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Aprilaire Thermostats (Viewstat)

Has anyone recently used the Duet module to control a larger number of these? I have 12 thermostats currently connect and I am having issues. I am just wondering if there are any quirks with the module I need to be aware of before diving head first into comm bus trouble shooting.

Jeff

UPDATE:

It appears to be comm problems. Of course the only unit with comm problems is the one I was trying (happens to be the closest to the dist panel). It also didn't help that there were a few stats that weren't set.... Why do I even bother asking someone else to set these up initially??? :)

Comments

  • Are your thermostats Serial or ICSNet. If they are Serial, I belive you're are using a Dist. Board from Aprilaire. We're were getting conflicting information on how to wire the thermostats from Aprilaire Tech Support. In an old OPS thermostats, we had to wire it straight through to make them work, like:
    RX - to RX -
    RX+ to RX+
    TX+ to TX+
    TX- to TX-

    Another suggestion is to wire only one thermostat to the Netlinx Master and make your code control it and then expand to control the others.

    I was also having problems with the module's UI. What brought light to my control was the Design Xpress way of handling the HVAC. The Design Xpress code is very efficient and can expand to as many TPs you may have, with proper feedback handling and updates. I studied the Design XPress code, trimed the stuff that I didn't need and it works good for my 9 VSTs system. The Design Xpress code can also handle either Serial or ICSNet versions from the same UI. The problem that I found with the ICSNet and Duet Modules was that they are both designed to control many zones from one panel and you have to customize a lot the UI to control the VSTs without conflicts from multiple Tps. Both UIs also process a lot more info/data that you may need. Take a look at the Design Xpress code.

    Ricardo
  • Spire_JeffSpire_Jeff Posts: 1,917
    Thanks for the advice. I already have the framework to handle multiple zones from multiple touchpanels.I have had 1 thermostat working for the last few months, I am just now adding the rest of the house. I am using the aprilaire dist panel via RS422. I think I have things pretty well figured out, but if it becomes a real issue, I'll just revert to my netlinx code.

    I'll let you know if I figure anything else out.

    Jeff
  • TurnipTruckTurnipTruck Posts: 1,485
    Why use the distribution panel? I have five of the Aprilaire version in my place all connected in one RS-422 daisy chain and connected to one NXI port.

    All works fine.
  • DHawthorneDHawthorne Posts: 4,584
    Why use the distribution panel? I have five of the Aprilaire version in my place all connected in one RS-422 daisy chain and connected to one NXI port.

    All works fine.
    I wouldn't do a Viewstat system without the distribution panel. It makes it so much easier to troubleshoot and work with. If you ever start having issues with a flaky thermostat, you will understand very quickly why you may want to be able to isolate a unit's comm lines or power without having to rip it off the wall.
  • TurnipTruckTurnipTruck Posts: 1,485
    Does the distribution panel become the home-run point for all of the stats? Is it simply a 422 splitter?
  • DHawthorne wrote:
    I wouldn't do a Viewstat system without the distribution panel. It makes it so much easier to troubleshoot and work with. If you ever start having issues with a flaky thermostat, you will understand very quickly why you may want to be able to isolate a unit's comm lines or power without having to rip it off the wall.

    I agree 100%, use the disty panel.

    Homerun all the stats.
  • DHawthorneDHawthorne Posts: 4,584
    Does the distribution panel become the home-run point for all of the stats? Is it simply a 422 splitter?
    It becomes a homerun point (so if your wiring is daisy-chained to the actual stats, you can't retro one). Each landing has individual cutoff switches for transmit, receive, and power, so you can selectively isolate problems per thermostat.
  • rfmoylerfmoyle Posts: 12
    Funny responses from stats

    This seems like a good a place as any to post a Viewstat question. I just did 2 implementations using the viewstat netlink module. The sample implementation was way, way more than I needed, so I studied it for awhile and trimmed it way back. For the first job, I put it together as as UI module (2 stats, 2 wireless TPs), for the second job (3 stats,3 wireles s TPs), I redid it using dev and button arrays and kept it in the Main. In both cases I get a little quirky behaviour. Often, on reboot, I get things like --F for temp or --% for humidity. These eventually resolve to usable numbers, but the 'F' usually goes away. I got around this by putting in a timeline, every minute I send out queries at 20, 23, 26, etc seconds to update the buttons (one button per time period) that misbehave. Seems to work, but I can't help feeling something is slightly broken somewhere. Anybody else have symptoms like this?

    I should mention this is my first post and my AMX/Netlink/VBulletin experience level is very modest. So be gentle.

    Bob Moyle
    Audio Design Innovations
    Installer, Programmer 1
  • rfmoyle,

    I used to do the code like you and always had a little glitch here and there. Then, I decided to take a look at the code that Design Xpress generates and it simplified a lot the way I control the VSTATS. The Design Xpress code works with ICSNet and Serial communications and you can use it as an include file in any project. The code even handles feedback per panel efficiently. You'll need to customize the code a little for your needs, but I have 11 Modero TPs and 9 vstats running on it. I strongly recommend you taking a look at the Design Xpress code.

    Ricardo
    San Diego
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