Remote wall switch?

[Richard]

Built & wired log house for all light switches. NOW, after we have built the Great Wall of Greenback, we have added pathway lights outside that were not anticipated. The buried wires for lights enter house downstairs in garage. The logical place for switch is upstairs in back of house, and possibly downstairs near front entrance door.

Since the house is logs, my perception is that it will be a VERY difficult job to pull wires through the logs. (bro in law is electrician that wired house and is TERRIFIED that I might ask him to do this /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif)

None the less, I'm brainstorming and thought of some kind of "remote" switch, either low voltage (which I could hide in door trim) wired to main control or radio frequency to again, main control that can then be used to turn outside lights on/off.

Any thoughts on some kind of remote switch setup? I've been to Lowes and asked them. I Got a MAGNIFICANTLY blank stare by the electical pro. His blank stare was only about 1/2 the value of MINE /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Richard

 

[Von]

Richard,
I ran into the same problem, I hid the switch in a kitchen cabnet. Just came up from the basement into the cabnet and put the switch on the side out of the way.

 

[Knight9]

You could probably figure something out with an X10 setup. I believe X10 wireless technology is relatively inexpensive. Search the web for "X10".

Kevin

 

[RPM]

Where are your existing light-switches and how are they mounted?

Other alternatives include motion sensor on the path and/or a photo-cell that will only turn them on at night. Would have a master switch next to your panel.

 

[jinman]

Hmmm...seems like you could apply a little "southern engineering" to a garage door opener and use its remote to turn on/off the lights from a reasonable distance. This might be cheaper than buying some specialty item to do the same thing, but I'm certain something like this might exist. Have you tried Radio Shack or (curses of curses) called a lighting company?

JimI

 

[Richard]

Been to Lowes, been on phone with local "specialty" shop, am right now doing search at Rat Shacks website..

Motion sensor type won't be accaptable to the Chairman of the House. Wall is made of 6 by 12 square cut logs that have the equivilant of carriage bolts placed inside of them to help hold them together along with existing paths for current wires to travel through. None of the existing paths are considered to be large enough to pull anything through. /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif
Personally, I like the idea of switch that is RF and I can just put one where I want it. I CAN run (hide) say, some doorbell wire, up floor, behind molding. Our logs aren't chinked yet and I can just bury small wire under chink.

Richard

 

[Gomez]

Richard,

I have a cheap (leviton brand) RF remote outlet I use in our bedroom. Works pretty well although sometimes when I get home from work the light has mysteriously turned on. Doesn't happen overnight though, (must be the dog amusing herself). I think the unit was around $20-25.

 

[patrickg]

There are a couple radio type remote switches (that I know of, probably more out there). I have used one that mounts in place of a standard toggle switch and has a push button. A quick button press turns the light circuit on or off. If you press and hold the brightness ramps up and down until you release the button. When turning lights on or off the dimmer setting is preserved. BUT WAIT THERE IS MORE... With this you get a small battery operated remote control wand with a push button that duplicates the control functions previously detailed. With extensive use the battery lasts for a few years. It will work from several feet away. I bought two of these at Home Depot (on different frequencies so as not to interfere with each other)

There is another unit that looks like a regular wall switch but has a battery and is just the transmitter. The receiver is placed in the line to be controlled. You use the switch just like it was a regular light switch but it controls the remote unit. I have seen this at home improvement stores and Radio Shack (two bits says less than 10% of the customers at Radio Shack knows what a radio shack is, i.e. the origin of the name).

Patrick

 

[Anonymous Poster]

RF Controllers are sometimes used by woodworkers to remotely control dust collectors or air compressors, etc. They can handle up to 3 HP and may be a little pricey ($50) for your application but certainly less that an electrician. "from as far away as 75 feet, even through wood and concrete floors, walls and ceilings."

 

[Anonymous Poster]

<font color=blue>...the origin of the name...</font color=blue>

-.-. --.- Patrick,

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