Gemcell Australia

A power point up-scaled in size that accommodates the fattest chargers and power packs, a powersaving EXIT sign that conceals more smart electronics than Inspector Gadget's right arm, a simple yet clever cable/conduit fixing product designed to slash cabling time to ribbons and a brilliant home networking solution that neatly packages a pre-matched home automation system into its own custom built enclosure? No, we're not dreaming. All these products are available at Gemcell now AND we review them (plus many more) on the following pages.

Clipsal StarServe® Starter Pack

Quite simply, the fastest, easiest way to get Home Automation up and running.

What an excellent idea! A starter pack for getting a home automation system (often time-consuming and complicated) installed quickly and easily. Clipsal StarServe® Starter Pack includes the enclosure, the video and telephone distribution unit, the power injector and the AC adaptor. It expands on basic home wiring to deliver a dynamic entertainment and communications system that lets you network TV systems including pay TV, a VCR and satellite receivers, phones and computer systems throughout the house.

All this is possible thanks to cutting edge electronics adapted by Clipsal for everyday use, technology that makes centralised entertainment available to almost everyone. And it’s easily expandable. Once the StarServe® starter Pack is installed and operating, it’s easy to add extra facilities if needed to meet most customer’s individual and changing requirements. With four clear data lines its easy to add a cost-effective high speed data network including computers, fax machine, printer etc. And the optional infra-red system adds facility for control of video or DVD from other rooms in the house.

With the StarServe® Starter Pack, all components in the box are matched and ready to connect together. This is the beauty of the StarServe® Starter Pack. It removes the difficult decisions and the potential for mistakes when selecting the initial components. You know it’s all going to come together and work together right out of the box.

Home automation used to be percieved as expensive and complicated, which made it primarily the domain of the rich. Now with the Clipsal StarServe® Starter Pack, home automation is within reach of many more home owners than ever before. And that’s a great benefit not only for Australian families, but for the entire electrotechnology contracting industry.

Legrand LED Slide Connect G2

Advanced in concept and economy, takes EXIT signage to the next level.

Legrand Slide Connect G2 EXIT sign impresses with its sleek design, advanced features, low running costs and ease of installation. With the facility to plug directly into the old series base module, Slide Connect G2 provides a very simple upgrade option. In addition, the new Slide Connect G2 also supports AXIOM wireless technology allowing further upgrading to a monitored system.

Legrand is the first company in Australia to adopt a single light source LED for emergency lighting applications. Slide Connect G2 uses a single 3 watt solid state high brightness (HB) LED in conjunction with a unique and patented optical diffuser that focuses the bright point source of the LED onto both faces of the sign. Brightness of light is higher during emergency conditions than under normal conditions. This feature (among others) helps Slide Connect to consume just 4 watts of electricity. This must be the “greenest” EXIT sign around.

Despite its low power consumption, Slide Connect G2 complies with AS2293:2005 for brightness and uniformity. An intelligent dual rate charging system is standard, as are long life batteries. Legrand’s special design under-runs a top quality Power LED on mains. This, combined with a cool running SMPS (Switched Mode Power Supply) ensures its lamp life expectancy of 50,000 hours. A brilliant design in both concept and execution, Slide Connect G2 takes the EXIT sign to the next level of development.

Hager DIN Socket Outlet

Compact, modular, feature-rich DIN

Socket Outlet sets new standard. Hager’s understanding of the electrical market and close relationships with electrical contractors are reflected in both the design and characteristics of the new SNO series of DIN Socket Outlets. The SNO series has an impressive array of features that provide electricians with a quick, simple and safe way to satisfy the needs of various power supply applications.

All SNO series products have DIN rail mounting with an insulated metal DIN clip. The metal DIN clip gives greater mounting strength and adhesion to the DIN rail, particularly important when extension leads are used. This outstanding product also features a neon indicator that provides clear and positive indication that supply is present when plugs are inserted.All hager DIN Socket Outlets have double pole construction that incorporates auto switching across active and neutral contacts.

