Don Cohen

Just bumping since no replies so far. This is a somewhat obscure issue, with obscure data, but perhaps somebody here might have some insight. And to broaden my concern about the possibility of this being a hardware issue, here are 2 additional data points: 1. Erratic brightness at times during night mode: Night Mode Video (uploaded mp4's don't seem to play, so this links to the video in my Drive account) 2. Poor Night Mode picture quality. This photo shows my 2 Luma cameras at the top, and my DS2-Mini at the bottom left. No lights are on for the Luma Cameras:

Appreciate the reply and links. I had a quick look, and this seems like a very robust system. Will dig into this a bit more. Thanks. Don

Appreciate both replies, Cyknight. I like to keep things as simple as I can, and feel reasonably confident giving the Axxess device a try. Your personal use experience is extremely helpful. Plus, it's not a huge expense, so if it fails after a few years, it's not that big a deal. Thanks for your help. Don

Thanks. That's actually one of the ones I posted above. They were the ones who suggested using Silicone to seal it. But the fact that you've been using it like this, without any silicone or other modification, is quite encouraging. That would be a much 'cleaner' solution than the Hue suggested above (although I appreciate his posting about that option): one device, one (free) driver. Does yours have any indirect protection from rain/snow (like eaves above, or other structure)?

Perfect. I guess I need the Hue Bridge Driver regardless of whether I'm using Hue Lighting - looks like that's directly available through Control4, which is great. And very creative use of your indoor motion sensor!!

Thanks again for a very helpful reply. I already have most of the house with Control4 Dimmers and Switches, so the Hue Lighting aspect is not really useful to me. But it looks like I can get the Bridge by itself, so it's all good. In my case, as I work for a Home Integrator, I am both the Dealer and End-user, and just contacted UnilogIQ about what I need to do to get this Driver. But to confirm, the complete list if what I'd need would be the Motion Sensor, Hue Bridge, and the Control4 Driver, correct? No other missing pieces?

Many thanks for this - seems to be exactly what I'm looking for! Ironically, also looks like the Driver costs more than the Sensor! I'll get in touch with them, to see how I do this from the U.S., since in my case, I am both the end-user, and Dealer, through my employment with a Home Integrator. [EDIT]: do I also need to get a Hue Hub for this? The Amazon description implies this would be needed only to work with Hue Bulbs, but want to make sure.

For what it's worth, I also have 2 garage doors, and recently automated them. I used a single Z2IO, wiring the 2 available relays to the 2 garage door motors, and used a pair of Nyce Tilt Sensors on the doors to provide contact info on the open/close status (just to avoid the hassle of additional wiring). Works quite well, and I even integrated it with Google Assistant, so I can activate it by Voice using Android Auto in my car when returning home.

Thanks for the reply. This is a bit surprising, though - it seems like something that many homeowners would want. Then again, it looks like the Ring Doorbell has this built-in, which I imagine contributes to their popularity. I have to say, with all the Control4 gear we've installed, and as much as I'm enjoying the system, I continue to be underwhelmed with the DS2-Mini. If it were better integrated with Control4, I think I might opt for the Ring. I may just try the Nyce. Interestingly, the Axxess people suggested using some Silicone sealant to weather proof it, acknowledging that battery change would be a bit more cumbersome, and require a re-sealing.

I have a DS2-Mini at my front door, and have configured its Motion Sensor to email me with a snapshot when someone comes to the front door (whether they ring the bell or not). This works great for Amazon deliveries and such. But because it is based on lighting changes within the small area I've configured, there are often many false positives. So when the day is partly cloudy, and the sun is coming and going, there can be very many false alarm emails sent. So I'm wanting to add a Motion Sensor for this function, preferably battery powered to make installation easier. There are roof eaves above it, so there is some protection, but there would still be rain exposure with wind, temperature fluctuations, etc. I've found one by Nyce which would fit the bill, but they said it's not designed for outdoor use, and likely wouldn't last as long as it would indoors. I found one by Axxess, but they said the same thing about outdoor use. I found a CardAccess device, but it doesn't appear that this is a current product, and it's outdoor suitability isn't clear. Can anyone recommend a Motion Sensor, preferably battery operated, smallish, not conspicuous, but most importantly, which can be installed outdoors (and configurable within Control4)?

This got my attention, as I am running Roon in my home, using my PC for the Core, and really like it. It functions independently of my Control4 system. I was hoping this might enable me to integrate the functions, but the link you provided stipulates that the Control4 driver is only for their Nucleus and Nucleus+ devices, not when you're running it off PC. So this will help some, but unfortunately, not everyone.

