DLite Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 I recently had a dozen switch rockers re-engraved with different labels. Compared side by side to my older engraved switches, they look identical when the backlight is off. But, I swear that the new engravings looks worse than the old ones when backlights are on. I copied the same backlight and LED settings from the old switches to, but that didn't help. It's almost as if the engraving on the new switches didn't go all the way through for some portions of the letters. Weirdly, when I take pictures of the backlit switches side by side, the photos look identical, even though to my naked eye, the difference is clear. I'm wondering if this was installation error by my electrician, a bad batch, or just my imagination. As far as installation error goes, the engraved switches didn't come with any installation instructions, and my electrician seemed to think the installation process was obvious, but I'm wondering if he failed to take off some kind of a protective coating or something? Has anybody else experienced this issue with newer engravings? Or, maybe I am just going crazy.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DLite Posted March 12, 2023 Author Share Posted March 12, 2023 11 hours ago, DLite said: I recently had a dozen switch rockers re-engraved with different labels. Compared side by side to my older engraved switches, they look identical when the backlight is off. But, I swear that the new engravings looks worse than the old ones when backlights are on. I copied the same backlight and LED settings from the old switches to, but that didn't help. It's almost as if the engraving on the new switches didn't go all the way through for some portions of the letters. Weirdly, when I take pictures of the backlit switches side by side, the photos look identical, even though to my naked eye, the difference is clear. I'm wondering if this was installation error by my electrician, a bad batch, or just my imagination. As far as installation error goes, the engraved switches didn't come with any installation instructions, and my electrician seemed to think the installation process was obvious, but I'm wondering if he failed to take off some kind of a protective coating or something? Has anybody else experienced this issue with newer engravings? Or, maybe I am just going crazy.... I notice that the new engraved switches have a white plastic piece that sits behind the engraved label, in the rear of the switch -- see the attached picture. I don't remember this being present on the old engraved switches, and I'm wondering if it cuts out some of the backlighting from flowing through to the engraved label. Is this piece part of a new design feature, or has it always been like this? And, if it is new, is it possible to remove this piece without damaging the switch? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted March 12, 2023 Share Posted March 12, 2023 1 hour ago, DLite said: I notice that the new engraved switches have a white plastic piece that sits behind the engraved label, in the rear of the switch -- see the attached picture. I don't remember this being present on the old engraved switches, and I'm wondering if it cuts out some of the backlighting from flowing through to the engraved label. Is this piece part of a new design feature, or has it always been like this? And, if it is new, is it possible to remove this piece without damaging the switch? These are part of the engravings for years and improve the light quality. I would not recommend removing them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DLite Posted March 13, 2023 Author Share Posted March 13, 2023 4 hours ago, msgreenf said: These are part of the engravings for years and improve the light quality. I would not recommend removing them. Good to know. I will not mess with that then. I did finally find a photo angle that illustrates the issue I'm seeing in real life. Check out this photo, and note that the new switch is on the right and the old one is on the left. Notice that the status LED is brighter on the newer (righthand) switch, but the backlit lettering is really crummy looking. This is in spite of the right switch following the ambient sensor on the left, and both switches using the same LED/backlight profile. Is something defective here, or am I overlooking a configuration element? I'm seeing the same thing across the board with this crop of new switches and engraved faceplates -- about 10 of them -- so I am wondering if I am just misconfiguring them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 Is this an old dimmer that you are just engravin? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DLite Posted March 13, 2023 Author Share Posted March 13, 2023 Just now, msgreenf said: Is this an old dimmer that you are just engravin? No, it's new. To be clear, the one on the right is a brand-new (non-dimming) switch with a newly engraved faceplate. The one on the left is an old non-dimming switch with an old, engraved faceplate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DLite Posted March 13, 2023 Author Share Posted March 13, 2023 No, it's new. To be clear, the one on the right is a brand-new (non-dimming) switch with a newly engraved faceplate. The one on the left is an old non-dimming switch with an old, engraved faceplate. The new, right hand one is set up as a 2-button keypad, while the older one is not. I have no idea why that would make a difference though.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C4 User Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 It’s not clear to me if the engraving changed or if the new buttons used a different font. Either way, I would ask your dealer to get new buttons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DLite Posted March 14, 2023 Author Share Posted March 14, 2023 10 hours ago, C4 User said: It’s not clear to me if the engraving changed or if the new buttons used a different font. Either way, I would ask your dealer to get new buttons. Done! Thanks for the confirmation. The interesting thing is that I had two other engraved switches that were delivered just a month earlier, and they were perfectly fine and absolutely identical to all the other engraved switches in the house. I'm wondering if I just got a bad batch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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