I am going to be adding some recessed lighting to our basement. I would like to add the Maestron IR dimmers, but my problem is that my stairs come down to the back of my theater area. I actually have to come around the corner so I have no line of sight to the switches.

What options do I have to get them to work? My one thought was to relocate the main dimmer switch and accessory dimmer (2 zones, maybe 3) to the middle of the room so I can access it with the remote. If I do that can I leave still have 2 more dimmers in the original location as well (I guess that would be considered a 3 way switch??) so I can turn the lights on instead of stumbling in the dark to find the light switch.

I am no electrician so I am just wondering what my options are? Is an IR repeater an option with the Maestro? (I read about using it with the Spacer system with the clear box, which would be nice, but I am afraid more than I was hoping to spend.)

Thanks for the help.

pelly,

I'm looking for remote controlled switches for my HT as well. I have been looking at the Maestro IR from Lutron and the Spacer system.

You may want to look at an x10 system like the 2476D (Load Switch), 2876DB (Companion) and 4040 (IR Receiver) from SmartHome. Then you can place the 4040 in an outlet within your line of sight and it will control the x10 switches. Total cost would be around $100.

I just installed 8 Lutron Spacer System dimmers (4 3-way zones). For the one location with no line of sight, I spliced some cat5 into my Microsmith Hot Link Pro X12 IR emitter and ran it over to the switch an placed the emitter inside the switch. Works great now.

Is an IR repeater an option with the Maestro? (I read about using it with the Spacer system with the clear box, which would be nice, but I am afraid more than I was hoping to spend.)

Thanks for the help.

Any IR repeater will work. I use Buffalo Electronics stuff and CAT5 cable for my Maestro dimmer that is located behind me. It works great and controls everything in my room.

I just installed 8 Lutron Spacer System dimmers (4 3-way zones). For the one location with no line of sight, I spliced some cat5 into my Microsmith Hot Link Pro X12 IR emitter and ran it over to the switch an placed the emitter inside the switch. Works great now.

Mike,
Does that system work on 3 way circuits and act as dimmers?

I have the Lutron Maestro and it works well so far. Has anybody programmed their Universal MX-850 with it? The default buttons are FAVSC, RAISE and LOWER. Raise and Lower each "move" the light one increment at a time, but I can't figure out how to program FAVSC. I want to be able to dim/raise the lights to a preset level.

Any help would be great.

Did you read the online Lutron instructions?

Mike,
Does that system work on 3 way circuits and act as dimmers?
Sure, they wire in the same a a pair of 3 way switches. You use one main spacer with the IR window and one slave dimmer.

I have the Lutron Maestro and it works well so far. Has anybody programmed their Universal MX-850 with it? The default buttons are FAVSC, RAISE and LOWER. Raise and Lower each "move" the light one increment at a time, but I can't figure out how to program FAVSC. I want to be able to dim/raise the lights to a preset level.

Any help would be great.

I learned the commands on my MX-500 without a problem

Mike,

How did you teach your remote the commands? I have the Lutro Maestro, but I don't have the Lutron remote.

Thanks.

I have a Harmony 880 and the codes for the MIR-600 are downloaded from the Logitech Setup website.

By the way - Does anyone know how to set-up the 880 to dim the lights when I press play, raise the lights to Scene 1 when I press pause, and raise the lights when I press stop?

I asked this question in the Remote Control forum and someone said that this feature has been removed. But it is such a basic feature that I just can't believe Logitech would remove it.

Mike,

How did you teach your remote the commands? I have the Lutro Maestro, but I don't have the Lutron remote.

Thanks.
I borrowed a Harmony 880, downloaded the codes to that and then used it to teach to my MX-500.
I have a macro that allows me to hit one button which then turns my 51" HDTV off, turns on the projector, lowers the 108" screen, and fades the lights to off.

Sure, they wire in the same a a pair of 3 way switches. You use one main spacer with the IR window and one slave dimmer.

Thanks for the reply Mike.

Hi guys. I found out there are some special programming instructions for the Maestro series of dimmers! Some neat tricks here...

http://lutron.com/applicationnotes/048-123b.pdf