RTI T3-V controlled by AMX

ajish.raju

We have a client who wants his existing RTI remotes to be controlled by AMX. Has anyone tried this before.
The remotes are T3-V ,http://www.rticorp.com/products/wireless-interfaces/t3-v-universal-controller.html

mpullin

ajish.raju wrote: »

We have a client who wants his existing RTI remotes to be controlled by AMX. Has anyone tried this before.
The remotes are T3-V ,http://www.rticorp.com/products/wireless-interfaces/t3-v-universal-controller.html

Why would you want to control a remote control with AMX? It sounds like he's asking about doing it the other way around...

nickm

mpullin wrote: »

Why would you want to control a remote control with AMX? It sounds like he's asking about doing it the other way around...

Exact same thought I had. If, in fact, that's true, then you would pretty much need to create your own dialog between the RTI and AMX processors via IP or serial connection. I know it's been done in the past, but not sure it's worth it.

RicardoSiqueira

Are you sure about AMX controlling RTI remotes or RTI remotes controlling AMX? If you want the RTI remotes to control AMX then you will need a RTI controller connected to the AMX controller via RS-232. The T3-V offers RF and Wi-Fi communications and depending on the way you want it to communicate, you will need additional RTI hardware. You will also need the RTI software Integration Designer to create your RTI program and on each RTI remote button you will be sending a custom serial string to AMX via the RTI controller serial port out or one of the multi ports. On AMX you need to have a data event on the serial port to trap the strings coming from RTI and then program your AMX actions... If you have more than one RTI remote and multiple rooms to control then you have to logically design your strings like "RMxxCHxxx\r". RM = Room number, CH = Channel Number. Here is a basic concept code sample:

DEFINE_EVENT

DATA_EVENT[dvRTI]
{
    ONLINE:
    {
	SEND_COMMAND dvRTI, "'SET BAUD 9600,N,8,1, 485 DISABLE'"     
    }

    STRING:
    {
       
	//"RMxxCHxxx"
	IF(FIND_STRING(RTI_BUFFER,'RM',1))
	{
	    RTI_ROOM = ATOI (MID_STRING(RTI_BUFFER,3,2))
	    RTI_CMD  = ATOI (MID_STRING(RTI_BUFFER,7,3))

	    send_string 0, "'String From RTI = ', RTI_BUFFER"
	    send_string 0, "'ROOM = ', RTI_ROOM"
	    send_string 0, "'CMD = ', RTI_CMD"

	    SWITCH(RTI_ROOM)
	    {
		CASE 1:
		{
		    DO_PUSH(vdvRemote1,RTI_CMD)
		}
		CASE 2:
		{
		    //DO_PUSH(vdvRemote2,RTI_CMD)
		}
	    }

	    WAIT 5
		CLEAR_BUFFER RTI_BUFFER 
	}
	ELSE
	{
	    CLEAR_BUFFER RTI_BUFFER 
	}
    }
}

The sample code above is very basic so you can understand the concept used. There are better and more sophisticated ways to do this. Other dealers have done this and Vincen has helped me developing a better trapping routine with error checking. The code above is just a concept for you to understand it. If you don't have any RTI remote experience, you may want to check classes at your local Volutone or AVAD offices. There is a limitation on this RTI/AMX solution. If you have multiple RTI remotes in your system and all use the same serial port in AMX, while ramping volume only one RTI remote works, as the volume ramping floods the serial port. There are possible solutions for this as you could assign multiple serial ports, but this is a topic for another Forum tread. Good luck!

ajish.raju

Thanks guys for the posts. You are right, RTI remote should control the AMX. I got the following link from RTI support, http://www.rticorp.com/dealer/software/integration-designer/rf-libraries .

RicardoSiqueira

If you only have one RTI remote you could use the AMX 433Mhz receiver, which connects via Axlink on AMX.

http://www.amx.com/products/AXR-RF.asp

I believe you will have only 255 channels to use, so you need to be creative with source variables and reuse channels. RTI supports on the 433Mhz frequency, that's why you can't use any of the other AMX frequencies.

ajish.raju

Here we have 8 RTI remotes for 8 rooms. We have AMX controllers in each room so i guess we need to get a RTI controller for each room then.

RicardoSiqueira

If each system is standalone, yes, you will need one RTI controller per room. You can use a smaller RTI controller which already has a built-in RF or Zigbee receiver antenna per room to keep costs down. I believe you can also use regular Wi-Fi with the T3-V. You have to decide which route: RF, Zigbee or Wi-Fi. Consult RTI for more info. At last, if using the multi-port output from the RTI controller, you will need the proper serial cable supplied by RTI: http://www.rticorp.com/products/accessories/cm-232-serial-communication-module.html , as well as a null modem cable between the AMX controller and the RTI cable above per setup. This is doable, but you have to decide the route you want to take and the parts to use. The good thing about this is that once you get one system working, the other ones are mostly copy and paste.

ajish.raju

Got this pdf from RTI support.

RicardoSiqueira

You will have RF conflicts for rooms or systems that are too close. In this case, only one RF frequency is available for all 8 systems. Having only 256 channels to use, if you repeat channel numbers on systems that are close to each other, you will have conflicts like one button push may work on 2 or 3 systems at the same time. If your systems are very simple you might be able to separate the 256 in blocks to prevent conflicts, but this may require a lot of testing and troubleshooting. I've used the AMX RF antenna in a guest room, where client didn't want to spend money in another AMX interface, so the RTI was a cheaper solution. Call RTI and explain your situation and the number of systems you have...