FlexiPanel
Switcher PC™
Windows PC Switcher Remote Control for ZigBee
Summary
Switcher PC is free remote control software for
Windows PCs using the Zongle™ USB ZigBee
transceiver and the ZigBee HC-L communications
protocol for lighting and power control. It provides
up to eight switches which may send on, off or
toggle messages as required to one or more
devices. You could even turn off all the lights in a
house with on button press!
As ZigBee HC-L compatible device, Switcher PC
works with other products from FlexiPanel’s
Switcher range and also with compatible products
from other manufacturers.
Features:
• Up to 8 switch inputs, sending Off, On or
Toggle messages
• Fully compatible with FlexiPanel Switcher
products and other ZigBee HC-L v1.0
compatible products.
• Uses FlexiPanel’s Zongle USB ZigBee
transceiver.
• Resides in System Tray when not needed.
Typiacl Switcher PC Screenshot
Manufactured to ISO9001:2000
Installation
Switcher PC uses the Zongle USB transceiver
from FlexiPanel Ltd. This must be installed prior
to running the Switcher PC application.
Install Zongle following the instructions in the
Zongle data sheet. Take note of the COM port
assigned to Zongle, as you will need to tell
Switcher PC what the COM port number is.
Once Zongle is installed, download Switcher PC
from FlexiPanel Ltd. Switcher PC does not require
any setup program. You can simply copy the
application to any convenient location such as the
desktop.
Running Switcher PC
Double-click on the Switcher PC icon to run the
application. Switcher PC will appear as shown in
the graphic below.
The Switcher PC application is “System Tray
resident”. This means that if you close it, it
continues running and appears as an icon in the
System Tray at the bottom right of the Windows
screen. (See below.)
To return to the application, double-click on the
System Tray icon.
If you wish to terminate the application, select Exit
from the System menu. (The System menu is the
menu you get when you click on the Switcher PC
icon in the title bar - see below).
Button Setup
Buttons 1 to 8 can send switching signals to other
ZigBee devices. The button names can be
changed, as can their function – Off, On or Toggle.
To set the names of the buttons and their
functions, select Buttons from the System menu.
The dialog box shown below will be displayed,
from which you should make your selections.
Note that you can also choose how many buttons
are displayed, and also whether the application
initializes as a dialog box or as a System Tray
icon. The latter option is useful if you wish to
configure the application to start automatically
when the computer restarts.
Network Setup
To set up network connections, select
Connections from the System menu. The dialog
box shown below will be displayed, from which
you should make your selections.
To communicate with the Zongle, enter the COM
port number which it has been assigned in the box
provided, and then press the Connect button.
Normally the Zongle will be pre-loaded with a MAC
address and you will see the message “Zongle
detected on COMxx:”. However, if it has not been
provided, you will see the dialog box below, and
you should enter in the 16-hex-digit MAC address
supplied with the Zongle.
Joining the Network
There are two steps to the network setup process.
The first is joining, where you tell a unit which
radio network it is a member of. The second is
binding, where you specify which inputs control
which outputs.
To join a network, you should first set the network
in a state where it will permit Switcher PC to join to
a router or coordinator within radio range. For
FlexiPanel Ltd products, this is typically achieved
by pressing the Bind button once.
Once the network is ready, press the Join button
in the Connections dialog. The network status box
will indicate whether joining was successful. If
joining fails, try again – it doesn’t always succeed
first time. (You may need to re-permit joining on
the network.)