[Link: zigbee.org]

We simply need to wait. The data and control wireless being used (802.14.4 or ZigBee) is still in development and the final spec won't be ratified until Q4 so there will be no product available until well into Q1.

And even then, I suspect Control4 will hand-pick their dealers very, very carefully. Their rep for Chicago is covering four other states and will only be scheduling Chicago area dealers when he's home on the weekends. Also take note that they have only five sales reps for the entire country.

And no one in these forums have brought up the potential for them to simply turn around and sell the company right off the bat. The last time it was not pleasant. West, Morgan and Smith very well may have engineered a churn-n-burn with the VC's from the get-go and just want to turn over the whole outfit to a conglomerate (think Honeywell) for a massive profit and get out as opposed to trusting an industry partner like they did with AMX.

My opinion of their concepts are thusly: I have an EE background focused on both networking and wireless. Meshing that with my long-time love affair with fine sound, video and automation, I began envisioning a standards-based, wired/wireless culmination at lower costs for about eight years now. What they are promising is nearly parallel to what's been in my head. I'd like to see them make it.

Time will tell. I need to excuse myself now and sort through the fifty pounds of literature sitting next to me.

I am STILL cleaning up Phast systems, and the name alone C4 frightens me, as a general feeling, see if their investors are still pumping money, will it work and if they still have a CEDIA booth in 2006.

Hi guys,

Anhy specific questions I can answer for you?

Chat soon,

Jim Gist
Director of Business Development
Control4

Just adding my 2 cents -

Did anyone see the back of the dimmers on display?
Have we not learned from the mistakes of the past?
What makes Control4 think they can mix 120V and an RJ45 LV connector in the same junction box?

A little more research and understanding of the construction trade is a given in this day. I am not sure that the installers and dealers need to be subjected to a corporations lack of understanding or a design flaw.

I know Control4 is in the development stage and when the product line does ship I hope they have resolved the issues like the one I brought up. However - first impressions are important, and I have a tainted one regarding Control4 over this.

Thank you,

Peter Grossman
T & G Systems

Well, I don't think it's actually against code but I agree it's not the optimum. The dimmers did look surprisingly IDENTICAL to the crap PHAST dimmers. I'll sure they spurred plenty of very bad memories from PHAST dealers who saw them.

It's a code interpretation issue - the local electrical inspectors can go either way.

When PHAST launched we took the inspectors to lunch BEFORE before we did our 1st dimmers & showed them the relevant section of the code allowing LV Cat5 in the box *if* it's sole purpose was to control the HV dimmer. I don't feel it's unsafe, but the code specified a 1/4" separation, pretty difficult in a box. Lutron, Vantage, etc., all have the same code issue for their wired dimmers, but the choice of non-600v Cat5 aggravated the situation.

They signed off, but the much bigger problem came later trying to actually stuff all those Cat5's into a 3-gang box already stuffed with the big "smart" dimmers. Forget bend radius... by the time the wires were mashed in, I don't even want to guess how bad the network performance was compromised.

Aaaaarrrgggg!