Lutron has new "Spacer" light dimmer modual

[Andrew Pratt]

Hey guys Lutron just called me asking for some help testing their new "spacer" light switch called the maestro. It sounds like they're really slick units with LED's on the side to indicate pre set levels, discrete dimming codes for universal remotes and improved touch/feel etc. He said they'd be sending them out in a few weeks time once they get the first run from the factory so I'll let you all know what I think when i get it installed.

It should look very much like this one.

[Azeke]

Where does he get these wonderful toys ?

Azeke

[George Bellefontaine]

Azeke, I think Mr. Pratt is a friend of Batman.

[Andrew Pratt]

I love that line

[ThomasW]

What I want to know is when is Mr Pratt is going to get group pricing on Lutron components??????? :wink:

[aud19]

What I want to know is when is Mr Pratt is going to get group pricing on Lutron components??????? :wink:

Yeah! :agree:

Jason

[Andrew Pratt]

I'll ask when I hear back from the tech I talked to this morning and see what we can arrange.

[Clive]

Andrew, I have a unit kinda like that with the LEDs and I/R. Like to know how it differs from this new one. Would be interesting.

[Andrew Pratt]

Well I got the new unit in the mail yesterday and installed it when I got home. The install took all of 5 minutes tops and it seems to work just as well as the old Spacer unit. I've played with it a little and really its essentially the same but with the added benefit of having a single user set favorite level that you can recall with the touch of a new button. So now you have codes to go to full on, full off, dim, brighten, and to go to the favorite setting (from both a powered on and off state). I was hoping the IR window would be more sensetive but that doesn't seem to be the case and the hardware looks and feels the same with the only difference being the row of LED's down the one side. I guess depending on how they price this unit it could be a great addition to their line up but if its priced much higher then the Spacer i'd say just go with the cheaper Spacer.

[Bent]

so scene lighting is possible, just that it is only one scene, and not multi-scene capable?

[Andrew Pratt]

Correct. It also uses the same codeset the Spacer does so I won't be able to use both in one room which is a dissapointment.

[ThomasW]

I want to know when we can buy them for a cost similar to X-10 units ..... :B

[Andrew Pratt]

Don't hold your breath Thomas Though to be fair these do work every time...unlike the X10's that I also use elsewhere in the house.

[ThomasW]

All my X-10s stopped working when I installed the whole house surge protector.

So I guess I'll have to stop buying cool new audio gear and pony up for some of the Lutron units. Becoming a geezer with a bad back and bad knees is a bitch .........

[Bent]

Thomas, the surge protector is an excellent idea, but there are only a couple of them are X-10 compatable.
The Leviton 51120-1 whole house surge suppressor will not eat X-10 signals - unless you want to sell me all your X-10 gear at an incredible discount..

[efarstad]

Hey gang! I too received my Lutron unit the same day Andrew did...just installed it and played around with it for a while. I do like it's remote capabilities but since I have both ropes lights and wall sconces I have on dimmers...the fact that you can't have two of these in the same room limits their capabilities!

I am currently using these because they can be programmed with ANY remote and work great. What they don't do and the Lutron does allow is for a "preset" level...but that's why I'll likely be getting a Graffik Eye soon anyway! :W

Good product if you only need one for a room or want all source dimmed to the same levels!

[Bent]

E!

how are ya?

[efarstad]

Hey Bent! Doing good thanks. Life is groovy and very busy...no complaints here. :sn

[mhibbs]

Full On Code

Can one of you guys send me the Philips Pronto format code for full ON? For some reason my remote will learn all of the buttons except for ON...learning ON causes the remote to lock up for some reason. I'm running the latest firmware on my TSU-3000 so I'm not sure what the problem is.

Thanks,

Mitch

[David Meek]

Hi Mitch, welcome to The Guide. :welcome:

Have you tried looking through the myriad of Pronto data at Remote Central? I'm not a Pronto-guy so I can't help you more directly.

[mhibbs]

Actually yes...I did some last night. All of the related codes are for the Spacer...which is supposed to be the same codeset as the Maestro, but so far the ON code for the Spacer seems to function like the Preset button on the Maestro...it takes the lights up to the preset, but not to full ON. I'm going to keep trying and see if maybe I can find some Full On codes for the Spacer that may function similar to the Maestro ON button. I'm not sure what kind of remote you use, but really all I am looking for is the hex code for On. If you can see that in yours, it would assume it would be the same...I don't think the format is really specific to the Pronto.

and thanks for the "Welcome"

[David Meek]

Just an aside here: Where in Dallas are you? I did my highschool years in Rockwall.

