Installing and Using the CasaTunes Keypads

You have probably heard of Thomas the tank engine and the little engine that can, well that is exactly how we think of our single-gang keypads, as the little keypad than can. The CasaTunes keypads are designed to be deceptively simple.

Not only can you use the keypad to power on a room, change the volume, change the source for a room, move to the next or previous tracks, and display the meta-data for the current song that is playing, but if you press and hold the source button, a whole new set of functionality becomes available allowing you to browse and select music, configure your room settings, and even assign which room or room group this keypad controls.

The keypads are controlled by the CasaTunes music server. The keypads connect to a USB6 Keypad Hub, which connects to a USB connector on the music server. Each USB6 Keypad Hub can support up to six keypads. If you have more than six keypads, you will need additional USB6 Keypad Hubs. If you need more USB6 Keypad Hubs than you have USB connectors, you can purchase a powered USB Hub Extender. The keypads and the USB6 Keypad Hub mount into electrical boxes or low-voltage rings in a fashion similar to electrical outlets.

Installing the CasaTunes Keypads

INSTALLATION NOTICE: It is recommended you install all your other hardware before installing the keypads.

SAFETY NOTICES

CasaTunes hardware is designed for professional installation only. Follow all NEC (National Electrical Code)/national wiring rules, as well as local codes. The Cat5 cables connecting between the USB6 Keypad Hub and the Keypads should not be routed outside the home (to prevent risk of lightning damage and shock) and are not meant to be connected to any other equipment, such as Ethernet switches.

The Keypads and the USB6 Keypad Hub are low-voltage devices. If you mount them in an electrical box, for safety’s sake do not bring any high voltage wiring into the same box.

Please leave the keypads and the USB6 Keypad Hub in their protective bags until you are ready to install them in the electrical box. When handling these devices, try to keep yourself grounded as much as possible to minimize the possibility of damage due to electrostatic discharge.

Please note there is a power inlet covered by a vinyl sheet, just below the USB connector on the USB6 Keypad Hub. It is not used in our current products. If it is used in the future, we will be supplying a DC power supply. The following safety notices are required by UL regarding this connector and any future CasaTunes supplied power supply.

The DC inlet on the USB6 Keypad Hub (just below the USB connector on the front of the wall plate) must only be used with an optional CasaTunes 5VDC power supply with positive center conductor.

Keypads are not designed for outdoor use.

• Pre-wire the house with CAT5, CAT5e, or CAT6 (or better) cables, wiring from the keypad locations to a location close to where the CasaTunes music server will be placed. In this guide we will call the cables CAT5 cables, for convenience. Check your local building codes and make sure you use cable that is approved for in-wall home wiring. Do not route cables outside the house, since this improves the chance of lightning caused damage. Crimp RJ45 connectors to both ends of each cable. You can use any standard wiring scheme for these connectors as long as both ends are the same. These cables should NOT use “cross-over” wiring. Please use a good quality tool and verify all connections.
• Mount single gang electrical boxes or low-voltage mounting rings at the location of each keypad. If you will be mounting alongside AC switches or other high voltage devices, make sure you follow NEC, UL and local government codes. Specifically, all high voltage wires for the AC devices must be enclosed and the low voltage keypad wires cannot be in the same enclosure as the high voltage wires. This means that if you use a dual gang box for an AC switch and the CasaTunes Keypad, there must be a divider between the two halves of the box.
• Mount a single gang electrical box or low-voltage mounting ring for the USB6. The USB6 should be mounted close to where the CasaTunes music server is to be installed. If you have more than 6 Keypads and need to mount two (or more) USB6 Keypad Hubs, make sure you separate the boxes so that the built-in wallplates of the USB6 Keypad Hubs do not interfere with each other. At this time, CasaTools does not supply a dual mounting USB6 wallplate. Also, because of the built-in wallplate, the USB6 Keypad Hub cannot be mounted in a multi-gang electrical box with other devices.
• At the keypad location, simply plug the CAT5 cable into the back of the Keypad and mount the Keypad to the box or ring using the supplied 6-32 x 1” screws. Attach any Decora® style wall plate. If you prefer “screwless” wallplates, our Keypad works perfectly with Lutron®’s line of screwless Decora style wallplates, and they also work well with the Leviton® Decora screwless wallplate. If you need a keypad in a color other than Almond, we also have faceplates in Black, Ivory and White. They are easily replaced using a size 1 Phillips head screwdriver.
• At the music server location, take the CAT5 cables from the keypads and plug them into the back of the USB6 Keypad Hub and mount the USB6 Keypad Hub into the box or mounting ring using the supplied 6-32 x 1” screws. You can plug any CAT5 from any keypad into any RJ45 socket of any USB6 Keypad Hub. Room assignments for the Keypads are easily configured at the keypad during software setup, later.
• Connect the USB cable from the USB6 Keypad Hub to the CasaTunes music server, and power on the music server. CasaTunes will automatically detect each USB6 Keypad Hub and the keypads connected to each Hub.

