Triple Tap transform Dimmer into Volume?

[BrettB0727]

I was just thinking how there are a ton of places where I have dimmers and would like to control volume, but I don't necessarily want to install a 2-6 button in addition to the dimmer.

Does anyone do any programming where say a Triple Tap on a dimmer will turn that dimmer into a Volume control for a period of time and then switch it back to a dimmer?

[ILoveC4]

Yes, I've done this. I'm about to "hit the hay", but I'll explain it sometime tomorrow.

[henniae]

This always looks like a good idea on the surface but I think it will be more hassle than it is worth. It is much simpler to have a 3 or 6 button keypad with dedicated functionality. Two buttons can be volume control and the other buttons can be used for a variety of things like source control and room on/off.

[kevvo]

The most annoying part of double-taps and triple-taps is how the load is always affected by ANY tap. So if the light is off, any double (or triple) tap up will turn the light on slightly. Has anyone figured out a way around this?

[ILoveC4]

The most annoying part of double-taps and triple-taps is how the load is always affected by ANY tap. So if the light is off, any double (or triple) tap up will turn the light on slightly. Has anyone figured out a way around this?

That's why you program it on both the bottom AND top. If the light is off, use the bottom, if it's on, use the top.

The other thing is you can completely disconnect the load, then have, for case of example, a double tap turn it in to a light switch x amount of time, and a triple tap turn it into a volume control for x amount of time.

[BrettB0727]

The most annoying part of double-taps and triple-taps is how the load is always affected by ANY tap. So if the light is off' date=' any double (or triple) tap up will turn the light on slightly. Has anyone figured out a way around this?[/quote']

That's why you program it on both the bottom AND top. If the light is off, use the bottom, if it's on, use the top.

The other thing is you can completely disconnect the load, then have, for case of example, a double tap turn it in to a light switch x amount of time, and a triple tap turn it into a volume control for x amount of time.

That is definitely a great solution. There are definitely rooms that I have that I am just not willing to put in an additional switch, for example the bathroom, or smaller rooms that already have 2 switches.

ILoveC4,

Would you mind explaining a little more of how you do this?(or perhaps just a screenshot of your programming) Also, is there a way to put this programming sequence in one location, so that it is easy to apply to other switches later and also easy to make changes in one location instead of on each switch?

Thanks for the help!

- Brett

[BrettB0727]

I'm still looking for some insight on this one.

Every method I think of, seems to make this way more complicated than it needs to be.

[ILoveC4]

Sorry, I will get to this....I've just been busy.

Travel, death in the family, crazy time at work, etc....

I promise I will get to it, just trying to find the time.

[pstuart]

There would be a couple ways to do what you want to do.

Create a variable and a timer.

Variable is RoomAisSwitch (true/false)

On triple tap, toggle variable for room.

On up / down action, check variable for its state, is true, ramp up/down light(s), if false, ramp (up/down) volume.

create timer for x secs you want it to be active. On triple tap, start timer (if not already started, or restart) on timer expire or stop, toggle variable (or set it to true)

Other option is to add a delay option to triple tap action to reset variable back to true.

Just my two cents, not actual programming, just a thought.

[BrettB0727]

Sorry to hear about the death, Dan.

pstuart, thanks for the tips. That definitely does help.

I have it figured out for the most part. The main way I think my programming could improve is modularity. The minute I decide to add the programming to another dimmer, I am screwed... Is there perhaps a good way to say "Enable Triple Tap Volume Option" for a new dimmer? Instead, of basically redoing the same programing for the new dimmer and just changing a few names/variables.

[pstuart]

Don't think you'll be able to do this as a macro, since you can't pass in values to the macro.

However, copy and paste is your friend. You'll just have to change the dimmer after you paste.

[tun6twista]

Here is what I have done...

Keep in mind I don't have a control4 amplifier.

On the press of the dimmer or switch I set the variable of the rooms light to the current state of the light.

(this will remember the level or state of the light when the button was pressed, before anything changed)

I do this on both the top and bottom buttons.

I then put the programming wherever I want it. (double tap, button 1,2,3... etc.)

I set the light state to whatever the variable is, then I pulse the volume up (or down) on my receiver 5 times.

Besides the light turning off or on when you initially press the programmed button this works great. The volume changes, and after a second or two the light will return to the level it was at when you pressed the button.

