(this didn't get any responses over on the Custom Installers board, so i'm trying here... hopefully someone can help?)

I've searched this forum and am very surprised that more people haven't tried to find a better way to control Hunter Douglas PowerRise shades.

The headrail has a 4-port connector which is used for the (optional) satellite IR eye... it would certainly seem that this could be used to directly (hardwired) trigger the motor to go up or down, just as the IR eye would do. Or if you can't hardwire a controller right to that port, at least connect that port via wires to an IR Connecting block if it uses a standard protocol??

Yet everyone who has discussed this product on this board seems to be having their home control system actually generate the right IR code and blast it towards the blinds somehow.

In my installation, there's no good way to blast IR towards the blinds... and while I could use emitters over the blinds' IR receivers, it would sure seem more reliable to go direct to the interface connector on the motor.

Has anyone tried this? or investigated what the IR receiver puts out when it "sees" a hunter-doglas "up" or "down" command?

Or has anyone else found another way to automate the PowerRise blinds?

Thanks in advance,

--Josh

Hi joshg

I have beed working with the Shutter switch of Marmitek. The point is that you will have to import it from Europe and is 220V/50Hz. Here is a link of the module:
[Link: quixmultimedia.com]

The module is the SW10. Is an X-10 blind controller, excellent.

I hope this can help you.

Josh,
my HD blinds are coming tomorrow. I'm going to try two things. I ordered the extended eyes/switch for each. I'm running the wires into the attic and plan on the following;
Either
1. take the switch wires, and hook up a Ramsey ICI1C infrared switch control kit (4 switches controlled by a IR signal from your remote - I use Hot link Pro and run a emitter to the attic to connect to the Ramsey)
or
2. take the 4 IR receives and place them tightly together in the attic, put a IR Emitter against them, (maybe put them all in aluminum foil to assure no signal loss) and send the signal again from the Hot Link Pro to the emitter.

Steve

Great, thanks Steve, I look forward to your results...

The more i think about it, I can't see why you'd need the 4 IR receivers... it sure would seem easy to run one of the IR receivers to each of the blinds input port (assuming you always want them to rise/lower together)... is that your goal also? Seems you could split the wires to each receiver... sure would help if HD had a pin diagram in the manual or on their tech website. they don't, i checked.

Alternatively, wouldn't it be wonderful if the 4-wire receiving port on the blinds simply accepted a standard 4-wire run from an IR connecting block? It's quite possible... then you'd have it fully hardwired...

All -

It turns out you can NOT do what I had proposed... hardwire a controller directly to the PowerRise headrail, nor can you combine headrails on one IR receiver.

The reason has to do with the way the IR eye is connected and what it does. For reasons having to do with power savings (default is that unit is battery powered), the pins do multiple things... the processor pin checks the state of the IR receiver but also switches to an output pin when the processor is sleeping (not checking IR status)... so wiring headrails together creates a ground loop without additional circuitry.

You can't connect the units directly to a controller either as the IR eye is sending demodulated data to the headrails, not simple up/down requests or modulated IR codes.

So the best solution for now is to tie standard IR emitters directly to the IR receivers... but I'm hopeful Hunter Douglas is hearing these requests and considers coming out with an interface to help us automators...

--josh

In addition to the IR sensor, there is a push button on the headrail. I used this when the IR sensor in one of our units failed. I assume that that button provides a contact closure or equivalent. Have you looked into using that instead of the IR?

Josh, Im now hooking them up. I have tried to learn the code to my pronto 3000. It takes the code (IR) but it does not work.

do you have the learned code or HEX that you can send me?

STeve

One thing I've done is eliminate those pesky batteries by soldering 12 volt supply wires to the battery tabs. Haven't tried a local flasher (ran out of conductors).

Why not just get the Hunter Douglas X10 control module?? I have this for my Powerrise shades works great. I am out of town and don't have the model numbers, but they do make a setup which works great. It plugs into the wall and you assign it a code. It then has a cord with an IR transmitter attached that you place near the IR receiver eye.

I use a Sony Rm-av3000 to control mine, they work great.