This provides the maximum level of conformance. And in addition, to prevent accidental insertion into live parts, all SNO series DIN Socket Outlets are manufactured with safety shutters.

Installation and connection time is dramatically decreased with easy front access to the terminals. You no longer need to remove the device from the DIN rail to gain access to the connection terminals. The bi-connect terminal feature on the active provides two connection points that can incorporate either busbar or soft wiring. The offset Neutral and Earth connections include cage terminals that offer greater cable security and installation speed.

Sprecher + Schuh D7 control and signalling range

High quality, high tech meets visual appeal.

Utilising state-of-the-art modelling technologies and finite element analysis, the Sprecher + Schuh D7 range has been designed and manufactured to meet the most demanding performance criteria. Distinguished by an all-new compact design, D7 operators have a unique, stylish low profile appearance that can be specified in either thermoplastic or metal. Both versions provide IP 66 enclosure protection and are UV and corrosion-resistant.

The designers of D7 have further developed and improved key elements such as operational response and feel, plus reliability and durability. Optional time-saving cage-style termination on contact blocks, improved LED illumination on pilot lights and hard wearing laser-engraved press plates have also been included.

A key feature of the Sprecher + Schuh D7 range is its striking modern appearance and compact dimensions. The low-profile D7 range sports front-of-panel operators that are over 4-mm shorter in height from the panel, ensuring a flush fit. All D7 rearof- panel components are also significantly reduced in dimension, with shorter back-of-panel depths allowing them to be used with smaller, more economical enclosures.

Illumination is optimised by the use of latest-generation LED light sources available in red, green, amber, blue and white. Integrated LED lamp blocks utilise a high-brightness multi-chip design incorporating a built-in shunt resistor, suitable for use with voltages between 24 and 240 volts. They offer unparalleled levels of high-quality illumination, along with a tested lamp life of approximately 11 years (100,000 hours).

Flexibility and speed of installation has been thoughtfully designed into the new D7 range. The installation of front and rear-mount elements is simple, cost-efficient and fast, and can be completed by just one person without tools. The versatility of the D7 range is further increased by the ability to fit three contact blocks (or two plus an illumination element) across the width of the device body. Further contact blocks may be added to the rear of the assembly to a maximum of three levels. The D7 series also includes a new ‘integrated auto-break’ contact block specifically designed for emergency stop applications.

Sinus Penta variable speed drive

Brings high levels of technical sophistication to industrial operation.

Occasionally a new technology causes a complete shift in well entrenched perceptions and understandings. The SINUS PENTA range of variable speed drives (VSDs) is such a technology. With an entirely new range that offers unrivalled drive flexibility and adaptability, plus the common ‘look-and-feel’ convenience of a single drive family, Sinus Penta seriously challenges the long-held belief that ‘a drive, is a drive, is a drive’.

This new drive series provides unrivalled application flexibility across an output power range spanning 2.2 to 2010 kW, and input voltages ranging from 200 to 690 V AC (or 280 to 970 V DC). All this is provided in a drive family that offers enclosure ratings from IP 00 through to IP 54, and the broadest range of ’standard’ application options.

Flexibility is really what the Sinus Penta range is all about and where it is head and shoulders above competing Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs). It is industrially tough, yet offers ease-of-application not seen to-date in the global drives market. With its broad range of ratings, overload selections, control algorithms, functions, and I/O, the Sinus Penta can be quickly and easily adapted for use in just about any application.

At the core of the Sinus Penta is a suite of five operation modes that give the drive its name (’penta’ is the Ancient Greek word for ‘five’). All five modes are provided as standard within each drive in the SINUS PENTA family.

