2 x plug-in dimmers to be controlled as 1 x "virtual device"

Posted on
Wed Dec 16, 2015 8:29 pm
NicholFD offline
Posts: 94
Joined: Nov 22, 2003

2 x plug-in dimmers to be controlled as 1 x "virtual device"

I have 2 x Aeon Labs plug-in dimmer modules, with torch lamps plugged into them.

Currently I have a trigger that makes the "right" torch lamp follow the "left" lamp when the "left" lamp brightness is changed.

I would like to have a "virtual" (or whatever is recommended) device that represents both devices and allows dimming. I did not see a way to do this with virtual devices. Am I missing something or is there a better way to do this?

Thanks,
Frank

Posted on
Thu Dec 17, 2015 12:50 pm
howartp offline
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Location: West Yorkshire, UK

Re: 2 x plug-in dimmers to be controlled as 1 x "virtual dev

If they weren't dimmable, you could use a virtual device group for this, but they don't support dim levels.

You might be able to use associations here, but I'm not an expert on this - the theory I think is that as well as reporting to Indigo, they talk to each other via association.

How do you set dim level currently? By dimmer slider, or by set amounts? (Evening = 80%, morning = 100%, TV mode = 30%...)


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Posted on
Thu Dec 17, 2015 4:17 pm
NicholFD offline
Posts: 94
Joined: Nov 22, 2003

Re: 2 x plug-in dimmers to be controlled as 1 x "virtual dev

The touch screens on the wall have our most popular dim levels as buttons (20%, 50% & 100%). There is also a +5% & -5% button. And finally, a single toggle to turn the the "master" torch lamp (the left one) off & on. All of the pre-set dim buttons & brighten/dim buttons only refer to the left torch lamp. The on-screen buttons have the text I put there, not the real device name.

My reason for looking for a way to do this with a virtual is because I just implemented homebridge for Apple's Home Kit.

Homebridge is working awesome with Siri and our iPhones. I want to keep distinct name for the "left" & "right" torch lamp (just to keep things obvious for me from a technical standpoint). I would like a "TV Room Torch Lamps" device so I can tell Siri to turn on the TV Room Torch Lamps, instead of the TV Room Left Torch Lamp.

Thanks,
Frank

Posted on
Thu Dec 17, 2015 5:26 pm
jay (support) offline
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Re: 2 x plug-in dimmers to be controlled as 1 x "virtual dev

Ok, here's a way to do it: create a fake X10 dimmer device (put the following string in the notes field without the quotes to make it behave as if it's enabled: "- sample device -"). You can do that even if you don't have an X10 interface enabled, Indigo will just treat it like it's enabled and good. Then, you use that device to set the brightness you want for both. Then, create a trigger that watches for any brightness change on that X10 device and use two Match Brightness actions to match the target devices to the X10's brightness.

So, to change them both to the same value, you'd change the X10 device. To change each individually, you just change them directly.

Jay (Indigo Support)
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Posted on
Thu Dec 17, 2015 6:03 pm
NicholFD offline
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Joined: Nov 22, 2003

Re: 2 x plug-in dimmers to be controlled as 1 x "virtual dev

Done!

Works perfectly - Thanks!

Is "- sample device -" in the Note field documented anywhere? If so, I wonder what other documentation I haven't read...

Thanks,
Frank

Posted on
Fri Dec 18, 2015 12:38 am
howartp offline
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Re: 2 x plug-in dimmers to be controlled as 1 x "virtual dev

That's a rather clever solution!

I've not seen 'sample device' documented anywhere. I presume you've seen the wiki on indigodomo.com > support > indigo documentation.


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Posted on
Mon Dec 21, 2015 3:47 pm
jay (support) offline
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Re: 2 x plug-in dimmers to be controlled as 1 x "virtual dev

NicholFD wrote:
Is "- sample device -" in the Note field documented anywhere? If so, I wonder what other documentation I haven't read...


It's mentioned somewhere on the forums I believe, but it's not actually in the docs - it's mostly used by our Demo Server.

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