What does comparable mean to you?

[JChenault]

I recently purchased some ETC S4 minis. The idea was to put them on a Halo track with two circuits so that I could have greater control. The spec sheet says they are compatible with two circuit track.


We finally got the units ( lots of supply chain issues) and find that “Compatable” means that they work on the “A” circuit in the track, but cannot be switched to the “B” circuit.

I am also informed by my installer that they do not dim . ( the documentation says works with reverse phase nd forward phase dimmers. What other kinds are there? He tells me he has not been able to get a clear answer from ETC re dimmers that would work.

Sigh. Not what I expected from ETC. Just needed to vent.

 

[Mac Hosehead]

So you are obviously referring to the LED S4 minis. In a little fairness to ETC, they do say the Halo track adapter is not made by them and is a custom order. ETC does claim that the LED minis are dimmable so I would call tech service about that.

 

[danTt]

I don't know if you can edit the post title but comperable does not mean the same thing as compatible to me

 

[JChenault]

I don't know if you can edit the post title but comperable does not mean the same thing as compatible to me

opps. Thanks for the correction. I have corrected the spwlling

 

[Mac Hosehead]

The specs say that the fixture is dimmable but do not say if it will work with a 2-wire wall dimmer. Maybe you could try with a variac, if you have one? I would talk to ETC first, anyway.

Maybe adding an incandescent fixture to the track with the LEDs would make it work better with the 2-wire triac dimmers.

 

[Malabaristo]

The S4 Mini LED is dimmable and ETC has data on how it performs with their dimmers. What style of dimmer are you looking for? If it's just a regular wall-box style, then I would start with the Lutron CL series since they tend to perform decently with a wide variety of LEDs (haven't tested this combination specifically).

Also, I don't know specifically about that track adapter, but it's possible you just got something that was built/wired incorrectly. Check with ETC Tech Support directly for more info rather than playing telephone through your installer. It sounds like they may not be as familiar with this specific product as they could be, so going straight to ETC should get things sorted out.

Maybe you could try with a variac, if you have one?

This almost certainly won't work well. Electronic LED drivers that are meant to be either forward or reverse-phase dimmable typically need to see that specific waveform in order to dim properly. It's more like they're using the dimmed line voltage as a control signal than just being dimmed because the voltage is lower. Sinewave dimmers (whether electronic or transformer/variac) can cause really erratic results.