WhyPhy

On 7/7/2019 at 9:27 AM, rf9000 said:

Do you have the option to do burial subwoofers or are you just looking for an option for the covered patio as an in-ceiling or inwall?

I agree, burial subs or the James planters would be much better bass performance than either of the in-wall or in-ceiling options. In-ceiling was my only option unfortunately.

1 hour ago, ILoveC4 said:

Interesting. They’re far enough away from the outlets that I don’t think that would matter but maybe it does?

This is something to think about and consider though. Thank you. 

The plugs and switches having different styles and finishes is not something people will notice when they walk into your house, but if you’re like me, it’s all you see once it’s in your brain. For what it’s worth, my wife said “you’re right about the plug plates matching the switch plates - it does look better.” Also, she really disliked the curved C4 plate design  

I think the aesthetic of having matching-design plates on plugs and switches is a bigger impact than having the finishes all match. I other words, snow white switches in gloss white plates or gloss plugs in snow white plates isn’t as big of a deal, so long as the plate styles match  

Availably is the other strike against Snow White. If you’re looking to opportunistically pick up used, gloss white is widely available and snow white is very hard to find. 

The only problem with Snow White is that it’s almost required to use C4 faceplates to get them to match the switches - and it won’t match your wall plugs. I couldn’t find anything else that would match snow white, including lutron snow white (the color seemed right but the texture was noticeably more “grainy” and looked cheap.)

I don’t like the weird sculpted curve of the C4 faceplates. 

Matching the wall plugs was s bigger issue. I have Eaton decora screwless plugs throughout. Gloss white was the only option available at the local lighting distributor - and I probably from Eaton in general. I think the Eaton decora screwless plates  look great on both the plugs and C4 gloss switches. 

I have a mix of gloss white and snow white. While I like Snow White better by themselves, I’m switching all keypad buttons to gloss white to match everything else in the house. 

On 5/29/2019 at 7:35 PM, WhyPhy said:

I’ve been looking at these LEDENET light strips. They are RGB+W+WW and come in IP65 and IP67 waterproofing options. 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07475JKZW/

I've found another option for 5-channel RGB+W+WW LED tape lights: Sowilo Design. They even have a IP67 waterproof option. They aren't just relabeled generic imported lights. They've specifically engineered them for 95+ CRI for white color temperatures of 2200k and 6500k and use high-gauge copper traces to reduce voltage drop for longer runs. Also, a 3-year warranty on the LED strip lights. These are the lights I'm planning to use.

BTW, I have a total of 8 of these Beale Street Audio subs in my house - 2 per room in 4 different rooms. For in-ceiling speakers, they have good base. But I wouldn't call these subwoofers. They don't do much below approximately 38Hz. They are good woofers to supplement other in-ceiling speakers, but are just too small to hit as low as an actual (big) subwoofer.

I tested a couple of these in my home theater and did A/B testing against my 15-inch sealed Velodyne subwoofer. There was no comparison - the Velodyne destroyed the two 8-inch woofers. As expected. I'm not trying to say the Beale Street Audio subs are bad, but you should set expectations for them to perform more like bass woofers in small tower speakers and not as dedicated subwoofers.

In my opinion, the Caseta switches don’t look quite as nice. It also isn’t capable of custom engraving or programed LED colors to indicate state (i.e. red when garage door is open.) But if you’re ok with C4 keypads next to Caseta dimmers, it’s hard to argue against it  

The pico remotes are awesome. 

I agree on reliability. Unfortunately, higher price doesn’t guarantee higher quality. I was looking at some substantially more expensive pro-channel vendors. And then I noticed they appeared to be the exact same LEDs and tape base, and that some of their brightness claims didn’t match the LED specs. I’m not saying LEDENET is super-high reliability, but I had bigger concerns about other higher priced vendors. I’m not sure how to identify more reliable vs. less. 

On 5/27/2019 at 10:22 PM, JEC said:

Does anyone have recommendation for the best quality IP65 RGBW led tape? I will need to connect the tape with wire and thread through or around columns. Thanks!

I’ve been looking at these LEDENET light strips. They are RGB+W+WW and come in IP65 and IP67 waterproofing options. 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07475JKZW/

On 5/26/2019 at 8:53 PM, Pounce said:

You are comparing. You yourself are saying its an alternative. That's comparing.

