Searching for X10 Device

[Ronn]

I've found all of the devices I'm looking for except one. (Thanks everyone for all the good advice to us lurkers!)

I have bedside lamps that are controled by a small table-top slide dimmer. The dimmer plugs into the wall and the lap plugs into the back of its plug. The dimmer sits on the bedside table and I can easly reach the dimmer and control it.

I'd like a similar dimmer that is X10 controlable. I would be able to slowly ramp up the lights as part of my wake-up cycle and learn something about late night reading by querying the status of the dimmer.

Anyone know of anything like this?

Thanks.

[Rupp]

Ronn,
I have never heard of such a device BUT there are a couple of scripts in the script library that can simulate the rising sun.

[pkoslow]

What about the 2-way lamplinc modules?

http://www.smarthome.com/2000S.html

They can be set to ramp up slowly (configurable up to 9 minutes or can be accomplished via script as Rupp mentioned ) and are 2-way so they respond to staus request which should meet your requirement for the late night reading.

You will be limited with local control unless you use a palmpad or other type of device for control. They respond to local on/off by using the normal switch on the lamp, but you can potentially leave the lamp "OFF" and hamper your automation.

Take a look at the link above for detailed information to see if this might fit your needs...

Paul

[johnwpb]

AUtomated Outlet

I can also recommend THIS ONE at Automated Outlet. The price tag is a VERY reasonable $9.99. It is PERFECT for slowly dimming/brightening lights as it has twice the ammount of "dim steps" as the standard lamp module. Heres a quote from the specs:

This feature is ideal if you want to use a computer controller to simulate a sunrise in the morning, or having the lamp fade off over any period of time you specify with the controller.

It's not 2-way, but for the price and other features it cant be beat. When turned on will ramp up to the last lighting level it was set to. There are no dials to set, just a button to program the house code, that will stay in memory even if unplugged, making it nice looking as well. A fantastic module, with twice the features of a standard lamp module, and a few bucks cheaper to boot!

If you do need the 2-way switch AUtomated outlet sells them as well for a couple dollars cheaper than Smart home HERE. I like the scene capability of these modules. You can set different "scenes" such as "watch a movie", "Normal lighting" ect. When you send an X-10 command like "Movie TIme" all the modules that support this act accordingly to dim/brighten the lights to the preset stored in the module itself. Makes for far less scripting!