EverAction

I cracked the plastic tab on one of my engraved keycaps and need to order a new one. Previous dealer unavailable, can any dealer's oblige my request?

It's for a V2 keypad, Snow White (the matte one), a "3 button" keycap that says "Kitchen":

Yes Please!

I still have my original VM when I was working for a dealer with a saved login. Cancel button ftw!

Figured I’d pay this forward like always, I ended up figuring this out. A broken solenoid valve feeding my humidifier prompted me to revisit this. It’s amazing how bad the air quality got in my house because of the stopper valve.

I had a C4-THERM lying around and replaced my legacy C4 thermostat with it. After replacing the valve I wanted to know what the relative humidity was in the house which the C4-THERM supplies. I lacked enough wires in the thermostat wire to hard wire the humidity control, so originally I thought about getting a Z2IO. But for some reason I completely ignored the HC800 10 feet away from the valve in the same closet.

I ran the 24vac connection for the humidifier valve from the control board on my HVAC to red lead going to NO. The COM goes back via the white wire connected to the valve. The other valve wire goes back to the COM on the HVAC control board.

Programming looks for changes in variable HUMIDITY_STATE on the C4-THERM. If string is “Off”, open relay. If string is “Humidifying”, close relay.

So now I get a Humidity read on my mobile app, along with the valve status from showing the relay in my equipment room. Next to setup reminds to change the humidifier pad (which will also remind me to check the valve for build up). I should have done this long ago. Hope this helps anyone else dealing with an analog humidistat on their return with no read out.

On 11/9/2020 at 6:19 AM, Unsocialtoaster said:

Just been noted on the dealer forums that this updated driver has been pulled temporarily. Apparently Amazon want to hold off for a little while longer until release.

 

 

For those following this thread, as of today (Friday, November 6, 2020) we have removed this driver from the Control4 online driver DB.

Amazon has requested that Control4 delay the official release of this driver for a short time. We expect to release this official driver in the near future.

Thanks,
-Eldon Greenwood
Director, Interoperability
SnapAV+Control4

LOL didn't take long to prove me right!

LOL after all the hassle trying to get the old school Fire TV working over IP I'll believe the reliability of this when I see it.

2 minutes ago, DLite said:

Thanks.  Does that mean we'll also need to install a new doorbell chime, or will it trigger the Nutone chime once it has power?

Correct, or if you're integrated to an audio source have the button press trigger a chime out of an audio source. Some of the new smart doorbells come with their own plug in chime like the Ring Chime.

I remember at one site we had a Doorbird customer that when the Doorbird was pressed, it would alert via a Zigbee chime. I can't remember the brand though.

1 hour ago, DLite said:

Hi,

I've seen several posts where people mention they were able to replace an existing Nutone Door Chime with a Doorbird, DS2 or other video doorbell. I'm curious if someone can explain what needs to be done in order to make this happen, and specifically how to make the video doorbell trigger a standard door chime inside the house.

We have an existing Nutone Door Chime, along with an old-school Nutone Intercom system that we don't use anymore. When I attempted to wire a Ring Doorbell to it, the existing chime didn't sound when the Ring was pressed.  Is there a way to solve this problem? I have no problem getting rid of the Nutone system. But, I'm not sure what it replace it with in order to make a video doorbell work.

Thanks

Depending on the gauge of the wire just you'll have to tone out the pair and splice in a 18-24DC transformer at the other end. There's no way to get it powered off of the Nutone bus.

On 8/23/2020 at 5:53 AM, Dueport said:

Still learning about C4 here but I believe the Adaptive Phase Dimmer has a lux sensor for turning on backlighting. Can anyone share whether that lux output can be used to program off of beyond just the backlight? In other words, if light level of that sensor reaches a level then turn all the lights in that room on or to a set level?  

FYI, you have the right idea but the product isn’t up to the challenge. The light sensors in the V2 lighting are notorious for poor readings. When you se people talking about engraving backlighting that pulses or doesn’t respond correctly, it’s the light sensor.

So yes in theory it should work. It won’t. 

Going to mirror what everyone else is saying, it sounds like the network is the issue, coupled probably with zigbee issues (which I do side with your original dealer. Zigbee runs on 2.4ghz band so that WiFi you added/changed could easily be overlapping if not configured properly to account for the Zigbee radios).

On the flip side they could also be side stepping their poor installation by blaming your WiFi. Regardless I’d concentrate on getting a network export in there. Start with the wired network and topology starting from the ISP down to the WAPs. Then worry about WiFi channel setting/Zigbee channel setting and coverage. Too many WAPs is a bad thing if the power isn’t adjusted properly in respects to neighboring WAPs. Plus if there’s no coordinator involved between the WAPs the channel switching (especially if they’re all set to automatic) will be chaotic.

