Using HA to control Electric Toy Trains?

[RichTJ99]

Hi,

I have two Insteon "wall warts". One is an "On/Off" wallwart while the other is a lamp on/dim/off wallwart. I would like to remotely control my sons (6 month old) toy train layout (on the ceiling). I plan to use the RF800 in conjunction with a X10 controller (sending X10 on to turn the insteon on using insteon "language" not X10). I am also using Homeseer as my HA software.

I was curious what the best way to do this would be? Can I use a dimable wallwart to control the transformer for the train? Does sending less voltage through a transformer hurt the unit (similar to using a dimmer on a fan)? Am I better off with an on off wallwart?

Thanks,
Rich

 

[KenM]

Hi,

I have two Insteon "wall warts". One is an "On/Off" wallwart while the other is a lamp on/dim/off wallwart. I would like to remotely control my sons (6 month old) toy train layout (on the ceiling). I plan to use the RF800 in conjunction with a X10 controller (sending X10 on to turn the insteon on using insteon "language" not X10). I am also using Homeseer as my HA software.

I was curious what the best way to do this would be? Can I use a dimable wallwart to control the transformer for the train? Does sending less voltage through a transformer hurt the unit (similar to using a dimmer on a fan)? Am I better off with an on off wallwart?

Thanks,
Rich

The correct answer is to use the relay (on/off) module.

I have been known to control fan speed with a good quality Vizia-RF (Leviton) dimmer module. The INSTEON modules are not quite as robust and may fail on larger loads. If the transformer is relatively low wattage (say 60 watts) you are most likely safe using the dimmer. Your choice, just be aware that the dimmer module may fail with too large of a reactive load. If you do not wish to 'experiment' just use the relay module.

Ken