MDT Dali-control Pro64: Dali – KNX made easy

The MDT DALI Control PRO64 Gateway is a multi-master application controller for controlling electronic ballasts with DALI interface via the KNX installation bus. It supports ballasts according to EN 62386-102 ed1 (DALI1), devices according to EN 62386-102 ed2 (DALI2), as well as DALI2 motion sensors and light sensors according to EN 62386-303 and EN 62386-304.

We’ve had a chance to spend some time setting up and testing out this device, and below are some of the key aspects we think make it great to use and flexible!

• Addressing of 16 DALI groups and/or individual addressing of up to 64 individual ECGs
• Flexible DALI commissioning concept: directly on the device, via integrated web server or in the
  ETS6 (DCA)
• Coloured light control with the support of Device Type 8 (DT-8) ballasts and control via
  communication objects
• Colored light control depending on ballast Sub-Type:
  • Colour Temperature (DT-8 Sub-Type Tc)
  • XY Colour (DT-8 Sub-Type XY)
  • RGB (DT-8 Sub-Type RGBWAF)
  • HSV (DT-8 Sub-Type RGBWAF)
  • RGBW (DT-8 Sub-Type RGBWAF)
• Automatic, time-controlled setting of light value, light colour and colour temperature (also for human-centred Centric Lighting applications) for groups and/or individual ECGs
• Automatic change of colour temperature depending on the light value (Dimm-To-Cold)
• Control of colour temperature via communication object for DT6, warm white and cool white
• Broadcast objects for controlling all connected ECGs simultaneously (also possible for colour)
  values)
• Various operating modes for groups, such as continuous mode, night mode, and staircase mode
• Integrated operating hours counter for each group and/or individual ECG with alarm when end of
  life is reached
• Individual fault detection with objects for each individual luminaire/EVG
• Complex error evaluation on group/device level with error number and error rate calculation
• Error threshold monitoring with individually adjustable threshold values
• Scene module for up to 16 scenes, which can be assigned to KNX scenes 1..64 as required
• Extensive scene programming, including the possibility of dimming scenes
• Setting of colours in DT-8 luminaires via scenes for groups and/or individual ECGs
• Effect module for sequence controls and lighting effects, including colour adjustment in DT-8
  luminaires
• Test mode for systems with emergency luminaires supplied by central battery
• Support of single-battery emergency lights (DT-1)
• Support of test procedures for emergency lights with time and date stamp
• “Quick Exchange Function” for easy replacement of individual defective ECGs
• “Energy saving function” allows the ECG power supply to be switched off when light is switched
  off via additional switching actuators
• Integrated web server with extensive options for commissioning and maintenance
• Integrated “Visualisation” via Web browser for direct operation and display
• Cross-device summary of errors in the entire system
• Manual operation of group and broadcast telegrams via operating keys and display on the device
• Signalling of error states and status diagnosis via LEDs and display on the device

The web configuration can be accessed by going to the Ip address displayed on the device (i.e., https://192.168.1.59) A thing to note with this is that the device will display an IP address like 192.168.001.059, so you will have to remove the 0s. A huge benefit of this is being able to set up the DALI system separately from KNX, so if you’re outsourcing the programming work, this can be configured beforehand, saving time. This memory is then downloaded to the device and automatically uploaded when added to ETS.

On the ETS side of things, it is a lot more streamlined than other solutions. All that is needed in addition to ETS is the DCA application, which can be found HERE. This is added to ETS apps in the settings, and when you get to programming the device, after restarting ETS, it will come up with a DCA tab next to parameters, which will open up the application. One thing to note is that there are 2 different versions of the ETS product in the catalogue, and as a DCA application, you will need to figure out which one is the correct one for the version of the device you are using. This can be done by downloading the application, and if it works, that’s the one you’re wanting to use.

Next, you will want to start linking things to ETS. The 2 things you want to be aware of at this stage are groups and ECGs. Groups are groups of ECGS, which can be assigned by dragging and dropping into groups on the DCA or the drop-down menu on the Web Configuration. There are up to 16 groups within the device to link ECGs, or you can make your own groups in ETS by assigning ECGs to the same group address. Once you’re at this stage, it is exactly the same as programming a KNX relay.

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