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relay-based lighting system installed in 1989 - what is it?

Posted by pharkus (My Page) on
Tue, Nov 17, 09 at 22:37

Okay, I don't have pics, and only have a limited description. I am trying to identify a lighting system. Here's what I know about it:

Each room has individual control of its light, using a spring-return-to-center wall switch, same size and shape as a normal light switch, except it springs back to the middle when you let go. The switches themselves are made by General Electric, but I don't know if they were purchased as part of the system or if they're just generic switches.

There is a central control panel that handles an average of 24 rooms (there are several zones of these, some have more or less, but the one I directly saw had 24). This panel has rectangular white buttons in pairs - one on top one on bottom for each light. in most/many cases, the top button has a red LED in the center of it. This panel I saw was built in four sections - eight rooms were served per section. There is one single button, which takes up the sapce of a full pair, on the very right of each section. The bottom section contained only two sets of buttons. They were labeled "MASTERS", but the labeling consisted of DYMO labels added by the current occupants of the building, so they probably won't help identify it.

The panel itself is hinged, and locks. The external part of the latch is a rectangle handle with a keyhole/lockcylinder in the center of it. One pulls on this to open the panel.

Using these pairs of buttons and the "MASTERS", a person at this panel can set each room to be forced on, forced off, or controlled by the switch in the room.

Everything is handled by relays which latch - in the event of a power failure, when the power is restored, everything "remembers" what state it was in before the failure.

This system was installed in 1989, and thus must have been on the market near that time.

There are no manufacturer's logos on the panel.


I would appreciate any information anybody might come up with that would help in identifying this system.


Follow-Up Postings:

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RE: relay-based lighting system installed in 1989 - what is it?

Could be Clipsal from Australia? SquareD owns them now but they've been around for years.

Here is a link that might be useful: Clipsal


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RE: relay-based lighting system installed in 1989 - what is it?

No, that doesn't look anything like it.

There are no LCD displays, nothing that appears computerized - just a big ol' brutish-looking industrial box with rectangular white buttons - the buttons have a travel of at least 3/4 inch. It is a very industrial-feeling system...

Also, while the panel itself is hinged, there is no seperate door over it that would cover the buttons.


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RE: relay-based lighting system installed in 1989 - what is it?

This system perhaps?

http://www.geindustrial.com/publibrary/checkout/Brochures:OLP-2860:generic


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RE: relay-based lighting system installed in 1989 - what is it?

!!!!!! Damn close, if not exact. Possibly exact, but a couple minor apparent differences... Whatever it is, it's close enough that it HAS to be the same manufacturer.

I had a bit of a problem at first with the URL. I fixed it, if anyone else reading this is having trouble with it, just click here.

The controls shown on page 12 are exactly the right ones, except that we've got panels with a lot more of them - and the individual rooms don't have those, they have spring-return toggle switches instead...

By golly, you've found it... Or at least something close enough to allow me to continue. Thank ye.


 
 

 

 


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