new type of wireless dmx bulb rgb/cw/ww integration

[Duncan]

ive just tried a couple of these:

https://www.futlight.com/productlist.aspx?typeid=147

ive integrated the FUTD01 transmitter and FUTD04 rgb/cw/ww bulbs

$12 for the transmitter and $21 each for the bulbs from aliexpress

each bulb uses 5 dmx channels, and a transmitter can manage 16 groups of 5 channels

the wireless transmitter connects to the dmx bus and addition of bulbs is the normal loxone way, adding an rgb element plus a cw and ww dimmer

no bridge or virtual outputs, just direct control and integration in loxone

they work from one end of my house to the other with a single transmitter and it doesn interfere with wifi networking on the 2.4g frequency

they dim right down without flicker.

overall im very pleased, it adds controllable lights to those places i hadnt anticiapted the wiring requirements

[Aaron]

Very intriguing and I can definitely see a use when I eventually get started with my renovation!

So they're basically a cut price Phillips Hue bulb that you control through DMX giving a more native integration with Loxone? How have you managed the physical connection of the transmitter to the DMX bus please?

[Duncan]

yes - much easier to integrate

physically the transmitter has a 3 pin xlr connector and a separate 5v usb power lead - i just used a 3m extension cable, chopped one end off and connected the free end in my cabinet to the dmx bus, leaving the transmitter outside of the cabinet, plugged into a phone usb charger.

i use a dmx splitter/buffer, so i have 6 separate dmx buses in effect which means i dont have to worry about the dmx bus not being linear. if you have a conventional bus then ideally the transmitter would be at the end of the bus.

[Simon Still]

that sounds very interesting. 

What's the quality of the light like - they claim over 80 CRI.  What do you think?

[Duncan]

the light quality is good when they are in a shaded table lamp although probably not as good as the high cri  gu10 i use for my main  downlights, but i only really wanted to fill in a couple of places i forgot to place my dimmable round pin sockets

i would say they are at least 80, and of course you can adjust the white, or add a little red to the mix to get a light that suits

i havnt seen any of the others like hue so cant directly compare.

[Aaron]

I thought I'd give this a go but have run out of ability to get it working properly. My kitchen is now lit up red and I'm worried about attracting the 'wrong' type of people!

I've paired the bulb to the transmitter but thats the limit to my success but with potentially multiple points of failure in my implementation which I need to consider.

• Configuration - The device is set to channel 001. I've tried using the RGB+W template in the loxone config but cannot see where to add the 5th channel for ww (or cw). What device should I use, should this be in smart or standard and how is best to link it to the Lighting controller (v2)?
• 
  
• FUTD01 to FUTD04 connection - I only seem to have 1 E27 socket in the house which is too far from the control cabinet to press 'set' within 3 seconds as required to link devices. I therefore linked the two devices locally but now the FUTD01 is back in the cabinet to pick up the DMX bus, I do not know if they are still talking. Its well within the 30m specified but it is inter-floor. Presumably I'll need to get the bulb closer to the cabinet to test this.
• 
  
• DMX Bus - I haven't set up any DMX devices before so difficult to check if I have done this correctly. I bought an XLR extension cable as suggested and used the red wire for +ve, white for -ve and the shield as ground. Presumably this is correct but wondered if there is any way for loxone to confirm there is a device connected or if they are completely decoupled?

Duncan, I wonder please if you would be so kind to share a suggested configuration please? This is my first DMX device (testing in preparation of making things more permanent) and I'm not sure if I'm doing things correctly.

Much appreciate any help in advance.

thanks

Aaron

[Duncan]

i would suggest dont use smart device - just old fashioned standard

i use the old v1 lgiht block, not the new one . if the device is set to 001 then you are using the channels 1-5 for your first bulb set.

create 3 dmx objects in loxone 1) a rgb with address 1, a single channel for the CW with address 4 and another for WW with address 5 - save to the miniserver

attach the 3 devices to 3 outputs of a lighting block and set the approprate types in the light block

once the transmitter is connected to the dmx bus (data+ uses the white core on my xlr cable, data- red, screen is earth), you should be able to control the bulb from the loxone light module you set up as above - when you switch on the bulb first it lights up bright cool white.

you might have to buy/borrow an e27 table lamp and get it closer to test, then keep testing at further distances until you know its range

my transmitter is down and light fitting up, and i can get about 15m, but its going diagonally through the ceiling material including alu plates for the UFH - at my angle it might be seeing very thick metal, limiting the range.

[Aaron]

Cheers Duncan. I'm getting closer but still no joy. I think the loxone config is now good and I've swapped my data+/- around so just need to confirm operational distance.

One thing i noticed after swapping the wires is that the 'indicator' led on the transmitter is no longer lit. Is yours on or off please? The manual doesn't actually specify what the 'indicator led' indicates!

Cheers

[Duncan]

mine stays on showing the dmx address its set to

[Aaron]

Finally there! Everything was configured fine and the issue rather obvious in hindsight. The metal lamp shade was shielding the signal to the bulb! Tilting the pendant to one side revealed technicolor glory!

One small thing to add for anyone else is that the transmitter has a led indicator light which illuminates when data is being sent. If its on permenantly, the polarity on the dmx bus is incorrect.

Despite the low price, the bulb appears to be nice quality and the dimming performance good. Will definitely look to incorporate as I design the lighting (probably in standard lamps etc).

Much appreciate you sharing your find Duncan and you help with the configuration.