[Chris D]

Hmmm... I thought I had posted my review here of the same product, but I guess not. Andrew got me involved with this testing, too.

I've had the Spacer in my bedroom for almost 2 years before this new unit came. I see this new model being an upgraded Spacer. It's very similar in appearance and function, with a few new upgrades like the full-on button and level indicator LED's on the wall switch. I like every way that they've improved the unit. Based on the similarities between the two, I don't really see them having distinct places in the market. If the two were on a shelf next to each other, I wouldn't pay $20 more for this new unit, so I would see this as a replacement for the Spacer.

Good stuff! I like the products Lutron puts out!

[mhibbs]

I'm in the White Rock lake area...a couple of blocks east of the lake on the north side.

As for the similarity w/ the Spacer...it's this new Full On button that seems to be my problem. Are there Full On codes for the spacer somewhere that should work?

[mhibbs]

It Finally Worked

And here are the Maestro codes if anyone else ever needs them.

mitch


on
0000 0067 0000 0006 0341 010E 005C 010E 005C 0168 005C 00BA 005C 005C 010E 028D

off
0000 0067 0000 0007 0341 010E 005D 010E 005D 005D 0168 005D 005D 010E 005D 00BA 005D 01D9


dim +
0000 0067 0000 0006 0341 010E 005C 010E 005C 01D9 005C 010E 005C 010E 005C 01D9

dim -
0000 0067 0000 0006 0341 010E 005D 010E 005D 01D9 005D 0168 005D 005D 005D 0233

preset
0000 0067 0000 0007 0341 010E 005D 010E 005D 0168 005D 00BA 005D 005D 00BA 005D 010E 0168

[David Meek]

Thanks Mitch. :T

[Andrew Pratt]

Sorry I wasn't able to get those codes to you sooner...i was actually about to get to that this morning but I see you've already got them. thanks for posting them :T

[Lex]

I sent Lutron customer service an email about my failed Lutrons. So far, that's been 2-3 days ago. as yet I have not heard back from them. I will inform here when I do.

One went totally to toast was replaced, now the replacement you can't press the panel button. I can use the up or down tab, or or turn on and off with remote still. At least...

Lex

[Roxus]

Why can't you run two of these in the same room ?
I have 2 of the same ones from Smarthome that efarstad has for my ropelights and sconces but would like to have preset levels, of course, multiple preset levels

[Lex]

Roxus, you can have 2 of them, but they are on the same IR code, thus, if the remote "see's" both switches, then both switches will be turned on/dimmed/off etc... Of course, that could be a desired effect if both in same room. Probably in the rare circumstance you could want separate remote lights though.

Doug

[Lex]

Actually, I have 2 Lutrons installed, and one that went bad previously that I replaced. I did hear from them today, a nice email. They gave me a toll free number to call them, and he assured me they would take care of me. That's a good thing!

I'll let you guys know when it's all complete...

Doug

[Lex]

"The Lutron Guy" just wound up letting me send him my address for 2 replacement Lutrons, so I don't even have to call in. Very nice of him. So, hopefully in a week or two I will have replacements for my bad one and the one I replaced. Nice to see a company stand behind their products.

Doug

[Roxus]

Roxus, you can have 2 of them, but they are on the same IR code, thus, if the remote "see's" both switches, then both switches will be turned on/dimmed/off etc

Ahh, so they don't learn an IR signal like the Smarthome ones either....

[Andrew Pratt]

Good to hear they took care of you Doug...as I said before they were great to me when I had a problem :T

[Ten 99]

Lex, do you happen to have the email address of the person you dealt with at Lutron? I emailed their tech support about 4-5 months back. I have the Spacer and had the exact same problem you did. Basically, the on off button went to poop, but the up and down buttons still work. Thankfully, the remote still works too. I got a nice email in return, but no offer to "step up to the plate" and stand by their product. I'd love it if they would send me a new one, and I could send them the old one back. Actually, this is the second one I've replaced. I threw the first one away when it broke. I'm just wondering if they had a bad batch of plastic or something? I love the product, but it isn't all that resiliant. My wife and I also have the three way Maestros in the in house, and we're more than familiar with the "touch" on and "touch" off, so it's not like we're hammering the heck out of them.

[David Meek]

I had one go bad and replaced it myself. Although in my case everything failed on it. I've had no problems with the replacement - so far.