RE: Newbie - controlling lights and creating scenes (Ocelot?)

["Kenneth Watt" <kwatt@xxxxxxx>]

> Hi all

Hi Helen a warm welcome to the list.

> Please excuse me for asking what must be a very basic question.

No problem I'm sure loads of answers will be forthcoming soon enough but
here's my take on your questions.

> 1) Main room lights
> Some rooms have low-voltage recessed lights in the ceiling and some
> others have basic pendant lights. I want to be able to control all of
> these without installing ugly X10 dimmer switches. Isn't there a
> dimmable micromodule receiver that I can hide behind existing
> switches?

There have been reports of some transformers not liking X10 and even
killing
the signal, it doesn't happen a lot and never to me with any LV lighting
but
its best to be aware of it.

The dimmable micro-module is supposed to be available at some point but it
won't be cheap most likely, I want a couple of these myself to play with at
some point. It is also supposed to support status and the extended X10
command set which you can use with Homevision, the only X10 controller I'd
recommend without reservation as will anyone else that has one.

> 2) Plug-in table/standard lamps
> I already have a couple of plug-in lamp modules and these work fine
> to dim/brighten the lights. I've also read about the socket rocket to
> which the bulb can be plugged in directly. However, isn't there
> something I can put in the wall socket itself to control these
> lights? The lamp modules are fairly big and ugly.

The socket rockets are a non-starter IMO, they are ugly, add height to the
lamp and are only on/off as far as I am aware. Until the micro controller
is
here, no, there is nothing that can be put into the actual wall socket but
doing so may cause issues if someone, for example, plugs in a vacuum
cleaner
into a socket with a lamp module in it. It would be *FAR* batter to try and
build the module into the plug or the base of the lamp, as well as being
neater, safer etc it also means you can move the lamp wherever you see fit,
this is a major downfall of other systems over X10. ;)

> I've read also about intelligent controllers, like the Ocelot, which
> sound great but if I still have to use clunky lamp modules and have
> no way of controlling the ceiling lights other than by installing X10
> dimmer switches everywhere then what's the point? I've seen receivers
> (LM12W) which can be installed at the ceiling rose but they have
> fuses in them which would subsequently be very difficult to get at.
> So, if I get an Ocelot, isn't there a nice neat fairly unintrusive
> way of controlling all my lights from it?

One word: Homevision!

If you consider a controller and use X10 then that's the only one to be
aiming for IMHO.

> At the end of the day, my goal is to have scene control. Even if I
> get the Ocelot, will I be able to control multiple lights in a scene
> simultaneously or will there be a delay while each light command is
> sent out sequentially?

With Ocelot I don't honestly know as I've never used one, Paul Gordon has
one he should be able to answer that better than I can, but I can tell you
that HV *IS* capable of creating scenes using some clever programming.

HTH

K.