Configuring your CasaTunes Keypads

Before configuring your keypads, finish configuring your rooms and room groups in CasaSetup (or using the CasaTunes Apps).

Go to each keypad and assign the zone that the Keypad controls:

• Press the Power button to turn on the Keypad (hit the lower right button)
• Press and hold the Source button until you are presented with a menu
• Use the up and down buttons until Zone Setup is selected, and press the right button to enter setup
• Use the up and down buttons to highlight the zone name for the room that the Keypad is in and press the Source button to select this zone name
• Use the up and down buttons to highlight the room or room group to assign to this keypad, and press the Source button

Basic Keypad Operation

• When the power in the room is off, the keypad backlighting is disabled, and the keypad will display, by default, CasaTunes in the first line and the time of day in the second line. You can replace the CasaTunes message in CasaSetup.
• When the power in the room is on, you will see a three line display with status information on the top line, information about the currently playing music, such as the artist and song, or the radio station if listening to internet radio, in the middle line, and the song progress in the bottom line.
• The power in the room can be turned on and off using the lower right Power button.
• The top and bottom buttons in the ring of buttons turn the Volume Up and Volume Down.
• The center button changes the Source, or player, you are listening to.
• The left and right buttons change the Next or Previous song or station, depending on whether you are listening to a playlist or an Internet radio station.
• Holding the Source button in for more than 3 seconds takes you to a menu where you can change Music, Bass, Treble, Balance, Loudness, and the DND (Do Not Disturb) and other settings.

When the keypad is off, if the keypad does not display the time of day, then the keypad is not setup correctly. Check the keypad is plugged into the USB6 Keypad Hub, and verify the USB6 Keypad Hub is connected to your music server. Next, unplug the keypad and plug it back in to the Hub, and if that does not work, try unplugging and plugging back in the USB6 Keypad Hub. If you still do not see the time of day, please contact CasaTunes Support.

Normal Mode

Each CasaTunes Keypad button functions differently, depending on whether you press and release the button, or press and hold the button. The keypad starts out in Normal mode.

Menu Mode

To access the keypad menus, enter Menu mode by pressing and holding the Source button on the CasaTunes Keypad. The following keypad menu options are displayed:

• Select Music – This option allows you to browse and select your music for the currently selected source. If you are selecting from a CasaTunes Player media source, you can select to clear the current playlist, select music from your configured music services, select Shuffle and Continuous (Repeat) modes. If your current source is a tuner, you can select to listen to a station from the list of favorites or by category (genre).
• DND Mode – Select this menu option to enable or disable Do Not Disturb (DND) mode for the room. When enabled, any changes to other rooms will not affect your room. When DND is enabled, a DND indicator is displayed on the top of the display when you exit the keypad menus.
• Play/Pause/Stop – These menu items allow you to play, pause or stop playing the current music.
• All On – Turns all rooms on. This is the same as pressing & holding the power button when the room is off.
• All Off – Turns all rooms off either immediately or after a period of time (5, 10, 30, or 60 minutes). Rooms with DND enabled will not be affected.
• Sleep Timer – Turns this room off after a period of time (5, 10, 30, or 60 minutes).
• EQ Settings – Allows you to change the Balance, Bass, Treble and Loudness settings for this room.
• Zone Setup – Specifies which room or room group will be controlled by this keypad. You can have more than one keypad control a room or room group. You can change this setting at any time, allowing you to control any room or room group from any keypad.
• Keypad Information – This information is used by CasaTunes Technical Support.

When in Menu mode, the keypad buttons function as follows:

Keypad Display Indicators

The top most line of the display is used to display several system indicators, including:

• DND – Do Not Disturb (DND) mode is enabled for this room
• ALARM – This room is scheduled to wake up to music.

If no keypad indicator is enabled the keypad displays the name of the current selected source.