Leviton RS485 somfy ILT blinds and cbus with control 4 solution required...

[Midnight1982]

Hey guys 

 

Doing a control 4 job at the moment that has leviton installed with rs232 control from leviton to cbus module then cbus module to control 4 controller via rs323 serial cable. 

The blinds are currently controlled by cbus dummy addresses using the rs232 control to leviton panel. there is a rj12 bus system that blinds are connected to around the house. 

I've got the leviton driver installed however its limited and doesn't show output relay for all the blinds. there is some blinds of the actually board itself but there rest are linked to a bus around several access panels around the house - do i need a link bridge of some description? bond bridge? they are setup as somfy ILT blinds in most cases through the lighting units in leviton software - as leviton is no longer i can't get any support on the product.

I've tried to program cbus commands in control 4 to operate the blinds to which doesn't work - or the system crashes and required a reset - the commands just flash on and off , What options have a got to use rs485 blinds and levition? there is around 20-30 blinds around house , can't run new cables as it's double story house with foam sealed roof cos its right on the water.

 

 

 

[moirons]

Somfy has a C4 compatible blind controller.  We are about to install it so will see how it goes for ours blinds and shutters.

 

SOMFY CONTROL4 MODULE 1870533

[pbir]

If your Somfy ILT blinds are indeed controlled by the Leviton/HAI Omni security panel, then our Leviton/HAI IP driver, available on DriverCentral, could probably help you, as it has a Control4 driver to handle such Somfy ILT blinds (which Leviton/HAI actually treats as lights).  The only important requirements are that your Leviton/HAI panel be IP capable (our driver only speaks IP, not RS232) and be running Leviton/HAI firmware V3.0 or higher.  The driver has a 7-day free trial period for you to test it out and see if it will solve your issue.

Otherwise, the new Somfy Digital Motor Interface (ZigBee) might be a solution.  I do not know, however, if it will support your type of ILT motors.  The driver itself is certified and free in the Control4 Online Driver Database, but you will need one such interface per motor.

[Midnight1982]

Thanks i am indeed running the omni driver and its working via IP. however i cant see the fields to control the blinds, again the firmware i can't see where to check this, have pc access software on my pc and can log in to see all the details of the blinds etc. 

 

The blinds are hard wired thru rj11/12 connectors on a rs485/rs232 bus, i don't know much on leviton panel as i havn't had much exposure to it. 

 

i have attached a few screen shot of the blind details in pc access

[pbir]

In our Leviton/HAI driver, follow the process outlined for Somfy ILT blinds:

1. HAI manages the Somfy ILT blinds as lights.  Name such units in PCAccess with a name starting with $ or > such as '>Guest BO W' and reload into the HAI panel.  When you run the Action 'Update Unit/Lighting Names' in our driver, these will be imported and an HAI_LIGHTING connection will be created for each such Somfy ILT Blind.  The alternative is to set our driver's Property 'Prefix for Unit Names' to 'Prefix not required...'.  When you run the Action 'Update Unit/Lighting Names', a lot of new bindings will possibly be created (one for each unit specifically named in PCAccess, which should be OK for your installation), but it frees you from modifying your current unit names in PCAccess.

2. Instead of connecting one of our Lighting drivers to these blind-related HAI_LIGHTING connections, connect our Somfy ILT Blind driver which comes in the download package.

3. You should be able to control the ILT blinds this way.

[Midnight1982]

Thanks for your help i can now see the lighting units , have to go back next week to start the blind programming and see if i can try the somfy ilt blind driver. 

 

 

 

[Midnight1982]

All sorted the drivers and all the bindings worked first go, programmed then off site and tested other day = perfect can adjust the levels as required also which means client and boss both happy.

[pbir]

Thanks for the feedback.  Glad this worked out for you.