Update on ALC Lighting (Previously owned by OnQ Legrand)

TonyStewart

Active Member
Since our purchase of this product line from OnQ in Dec 2009 we have not posted much on CocoonTech. That's because we have been consumed with moving the manufacturing from China (where OnQ had it made) to the USA. Other factors like UL approval and several re-engineering requirements also caused the product lines migration move much slower than we had hoped.

We are happy to say that the electronics portion of this move is now complete. The product line is also now fully UL approved (American Version) and all circuity is now being made in the USA. This move alone has improved the quality of the product line. Today, each product shipped is factory tested 2 times before it reaches the customer.

Throughout the last two years we have continued to support the product line with technical support and repairs. With better quality control product returns have all but disappeared.

With manufacturing now based in the USA we are happy to say that we can keep the product line alive for many years to come and we have new products that are in beta testing now and soon to be released.

The product line was launched by OnQ (then AMP) in 1996. Since that date, over 330,000 products have shipped worldwide. We are now prepared to surpass those figures with your help.

In the Home Automation industry few products or suppliers exist that can claim a history as long as the ALC line of automated lighting products. But, we are a small company. And yes we also distribute home automation products, and yes we also run training courses for our industry and yes we will do whatever it takes to stay alive in this weak economy. The good news for ALC is that we are debt free and plan to stay that way. This means ALC is here to stay as well!

Over the last 2 years we have fielded calls for support from users and installers alike. The common frustration seems to center around poor installation techniques. When installed correctly and when future troubleshooting is planned into the cabling pathway, ALC is both very dependable and easy to troubleshoot. Currently we are filming training modules for the product that will appear on the setnetpro website when ready.

ALC uses cat5 cabling to communicate with an Omni or Elk controller. It is also among the fastest 2-way protocols on the market. Installing an ALC light switch involves wiring it just like a non-automated light switch with the addition of the cat5 cabling for communication. NO MORE proprietary wiring!

The product name of Genesis 1:3 Lighting was initially used because in Genesis Chapter 1 verse 3 the Lord says "let there be light". Soon, the product line will simply bear our families company name for the last 36 years. That name is "Stewart Electronics". ALC is currently sold by other distributors as well as through our website.

We are now ready to take orders or answer questions and hope you will consider us for your automated lighting needs.

Thank you for your time.

Tony Stewart
 
That's great news Tony! I'll have to take another look at ALC, if all it takes is running an extra cat5 drop to a regular light switch ...

This might be a great opportunity for a live Q&A via our chat room. People have been asking to bring back the Q&A sessions which used to be hosted on Fridays, so why not start now ;) Let me know if you are interested.
 
I sure am interested. I am traveling this week and not sure if I am back by Friday. But the next week is open. Let me know when you want to start.
I would be willing to assist with other Q&A areas as well.
Thanks for thinking of me.
 
Glad to hear it Tony! I'm very happy with my 102 load install. It was a little touchy getting it all working (electrician reversed some of the TX wires and got some of the addresses wrong). I also had to replace about five switches which weren't communicating.

I bought a bunch of spares, but I haven't needed any of them!

My automation system is Charmed Quark which communicates directly to the Serial Adapter. It has been very reliable, but I have identified a small bug in the driver. The fix is pretty easy, but I'd like to get a hold of your RS-232 protocol just to make sure I'm not missing something.

Part No. 1307659 Developers Guide for detailed protocol information.
HLC_SI application note for lighting control, programming and unsolicited messaging examples utilizing the ASCII character based protocol.

Are these docs available on your web-site somewhere? I can't seem to find them.

Thanks -- Bob
 
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