Control Ceiling Lights

Hi;

I bought a new car with a Homelink system in it that controls the Garage door opener. That is great! I would also like to be able to turn on the ceiling lights in the living room. How is this done? I own the house, and am pretty good with electrical. I am hoping to replace a wall switch with a type that will recieve a signal from the car and activate. Is there something like this available? Could you please reccomend a name and a link?

Thanks for any advice Pat

Reply to
komobu
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The homelink in your car is a transmitter. It works with the equipment already in your garage door operator. If you want it to control lights and other things in your house, you need to purchase receiver modules designed to receive the signal and switch whatever circuit you want to control. Radio shack and Sears sell these devices

Reply to
RBM

Thanks...I figured as much...but I need to know what it is called so I know what to ask for. Is the reciever and the lightswitch one item, or is it two separate things? Please provide a link if you know of one so I can look at it or give me an idea what to google.

Thanks and have a nice Christmas Pat

Reply to
komobu

Sorry, I've never seen their equipment. My guess is that it's similar to X-10 or Levitan home controls, which would be a receiver and switch built into one unit that would replace the existing wall switch. They may have wall outlets that can be turned on and off by a signal as well

Reply to
RBM

If it is X10 (and I seem to remember hearing that someplace), you need an RF receiver, set to the same "house code" as the device in your car. This will put commands over the power line in your house.

Then you can get x10 wall switches, or plug in modules to control lights, etc.

A good place to look for > Sorry, I've never seen their equipment. My guess is that it's similar to

Reply to
AZ Woody

I'm not suggesting it's compatible with line carriers like X-10, this is RF, I'm just suggesting that the equipment is probably similar in it's operating characteristics

Reply to
RBM
061222 1857 - komobu posted:

Here's something...

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Reply to
indago

Homelink can learn codes from RF remotes and there are instructions on the Homelink website for teaching it from an X-10 remote.

You will also need an X-10 transceiver (e.g. RR501 or Leviton HCPRF) which will receive the RF and send X-10 PLC over the powerline to an X-10 capable wall switch.

The above model numbers assume you are in N. America.

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Reply to
Dave Houston

Actually, Homelink is a little cooler than that. IT will learn an RF remote, such as an X-10 or insteon RF remote.

Komobu, have a look at the insteon starter kits at

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-- I have bought from them and been happy with the service and quality, but the best thing about them is the volume of clear information available on their website.

Reply to
E. Lee Dickinson

A few things to consider...

The original post came from Korea.

There are, as yet, no Insteon RF remotes. Insteon RF is FSK and while the Homelink unit in the car can learn and playback different frequencies, I'm not sure it can handle FSK.

If the OP is in Korea, the key issue will be just what RF operated lighting devices are available there. The RF range of the transmitter is limited. X-10 works well with it because the transceiver can be in the garage and send PLC commands anywhere in the house over the powerlines. There are many direct RF systems (many made in Korea) but the RF switch location needs to be within range.

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Reply to
Dave Houston

Homelink has added a "Universal Receiver" with switch contact outputs so it can be adapted to operate almost any type of light.

I do not know whether it is available in a 120V version.

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Reply to
Dave Houston

Dave...

Very observant...I am in Korea. But only for two more weeks. Then I am moving back to Virginia. I am hoping to buy just a wall switch. But after looking at the Insteon set ups, I am really considering going further. It would be great to initially purchase just a wall switch and have the car be able to control it. The straight line distance from the car to the switch would be less than 20 feet.

Take Care and have a nice Christmas Pat

Reply to
komobu

There are more and more posts to c.h.a. from around the world so, when it's not clear, I check where the message was posted (which doesn't work with anonymizers). You cannot use your Homelink with Insteon. As I noted, there are no Insteon RF remotes as yet and I'm not sure Homelink can handle whether Homelink can handle the 902-924MHz FSK used by Insteon.

If you want just an RF operated switch, the only one I'm aware of for the US that will definitely work with Homelink is from GE Smarthome...

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Scroll to the bottom of the page. You can buy these at Circuit City, Lowes, etc. They use ASK modulation at 319.9MHz which Homelink can definitely handle.

Don't believe the 150' operational range. Indoors, through walls, etc.

25-30' will likely be tops for reliable operation. Anyway, it's the range of the Homelink transmitter in the car that will determine whether it will work, not the range of the GE remote. 20' from the car might be a bit "iffy" depending on what's in the path but you're not risking much as the GE Smarthome line is very inexpensive. It's also pretty much dead-end as far as "going further".

