RE: MX-3000 and X10 Lighting.
I had IR lighting switches on the wall of my theater room. I though it was so cool to make the lights “Ramp Down” just like the movies instead of “clicking” them off.
Then I switched to X10 ….. No Ramp Down ! , Just a Lights Dim. Which means you have to hold your finger on the Dim button, but even that does not switch the lights off just Dim to 0% which means the On button does not really work. If the MX-3000 allowed a counter loop in its macro there would not be a problem…. Well it does!
Set a Lights “Ramp down” button to a 2 command Macro…. 1) Lights Dim 2)Lights Off , but the trick is to set the “repeat” option of the Dim to something like 25.
This will Dim the lights 25 times before setting them to Off. And of course you get the idea for Lights “Ramp On” 1) First Lights On (and if you have not played with them they will come on at 0%) and then “Brighten” with a repeat of about 25.

I try to use PCS brand X10 switches that have fully adjustable ramp times. That way you don't have to be tricky and tie up your remote for half a minute.

Nice to know about those PCS switches!

Hi Jazzman,
I saw your input re use of PCS switches to control lighting (ramp up and down) in a home theater.
I have a Lutron Spacer switch in the back wall of my theater which works very well, but it imposes the restriction of line-of-sight to trigger the control. Can the PCS switch work without pointing the remote backward, and what do I need to do this?
Much thanks for any help, you or anyone else can contribute.
Dennis

I use Swichlinc brand switches and they work like the PCS brand. To use X-10 switches by remote you will need an ir-543 receiver that can be plugged into any outlet and it will convert the ir signal to the power-line. Just put it where you want to point the remote and go to town.

Try Bill at automation, he sells all of these things and can help you to pick out the best stuff for your project.

[Link: homeautomationnet.com]

Thanks, RWI - just the help I needed.
Dennis

hello there,

new here so sorry my silly question:

just got the mx-3000 and want to integrate light... i have:

2 seperate lamps on top of the TV

1 halogen lamp

and a couple regular light switches.... would love to include all these lights

main questions

what modules will i need for the 2 regular lamps - i already have manual dimm switches on them so i only would need an on/off but for the halogen lamp i d like a dimmer that i also could control on the remote...

what s the easiest product to deal with and what will work with the mx-3000

tks much