UPB Questions

[upstatemike]

Been reading up on UPB a little bit but a few things are not clear to me from the literature (that I have read so far).

1- I need to understand scenes better. Am I correct that a regular switch can trigger any of the 250 scenes when it is turned ON (thus enabling virtual 3-way arrangements as well as dimming scenes)? Can the same switch trigger a different scene from a double tap and a third scene from when OFF is pressed?

2- If UPB keypads trigger scenes then I assume they do not have status LEDs (since there is nothing to sync an LED to)?

3- I understand that the LEDs on UPB devices are dual color and they can be programmed for different behaviors. Is there a good reference detailing the options available? Would that be in the Upstart doc? Is there a comparison chart someplace that lists the LED color combinations by brand? Does anybody do a Blue/White or Blue/Yellow combo?

 

[Steve]

Mike,

1- I need to understand scenes better. Am I correct that a regular switch can trigger any of the 250 scenes when it is turned ON (thus enabling virtual 3-way arrangements as well as dimming scenes)? Can the same switch trigger a different scene from a double tap and a third scene from when OFF is pressed?

The UPB terminology is a 'link'. You can link virtually anything and any combiantion. A switch can either send a link or receive a link. A 'scene' is created when a switch sends a link and then several switches receive and act on that link. It's kind of different to grasp but the best thing to do imo is to just download the free UPStart tool and play around in it. Go to this thread and download the UPB file Event5 uploaded. It is a great and complex example of how all the links for together (without even using a controller).

2- If UPB keypads trigger scenes then I assume they do not have status LEDs (since there is nothing to sync an LED to)?

The LED tracks the load, so the LED will show the load status if desired.

3- I understand that the LEDs on UPB devices are dual color and they can be programmed for different behaviors. Is there a good reference detailing the options available? Would that be in the Upstart doc? Is there a comparison chart someplace that lists the LED color combinations by brand? Does anybody do a Blue/White or Blue/Yellow combo?

Load UPStart and go into a switch config. There is a dropdown that shows the available combinations. Essentially you have 4 states (3 colors and off) and the LED can be in any of the 4 states for on and off respectively. So it can be the same color always, 2 different colors for on and off or 1 color and off. I have an early post somewhere that tells the vendors colors but off the top of my head -

SAI US240 - Blue, Light Blue and Green (the Blue and Light Blue are VERY close)
SAI US1130 (older switch) - Red, Green, Orange
PCS is the same as 1130
HAI is Red, Blue and Magenta

Not to be repetitive, but loading UPStart (just go to www.simply-automated.com and grab the link from the homepage) and looking through it will give you the best feel for what can be done. Then just ask questions...

 

[DeLicious]

1- I need to understand scenes better. Am I correct that a regular switch can trigger any of the 250 scenes when it is turned ON (thus enabling virtual 3-way arrangements as well as dimming scenes)? Can the same switch trigger a different scene from a double tap and a third scene from when OFF is pressed?

As above, the UPB terminology is links. When a switch or module receives a link activation, it activates the local load. When it receives a link de-activation, it turns off the local load, and the links it is able to receive are independent of the links it is able to send. So yes, a regular switch can activate any link as long as you program it correctly. However, each button (or rocker position) can only be programmed to control a single link, so all button actions on a particular button must pertain to a single link. So, I think the answer to your question here is no, the same button cannot trigger different scenes with single tap and double tap. I agree that playing around with UPStart is also the best way to learn.

2- If UPB keypads trigger scenes then I assume they do not have status LEDs (since there is nothing to sync an LED to)?

I think you should be careful here. The SAI switches have a single LED at the top of the switch which is synched to the local load. However, on HAI switches, the buttons are backlit to correspond with activation/deactivation of the associated link, again possible because each button is associated with only a single link. However, I don't know the synchronization possibilities of HAI switches when the same lights are controlled by two different links as I currently only have SAI switches.

3- I understand that the LEDs on UPB devices are dual color and they can be programmed for different behaviors. Is there a good reference detailing the options available? Would that be in the Upstart doc? Is there a comparison chart someplace that lists the LED color combinations by brand? Does anybody do a Blue/White or Blue/Yellow combo?

Again, be careful which switches you are talking about. The SAI switches have dual-color LED's at the top of their switches, and their color is programmable. On my US-240's, I have color options of green, blue, and light blue, programmable to show any of the 3 colors in combination with the 2 states of the local load. My single transceiver (non-universal) has green, red, and orange as the color options. So, I don't think they have blue/white or blue/yellow like you ask for, but you could do blue/off for load on/off or even for load off/on, depending on what you like.

 

[elcano]

As always, you do more magic when you add and Elk M1 to the formula. You can have an UPB rocker activate a link that is recognized by the M1, and have the M1 activate several other links as appropriate. It can also respond differently to the same link if you activate it multiple times (not a double tap).

 

[Event5]

Mike,

One single rocker switch can operated 2 different links, however the functionality is not very user friendly. Here is how I did it on my test bench.
With a SA 1130 and a PCS WS1, using UPStart in the transmit tab of the single rocker switch, assign the top button/rocker to a link. Then using custom mode you can make the top rocker 1 click activate and double click deactivate the link. Then assign the bottom button/rocker to another link and program the same. Works on my bench. Could be used with inline modules to operate a ceiling fan and light. You could also add either brighten or dim to the function of the light but not both functions.

Dave