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Hello All,
I am working on a project for which we already specified 165 devices but we may need to exceed the 200 limit of a single main repeater.
Homeworks QS is not an option right now and I was wondering if anyone here had good or bad experience with integrating 2 or more main repeaters in one system.
We will also integrate a 3rd party control system so in essence the 2 main repeaters will be hidden from the user
Thanks in advance
bluemanta- Level 2/Inclusive training will allow for a twin main system that will cover your needs. The two are programmed together and reside on both main repeaters, with the two mains actually independent systems linked by the ethernet. You will need to attend a live training from Lutron itself- two days, not offered very often. I would contact your territory's rep ASAP.
Just re-read. If you exceed the 200 device limit of an Inclusive system, you'll definitely need a third party system to bridge between mains. Control4 won't allow for multiple instances of a main repeater driver. I know this can be done with RTI, ad you may want to look at Elan. Homeseer has been mentioned and may allow for this as well.
We used to do it a lot with pre-Chronos Classic RadioRA. The limitation was the RS232 box in each RA system. Crestron, et. al. would monitor each system and, if it saw a button press, it would repeat it in the other system. It also gave us a way, way, way, way better timeclock than that <cough><cough> TORQ box.
There are some design considerations. For example, you wouldn't want to split the kitchen between the two systems. Same for timed events. You wouldn't want part of your landscape on 1 system, part on the other. The App is also a consideration.
Plan on using all of the aux repeaters.
You can only do 200 devices with 2 main repeaters and you will need the Inclusive Software. Each Main supports 100 devices, including the repeaters, so its healthy to think of it as 95 per Main.Quote:
Originally Posted by bluemanta
If you need more than 200, you really should be on HomeWorks QS.
I'm bidding on a job - existing Homeworks RF Geberation 5 - over 300 devices plus about 20 QED/QS Shades that are not on the system but can be added - going with QS against an estimate with RA2 from an electrician; If they estimated 2 x RA2 system - can you bridge them together or they stay completely independent ? No 3rd party integration (yet). Usually the electricians sell the products at cost - so we'll show up as very expensive.
As pscheetz noted, a single main repeater supports 95 devices, 1 main repeater, and 4 aux repeaters. You can link 2 repeaters though the Inclusive software. That only gets them ~2/3 of the way to the number of devices needed. The only way to make 2 RA2 systems talk is through a 3rd party (Crestron, Savant, etc.). That's some expensive duct tape!
The big negative for me would be the app. Yes, you could swap "homes" in the app but if you make a change or create a scene in one system you have to duplicate it in the other. Then you have to get the Crestron guy back so he can connect the 2 changes.
Lutron has announced the P7 processor which will be available in the 1st quarter. Since it supports Ketra I would expect it to be more expensive. It would be awesome if it supported more than 99 devices per link. I would not bet on that though.