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Thread: RA3 - not clear connect?

  1. #1
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2018
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    25

    Question RA3 - not clear connect?

    Happy wife, happy life story...

    She likes these new Lutron dimmers she saw at Home Depot. "Why can't you use these instead of those flat things that look and feel cheap?" She was talking about the Sunnata. At the time, those were dumb switches and I told her that. But now I hear that Sunnata is available in RA3.

    Then I read that RA3 is not clear connect and is in some other band. And RA3 implies that RA2 will go away.

    When we eventually build next year, I don't want to screw this up. We are both accustomed to the HomeKit/Alexa/Google integration that Caseta Pro bridge offers. We don't want to lose that. Or the reliability.

    So what is up with RA3/RA2/RA2 select? What's staying, what's going? Sunnata style dimmers and switches coming to more than RA3?

  2. #2
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
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    579
    Well currently there are two Clear Connect frequencies:

    Clear Connect A which is the beautiful 434 MHz that Lutron had touted as the best frequency for IOT devices because there is no interference and can penetrate walls better than any other frequency in use, especially that garbage 2.4 GHz that everybody else uses. And because they use wireless repeaters, it is faster and more reliable than those horrible ugly no good mesh networks that others use.

    Clear Connect type X Which uses that ugly no good overcrowded 2.4 GHZ frequency everybody else uses and it's a mesh network which just up till about 2 years ago was considered bad as well...I'm sure Lutron's recent Ketra acquisition and their use of 2.4 GHz and mesh networks and the sudden change in tone is purely coincidence and not at all self serving and the laws of physics have all of a sudden changed to where 2.4 GHZ is not overcrowded and wall penetration has suddenly improved.

    As for the future? who knows...none of Lutron's actions make sense to me. Why would they not make all the older Clear Connect A devices be compatible with Ra3? Why disallow grafik eyes? And then why not allow the new devices that use clear connect A like the outdoor receptacle and wire free shades compatible with Ra2? They created a no-win situation because if someone has grafik eyes and wants wire free shades, they can't do it on Ra2 and they can't upgrade to Ra3 because they have grafik eyes. And like you said, what about Ra2 Select? Will these horrible Sunnata dimmers be compatible with Ra2 select as well?

    Lutron really needs to communicate their reasoning and intentions for the future. I have a meeting with a homeowner coming up and have no idea what to do...do I say Ra2 to give them a mature system that can possibly be obsolete in 5 years or do I go with Ra3 and all the bugs it will have as a new system? And even then, will I go Clear Connect A or X? So many questions and all I get is crickets from Lutron.

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  4. #3
    Senior Member
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    Sonnata is available for stand-alone, RA3, and HomeWorks. I don't expect they will ever be added to RA2, RA2 Select or Caseta.

    The purpose of RA2 Select was to provide a larger system for retail distribution. Now that Caseta allows 75 devices, and I believe it could easily go to 100, RA2 Select seems redundant. It does offer some devices that Caseta does not but I don't think they are big sellers in the retail market.
    Convergence Technologies Raleigh, North Carolina
    www.convergenceusa.com

  5. #4
    Junior Member
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    Nov 2022
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    Great answer. Thanks

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