One last thing. The safest way to deal with ISP’s that force their equipment in the mix and that can’t be set into a bridge mode, make sure to setup a DMZ on the first router in the mix, pointing to the second router in the mix (set by a static IP). Had to do this all the time with job sites that had Fios.

Check out crimsonav.com. I have 4 of these articulating mounts, good quality, lightweight, and a fair price.

3 minutes ago, eggzlot said:

one big reason for C4 lighting - increased zigbee strength.  Zigbee is a mesh network that runs C4.  Each lighting device helps increase your mesh signal/strength.  No 3rd party lighting system will do.  The larger the install, the more zigbee coverage you need.

The single/double/triple tap features of the C4 keypads are great.

Though you need to buy through a dealer, you can program the keypads once installed by the dealer in your project.  There is software you can buy called Composer Home Edition that lets you do all the programming - just not creating projects, creating rooms, adding/binding hardware, etc.  

The drawback to c4 lighting is the engraved backlighting.  It looks slick in marketing material.  Even with the newer "black bars" the light sensors are super sensitive and if you have 2 or more devices (keypad, dimmer, switch) in a single bank good luck getting them to all be the same intensity back light color.  So though I have engraved keypads I rarely if ever use the backlighting.

The Neeo remotes use WiFi I thought? Or are they also affected by Zigbee coverage?

Also totally agree about the lighting. They look slick but the plastics are cheap. The engravings also look nice but the backlighting is terrible. I leave the backlights on full brightness in rooms that tend to be dark (like my upstairs hallway). In rooms where it's always bright, I shut the backlights off. The auto adjusting always seems to settle on some greenish tint on all the Configurable Keypads (not the Keypad Dimmers). Doesn't matter what sensor bar I used, I gave up on them. Those new sensor bars didn't improve anything with the terrible light sensor they used IMO.

21 hours ago, South Africa C4 user said:

Feel free to update it 

If I would I could. Lost that access when CytexOne went under.

20 hours ago, South Africa C4 user said:

Here is the sticky... maybe it should be moved from the top of the Software sub-forum to the top of the General sub forum or maybe even to the top of every sub-forum?

It was such a long time since I wrote that. 

On 6/10/2020 at 4:31 PM, RAV said:

I suspect Control4 is buying for about the same cost as Amazon sells them for, plus the added cost of the different Zigbee card and development, plus support and warranty overhead by Control4, plus the dealer's markup to you for his warranty and support and overhead.

 

From my experience, dealers never marked these locks up knowing that they're advertised at lower cost everywhere else and stuck explaining to the customer the cheaper one is incompatible. They sell it for what they paid C4 for with the piece of mind it's going to "just work" without buying the cheaper version and somehow finding the correct Zigbee card. So you are right in saying the mark up is for the compatible Zigbee card (does C4 manufacturer, do they license manufacturing to Kwikset -- also a big part of the "why so much" convo), support & warranty overhead by Control4. The dealers not so much. They charge for the labor of dealing with the lock, that's all.

13 minutes ago, dinom said:

Anyone know if C4 works with the portable Sonos Move?  Since the Move can disappear from the home WiFi (say I bring it to another location) what would the driver do if missing?

I don't have a Move myself, but the C4 driver uses a sort of UID gained by the Network Driver of all the available Sonos devices on the network. Each Sonos Driver you add you select one of the devices populated from the Network Driver. After power failure, the Control4 driver is able to resume control with the regular devices once they're back on the network. I see this being no different than with the Move.

That being said, if you put the Move in Bluetooth mode you'll lose control. That's the one event I'd be worried about the driver not knowing how to react to and if it recovers properly.

3 hours ago, therockhr said:

One reason I cant "upgrade" my connect to a port is because the connect has 3 different audio outputs (analog, optical and coax) whereas the port only has 2 (analog and optical). I need all 3 because the 2 digital outputs feed 2 AVR's that I have while the analog feeds a Russound audio matrix.

You could try to find a newer generation Connect (made after 2015). Those are supported by S2. But good luck getting a seller to confirm that for you. Other option is to use an audio split for the digital output. Something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Optical-Tendak-Bi-Directional-Converter-Splitter/dp/B06XCTGZFT/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=optical+in+to+optical+and+coax+out&qid=1591726419&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExVDFPRVlYV0U1WjFLJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNzg4MjI1WUNDM1ZNV0REVUxPJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTAxNjM3MzEyUDFaSVdKRVkyU0NBJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

Sucks to have to add another part but it is probably the better option than searching for the elusive "after 2015" Connect.