They are: GENERAL PURPOSE: Inverter frequency drive (IFD mode), HIGH TORQUE APPLICATIONS: Vector torque control open-loop (VTC open-loop mode), FAST TORQUE RESPONSE: Vector torque control closed-loop (VTC closed-loop mode, ULTIMATE PRECISION: Field-oriented control (FOC mode), SYNCHRONOUS MOTOR APPLICATIONS: Synchronous control (SYN mode). A further six PC-compiled application functions are also available as optional extras.

The Sinus Penta’s broad connectivity to the user (via the user interface), other drives, plant controllers, SCADA systems and the outside world in general, demonstrates the flexibility of the Sinus Penta series. From an onboard I/O perspective, each Sinus Penta incorporates as standard: eight digital inputs, two relay outputs, plus three analogue inputs, and three analogue outputs - all of which are configurable. Each drive also incorporates two digital outputs (one open collector, and one ‘push-pull’). Fieldbus connectivity is also built-in along with MODBUS RTU protocol. Optional network cards permit drive connectivity to most other major protocols including Profibus, DeviceNet, Ethernet, and many more.

The backlit LCD user interface completes the drive’s superior connectivity to the outside world. The drive interface supports four full lines of text. This allows configuration parameters, alarms and so on to be clearly described in plain English. The interface’s 11 indication LEDs provide fast identification of drive status, while the interface itself can actually store complete drive configurations for convenient upload and download from and to the drive. The interface can also link into the MODBUS network as a ‘MODBUS master’. This allows a single keypad to communicate with up to 32 other MODBUS linked drives.

A unique feature of the larger frame sized Sinus Penta is its suitability for connection to a 690 V AC three-phase supply, particularly popular in the underground mining and water/wastewater industries. However Sinus Penta’s unique features allow it to be readily applied to the most demanding industries, including heating, ventilation + air conditioning (HVAC) and food and beverage.

Sinus Penta is completely ‘HVAC ready’, with ‘firemode’ functionality and can also be provided with optional communications cards that afford connectivity with most major building management system (BMS) communication networks. A three-year warranty is the icing on the cake.

Clipsal Cablemate™

A new cable/conduit fixing system created to make your life easier.

Any sparky knows just how frustrating and time consuming it can be trying to thread cable ties through metres of cable tray, and how bulky and costly products like ducting can be. Enter the Clipsal Cablemate™.

Cablemate™ is a new Australian innovation, made from lightweight (but super tough) nylon plastic. Cablemate™ can easily be fixed to any wall, ceiling, or work surface, but the huge difference between Cablemate™ and other cable/conduit fixing products is how simple it makes the cable tying process.

In the past it’s often been necessary to pre-bend the tip of the cable ties to 45 degrees in order to get them underneath cable and through cable trays. Cablemate™ cuts out the fuss with a unique design that allows cable tie ends to slide effortlessly underneath the cable and straight back up the other side, ready to tie off. Cablemate™ is cost-effective and comes in neat 230mm lengths which can be lined up squarely (with the special keyways provided) to make the required length, meaning virtually no wastage. Cablemate™ is also lightweight and extremely simple to work with. If you are working in a limited space, Cablemate™ can be easily shortened by bending and snapping to the required length.

Fantech Ezifit 3 speed in-wall fan

You could exhaust yourself trying to find a more flexible fan.

Running at the standard middle speed setting, the Fantech EIE150 in-wall exhaust fan offers sufficient airflow to suit most domestic and light commercial applications. But if higher airflow is required, for instance for multi-point installations or long duct runs, the fan speed can simply and quickly be changed to the higher speed. Similarly, if lower noise levels are required, the fan speed can be set to low speed.

Flexibility is the Ezifit’s strong suit. Fan speed can be easily set at any of the 3 speeds at the time of installation. Or, if it is anticipated that the owner may want to change the fan speed at other times, an optional remote 3-speed switch can be fitted.