 

Your setup is not without serious issues. I'm glad you like it and as you can see I run some hardware from Shelly.

 

You are posting in a thread for someones product. Maybe it would be best for you to start a new thread instead of hijacking and trying to steer people away from his solution.

On 5/26/2019 at 9:10 PM, Amr said:

Take it easy on yourself, we are not hijacking anything or competing with anyone, don’t get carried away and act like a jerk ...

Agreed - not cool to hijack this thread. Shelly sounds great - but best to discuss in a separate thread. This thread is dedicated a different solution and no reason to take it off topic. 

Those Beale Street Audio subs are 4 ohms. The C4 amp outputs 220w into 4 ohms. No need for a different amp. Hook up the speakers and go.

You would get some improvement in sound quality by using a high-pass filter on the subs, so they aren't trying to produce frequencies above 100hz. Parametric EQ will only slight help with that. The cheapest way to do it is Harrison Audio FMOD line level crossovers. https://www.parts-express.com/harrison-labs-fmod-inline-crossover-pair-100-hz-low-pass-rca--266-254

I wish I could use this as a Zigbee repeater, but I'm on 2.10, so I think I'm out of luck.

What I'm using for access control at my new house is an ELK security system integrated to C4. External (outside) Wiegand-compatible keypads / RFID readers provide the external access control, both for keyfobs and numeric codes. Each external Wiegand keypad connects to an ELK Alarm keypad inside the house.

These UHPPOTE keypads are compatible with HID-style prox cards, which are a step up from the older low-frequency cards. Low-frequency readers are cheaper and more widely available/compatible, but I'm hoping these will work out. 

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=UHPPOTE+Metal+Keypad+IP65+Wiegand+125KHz&ref=nb_sb_noss

50 minutes ago, LAPVI said:

I am also building a house with 4 Trane XL 20i Variable Speed heat pumps, and my HVAC company said that the only thermostats they weren't compatible with other thermostats like Ecobee so we have installed 4 Comfortlink II XL1050s.  He owns the company and is a family friend so I trusted his judgement.  Was he mistaken?

thanks, Lee

1

I can say with complete certainty that the Ecobee 4 can control Heat Pumps with up to 4 stages each.  https://support.ecobee.com/hc/en-us/articles/115006077367-What-types-of-HVAC-systems-are-ecobee-thermostats-compatible-with-

You have 4 zones, and most likely, it's the Trane Comfortlink II proprietary zone controller is being used. That zone controller is not compatible with standard/conventional thermostat 5-wire (R, G, Y, W, C) configurations and instead requires the XL1050 thermostat. So it's most likely a Zone Controller compatibility issue, not a Trane Heat Pump compatibility issue.

A Trane dealer knows Trane equipment, and that's what they are going to sell you. That is the highest-end multi-zone system Trane makes. I think it's overly complicated and expensive for what still feels like a dated user interface, but it will definitely get the job done.

I'm pretty sure they could use Ecobee thermostats and an Aprilaire 6404 zone controller or an EcoJay 4-zone SmartZone controller instead. But they won't be familiar with those controllers and won't want to warranty it. Go with what your HVAC installer knows. (FYI, my local Trane HVAC company switched from Trane to Aprilaire thermostats and zone controllers for these and other reasons.)

On 9/8/2018 at 10:27 PM, WhyPhy said:

The Sonos API now supports announcements. I'm assuming C4 will be able to utilize this feature in the not-too-distant future.

 

Has anyone tried Announcements with the new Sonos Amp and API? Is the feature in the Sonos Driver for C4 yet?

The Ecobee 4 seems to be the preferred option. It supports dehumidification. 

Here’s another option, though more complicated and expensive:

• Faradite occupancy sensors https://www.faradite.com/

  • A Control4 driver has been designed to provide feedback from up to 8 Faradite MOTION SENSOR 360 sensors via BrainBoxes remote I/O devices. Faradite offer two Motion Sensors, the LUX version can be used with this driver. The Motion Sensor 360 (0-10V) LUX has both a motion sensor (digital output) and a lux sensor (0-10V) for light sensing. The light level (in lux) and motion output are regularly polled by the driver at intervals of 1000ms and 200ms respectively. The driver licence is available to download / buy from Janus Technology's website

  • the Motion Sensor 360 - VOLT FREE only has a motion sensor (volt free / dry contact) that works directly with Control4 I/O ports. But no light level sensor. 