12 hours ago, turls said:

I'm asking is there a reason feature wise to upgrade to the ZP90 successor--the "Port" so I can take advantage of current and future S2 enhancements.  Considering my use case I mean.  Surely there is some great new feature that justifies the purchase of a Port in S2 right?

Currently at this time, no. The only device that actually takes advantage of a new feature of S2 is the Arc for Dolby Atmos support, and it can only run on S2. Right now I think they're just laying the foundation for higher quality music feeds. I updated from S1 to S2 yesterday and there's nothing new feature wise to report with my setup (Beam & two Play:3's in surround, and 2 Play:1s in separate rooms.

So unless you have an Arc (or one of the other new products that only support S2), there's no "must have" reason to upgrade at this time.

47 minutes ago, turls said:

The next question is in a C4 environment where I am just using the ZP90 as a source for whole-house audio matrix is there any reason I need to upgrade, since the ZP90 isn't going to be getting upgrades going forward?  They're offering 30% off an upgrade and with Sonos not allowing discounts I think that is the best I will see.

You can't upgrade, S2 doesn't support ZP90. So if that's your only device, you're sticking with S1.

Ignore the cooling aspect, the only concern is with heating.

Considering the heat is coming from a boiler in the building, chances are its always available and being held back by a damper of some sort that’s opened only when you call for heat.

I would stick with the electric setting. You can also test it too. Force the thermostat to click the heat on and put your hand by a vent. If the air coming out isn’t hot immediately, then the boiler should handle turning the fan on when it’s ready. 
 

Just remember you’ll need to remove the battery for a minute after toggling the switch to let the thermostat fully reboot. 

What type of door lock?

Which C4 app?

I have a Kwikset lock and the history shows 20 entries on the OS2 app.

As for the unlocked alert, it’s also driver dependent. Typically gives you choices though not a variable (eg, 15s, 30s, 1m, 2m, 5m, etc). Alert also requires 4sight subscription. 

22 hours ago, ERDrPC said:

so i guess it's better to use the sonos app itself for a better experience...to jump between playlists or live stream?

Yes that’s actually how Sonos intended it via their API.  C4 will show your what’s playing, volume control, and give you favorites but Sonos wants you to use the app for everything else. 

Alright boredom is getting to me so I'm going to revive this convo. I have an Aprilaire 600M:

https://embed.widencdn.net/pdf/plus/rp/jyhfm0pg1b/aprilaire-350-360-400-400m-500-500m-600-600m-700-700m-humidifier-owners-manual-english-french-B2205864B.pdf?u=o29tdq

Since I have a 5-conductor thermostat wire, I can't replace the manual control in the Aprilaire directly from the wire. I'll need something else to pass data, like the Z2IO. The current manual control is reading the humidity from the air return before it hits the handler.

Anyone know if it's possible to wire up a Z2IO to replace the manual control? Eg, wire up the humidity sensor wire from the manual control on the humidifier to the Z2IO contact to get the humidity readout on the C4 Aprilaire Thermostat, then have the Z2IO close the contacts to turn on the humidifier depending on if I set it to auto/manual?

Thanks all!

1 hour ago, volsla said:

Hi everyone,

I am currently working for a big company and we are doing lots of control4 deployment; however, i am starting my own company (part time) and became control4 dealer last year. So, now i do have a situation where i have to build my own business but i have to have keep my current income working for the big company. Control4 (today) is telling me that i can lose my dealer status if i will not sale control4 product for ~$40000 annually. 

That is very tricky situation, in one hand i do have few potential clients i can deploy control4 and have them as a future customers; in other, hand, i don't want to lose their future trust when they receive a letter from control4 with information that i lose my dealership status and they have to go to another dealer.

I even don't know what to ask.

Have you heard any story of someone lost the control4 dealer status because of that?

Do you know anyone who is not meeting the sales goal and still control4 dealer?

I am so frustrated and don't know even what to do.

 

I have to rethink all the available options.

 

 

Sounds like you've hit a crossroad. Either you continue to do work for your big company and lose out on your own dealer account. Or focus on your own business.

20 minutes ago, adam333 said:

weird, my keypad is not responding.   i can execute the command in composer for the button on the keypad.    But if i physically press it, it does nothing.

any ideas?

With more details, a keypress can be suggested to reboot the keypad to see if that gets it back online.

Are you talking about the legacy 6 button keypard? Or a newer gen configurable keypad?

If the legacy keypad, is it on Embernet or Zigbee Pro? (or if you know what OS your C4 is on, that will answer this question).