This got my attention, especially reading from your website about using a 'Bond Fan Speed Controller' to add 'smarts' to a non-RF, non-IR fan. In my somewhat older home, there is a Hunter Fan/Light in the Kitchen, that is controlled by 1 switch, with no 'smarts' at all. I don't have separate control of the Fan and Light, and have to use the chains if I want the Fan On/ Light Off, Fan Off/Light On, etc. We have a Control4 Switch there, not dimmers, as a Dimmer would burn out the fan, as we were told. I can use Control4 to turn the Fan/Light On, but have to use the chains to do anything else. Would it be possible to wire in that Bond Controller to separate out the Fan and Light functionality so that we could operate it as if this was installed with separate circuitry for the Fan and Light? Or are we limited by the original wiring, which would have to be redone to accomplish this?

I have a DS2-Mini at my front door, using POE, installed several months ago. This was part of a new Control4 retrofit installation at my home, which included an Araknis Router and Switches. Excellent signal strength, WiFi, etc., throughout the house. When using the Intercom Anywhere app on my Android Phone to connect to the DS2-Mini, either with a ring of the door bell, or using the intercom function, I get this error message off and on, throughout the session: "Poor Communication. Continuing with Audio. Video will return when the connection improves." When I connect with the T3, I do occasionally see the same message, only much, much less frequently. Trouble-shooting done so far includes a session with Control4 Tech Support, including using TeamViewer to give them direct access, to check settings, configuration, etc. Nothing was found to explain this error message. They suspected a possible hardware issue with the DS2-Mini itself, or in the physical connections. Before going through the hassle of uninstalling it, reconnecting it, possible replacement, etc., I want to be as sure as possible that this would fix it. So I spent a little time this morning, looking at the Call Stats on the App, and then on the T3, and found something interesting, in the 'Video Download Bandwidth' parameter, which seems to poll between 1 and 2 times/second: On the Intercom Anywhere App, the real-time readout fluctuated very widely and wildly, from as low as 3.6 kbps to 2000 kbps. On the T3, the range was much more stable and narrower: between 100 kbps and 500 kbps I would guess that this observation has significance, but don't know what would account for it, nor how it could be addressed. The actual speeds are lower than I might have guessed, although the feed is only 640x480 resolution. My phone is on the 5 Ghz band, with 200 down and 20 up, and no other connection issues are evident with other applications. Could some Router setting account for this? Something else? Most likely the mini itselfl? Any ideas appreciated. It would be nice to fix this without having to replace or rewire the mini itself. Thanks.

My Theater Room currently has a JVC RS400, and is controlled by IR (using a Z2IO) with a driver from a different JVC model, but which works fine. I've had to add/edit a few commands, but it works perfectly now. I am likely going to be upgrading the projector to the JVC RS2000 (same model as the JVC NX7). Control4 has IP Drivers specific to this model (and the other 2 JVC's in this series: RS1000/NX5 and RS3000/NX9). With some hassle, I am considering running ethernet to the Projector, to be able to use that driver, as it might provide better functionality. So, does anyone here have any experience controlling the JVC RS2000/NX7 Projector with the IP driver? I know theoretically it should be fine, but real-world experience is what counts, not theory. Thanks!

For what it's worth, I have Alexa set up for this, and can tell her to "Turn on: Cable TV, Netflix, Amazon, Acorn, Hulu..." etc. Much easier than doing via a Remote, Phone or T3, and this has been about 98% reliable. For me, this gives family friendly control over what can be a very complex beast under the hood.

To clarify another thing I discovered: With Alexa, activating a Voice Scene connected to an Advanced Lighting Scene: Alexa will correctly activate the Lighting Scene by voice, but will *not* also activate any additional Composer Programming associated with activation of that Lighting Scene. In order to do this, I had to create an Alexa "Routine" within the Alexa App (this option isn't available in the Browser Interface) to get all these actions to take place. In the Google Assistant ecosystem, at least at this time, you can create similar "Routines" which will accomplish what you want using the Home App on a device. But these Routines *can't* be activate using Google Assistant: the Assistant voice says it can't do Routines, or some words to that effect. I've spent a lot of time trying to work this out, and hopefully this will be of help to somebody here.

In Amazon, I had to specifically authorize this within the Alexa App, by including a code that had to be given after the command. This allows me to unlock a door lock. With Google Assistant, it actually turned out to be more straight forward: I have a pair of Garage Doors, and set up 2 Google Assistant Voice Commands within Composer Pro: Garage Number One and Garage Number Two. In Programming, for "Turn on Garage Number One" I have 3 Actions: Open Garage Number One Unlock the Kwikset Lock to the House Turn on the Usual Lights using an Advanced Lighting Scene I did the corresponding thing for "Turn on Garage Number Two" for my wife. When driving, I run Android Auto, so when I'm getting near home, I can activate Google Assistant and say "Turn on Garage Number One" and my Garage Door opens, the Door gets unlocked, and the lights turn on. Works quite well, and I don't think this creates a major security risk. I do have an Alarm system, not currently integrated with Control4, so that is still in operation.

