MIO DMS keypad buttons catching

markbsure

Has anyone experience the physical buttons on the 8 button MIO DMS Keypad catching within their casing. We have installed 8 keypads within a clients house which are used as general room controllers for the room they're situated in. The problem is that the buttons have a bit of movement (mainly left and right) and catch within the plastic casing. This seems to happen quite a lot, and as soon as one catches, its constantly sending out a button_event push, and the rest of the keypad stops responding.

This is unnaceptable, we've contacted amx for support, tried a few other batches of the keypads and still the problem occurs....

.... im surprised i havent seen anyone else posting this up on this forum before!!

perhaps we've just been extemely unlucky with the keypads we've ordered?

mark

mpullin

We got just a shipment of DMS keypads; this is the first time I have worked with them. I agree, the plastic components are alarmingly cheap. I'll keep an eye out for this problem once the keypads start getting used heavily.

JohnMichnr

I have 5 panels in a location right now - one of them has one button that constantly catches. I have to pry it lose everytime I press it - Have not had time to take it apart and file down what ever needs to be filed.

Also have seen the problem in the units that you can insert labels into. I know a local vendor who replace 10 of them as the customer could not make them work consistantly.

RicardoSiqueira

Markbsure,

See the post below:
http://www.amxforums.com/showthread.php?t=2137&highlight=Mio+DMS

...and also do a search on the 'MIO DMS', you will find quite a few negative points on the Mio DMS line. After trying 2 brand new Mio DMS 8 button I gave up on it. The top button kept sticking all the time. The Mio DMS Pinnacle for me is better than the 8 button, the touch screen interface is more user friendly. However, there are a few other issues that will problem compromise the Mio DMS line success:
- Limited Keypad Builder Software (no previews)
- cheap plastics
- no volume bargraph
- buttons sticking (Mio DMS 8 button)
- wake up LCD first than it will take button pushes (Mio 8 button).
- 1 less button when comparing to the old DMS keypad (big bar button)

If I have a project that may also have Modero TPs, I will probably use the Mio DMS Pinnacle, since the touch screen interface is the same principle as a TP. As of right now, the Mio DMS 8 button is more trouble than worth. AMX needs to improve its button layout and address some of the issues above to make this product a winner.

Ricardo

Jill

I've had a few clients ask to use them but I refused them for several of the reasons mentioned here.
Just a few changes would make these a cheap multi room device that I would consider offering my clients.
P.S. Sry don't mean to sound like downer but people want and expect quality equipment when they buy it.

DHawthorne

I still don't quite understand why they didn't upgrade the MSP line with an LCD display (or two). They were rock solid and practically indestructible. They are still my keypad of choice, and if they were available with a display, I would never use anything else.

I was talking with an AMX tech the other day, and I'm afraid I dumped on him a bit about whoever is designing the newer products. Take your MVP's - wonderful display, great electronics, and utter crap case. MAX AVM's - who the heck designed that power button? I went around a job yesterday removing the dang things so they could actually be used. And the cheesy MIO buttons ... someone needs to smack the design team upside the head and inform them that it's not enough to make this stuff pretty - it must be functional and durable too! I'm losing sales over issues like this, my customers simply expect better.

vining

DHawthorne wrote:
... someone needs to smack the design team upside the head

If that's a call for volunteers, count me in!

markbsure

Quote:
>DHawthorne wrote:
>Take your MVP's - wonderful display, great electronics, and utter crap case

I so agree. Who decided that case would blend in perfectly into high-wealth corporate and residential installations - and therefore (but unfortunately not always) well designed corporate and residential interiors!!

can the AMX design team take a note out of other successful companies who are recognised for their well designed products, you all know who i am talking about (apple for people who dont).

the star trek look just doesn't cut it anymore (hope i dont offend too many people on this forum). please can we have more clean simple black, white, bold colours. solid components. keep it simple. minimalist even!

everything else about AMX i love, but all our clients see at the end of the day is the touch panel and keypad, and they're not looking that hot at the moment.

.rant over.

mark

mpullin

An observation

Try sending the command '@AKP-1234;Enter number' to your Mio-DMS. You'll get a keypad pop up similiar to the one that you use to enter the protected setup section. However, the field being entered will not change when you hit up or down. If you hit Done, the keypad will send the string 'user input-1234' back to the master, or 'user input-ABORT' if you hit abort instead.

I called TS about this and was told that I had discovered an unsupported feature (I wouldn't be suprised if the bargraph mentioned above is also an 'unsupported feature'), and he would submit the suggestion to add a number input ability to engineering. Apparently there is a guy in charge of working on these that is not working on these right now.

When I asked what I should do in the meantime to allow the customer to enter in a specific TV channel (for example), I was told to "use the dynamic list boxes to get all the single digit numbers on the page."

Now I have no problem with learning how to use the Dynamic List Box system, but IMHO too much thought was placed in developing the Dynamic List Box system and not enough thought placed into making these keypads viable as control points. I'm going to have to create a very convoluted system just to do something I could do in a few lines if this were a regular modero or even a G3 panel (!).

Sorry if that went on too long, but add me to the list of ranting people who have tried the Mio DMS keypads.

ericmedley

Not to jump on the dog pile late in the game. Just a note to confirm that we've had the same kind of problems with the keypads. We have one install that the outer bezel is barely on. Obviously, the people who use the thing seem to use it as a picking place too. they've pretty much made what ability it had to stay on useless.

I'll also jump on the pile about the MIO IR remotes. "They have a battery life of half of ten minutes." quoting Strongbad. The few I have go about 2 weeks before needing more batteries. Munch Munch Munch...

flcusat

This is an old thread. I'm just wondering if the problems mentioned before here regarding the MIO DMS-Pinnacle still exist or had been fix as of today?