Re: Grafik EYE
Just to get the original topic back in gear
I worked with Lutron Lighting Control Systems before - and recently on a project which was based on the Grafik Eye 6000 System Controller.
The GFX 6000 Processor drove two remote Lighting Contactor Panels via 4 wire address lines (COM Lines). The "Event Schedules" were easier to download on this system than on other systems I have dealt with - and the Application was certified for use under Windows 2000 - Windows XP O/Ss, whereas prior stuff was Windows 9x within a DOS window.
To those unfamiliar with these types of Lighting Control Systems, the concept of operation is rather simple.
All manual wall switch locations control a specific "Zone", via the setup programmed into the processor (downloaded to the processor via Serial port of a laptop machine).
Wall switch locations connect to a common 2 wire switchloop address line (again, a Serial COM line). Last wall switch on the string gets a terminator across the address lines (like an EOLR on Supervised circuits, or more like a SCSI Terminator on the last SCSI device). Remote panels are connected via the previously mentioned 4 wire COM line.
All the COM lines originate from the Processor (Main Controller - the GFX 6000 unit). The Processor receives the control commands, holds the downloaded program schedule of events (stores in Non-Volatile memory - like EEPROMs), processes the events, supervises the status of Peripheral equipment, and connects to "Off-Premisis" locations via Analog MODEM &/or Ethernet LAN (NIC).
All these things (wall switches and remote panels) are addressable, using a "6-BIT" protocol. As with any other addressable devices, having two or more nodes (appliances, or devices) set to the same address will cause Corn-Fusion for the processor - sending it into a mild insane state!
Control formats include simple timed on-off events for all zones, separate zones, etc., Dusk-to-Dawn (Suntracker) control for one, two, or more zones, Manual override with timed reset back to original state for all manual wall switch controlled zones, 12 different dimming scenes per each zone, and the ability to combine any or all these features together.
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Scott35