I'm trying to decide if the EA5-V2 has enough different about it that I should get it over a lower-priced EA5-V1. From what I can tell, these are the differences (for all of the V2 controllers):

• V2 does not have built-in Wi-Fi (optional addition via USB dongle C4-USBWIFI or C4USBWIFI-1). V2 only has the 1 external ZigBee antenna vs. the 3 external antennas on the EA5-V1.

• V2 has nternal SSD (vs. conventional rotating hard drive)

• V2 has "Improvements for Control4 Dealers to make maintenance faster" - no idea what this actually means

• Improvements in the audio circuitry of the EA3-V2 and EA5-V2 for "an even better High Resolution music experience"

• Rack ears preinstalled on the EA5-V2. Rubber feet are pre-installed on the EA5-V1.

• The V2 controllers require OS 2.10.2 or higher. The V1 controllers require OS 2.8.1 or higher.

• The V2 ID button is also an LED (the LED in the button provides the same functionality as the caution LED on the EA5-V1 - mostly useful during factor resets)

• Is there anything else? Faster CPU??? More RAM??? Larger Hard Drive???

Did I miss anything? Is it worth it going for a V2 over a V1?

The Sonos API now supports announcements. I'm assuming C4 will be able to utilize this feature in the not-too-distant future.

I'm interested as well. The current Sylvania Smart+ partners are SmartThings, Wink, and Logitech. It seems like C4 integration should be possible.

The new Doorbird D21DKH and D21DKV have a keypad, but it may be overkill for what you're wanting to do as it focuses on multi-dwelling units. Doorbird definitely integrates with control4 for doorbell video and intercom. Where I'm uncertain is management of user codes. My suspicion is that would all need to be managed through the Doorbird ecosystem. 

The new Doorbird video doorbells have RFID readers. I'm not sure that this helps you though. I don't think they provide the integration you're wanting - at least not yet. 

On 12/26/2017 at 6:17 PM, carl01 said:

I have in fact integrated basaltes knx switch plates with control4, it can be done with either control4’s own knx integration suite or the tisco integration suite. Obviously this is not native like what they offer with crestron or lutron, however the end result is the same. Any questions i will try to help. 

Thanks Carl - this is great info and I'm glad to know KNX integration works. I'm in the US, so not that familiar with KNX and will need to learn.

A quick question about the Basalte KNX integration: can different types of presses be detected for each of the 4 individual buttons? (i.e. single tap vs. double tap vs. long press/hold?)

Thanks again!

11 hours ago, Cyknight said:

Still wonder if it could be done via a HomeWorks backdoor though.

I think I'm following you...Basalte Serial.link -> Homeworks QS HQP6 Controller -> Control4 controller

I reached out to Basalte to see if a Control4 integration was planned or if they offered any type of API documentation for driver development. Here's the response:

Quote

"We support the integration of our keypads with Crestron (native integration) and with Lutron HomeWorks QS (RS485 integration, using Serial.link interface module). We do not support the integration with Control 4. An RS485 integration with Control 4 is currently not on our R&D planning, and we also don’t offer an API for the integration."

Too bad. It's puzzling that they won't even share API documentation to test the market and let someone do the initial development work.

(Also, I updated the Basalte video in the original post to show the optional engraving.)

Neither have gestures from what I recall. For both Basalte and Loxone, the main button is the center area (when touching more than 1 surface), and there are 4 individual buttons at the corners. There can be different commands for each button based on single/double/triple tap, and tap-and-hold.

For the demo I saw, tapping the main "center" of the keypad switched between lighting scenes. Double-tapping turned the lights off. Triple-tapping turned off the house and armed the security. The left 2 buttons controlled shades, and the right 2 buttons controlled audio (single-tap volume up/down, press-and-hold to change audio source.)

Functionality wasn't obvious at first, but it became very intuitive after the first use. No need to read labels to figure out how to control a room.