sace, I agree. great thread.
number, glad to have you aboard bud! I like seeing support for ALC as it doesnt seem to have the attention some of the others types have. Please, keep posting. I like your sytle. Too bad your not in texas, wouldnt mind taking some training classes.
Whats your take on On-q controllers? I understand while they are reliable, expandable and hearty, they lag a bit behind on ugrades given they are oem'd from HAI. Also, another downside is they must be polled to get info as they dont auto send it out like an elk would. However, I like the on-q team, the look, ease and moduler type compenents. I hope their new products coming can keep me focus on their company. I like them. Care to share anymore good or bad on the product line? Ideas, suggestion, comments?
I understand they are coming out with a kick butt touchscreen that is supposed to be cutting edge, who knows. I would rather see them get their controllers to send out info instead of having to ask for it. Its also a MUST for them to be able to integrate their other good products ie intercom, audio, cam's, etc. I was told that is coming and soon. Hope so. A MUST.
Since 1996 we have had students from all 50 states and 14 foreign countries. Early this week we will post on our calendar
See our Calendar herethe dates of a new multi day school where we will teach how to install into exisitng homes. It will be hands on, programming, design and more. However, we have a large library of web or DVD classes too. Within the next few weeks we will releash over a dozen new web classes that we are finalizing now. Check our calendar often as the classes will fill up fast. Also not that our classroom is very nice and features a complete theme theater environment.
Video of the classroom
You may also want to get your own password so that you get our emails, especially about the live classroom events that you watch in streaming video while they happen.
Now your question.
Controllers for OnQ ALC are - Elk-m1 and Elk-EZ8, All models of HAI Omni and OnQ has their own (made by HAI) called HMS. And...... They also have stand alone lighting controllers which are great and very nicely priced.
See Stand Alone ALC Products here.
You are wrong about oem from HAI, all OnQ ALC products including stand alone controllers are made by OnQ and not HAI. And they are certainly not lagging behind in any way. The problem with their ALC product line is the OnQ is too busy being the world leader in Structured wiring and Greyfox products to promote ALC (which has been around for over 12 years).
Another misconception is that they must be "polled". They do not require polling as they are always sending their status with no intervention from programming. The constant status upgrades is one of their strengths. Unlike almost all other lighting products discussed in this forum, they can use this advantage to become an "occupancy sensor" Meaning that they can trigger an automation event when manually pressed. Someone turning on the light in the wine cellar could call dad at work.
And the dimming capabilties is another place they shine. Ramp over time is a feature not present in most systems and you get it for free........
Lot's of new things coming related to intercoms. Like intercom and whole house audio integration. But I am gun shy as to saying when. As a distributor, I like to sell what's on the shelf not promises.
The stand alone lighting controller advantage lies in the fact that if you only want nice lighting, why bother with a full automation controller? And you can expand this unit to do minor automation like adding an I/O module to say turn on the front porch light when the door bell button is pressed. To do this trick add the Elk-930
See Here to handle the doorbell button and then add the ALC I/O module.
One of the prime features of the ALC is the scene switches. When used with any of the mentioned controllers (may require the associated lighting interface) or the stand alone controller, no programming is necessary. While you can program events if you like, you can also program lighting scenes
Scene Switches as easily as pressing one of the scene buttons for 15 seconds, set each ALC switch to desired level then press the scene switch buttom again. That's it. The scene is programmed!
The touch screens you asked about are as follows. Elk currently has a wonderful touchscreen (see our free web training for more details) and HAI is coming out with their new touchscreen as well. OnQ has one too.
In summary there are lot's of things you can do with the stand alone ALC controller