I am looking for a dimmer that has a switch on a wall but that will also work with an IR repeater. My wall switches will be behind my seating area and I want to control them with my universal remote. Does anyone make a dimmer that can do that?

I am using this one:

Lutron Maestro digital dimmer, with IR remote control (http://www1.electronichouse.com/products/slideshow/119/3106.html)

The price is right, if all you need is a basic dimmer. I punched the model number in for my Harmony universal remote, and they had this model in their data base, which means I had no problem "teaching" my Harmony 890 to run this thing. The Harmony 890 comes with some IR repeaters. I place the IR repeater on top of my equipment rack, and it then is able to repeat the signal (if you have a line of sight) to my dimmer, which is also located directly behind the rows of seating, next to the rear entry door.

This particular remote -- the Harmony 890 -- can also do RF in case you do not have a direct line of sight to the dimmer. However, I have not had to use this, since the IR repeater can "see" my dimmer just fine.

Hope this helps,

-Bruce

Thanks for the reply. I guess I don't understand how a repeater works. I thought the IR receiver was in front of the person seated and it transmitted a signal (through wires)to an emitter located wherever the equipment is located. I thought the "system" was called an IR repeater system. You said the repeater sends a signal to the dimmer on the wall.? How does that work?

Thanks for the reply. I guess I don't understand how a repeater works. I thought the IR receiver was in front of the person seated and it transmitted a signal (through wires)to an emitter located wherever the equipment is located. I thought the "system" was called an IR repeater system. You said the repeater sends a signal to the dimmer on the wall.? How does that work?

Technically, I believe that you are correct. I apologize, as I was probably using incorrect terminology in this case.

The device I am referring to came shipped with my Harmony 890. They refer to this as a "Wireless A/V bridge receiver."

To quote from their description, this small device "serves as a bridge receiver which converts RF signals to IR commands, for control without a direct line of sight!"

If no RF signal is needed, it merely picks up the the IR signal from your remote, and then can beam it again to any device which has direct line of sight, using normal IR technology.

The device has an AC cord attached to it. You plug this cord into the nearest electric outlet, and that is all. In my case, no other cords or cabling or wiring is involved. I aim my remote from my seat to the front of the theater. This device is sitting on top of my equipment rack, plugged into an AC outlet on the equipment rack. This device then simply "repeats" the same code, only it is now re-beaming it toward the back of the room, behind me, where my dimmer is. The dimmer receives this code (which is the same code as the ones that would normally be sent by its own native remote that comes in the package.) The dimmer responds accordingly.

Hope this is clear.

If you wish to see the small "Wireless A/V bridge receiver" that comes with the Harmony 890, here is a link. Scroll down and look for a square box with a "Number 4" as its label.

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products/detailsharmony/US/EN,CRID=2084,CONTENTID=10930

Take care,

Bruce

I use a 4 channel Lutron Grafic Eye for my theater lights. You can have multiple wall panels and it comes with a remote. I have an IR receiver mounted at the front of the room. 2 wires run from it back to the equipment rack where there is a Xantech distribution block that feeds the IR signal by wire to emitters mounted on all of the equipment. There is also a pair of wires that runs to the Grafic eye and I have an emitter mounted inside the Grafic Eye control panel. It was easy to teach my MX-500 remote the commands and I have multiple light settings for the room. Not the cheapest solution but extremely robust and reliable.

..Doyle

Thanks Doyle.

Where do you have your receiver mounted? Is in the wall, Ceiling? If so, is it in a junction box? What kind of wires do you run from the receiver to the Xantach block.

I use a Lutron Maestro with my IR repeater. I simply ran a cat5 wire in the wall cavity that the switch box was in, spliced in the emitter, and connected it to the emitter block back at my equipment rack. The emitter has an adhesive disk, so I attached it directly on top of the IR receiver on the dimmer. It works great. And for my humble room that only has 4 sconces, it's all I need for lighting control.

I am using this one:

Lutron Maestro digital dimmer, with IR remote control (http://www1.electronichouse.com/products/slideshow/119/3106.html)

The price is right, if all you need is a basic dimmer. I punched the model number in for my Harmony universal remote, and they had this model in their data base, which means I had no problem "teaching" my Harmony 890 to run this thing. The Harmony 890 comes with some IR repeaters. I place the IR repeater on top of my equipment rack, and it then is able to repeat the signal (if you have a line of sight) to my dimmer, which is also located directly behind the rows of seating, next to the rear entry door.

This particular remote -- the Harmony 890 -- can also do RF in case you do not have a direct line of sight to the dimmer. However, I have not had to use this, since the IR repeater can "see" my dimmer just fine.

Hope this helps,

-Bruce

Is there a dimmer that can work with the Harmony RF without any other hardware. Thanks.

Is there a dimmer that can work with the Harmony RF without any other hardware. Thanks.

The answer is Z Wave, I found out.

I use a Lutron Maestro with my IR repeater. I mounted a dimmer with the eye in my equipemt closet, then put two other Maestro dimmers (without eyes) in my room for manual turning lights on. I then just stuck the repeater to the eye on the dimmer in the closet off the repeater block. I programed the remote to tuen the light up/down/or to a favorite selection. I also have full manual control from two places in the room. Very cheep and simple.

Actually my receiver which is just the small "eye" sits behind some grill cloth for my center channel speaker. (My front speakers are built into the front cabinetry) It does have a talkback LED built into it so I can see it flashing behind the grill cloth when it is receiving IR. I used some simple Cat 3 wire to run from that center channel location back to my equipment rack. Total wire distance is about 30 feet as it is snaked through the walls. In the rack is a Xantech connecting block and power supply. It then feeds the various IR emitters on equipment in the rack and also runs back via Cat 3 wire to the wall location where the Lutron Grafik Eye is located. The only thing that is in an electrical box is the Lutron Grafik Eye. The IR receiver is actually mounted in a small piece of wood and sitting in the center channel speaker location. This works well for me since I am essentially aiming my remote at the screen and the center channel speaker is just below the level of my drop down screen.

..Doyle

I use a Lutron Maestro with my IR repeater. I mounted a dimmer with the eye in my equipemt closet, then put two other Maestro dimmers (without eyes) in my room for manual turning lights on. I then just stuck the repeater to the eye on the dimmer in the closet off the repeater block. I programed the remote to tuen the light up/down/or to a favorite selection. I also have full manual control from two places in the room. Very cheep and simple.

Z Wave dimmer $39.00 shipped. Programed in the 890 in about 3 minutes. Works great.