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Thread: RadioRa2 Select?

  1. #31
    What happens with the Select main repeater AFTER the installer upgrades the client to full Ra2 (with Ra2 main repeater)? Does the Select main repeater serve any purpose to the system after one switches over to the Ra2 format?

  2. #32
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    Quote Originally Posted by totalcontrol View Post
    What happens with the Select main repeater AFTER the installer upgrades the client to full Ra2 (with Ra2 main repeater)? Does the Select main repeater serve any purpose to the system after one switches over to the Ra2 format?
    It can be re-used after a factory default. The Ra2Select main does nothing with full RadioRA2
    Simple automation when DIY isn't working
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  3. #33
    Quote Originally Posted by SDR-Mike View Post
    It can be re-used after a factory default. The Ra2Select main does nothing with full RadioRA2
    Thanks, so just so I understand, the installer would do the following:

    - Factory default the Lutron Select Main repeater
    - Install a Ra2 Main Repeater
    - Program and activate all lights on the new Ra2 system

    The Select main repeater would serve no purpose to the installation for Ra2 and could be used for another Select project.

    Question: What if the installer wanted to take advantage of some of the features of the smart bridge for Ra2 that allows free remote access, geofencing, Sonos control, Alexa, etc? He would then have to buy another product, like the smart bridge pro for Lutron Ra2?

    (would be great if the select main repeater could do this) but I guess it can't.

  4. #34
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    Quote Originally Posted by totalcontrol View Post
    Question: What if the installer wanted to take advantage of some of the features of the smart bridge for Ra2 that allows free remote access, geofencing, Sonos control, Alexa, etc? He would then have to buy another product, like the smart bridge pro for Lutron Ra2?

    (would be great if the select main repeater could do this) but I guess it can't.
    You are correct. If you want the features from the Select/Caseta line, add a Connect Bridge with the RadioRA2 Main Repeater. I believe Lutron is now sell them separately and as a package.
    Simple automation when DIY isn't working
    intuitivehomecontrols@gmail.com
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  5. #35
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    I just wanted to say that I finally "get" Ra2 select. I was skeptical at first but saw a presentation of it recently and it makes perfect sense now. I think the problem has been overselling of lower tiered systems so if those of us who sell these things can explain it well to customers and stop them from getting Caseta on a house that could potentially have many more devices than 50 and suggest Ra2 Select, everybody would be happy in the long run.

    Dealer installs:
    Ultra Luxury homes - Lutron Homeworks QS
    Most Luxury homes- Radio Ra2

    DIYers:
    Large houses: Ra2 Select
    Small houses: Caseta

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  7. #36
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    I am a Lutron guy and this has been a frustration of mine for a long, long time. It's an easy sell to tell an owner, "You have outgrown your processor. We have to replace it and reprogram." This is the case with RR2 Select to RR2. It is a no-sale to tell an owner, "You have outgrown your processor. We have to replace the entire (working) system." The same is true when upgrading from RR Classic or HomeWorks Illumination.

    Lutron looks at how the products are distributed. They have 3 channels - retail, distribution (electrical), and AV/automation dealers. That means AV/automation dealers have to compete with Home Depot and Best Buy who operate in tiny margins and offer no support. Plus there are electricians, most of whom are... well, I'll leave that there.
    Convergence Technologies Raleigh, North Carolina
    www.convergenceusa.com

  8. #37
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    Quote Originally Posted by randyc View Post
    Lutron looks at how the products are distributed. They have 3 channels - retail, distribution (electrical), and AV/automation dealers. That means AV/automation dealers have to compete with Home Depot and Best Buy who operate in tiny margins and offer no support. Plus there are electricians, most of whom are... well, I'll leave that there.
    Well I'm a master electrician and came from a technical background so I for one am glad that Lutron sticks to one thing and does it better than anybody else and stays out of AV stuff. Most of the service I've done on not just Lutron but other lighting systems have been because of an electrical failure - mismatched load type with a dimmer/module, a light fixture shorted out and blew up a dimmer, power washer decided to powerwash a wall with a bunch of Homeworks Illumination wireless dimmers that cost a fortune now, etc. and when the lights don't come on the customer will usually end up calling the people they like the most. I've been at both ends where it was my system but someone else's electrical work or it was my electrical system and someone else's system and rightfully or wrongfully, the finger-pointing begins.

    On one house where I put in the system, the builder's AV guy and electrician were clueless about lighting automation so I had to guide both so it's a double whammy- If the electrician's light fixture shorts and blows up one of my modules and the lights don't come on, *I* get the text at 11 PM when the homeowner is mad that her party has a few lights missing. If the A/V guy's system messes up and the fancy All-In-One app they sold the customer that controls the house can't turn a light on, again, *I* get the call!

    On another job where our longtime customer moved to a new house, at our suggestion they went with a Ra2 system but the builder's AV guy who already had his foot in the door, sold them a combination RA2/HAI system and had their guy - a bootleg electrician doing unlicensed side work do the installation while they did the programming and he couldn't even figure out how to do a multi-location switch and between all of them, they couldn't even keep the under counter lights from blinking until I told them they needed an ELV dimmer.

    Anyway I think we're all top notch at a few things and I think the lighting automation is best to be on its own thing and handled by ONE company so if the lights don't come on, the customer can call that one company and just hand the keys to the AV guys once it all works. It's been very rare for me to see an AV company hire a good electrician for this type of work because they don't want competition from electricians so the electrical portion of the work tends to be sloppy so it goes both ways!

    Anyway, back on topic, there are definitely different markets for lighting and different channels so I'm grateful that Lutron, unlike pretty much every other AV company that dabbles in lighting sees this. I've noticed this year with "another" company that they are getting rid of any dealer that doesn't sell and isn't fully committed to their one product (service of older systems be dammed). From my point of view, I'm perfectly happy going to a house and installing 10 Caseta switches the customer bought on amazon, walking the customer through the app, and never seeing them again just as I'm happy to sell a whole home system and having longterm relationship with the customer.

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