This is my first post here, but I'm a regular over at AVS Forum.

For awhile I've had a pair of lamps on a single X10 Lamp Module. I've been using a "Sundowner" wired controller to power them on/off and dim/brighten. Today I received an IR-543 that I planned to use to integrate control of these lamps with my Harmony 520 remote. I've had no problems integrating power-on and power-off of the lights. I am, however, having problems programming functions to dim 100% to 0% and to brighten 0% to 100%.

I've tried programming multiple "dim" and "bright" commands but the progression in either direction choppy, not smooth at all. I've tried every speed/delay setting with no luck. When I hold the "dim" button on the Harmony the progression is smooth as it should be, but when I try to program as part of an activity I can't achieve this same smooth dim and brighten functionality.

Any help? Thanks!

Can you set a scene command that sets everything to a predetermined level? That's the real answer. Then you create scenes for each activity and just send the scene command. It also doesn't matter where the lights were left in the previous activity. If you're sending dim and bright commands how do you know how many to send?

Can you elaborate on Scene commands, or point me in the direction of where to read up? since I'm only trying to do 100% to 0% and 0% to 100%, and extra commands in either direction would basically be ignored... it's getting the progression to be smooth that's the problem. My understanding of the entire X10 system is pretty basic, but the Scene commands you're referring to sound like they may be the answer... where should I go to begin learning about them?

Thanks!

I guess I'm confused - if you just need off/on then why are you doing the 0% to 100% and vice versa? Isn't there an on/off command?

Scenes probably require a different controller and you probably don't need it if it's just one module. But basically it's like this:

3 sets of lights
Scene 1 - all lights 100%
Scene 2 - light 1 off, light 2 50%, light 3 10%
Scene 3 - light 1 100%, light 2 off, light 3 off

Then you just select a scene with one command and all the lights go to their predefined levels.

Well the reason for wanting to go beyond simple on/off command is purely aesthetic. I want the smooth transition from 100% down to 0% and vice-versa. My end goal is to have a Harmony activity that does the following (for the DVD player as an example):

1.) Power on projector
2.) Power on receiver
3.) Set receiver to "DVD" input
4.) Power on DVD player
5.) Lower motorized screen
6.) Smoothly dim lights from 100% to 0%

and then when I power off:

1.) Power off projector
2.) Power off receiver
3.) Power off DVD player
4.) Raise motorized screen
5.) Smoothly raise lights from 100% to 0%

Right now I'm able to do everything EXCEPT step 6 for power-on and step 5 for power-off. I can easily program a basic "off" and "on" command, respectively, but a smooth dim and raise, respectively, would have a much more pleasing effect. Does this make sense, or am I completely mis-communicating the effect I'm going for?

Thanks.

I got it now. I use a leviton dedicated system with dimmers and a scene controller and it does exactly that - smooth, slow transition between lighting levels. How many dim or bright commands do you need? You could try using a sequence of 5 commands - repeated if necessary. Having the commands within a sequence might smooth out the execution - or not. Worth a try. You might have to upgrade to the leviton or other system to get what you want.

I think what you'd need are scene-capable X10 dimmers. I've got XPD3 dimmers & all I can do is turn them on/off quickly or hold the bright/dim buttons until they get to the desired brightness. I think the IR543's okay, but I'm not sure.
Like I said in my reply to your post in the X10 forum, Smarthome Switch Lincs may be the way to go. You can set the ramp-up/down speeds, so when you press on, the light gradually brightens. This thread ( [Link: remotecentral.com] ) from 2005 has someone else using them with the IR543. I don't know if there are other brands that do the same.

Topher5000,

Thanks for the heads up on the SmartHome products, they might be just what I need. Since I'm currently using 2 lamps plugged into a single X10 lamp module, would the "LampLinc" be the equivalent to a standard X10 lamp module, but with ramp-up/down support? It's a bit pricier than regular X10 modules... is there a less expensive X10 equivalent that supports ramp-up/down?

Thanks!

$35 is too pricey? You only need one module.

[Link: smarthome.com]

the off command needs to be a dim to off and the on would be a brite to on. with x10 all on/brite comands will execute full on unless the unit is in dim mode. same for the off...if you press off ,its off...if you dim to off, its still in dim mode ready for the brite to 100% comand.