General Forum

Re: New intelligent lightdimmer for B&O remotes

tournedos — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 04:14:12 GMT

k984942:

I was thinking, theres quite a bit of space in there. Can anyone suggest something I could pack in there to reduce the noise - something safe of course.

I can't sleep properly if there's stuff around me that I haven't looked inside, so...

Here's a picture of both sides of the actual PCB - backside on left, front side on right. The green lead is the Z-Wave antenna, and on the left of the front side you can see the Z-Wave receiver module. I believe it also contains the microprocessor, since the only large IC on the board is a Cirrus Logic CS5461, a power measuring / controller IC which can't manage the intelligence. Between them is a TSOP7000 IR receiver module for 455 kHz carrier as used by B&O (so the IR receiver is located at about the middle of the front panel, in case you wondered).

Also, following the PCB traces at the connector we can see that the two center screws are connected together, so those are neutral and the two outermost screw posts are live in case that matters in your installation (not specified in the manual leaflet).

In the middle of the left hand image, there's a largish coil, and another one at 11 o'clock. I believe either the big one or both of them are those that are making the sizzling noise. It might be possible to damp them with hot glue or something, but I personally would not try that - the dimmer gets a little bit warm as it is, and adding insulating stuff inside might cause something to overheat.

Otherwise, we can see a lot of handmade additions. Not a bad thing in itself (and fully B&Oish... ), but it tells that the production runs haven't been very large. Furthermore, the PCB seems to have been manufactured in week 13 of 2008, so these additions/alterations might be the "Mk.II" I think I saw mentioned somewhere in this or another thread...

But, I'm still happy with mine! I also ordered a Z-Wave USB dongle, so I can have fun programming in the winter...

Re: New intelligent lightdimmer for B&O remotes

k984942 — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 14:21:42 GMT

I do unfortunately have one next to my bedside. The noise is becoming increasingly annoying now I know its there if you know what I mean!

I was thinking, theres quite a bit of space in there. Can anyone suggest something I could pack in there to reduce the noise - something safe of course.

Cheers

Re: New intelligent lightdimmer for B&O remotes

tournedos — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 12:48:30 GMT

I also received a bunch of these. I can confirm that they - or at least the first one I connected - do indeed buzz. Not badly, so it will probably need a silent house and a number of these units to be disturbing, unless you mount them on the bed post.

IR reception isn't quite as sensitive as "real" B&O AV equipment, but still good. Mostly no need to aim.

Otherwise they seem nice and work as advertised.They can turn LE fluorescents on and off but not dim them (not that surprising, generally they are not dimmable). Still haven't tried what happens with an "iron" type halogen transformer, the leaflet specifies that only electronic halogen transformes would be compatible.

Mechanically they aren't that sturdy though, and I don't like the cord fixing system at all. Wouldn't want to keep these loose on the light cord subject to yanking...

Re: New intelligent lightdimmer for B&O remotes

vikinger — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 07:38:31 GMT

leogenghis:

This thread is very similar to the discussion in another earlier and more detailed thread. May I suggest that future ramblings on the topic be posted over there to avoid duplication? (subject to moderators' approval )

Leo

Leo,

Are you up very early or retiring very late?

Thanks for clearing up the 110v issue and the fact that the units on sale must be reduced on the basis that they've gone out of production.

(Can a moderator merge the threads or put a permanent link into the headings of one?)

Graham

END OF COPIED MESSAGE (Quotes don't work very well when copying and pasting between different threads!)

NEW

We have several threads on this same topic. Just thought I'd copy this one across.

110v reference above is to an error in the online documentation. The controllers are only for 220-240V.

Issues to consider: now out of production?

Do they work on low energy fluorescents? (EU banning incandescents in phased withdrawal agreed with retailers between 2008 and Jan 2011).

The link from the www.innovus.dk page to their online shop no longer works. (Link goes to http://www.home-automation.dk/ which currently shows a directory listing denied message.)

