RadioRA 3

Diagnostics within Lutron Designer

This article will go over the Diagnostic Tab within the Lutron Designer software, it's features, and what is supported remotely.

Contents

• Before We Begin
• Verify Loads
• Verify QS Devices
• Verify Wireless Devices
• Verify Sensors
• System Activity Viewer

Before We Begin

The Diagnostic Tab within Designer will vary depending on whether you are working on a RA 3 system or a QSX system. These options are relative to the types of devices in each system (For Example, RA 3 does not have wired QS devices like QSX does). Below is a screenshot from Designer with a Ra3 system, and a screenshot from Designer with a QSX system for comparison.

Ra3 Diagnostics vs QSX Diagnostics

If you are missing any of the options in the Diagnostics Tab, ensure you are running the latest version of the Lutron Designer software as older versions did not have some of these.

Some common terminology we'll be using in the article is as follows:

• Load
  • This is the light, motor, or device being controlled.
• Control
  • This is the device doing the controls (such as dimmers, switches, etc...)
• Event
  • This is what the system uses to log something that happened such as a button press, timeclock, etc...
• Links
  • While not used often in RadioRA, this is what the devices are separated into
  • As an example, a RadioRA processor and Homeworks processor has a maximum of two links
    • With RadioRA, it will always be a Clear Connect Type-A and Clear Connect Type-X link
    • With Homeworks, this can be configured to QS, Clear Connect Type-A, or

Verify Loads

This feature cannot be done remotely.

The Verify Loads will allow you to verify that the controls are able to control their loads properly on the Clear Connect Type-A and QS link. Clear Connect Type-X devices can be tested from the Verify Wireless Devices section. 

• The red section allows you to flash the load and identify where the load is physically located.
  • For Dimmers, you can also use the Go To Level section next to it to specify a certain percentage for that light to go to.
• The blue section will display any error messages regarding the device or load.
  • For example, if an RRD-PRO dimmer were flashing the bottom 3 Indicator Lights and refusing to control the load, this section will show that it is either overloaded or detecting a short.
  • This is useful for identifying blink codes on devices without needing to load their Installation Guides.

Verify QS Devices (QSX)

This feature can be done remotely.

The Verify QS Devices will allow you to see the status of all the devices wired to your QS link, as well as what firmware they are running.

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• The red section shows the Area tree. Any processors with a QS link will appear here with the QS link status.
  • The Triangle icon that appears here means that the link has either not been refreshed, or there is a device that is not in a 'Connected' status.
• The blue section shows the filters and a key for what the status means for each device.
  • As an example, with the settings in that screenshot, any devices that are reporting as Connected will disappear from the device list.
  • Hovering over the Information icon, , will show a brief description of each status.
• The orange section will show each device, their device name, serial number, location within the project, device type, firmware version, device status, and applicable actions.
  • Upon viewing the link the system will refresh the status of the devices, but you may manually refresh the link at the bottom right corner of the screen.
  • The action column will change depending on the device's status with potential fixes. As an example, in the screenshot above the device has not been activated, so there is a link to the activation tab in the action column.
  • If the system sees a device on the link that does not match any devices in the database, it will display with the Not in Database error. This could happen if you have a device connected to the link but not assigned or not yet added to the design.
  • If a firmware upgrade shows as available, you can update the device by going to Tools > Upgrade QS Devices
    • 

Verify Devices (Ra3) and Verify CCX and Dual-Radio Devices (QSX)

This feature can be done remotely.

The Verify Wireless Devices will allow you to see what devices are communicating currently with the Processor, as well as prompt if any devices are not activated or require Firmware upgrades. Unlike the Verify QS Devices, you will need to refresh this page when visiting it to get the most up to date information, as it will not display accurate information immediately. Below is a breakdown of what you'll see:

