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In wall Volume control + Source Selector???

#1
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3/2/09 at 9:35am
  • Joined: October 2007
  • Post Count: 14
Has anyone seen a volume control out there that also has a source selector built into it, and is a single gang decora style?
I've looked everywhere and cannot find one, but it seems to me this would be a pretty common switch!

I want to put a volume control in my master bathroom for my in ceiling speakers, but I want to control whether the source will come from the whole-house audio system, or if it will come from the master bedroom receiver. And I don't want to have a 2 gang switch either (because yes I can just put a volume control in and then a source selector right next to it, but I'm trying to make it not so many switches on the wall)

So if anyone has seen one anywhere, please let me know what you've found!
Thanks!
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#2
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3/4/09 at 12:08pm
  • Joined: March 2008
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Re: In wall Volume control + Source Selector???

Okay by "whole house audio system" what are you referring to? If you're using something like a Crestron system, they make many single gang switches that have anywhere from 1-12 buttons that control anything you want. If you're simply talking a DIY job, i'm not sure where you could find one. It sounds like a programmed switch is needed for this.
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#3
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3/4/09 at 8:01pm
  • Joined: December 1998
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Re: In wall Volume control + Source Selector???

Why dont you just get an RF remote with a base station to be located where your whole house audio equipment is. It could be programmed to run both systems.

Jeff Whitford
Hometheater Guru ?

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#4
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3/5/09 at 11:21am
  • Joined: May 1999
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Re: In wall Volume control + Source Selector???

Alternatively, make one of your own.

It'll be tight, but you should be able to get a volume-knob sort of doo-dad, and then below (or above) it, mount a QP-DT switch (4-pole, 2-position. Probably want one with a center-off, too.) Although, doing a quick search, you might be better off with a momentary toggle-type switch, wired off to a remote location.

At said remote location, a quad-pole, dual-throw latching relay. Do the source-select there, and then feed the resulting feed to the volume controller. That way, you run 12volts AC or DC down to the selector switch, and then one set of wires to- and from- your volume control -- reduces the clutter in the box tremendously (particularly since you're looking at single-gang.)

The relay and a base for it should cost a total of about $35. Needs a wall-wart, and a center-off momentary on/momentary on selector switch. (Nomenclature for the switch should be as: (on)-off-(on) -- the parentheses indicate momentary, with center-off.) Switch might cost as much as $10. Get a couple of nylon cover-plates, solid, and experiment with cutting and mounting components..

The hardest part may be fishing the wires, depending on where you're able to pull from, and what access there is (basement, exposed attic, whatever.)

The questionable beauty is, if you're feeling lazy and expensive, you can put a complete station (selector and volume) in front of the "throne," and then comfortably in reach of the bath, a second selector switch, wired in parallel to the first one. As long as both aren't operated simultaneously, then it's golden.

Leo

Not sure about your volume control, but
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