Coach Automation

[cmillsap]

David,

The openHab system sure seems like a great way to solve broken OEM systems in coaches that have no additional manual controls for lighting and etc. Imagine having to go to a service center to get your interior lights to operate! Fortunately, Vantare and Marathon provided switches for all those items. I don’t know how many converters included that ability but I’m sure glad Marathon did.

However, the A/V system is another matter. Marathon did install a (work around) manual switch that allows manual operation of each audio/video component with the remote control.

Getting the openHab system to control the A/V may be a bit more involved due to the many parameters that need to be controlled such as on/off, volume, channel selection, source and etc. on multiple units.

I would be more prone to revert to having the TVs and radios controlled by each remote and use a 4 channel (ant-cable-dvd-dss) remote controlled (or manual) switch to provide the signal source. Installing the same model TVs throughout allows each remote to control all the sets.

Rather than installing a digital receiver on each set that requires either manual on/off or another remote each time you turn on a TV (unless you can program the TV remotes to turn on the digital converter?) upgrading the TVs makes more sense to me. New TVs are very reasonably priced nowadays.

I upgraded to Samsung Smart TVs throughout and circumvented the Crestron system on the antenna and cable input which allows each TV to be operated only by its remote control. The DSS and DVD inputs to the TVs still function through the A/V system and the Crestron still controls both. Interesting that the Crestron required no reprograming with the new TVs installed?

Chuck