• The red section shows the Area tree. Any Processors or (for QSX) Gateways that have a Clear Connect Type-A or Clear Connect Type-X link will show up here.
  • The Triangle icon that appears here means that the link has either not been refreshed, or a device is not reporting in a Connected status.
• The blue section shows the filters and a key for what the status means for each device.
  • As an example, with the settings in that screenshot, any devices that are reporting as Connected will disappear from the device list.
  • Hovering over the Information icon, , will show a brief description of each status.
• The orange section will show each device, their serial numbers, locations, device type, firmware version, device status, and actions for testing.
  • Refresh will have the system attempt to ping that one device specifically.
  • On and Off will trigger the Clear Connect Type-X dimmer/switch's load.
    • To test a Clear Connect Type-A load, please see the Verify Loads section.
  • If a firmware upgrade is available, you may see two statuses displayed such as below:
    • 
  • To do a firmware upgrade, go to Tools > Upgrade Clear Connect Type X Devices 
    • 
  • Note: One-way communication devices such as Pico Remotes and Occupancy/Vacancy sensors will usually default immediately to Connected or Unknown
    • This is due to their inability to 'receive' commands from the processor.

Verify Sensors (QSX)

This feature can be done remotely.

Similarly to the previous sections, this will show you the status of the RF-based Occupancy sensors and their current state. This can be very useful when troubleshooting sensors turning on or not turning off, as you can see their state in real-time. Similar to above, you will need to select Refresh at the bottom right corner of the screen to get the current information. Do note that there is a fair bit of information here that may change in time, as currently there are sections that are present that only apply to Athena commercial-based systems.

• The red section shows the sensor type.
  • This will only currently show the Clear Connect Type A - One Way sensors
• The blue section shows the filters and a key for what the status means for each device.
  
  • Hovering over the information icon, , will show a brief description of each status.
• The orange section will show the sensor's status.
• The cyan section will show what the sensor is reporting:
  • This will show you if it saw the room as Occupied or Unoccupied when the last refresh happened.

System Activity Viewer

This feature cannot be done remotely.

The System Activity Viewer is the best tool to identify what events are happening on the system. (Events can be button presses, occupancy changes, timeclocks, etc...) This can be used to track down situations where lights are turning on/off when they are not expected to.

This can also assist with verifying a wired QS link's health regarding noise count and seeing if devices are disconnecting from the link.

• The red section shows the Activity Period it will display.
  • This will be the timeframe displayed based off the Processor's timezone.
• The blue section will show what filters are active/available
  • General Activity is useful for tracking down what events happened on the system and what may have caused them:
    • Button Activity will show button presses on keypads heard by the system. These include press, hold, and release.
    • Device Activity will show events regarding devices (such as locking and unlocking a device)
    • HVAC Activity will show changes to the HVAC settings (QSX only with Palladiom Thermostat).
    • IR Activity will show IR (Infrared) events from devices.
    • Occupancy Sensor Change this will usually only appear when a sensor is being enabled/disabled.
    • Occupancy Group Change will show you when an area is Occupied or Unoccupied
    • Timeclock Change Activity will show when Timeclock Events are triggering.
    • Preset Event will appear after each button press, timeclock event, or occupancy group change. This shows the programming triggering.
  • Wired Link Activity will show any events relating to the Wired Link's health and status. This is useful for tracking down noise or wiring issues:
    • Wrong Connection
    • Device Connected/Disconnected will show when devices are being connected/disconnected from the link. 
    • Link Noise Indicator will show the current amount of noise count on the link detected
      • The format of this will display other information as well, but the noise count will be in the NO section as pictured below:
        
    • Link Communication Health 
• The orange section is where you can refresh the table and enable the new filters selected.
• The cyan section will show the events
  • By default this will be sorted by the date/time starting at the very first events it has logged. The latest events will be at the bottom of the list.
  • You can click on any of the columns to sort by the column instead
  • In the Information column it will display more information based on the activity. This is useful to see what devices or events are happening.

• The red section shows the Area tree. Any Processors or (for QSX) Gateways that have a Clear Connect Type-A or Clear Connect Type-X link will show up here.
  • The Triangle icon that appears here means that the link has either not been refreshed, or a device is not reporting in a Connected status.
• The blue section shows the filters and a key for what the status means for each device.
  • As an example, with the settings in that screenshot, any devices that are reporting as Connected will disappear from the device list.
  • Hovering over the Information icon, , will show a brief description of each status.
• The orange section will show each device, their serial numbers, locations, device type, firmware version, device status, and actions for testing.
  • Refresh will have the system attempt to ping that one device specifically.