Have a couple quick Grafik Eye questions.

Thinking about picking one up and putting it on my front wall, because of ease of wiring, room for a thick box, and ease of use with remote. Was wondering what if others have done something similar.

My door is on the side. I thought about putting it there, so when you walk in, you naturally hit a light switch. But it isn't a normal switch, so dunno how that would work anyway. And then my remote wouldn't be pointing at it anyway, so how do others deal with that. Plus it's only a 2x4 wall, so it would not be thick enough to house the extra large box needed.

But I would like to put a normal switch there. I am confused about all the accessories offered. Is there something that would hook in to the Grafik Eye that would provide a normal light switch operation at the door entrance? Otherwise I will just wire in a single light there, just to get you into the room without tripping over everything to find the remote.

I think it is code in most places to have a light control in the entrance to a room.

Most people run a cat-5 to it and put an IR emitter in there. Then the use a repeater or an RF remote to control.

I have deep 4 space boxes in 2x4 cavities....It will work.


YMMV

So, this is a complicated question. Do you have a room layout to share, particularly where your equipment is located, how you handle it, etc?

Also, I'm assuming room is incomplete, allowing flexibility in installation and wire runs. Correct?

You've got good options.

Here's my two cents:
1) The recommended masonry box for the GE is 3.5 in in length. Assuming that you let 0.5 in stick out for the drywall, then this leaves 3 in of clearance in a 2x4 wall. Are you aware of this? I just measured my masonry box, unfinished with an installed GE3104, and it is exactly 3.5 inches.

2) I'd put it in the back near the entrance, but then seek out a solution to control it as you point the remote to the front. Where is your equipment located? Do you have an IR repeater or controller?

Thanks for the info guys.

Here is a picture of my current set on the right, and new setup on the left.

http://thecrashpad.com/pics/basement-proposed2.jpg

The red line is a 2x4 wall I JUST built. The basement was one big room before. My old config had bedrooms above it. The new config will have only the kitchen above it. I have only drywalled the non-HT side so far as my wife's requirement was to get the basement back to normal as much as possible, so that was a priority.

The screen wall backs up to unfinished space with complete access to it.

The rack is going to be up front (blue lines) and I am going to hide/cover it with a panel that opens. I'd like to put the GE up front because it would be easier to wire with all the open space plus no need for a repeater.

What do you guys think?

http://www.lutron.com/grafikeye/specs/ntgrx-1s.pdf

Im using this accesory. The nice thing is that it connects to the grafik eye with standard romex electrical cable. It allow for you to press once and have it go to scene 1, press it again and it turns everything off. Should work out well for your needs.

Reasonably priced comparing to all the other accessories out there.
http://www.louielighting.com/Customkititems.asp?kc=LUT_NTGRX-1S-K&zmam=8526920&zmas=1&zmac=2&zmap=LUT_NTGRX-1S-K

Put it on the front wall, maybe next to the equipment rack (on the left side of the screen), then put a grafik eye controller over in the 2x4 wall. This way, you'll be pointing your remote always to the same location.

Here's list of controllers:
http://www.lutron.com/grafikeye/grx_acc.asp?s=&t=

Just quickly did a check on Ebay and am seeing a black 4-scene controller for $49.99.

Not sure on the wiring connection between the GE and the controller. Read the docs that Lutron has on the controllers on how to connect them. Or, give them a quick call - am hearing that they have excellent customer service.

I'm putting mine near the front of the room. Code does require a light switch near the door, so I'll be running an accessory controller (much simpler and more attractive than the big GE box anyway) back to the entrance.

Be aware that most GE accessory controllers require special low voltage wire run back to the GE. This wire is low voltage control wire (two pairs, one for power, one for control, I believe), but because the wire is going to run into the same box as the GE, it requires high voltage sheathing. Therefore you can't use your normal sprinkler wire, etc.

I believe the 'ntgrx' accessory mentioned above is one of the exceptions. It's limited to 'scene 1 on/off', but can be run with normal high voltage wire.

See the Grafik Eye sticky thread for much more detail. Reading through it will take much less time than ripping out your install if you do it wrong.

Thanks for all the great info guys!
The single button NTGRX-1s seems the easiest way to go. A simple on/off button, with simple Romex run to it from the GE box.

The four scene NTGRX-4S looks great too. But the special wire needed is kind of a turn off. How many wires does it use? Could I just run a 12-2 or 12-3 Romex? I already have a bunch anyway.

