Posts under ‘Technical Articles’

We have just completed commissioning of the first Edin DALI control systems in the UK. Using the new range of EDIN controls from mode lighting. 4 rooms with standalone I/O DSI modules were commissioned plus a larger system consisting of 45 ballasts, a mixture of zumtobell and philips, Commissioning was carried out using the browser [...]

This recent small works solution designed as a simple bolt-on to an existing LEAX Panel and an centralised emergency lighting system fed from an inverter. The Edin panel takes over the DSI control of four channels of emergency lighting in the event of a power failure ensuring that the lighting is ramped up to an [...]

 Working on a recent project I came across these interesting transformers. They allow connection of lov voltage lighting at greatly increased distance from the transformer while maintaining an optimum voltage. The system uses a sensing cable which provides a feedback loop (similar in concept to those used in analogue sound processing) to monitor the [...]

Microphonics™ isn’t a word is it?  It is now! As those of you who know me will be aware I am a big fan of Automation. The use of sensors in control systems is the clever and progressive way forward. Putting light switches when they are not the best solution is a waste of money, [...]

DMX as a standard was developed for the entertainment industry and has been adopted for use in large architectural projects over the last few years. Lot of articles on the internet cover the electronic details of what DMX is which is of interest to those wishing to create products that send or receive and wish [...]

Energy saving light bulbs have taken over the world in the last couple of years so much so that later this year (2009) the major retailers in the UK plan to remove filament light bulbs from there shelves. However in most projects with lighting controls low energy light bulbs are not to be found. In [...]

The recent introduction of the 17th edition regulations means a number of changes in the protection of circuits. Mode Lighting units such as the tiger and Evolution have no main isolator and hence even in the previous edition of the regulations a mechanical isolator was required to isolate the incoming power to the unit to [...]

A recent project meant i had to explain a RS232 integration to non technical users. RS232 is a very simple way of communicating between two systems. You can think of it as a simple speech communication a good example being the exchanges of speech that go on in a parliment or any sort of debate. [...]

Automation is great and sales people sell lighting control systems based on the ability to automate tasks. But as anyone who sets a daily alarm knows automation is not great when the alarm wakes you up on a Saturday morning instead of allowing you your well deserved lie in! This is a very simple example [...]

A recent project highlighted the common mistakes made when  wiring   1-10v DC analogue control. When wiring for DMX or Dali there is a widely accepted standard which can be followed but with 1-10v control there is no such standard I guess the thought is always but it’s so simple how can it go wrong! The [...]