If I want it louder I just do it again. Hope this helps to get the wheels turning. Thanks!

~Eric

[wppinell]

Dan,

Can you please let us know how to disconnect / reconnect the load from the dimmer? In the dimmer properties window, there is an options section with two checkboxes: buttons attached and LED attached. Is this controllable in the programming section?

Thanks

Bill

[ILoveC4]

Bill, thanks for taking this question out of your email putting it back online here in the forum. I think it's definitely info everyone can use.

So, here's why I asked you about the ability to check/uncheck the "buttons attached" box. What that does is basically turns the dimmer/switch in to a two button keypad. It will still control the load based on programming, but the top button will no longer automatically turn it on, and the bottom button will no longer automatically turn it off. If you see up earlier in the thread, that was cited as a (valid) concern when using a dimmer/switch for multiple things.

I want to add that I don't think this is an ideal solution because it is probably something your wife/kids will struggle to get their head around, and guests will DEFINITELY not understand it. I'll cover this for now assuming you have some good general knowledge. If you need further detail, let me know.

So the first you do is UNCHECK the buttons attached box.

Now create a BOOLEAN VARIABLE and call it something like "KITCHEN DIMMER VOLUME CONTROL MODE".

Now you need to set something up to TOGGLE that variable on/off. This is how you will change it from a dimmer/switch, to a volume control. It could be double/triple tap of that device, a custom button on your SR250, etc...doesn't really matter. Just find SOME action that will TOGGLE that variable on and off.

Now, under programming, you will need to create two conditional lines for every dimmer action you want to do anything.

IE: "When KITCHEN DIMMER bottom buttons is pressed:

IF VARIABLE 'KITCHEN DIMMER VOLUME CONTROL MODE' is TRUE

->START VOLUME DOWN

IF VARIABLE 'KITCHEN DIMMER VOLUME CONTROL MODE' is FALSE

->Ramp Kitchen Dimmer to 0 over 2000 milliseconds

Does that make sense? Here's what I would do. When you're in volume control mode, I would have the press of the top button START VOLUME UP and the release of the top button STOP VOLUME UP. For the bottom button do the same thing, but with volume down. When you're in light control mode have a press of the top button ramp the light up to your desired level, and have a press of the bottom button ramp the light to off. This way, when in lighting control mode, it will INSTANTLY turn the light on and off...no .5 or 1 second pause while it waits for a "tap count" to make sure you're not doing a double or triple tap.

Couple of other things I would do. I would have the LED's on the dimmer change color when VOLUME CONTROL is active, to serve as an easy indicator. I would also have the VOLUME CONTROL variable reset to false when the audio source is turned off. I would probably also do it after a certain period of time. When the variable changes, if the variable is true, start the timer KITCHEN VOLUME MODE TIMER. When that timer expires, if the variable is still true, set the variable to false.

If you need any further help or more in-depth tutorial let me know and I'll see what I can do.

[wppinell]

Dan,

Thanks for the explanation.

-Bill

[Letran]

This always looks like a good idea on the surface but I think it will be more hassle than it is worth. It is much simpler to have a 3 or 6 button keypad with dedicated functionality. Two buttons can be volume control and the other buttons can be used for a variety of things like source control and room on/off.

I read this post a while back. I happen to agree with Allan plus I have a 6 button keypad in most rooms anyway. But just the other day I thought of a much simpler solution that is working well for me.

Most rooms in the house have at least 2 separate switchs or dimmers some rooms even have 3 gangs. (one switch for the main light, one for the potlights and some have a lamp switch) Seldom of course that all lights will be turned on at the same time.

Very simply I just added a press release volume ramp up and down on each switch for that room. This eliminates the douple tap triple tap programming which gets complicated at times ( And I have already used my multi-taps for other programming)

ALL LIGHT SWITCHES IN THE GANG

Top Button

Press- Start volume ramp UP

Release-Stop volume ramp UP

Bottom Button

Press- Start volume ramp DOWN

Release-Stop volume ramp DOWN

So each one becomes a volume control for that room. If I want to put volume up on any room I use the switch which is already ON, If I want it down I use the switch that is OFF. Not to affect the lighting in the room. And saves me from looking for the remote. Having volume control right there at all times is convenient. Best of all very userful friendly to the non-techies (No multi taps)

Thanks to the original poster that gave me the idea. It is a workable solution that works well for me so I'd like to share it.