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| Hey Smart Home Pros! I have to admit this might be the coolest Tech Newsletter so far! JK I think they’re all super cool! But in this month’s edition, you’ll find information on Essential Lighting, Nest new API, and more! Check it out! Thank you, Ashley Kimsey Education Operations Specialist |
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A LIGHTING SOLUTION FOR ANY INSTALL If you have customers with lower project budgets but still want to include lighting, Essential Lighting is a great solution. Check out our five new lighting products for North America:Essential Wireless In-Wall Forward Phase Dimmer, 120VEssential Wireless In-Wall Switch 120V/277VEssential Wireless In-Wall Auxiliary KeypadPlug-in SwitchPlug-in DimmerThe installation is quick and easy, the best part is you don’t need to train your electrician! Convenient, space-saving screw terminalsAutomatic line and load detection to prevent incorrect wiringDaisy-chain devices in multi-gang configurations with dual ground connectionsUse standard traveler wire to connect the Essential Auxiliary Keypad to the Essential Dimmer LEARN MORE > OS 3.1.2 HAS BEEN RELEASED The latest release of Smart Home OS 3 improves the speed and performance of camera thumbnail views on the T3 touch screens and Android mobile devices. For dealers in North America, this update also enables support for three new Essential Lighting products, a plug-in dimmer, and a plug-in switch. This OS release also includes numerous bug fixes and enhancements. Download it today! OS 3.1.2 RELEASE NOTES > |
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GOOGLE NEST DRIVER UPDATE It’s here, the driver update you’ve all been waiting for! Control4 has released a new Google Nest driver that uses a customer’s Google account (instead of a Nest account) to connect to their Nest Thermostats. For more information and installation instructions, see the Control4 Google Nest Driver FAQ. NEST DRIVER FAQ > NEW AND TRENDING KNOWLEDGEBASE ARTICLES Updated Driver for Google Nest Integration DS2 Driver Setup Somfy Drivers and Setup Instructions Pakedge IP Camera email configuration with Gmail, SMTP Service |
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| ISE RECAP Just getting started ISE 2020 proved that we have barely scratched the surface of the many great things Snap AV + Control4 can and will achieve in the coming years. This year’s combined efforts highlighted a positive and successful future for our teams. Our dealers share our excitement and enthusiasm. With the industry’s leading smart home control solution, combined with powerful new products such as Luma and Binary, it’s obvious that, combined, we are destined to provide not only great things, but the very best of things. — Paul Dunbar York, UK Education    GET SMART Check out these Smart Skills: Adding Streaming Music Services to Your Control4 System Adding Multiple Actions to Lights in Lighting Scenes Adjusting Input Volume for Different Sources on the Triad Audio Matrix Switch |
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DRIVER INFORMATION Check out these new drivers Get Schlage Zigbee Door Lock Driver Get Schlage Z-Wave Door Lock Driver FROM THE TECHNICIAN SUCCESS TEAM At the end of each newsletter we’d like to start sharing stories with you, hoping we can show you a little more about who we are as a team. The first story is about our fearless Technician Success Manager John Staley. The Lamp Story: First you crawl… From John Staley, Technician Success Manager I remember my very first install like it was yesterday. Heck, we didn’t even call it an “install” back then. This was in the early 90s, when the custom integration market didn’t really exist. I was in retail, for gosh sakes. During the day, we sold AV equipment, so people would come in, buy something, and take it home with them. Our job was done as soon as they walked out the door. As systems became more complicated (think early surround sound with laser discs), folks started asking if we’d come hook it up for them. We’d politely say, “No, we don’t do those types of things; we don’t have the tools or anything; sorry.” They’d push back, of course, so my manager saw an opportunity. He went to the owner of the company and asked if we could start doing stereo setups. The owner said “no.” He didn’t want to bother with scheduling or billing, let alone carry insurance for it. “Too much of a hassle,” he said. So we decided to do it on the side. Well, my boss decided; I was unaware at the time. We’d close shop at eight, and sometimes, after work or on weekends, he’d go and install equipment we had sold. One weekend he called me because he needed a little help with a job. “It’ll be easy. We’ll be in and out. We’re just going to set up a little system and hook up a pair of speakers. But the customer wants the speakers across the room from where the stereo is.” I said, “Okay,” but I had no idea what all that meant. We go to the house and he walks me through the job. “I’ve already set the stereo up here, and over there, that’s where we’re going to put the speakers.” I asked, “Where are we going to put the wires?” (It was a nice hardwood floor, so there was no carpet to hide them in.) “We’re going to drill a hole through the floor, run the wire underneath the house, and pull it up over here.” “Seriously? We’re going to drill through the guy’s floor?” As I said, it was a nice floor. “Yeah, it’s just a little bitty hole, no big deal.” Then he takes me outside to the crawl space, and says, “So what you’re going to do, is, you’re going to crawl down there and you’re going to push the wire up after I drill the hole.” I paused. “Dude, it’s dark under there!” It didn’t have ventilation vents on the side, and it was pitch black. Honestly, I was kind of scared. “You can do it,” he says. “Well, what are we going to use for light?” Turns out my boss didn’t think to bring a flashlight. “Hold on,” he says, “I have an idea.” He procures an extension cord, runs it out the window, and then he comes strolling out with one of the homeowner’s lamps. I will never forget that “I have an answer for everything” grin on his face. He removes the lampshade, turns the switch, hands it to me, and says, “See? Problem solved.” So now I’m shimmying underneath this house, dragging speaker wire, the lamp, and the extension cord, and I’m just trying to keep that lightbulb off the ground. The whole time my boss is up there knocking on the floor, yelling, “Can you hear that?” It’s slow going, and I finally make my way to where I think I’m supposed to be. “All right,” he says, knocking, “I’m going to drill the hole right here. Can you hear that?” Of course, since he’s knocking through a wooden floor, the sound could be coming from anywhere within five feet, but I say, “I think so!” “Okay, get ready!” So I stand the lamp up to free my hands to feed the wire. Now, the lamp is about three feet tall. As it turns out, the crawlspace is about two feet tall, so I hear a ting! As they say in the music business, “Boom boom, out goes the light…” “The light bulb’s busted!” I scream, panic creeping its way back into my brain. “What?” “The light bulb’s BUSTED!” “Okay then, I’m drilling!” I hear the drill going…and going…and, of course, I’m not seeing anything lying there in the pitch dark. I can finally tell him so when the drilling stops. He says, “Well, run your hand up there!” “I am not putting my hand up there while you’re drilling!” Well, as you might guess, on his first attempt he drilled right into the top of a floor joist. It never came out. It took us a bit to figure that out. So he moved the drill over a couple inches and the next one came through. I could tell, because small bits of wood from the flooring started raining down on my face. After he quit drilling, he left the drill bit in there, and I’m running my hand across the bottom of the floor, and of course there’s nails through the floor, and it’s dark…and I thought, “I am never, ever doing this again!” Famous last words, because I made a career out of it. After hundreds of other installs, a long stint as an AV distributor sales rep, five years as an inside sales rep for SnapAV, and four years with the education teams, I am honored to still be in this wonderful industry and working diligently to help all technicians in the field be as successful and happy as possible! |