Thanks for the reply. I haven't yet, but that's a good idea - I'll see what they have to say.

There are 2 options to set: Camera Mode, with 5 Options: Indoor (Auto), Indoor 50Hz, Indoor 60Hz, Outdoor, Outdoor with Highlight Compensation Day/Night Mode, with 3 Options: Auto, Always Day, Always Night I currently have Camera Mode set to Outdoor with Highlight Compensation (because in the morning direct sunlight throws off the exposure), and Day/Night Mode set to Auto. I'm now wondering if it's having trouble 'deciding' on Day vs Night mode, not too long after sunset, with these fluctuations being the result (as ILoveC4 was alluding to). I may play around with different combinations of these 2 settings, and see if this improves things. If not, it might be defective and needing replacement.

Could this be a defective DS2-Mini? The other issue I have with it is having intermittent, but frequent "Poor Connection. Continuing with Audio. Video will return when the connection improves" message during Intercom calls to it, from either my T3, or my Note 8 (using WiFi or cellular). I've uploaded phone screen captures, including one showing real-time connection data. This is despite having strong WiFi and/or Cellular connections, and the DS2 connected by POE to an Araknis switch. I had a long troubleshooting session with Control4, including a Team Viewer session where they could directly have a look around, and there were no configuration errors. They suspected a hardware issue. Thanks.

Thanks for the reply. During the day, I do see that type of fluctuation, and since that door faces east, I have disabled the motion sensor alerts until early afternoon, as this also generates many false positives. But this is well after sunset, so there is no sunlight. Have a look at the clip, and you'll see it to be in night mode.

I have a DS2-Mini at my Front door, programmed to send a snapshot via email when motion is detected in a small area near the steps, above a certain threshold, at certain times of day. Works well. But lately, after sunset, I am getting many false positives, and reviewing the video recording (Luma NVR), the camera is appropriately in night mode, but there are frequent, marked fluctuations in the image's brightness, which is being mistaken as motion. I've attached a clip that shows what is going on. No lights are going on or off in or around my house, to the best of my knowledge. I have checked in the DS2's Web Interface, and don't see any setting that would adjust this type of sensitivity. Any ideas on what is causing this? I received over 10 emails from 7:25 to 7:30 pm last night, and at least a few the prior nights. Any way to alter this behavior? And for what it's worth, the night mode in my Luma 510 Bullet cameras is far superior to the DS2-Mini's, but I guess that's just the nature of the beast. Thanks. Edited to Add: The Uploaded MP4 won't seem to play, so here's a link to the file in Google Drive: MP4 File for DS2-Mini

BINGO! Didn't realize I needed to have it scan for stations, but seems obvious now. Channels now show up as an option for the Tuner, although the Onkyo is not tuning properly. Will have to play with this. And as I guessed, the solution here also applied to why the UHF/VHF Antenna for my Sony TV was the same way, not appear in the Navigator's menus. Scanned there, and now they do. Many thanks!

I am both the end-user, and also using Composer Pro, as part of my employment with my company. They did the original setup and install in my home, and I am now learning and tweaking the system to gain experience, get things working how I'd like, etc. In general, it's going quite well, including upgrading to 3.1. But I have run into one issue that I can't crack. In my Family Room, I have an Onkyo TX-SR600 Receiver, which has an FM Tuner. It seems they didn't configure it properly to begin with, as it never showed up as an option under the Listen experience menu. Similarly with the FM Tuner of the Marantz SR7010 in my Theater - it has never worked from day one. But I'll just address the Family Room one here, as the answer will probably solve both. The Onkyo is using an IR Driver: receiver-tuner_ir_onko_tx-SR600.c4i I added an FM Tuner Driver, which I renamed 'FM Radio-Onkyo': rf_fm.c4i I connected these devices, as shown in the screenshots, and the 'FM Radio-Onkyo' shows up in Composer Pro Navigator, and is 'Visible'. But it *doesn't* actually show up on any of the Navigators: T3, nor my Android Control4 App. What am I doing wrong? Wrong Drivers? Wrong Connections? Thank you.

I recently upgraded to 3.1 motivated partly by wanting to use Google Assistant. Thepritch88 is correct, that you have to start by saying "Turn on" to activate any given scene. Cumbersome, but it works. I created two G.A. Voice Scenes to open each of our garage doors (which I have programmed to also unlock the door to the house, and turn on selected lights), and ended up naming the Scenes "Garage Number One" and "Garage Number Two." These can be activated by saying "Turn On Garage Number One" and so forth. The really cool thing for me, is that I use Android Auto in my car, so when I'm returning home, I can just say the command, and all 3 actions will take place. I didn't use the 'Sync' Action, and when I'm in Google Home, I just select the option to 'Discover' and it finds them.