Graham

Re: New intelligent lightdimmer for B&O remotes

kruppking — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 05:29:58 GMT

With a little innovation they can be placed into the wall, as the unit spilts into two halves it should be quite simple.

I intend to do so once I get home. Will post some pics once I've installed one.

Re: New intelligent lightdimmer for B&O remotes

k984942 — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 04:05:09 GMT

Good point Marcel,

Does anyone know if this dimmer can be used instead of a wall switch?

Could be a cheaper (although less elegant) alternative to the Lutron Rania switches.

Re: New intelligent lightdimmer for B&O remotes

Marcel — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 09:03:50 GMT

Do anyone use this dimmers instead of the normal "in-Wall" switches. How could I fix it at the wall and connect it without seeing the naked cables coming out of the wall?

Or is the dimmer only for table lamps?

Marcel

Re: New intelligent lightdimmer for B&O remotes

k984942 — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 07:31:34 GMT

I got my 5 pack yesterday.

Packaging is good and the box is remarkably small (although obviously not small enough to fit through the letter box). Each dimmer is individually packaged within together with a set of instructions in Danish (no English is supplied).

Fitting is pretty simple, even for a novice like me. The trickiest part is stripping your table lamp wires (I should probably buy a wire stripper rather than using a knife!).

IR reception is pretty good using both the Beo4 and the A9 but you do need to make a little more effort to point the remotes in the right direction than you do when controlling B&O devices.

Dimming occurs in the opposite way to the manual (English available online). Instead of LIGHT 9 being the brightest its actually the least bright (10%). Not a big deal but thought I'd mention it.

The overall quality of the units seems fine, if a little plastic. They're certainly not bad but you do know that they're not made by B&O immediately!

Now the bad part.......they DO buzz! I know some users have reported they are silent but mine are simply not. Its a high pitched electronic buzz that changes pitch when the unit is changing the light intensity, but otherwise stays constant whether the table lamp its controlling is on or off.

I am still in my 20's so perhaps thats why I can hear them. None the less it is bearable and I am happy using them in my bedroom.

Re: New intelligent lightdimmer for B&O remotes

wasti — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:03:11 GMT

Is this HOMEe.dk shop reliable? Has anyone ordered these dimmers from that site?

Re: New intelligent lightdimmer for B&O remotes

kruppking — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:39:43 GMT

got home today and they are here :-)

installed one to a table lamp. works perfect...no noise at all......

now I can become even lazier :-)

Re: New intelligent lightdimmer for B&O remotes

tournedos — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 09:43:41 GMT

Another word of caution: some (most?) dimmers will not like inductive loads, and a step-whatever transformer is definitely that...

Re: New intelligent lightdimmer for B&O remotes

leogenghis — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 02:54:36 GMT

Newsflash for 110V BeoWorlders:

I've just been kindly reminded in the NA forum that one also needs to connect a step-down transformer after the dimmer, otherwise unpleasant things might occur .

After some web digging, I learnt that one could use 220V bulbs instead, bearing in mind the European base is slightly wider than the American (27 mm vs. 26 mm). There's also the issue of whether the lamp wire is rated for 220V. While this is not likely to cause a problem, the use of 110V-rated wires and/or switches would technically be a safety violation. Nevertheless I came across much anecdotal evidence that American lamps work fine in Europe provided the bulb is changed to 220V.

Some transformer company is going to make a small fortune off me.

Leo

Re: New intelligent lightdimmer for B&O remotes

kruppking — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 00:52:36 GMT

I received a message yesterday saying that they had been shipped. I'm away from home during the week but hopefully they may be there when I get back this weekend

Re: New intelligent lightdimmer for B&O remotes

k984942 — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 05:26:49 GMT

Thanks Leo, I've just put in my order for 5!

Now comes the hard part.....waiting!

Re: New intelligent lightdimmer for B&O remotes

leogenghis — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 05:22:06 GMT

I bought them from HOMEe. They still seem to have them in stock!

Leo