You can get an Insteon switch, configure it for X-10, and add an X-10 RF transceiver in the garage to receive the RF and then send X-10 over the powerlines to the switch. You would also need an X-10 remote in order to train your Homelink transmitter. This could be a step towards "going further".

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Reply to
Dave Houston

Dave,

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I just started checking into this home automation thing and am getting pretty interested. I like the idea of a switch by the garage that lets me turn off all lights. Do they have anything that will allow me to turn off the stove(Or prompt me that it is on)? On more than one occasion my wife has asked me to turn around to insure it was off! The insteon system looks pretty easy to install. It would be convenient to be able to control lights from the master bedroom and the main entryway. Could you describe in more detail what I would need to configure the insteon switch for X-10? As for the X-10 RF transeiver, is it difficult to set up and have it talk to the Insteon system? How much do they cost and could you reccomend a speciffic item?

Thanks Again and Merry Christmas

Reply to
komobu

Be careful. The manufacturer has a long history of shipping defective equipment, using customers as unwitting "beta testers", etc. Sopme sage poster once commented that they never sell low quality equipment unless it has their name on it.

Reply to
Robert L Bass

Near as I can tell, the Insteon is just another X-10 system. X-10 is a protocol used by many similar systems that control different functions over the house wiring. The first one I ever got came from DAK years ago, then I got a controller from Radio Shack, a couple of manual controllers from BSR. Setup is simple. Each module, either a build in switch or receptacle or one that just plugs in, has a settable code. Your house may all be "A" or "B" or whatever you want, then you select the number of that module. Just turn the dial on it to the code you want, then any controller can work it.

I have one control with the timer to turn certain lights on and off. Others I just use manually. Hear a noise in the back yard? I just reach over, hit a button, and all the controlled lights come on. Nothing around? Hit one button and they all go off.

If you want to get fancy, you can have an A and a B circuit and A and B controllers.. Or any other combination you want. Or you can control it all from your computer if you install the software and interface.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

I don't know of a way to shut-off the stove short of plugging it into a 220V appliance module (if anyone makes one with a high enough rating) and I think that might cause more headaches than it cures. There are ways to detect that it's on but they are not "beginner level" and involve some DIY methods. You need to learn to crawl first. ;)

The X-10 transceiver setup consists of plugging it in after turning a code wheel to set a "housecode" to match the remote. There are 3-4 X-10 capable transceivers and numerous remotes but this will fit your need for both.

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Configuring the Insteon wall switch for X-10 involves pushing a button or holding the toggle in one position for a brief period to put it program mode. Then you just send it an X-10 command which you can do with the remote/transceiver combo. There are several Insteon switch styles so I'll let you choose.

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There may be problems in getting the transceiver to talk to the switch if they are on different phases of your wiring or if you have any devices that create noise that can interfere with both X-10 and Insteon or that sink X-10 and Insteon signals but this is getting a bit deep for a beginner. Read some of the articles on my web page if you want to dig deeper.

Insteon-specific questions are probably best directed to the Insteon forum.

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Reply to
Dave Houston

Most modern stoves have timers and microprocessor controllers which are best left on all the time. I'd hesitate to use an on/off switch for the stove's power but if you must, consider locating the breaker panel in the garage. The electric range is almost invariably on a dedicated 220VAC breaker.

There are inexpensive current sensors which can be set up to detect when the stove is on and light an LED or whatever. If you installed an HA system like ELK M1G or HAI Omni you could connect such to one of the zones and have the system warn you any time you try to arm the security in the "Away" mode if the stove is on. You could even get a voice prompt over a small speaker in the garage -- "Warning! Oven is on!" -- if you open the garage door with the range going.

See warning in prior post regarding Insteon. There have been numerous threads in this and other forums discussing problems with Insteon. You may want to look around a bit more before settling on it as you medium.

Same to you. What part of Virginia are you going to?

Reply to
Robert L Bass

Actually, current detection is a relatively simple matter. There are ready made products on the market that can be connected to a simple LED or a home automation system. Follwoing is an example though there are less expensive versions available elsewhere.

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Reply to
Robert L Bass

Didn't bother reading all the replies to this, but did anyone suggests checking the Homelink website?

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Seems a reasonable place to start...

Reply to
Mark

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