I already bid on one on the Bay, before I knew about the need for a special wire.

Speaking of the Bay, anyone have any tips on getting a GE 3100 series for a good price? I see a lot of posts of people getting good deals, but I don't see much. Guess I'll just bid on one and see what happens.

I got some PELV wire that came with the 3106 controller I purchased. I don't need it as my Grafix Eye will be mounted at the entrance. If you're interested I will measure it to see what I have.

Best of luck.

budk

Great! I literally need about 15', maybe 20' to be safe. Let me know what you want for it. You can PM if you like.

budk

Great! I literally need about 15', maybe 20' to be safe. Let me know what you want for it. You can PM if you like.

Have you read the literature on Lutron's site on the wire that you need? I thought if it's low-voltage, any low-voltage wiring could be used (maybe even lamp cord (sarcastic).

I'm really not sure. According to the master thread:
"Be sure to use a cable rated at 600V for this application."

But then, 600V isn't really low volt is it?

According to this PDF, it looks like it uses 3 wires:
http://www.lutron.com/onespec/cutsheets/appnotes/grx/lvwiring.pdf

Up above, pmeyer thought it uses two pairs, the but PDF looks it would only use 4 wires if you were also wiring a second control box.

Guess I will post in the master thread and see.

I'm really not sure. According to the master thread:
"Be sure to use a cable rated at 600V for this application."

But then, 600V isn't really low volt is it?

According to this PDF, it looks like it uses 3 wires:
http://www.lutron.com/onespec/cutsheets/appnotes/grx/lvwiring.pdf

Up above, pmeyer thought it uses two pairs, the but PDF looks it would only use 4 wires if you were also wiring a second control box.

Guess I will post in the master thread and see.

So am glad to see they have the recommended wire. It may be available easily from Lowes or HD. Also, you had asked earlier about where to get a decent priced unit.

In my experience, I bought a white/black 3104 off of Ebay for ~$288. It was used, but was in perfect condition. Recommend that you pick a model out, then just watch for it or subscribe to email notification on that model from Ebay. With the newest QS versions coming out, I have to believe that others are wanting to trade up and are putting them on Ebay.

You wont find the PELV wire at HD or Lowes. I've checked, it's something too custom and they would not be able to sell enough of it. Can't even find it in local electrical shops for that matter.

It is a low voltage application the problem is that it is being placed in the same electrical box with high voltage wires so therefore requires a high voltage sheathing as mentioned above along with a CL2 rating.

Here is a link to the pdf for the cable:
http://www.lutron.com/grafikeye/specs/cables_nonplenum.pdf

This cable has a rating of 300V which appears to satisfy the requirement. It actually has five conductors as you can see. They also have a six conductor type for the 4000 series. You can get this wire by the foot from some of the folks in the Grafik Eye sticky.

In my application I'm using the 1S when I get to the bottom of my stairs so I can set scene 1 in the rec. room and then the main unit is placed on the outside of the HT room. I have IR accessory (GRX-CIR-WH)to be placed in my AV closet to then control the GE through my IR Network. Good luck with you situation.

In my theater, I have a single pole light switch on the outside wall of the theater right next to the door. I flip the switch on when entering the theater and it sends the power to my Lutron Grafik Eye 3104 inside the theater. When I walk in, it's set to have all my main lighting (sconces) turned on. My 3104 is located beside my equipment rack. I have a Niles flasher on the opposite side of the room that repeats IR signals to my equipment rack and 3104.

I have a room within a room design and actually placed the single pole switch on the outside wall of the theater entrance because I didn't want to cut a hole in my double layer of 5/8 sheetrocked inside wall of the theater and create an avenue for sound transmission. This way I only had to puncture one small hole to run the romex through and easily caulked it to seal the hole.

I think this should work in your theater as well. Place a single pole light switch near your entrance, then run the romex from the switch to your Grafik Eye somewhere on your screen wall (if you place it by your equipment rack, you would only have to aim your remote in one direction). Here is a picture of my 3104 next to my equipment rack.

Matt

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=101277&d=1202178328

Put mine next to the door. Just hit the top button when I enter to turn everything on. My remote works just fine shooting it at the screen (bounces the IR signal to the GE). I ran a cat 5 for an IR repeater if necessary, but it was not required.