unlike anything else I have, using the NEC1 protocol with a "Device Number" of 123, "Sub Device" of 12, "Parm" of 34.
The learning process is simple. They are touch-operated (for non-remote use). Just tap the touch button 6 times in quick sucession and it's in learning mode, now operate the remote control button you want to use, once again to confirm, and it's done.
The sensitivity is huge, which suits me, as I have them hidden on top of a cabinet, seeing only IR reflected from the ceiling. But they still work with the remote (6131) in another room, not necessarily pointed towards the doorway, which is a bit excessive, really.
In fact the sensitivity was a problem when programming them, as I had a notebook PC on at the same time. I had realised that it was learing the IR from the PC's IR port before I had a chance to press the remote control button. So I covered the PC's IR port with a book, but still there was enough IR escaping to foul up the learning process !
They come in 1 or 2 gang, a range of wattages from 250 to 600, many finishes aside from the "standard" white. There is a way of making them work in a two-way switch arrangement (not a true 2-way switch circuit, but using the same number of wires), which I haven't tried yet, but I'll report here when I have.
Best of all (for my application), they work well with transformers for low-voltage lighting ("dimmable" electronic transformers, that is). The majority of dimmerswitches currently available still seem to exclude this application.
Operation is like other touch-control dimmers, in that a brief press toggles on or off, a longer press ramps the brightness up and down. Herein lies the only change I could wish for - if it used separate buttons for on, off and brightness, then it would be amenable to control by a timer-controlled remote for security lighting (without a danger of getting out of step). But that's a vain hope, it almost certainly uses the Siemens SLB0587 chip, the single-input operation of which is an obvious choice for the touch-button operation.
This is probably of UK interest only, as the items are 200-250V only, and in the normal UK plateswitch format (i.e. 85mm x 85mm).
The dimmerswitches are made by Varilight, and the cheapest place I found them in the UK is TLC-Direct.
The beauty of them is that they are capable of learning codes from your remote (so you don't need a JP1 remote, but of course you will need a button that is truly spare, or something else will get operated at the same time !). With a JP1 remote I constructed some codes that were unlike anything else I have, using the NEC1 protocol with a "Device Number" of 123, "Sub Device" of 12, "Parm" of 34.
The learning process is simple. They are touch-operated (for non-remote use). Just tap the touch button 6 times in quick sucession and it's in learning mode, now operate the remote control button you want to use, once again to confirm, and it's done.
The sensitivity is huge, which suits me, as I have them hidden on top of a cabinet, seeing only IR reflected from the ceiling. But they still work with the remote (6131) in another room, not necessarily pointed towards the doorway, which is a bit excessive, really.
In fact the sensitivity was a problem when programming them, as I had a notebook PC on at the same time. I had realised that it was learing the IR from the PC's IR port before I had a chance to press the remote control button. So I covered the PC's IR port with a book, but still there was enough IR escaping to foul up the learning process !
They come in 1 or 2 gang, a range of wattages from 250 to 600, many finishes aside from the "standard" white. There is a way of making them work in a two-way switch arrangement (not a true 2-way switch circuit, but using the same number of wires), which I haven't tried yet, but I'll report here when I have.
Best of all (for my application), they work well with transformers for low-voltage lighting ("dimmable" electronic transformers, that is). The majority of dimmerswitches currently available still seem to exclude this application.
Operation is like other touch-control dimmers, in that a brief press toggles on or off, a longer press ramps the brightness up and down. Herein lies the only change I could wish for - if it used separate buttons for on, off and brightness, then it would be amenable to control by a timer-controlled remote for security lighting (without a danger of getting out of step). But that's a vain hope, it almost certainly uses the Siemens SLB0587 chip, the single-input operation of which is an obvious choice for the touch-button operation.