The Ezifit is ideally suited for sub-floor ventilation, yet this unit easily adapts to many more uses including rangehood exhaust applications. Easy installation is another box ticked. The fan unit fits within a normal wall cavity through a hole measuring 3 bricks high by one brick wide with the 150mm inlet spigot at the rear of the unit. Connection is via a lead and three-pin plug. When the Ezifit is installed in a sub-floor or canopy installation, the 150mm ducting connects through to the internal ceiling grilles. Five star energy requirements can be easily met by adding the RSK150 backdraft damper.

Thorn MaxiBatten

Proof that even the humble fluoro batten can be refined and improved.

The fluoro batten has been around for so long now with seemingly little change that a new design is almost guaranteed to create interest. And that is indeed the case with Thorn’s MaxiBatten. Fundamentally a re-design of what is essentially a bread and butter product, Thorn’s designers have nevertheless succeeded in injecting a creditable measure of quality and style into the Maxibatten’s clean, contemporary exterior. Yet look further and the innovative features that make the Maxibatten so versatile begin to surface.

The modern injection moulded polycarbonate end caps incorporate knock-out holes allowing true end-to-end mounting if required. Bare, diffused and/or wire guard options are all available within the range, and the cover clips on and screws in for added safety. The bare batten can easily be converted into a diffused batten by simply clipping on the smartly styled UV stabilised cover, and the optional wire guard is designed to cover the dispersive reflector if needed. See what we mean by versatile?

Fast and easy installation is facilitated by a 2-way and earth terminal block with capacity for a pair of 2.5mm2 cables. A fused terminal block is standard for high frequency versions. Suitable for domestic, industrial, commercial and education applications, MaxiBatten is a worthy replacement for Thorn’s Utility, Project and Bondi Battens.

Clipsal 360 degree Infrascan

Big operating range, huge field of view, small dimensions.

A massive 14 metre operating range coupled with a full 360 degree field of view makes this new Infrascan highly versatile. Yet the unit itself has been designed to fit like a downlight into a standard downlight hole. David proportions with Goliath performance, you might say!

The new Clipsal 753 Series 360 degree Infrascan brings to the market a highly reliable, stateof-the-art passive infrared (PIR) occupancy sensor representing an enormous leap forward in energy management and control technology. Utilising an advanced quad-element sensor array allowing instantaneous detection of movement, this new 240V Infrascan features an expansive 14 metre detection range. Yet its compact dimensions, and the fact that once installed it takes up about the same amount of space as a downlight, makes the 753 Infrascan one of the world’s most compact, unobtrusive passive infrared sensors.

Designed, developed and manufactured in Australia, the 753 Series offers benefits in security, energy management, hospitality and true ‘hands free’ switching convenience, plus a wide range of domestic and commercial applications. The 360 degree Infrascan is extremely well suited for use within commercial buildings, particularly open plan office areas and meeting rooms where it can be unobtrusively utilised to manage energy consumption by ensuring lighting is switched on only in occupied spaces.

Clipsal Gangbusters™ oversized power outlets

If the plug is too big for the power point, what do you do?

The dimensions of the common or garden variety double power point became an approximately standard thing many years ago, long before we all owned laptop computers, mobile phones and the like with power packs and charger plugs the size of grapefruit. We very soon found out that when you have one of these bulky power packs plugged in (let alone two or more) you either cannot access the switch to turn it on or off and/or you cannot get any more plugs onto the same power point. So we either end up with power boards everywhere, or we look to someone to solve the problem.

Clipsal, take a bow! With this ingeniously simple yet timely new product range, this increasingly prevalent problem has been solved. For years we have all struggled, often in tight spaces, trying to get those bulky power packs and chargers plugged in. The solution to the problem is ridiculously simple now it’s here in front of our eyes. Yet it took the R&D and marketing brains at Clipsal to bring it to market.

Enter Gangbusters™- the perfect solution to this increasingly common and frustrating problem. And to make life even easier, Gangbusters™ comes pre-packaged in twin or quad outlet options (2015H2 and 2025H2) or you can make up your own solution by simply purchasing one of the 2000 Series multigang surround products and make up your own power point configuration. Nice one Clipsal!