
The Intesis IBOX-MBS-DALI is a DALI-to-Modbus protocol converter by Intesis (part of HMS Networks) that exposes DALI-2 lighting ballasts and groups as Modbus holding registers. The TapHome template targets the 1-channel RTU variant (order code IBMBSDAL0640000, re-released as INMBSDAL0640200) and connects to TapHome over RS-485 Modbus RTU on the gateway’s Port B.
The template covers the full addressable DALI capacity of a single line: 64 individual ECG ballasts (short addresses 0–63) and 16 DALI groups. Each ECG supports read-back of actual level (0–100 %), ballast/lamp failure status, and write access to arc power level, power-on level, system-failure level, fade time and fade rate. DALI groups expose write-only broadcast dimmer control. At the module level, four broadcast service actions (All On, All Off, All Set Power-on Level, All Set System-failure Level) target every ballast on the DALI line in a single Modbus write.
DALI short addresses, group membership, scenes and min/max levels must be pre-configured with the free Intesis MAPS commissioning software before TapHome can address individual ballasts — the TapHome template does not perform DALI network discovery or addressing.
Hardware connection
Gateway variants
The TapHome template is built for the 1-channel RTU gateway. The 2-channel variant has an identical register map but does not expose Modbus RTU (TCP only), so it is not compatible with this RS-485 template.
| Order code | DALI channels | ECG capacity | Groups | Modbus RTU | Modbus TCP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IBMBSDAL0640000 / INMBSDAL0640200 | 1 | 64 | 16 | Yes (Port B) | Yes |
| IBMBSDAL1280000 / INMBSDAL1280200 | 2 | 128 | 32 | No | Yes |

The TapHome template uses the register formula
7000 × channel + 100 × ECG + signal, evaluated withchannel = 0. This matches the 1-channel IBOX-MBS-DALI exactly.
Connector layout (1-channel IBOX-MBS-DALI)

Top-view of the 1-channel IBOX-MBS-DALI:
- Power — 3-pole plug-in screw terminal, 24 VDC ±10 % (+ / − / Earth)
- Port A / DALI — 2-pole orange terminal, A4 (DA+) and A3 (DA−), 16 VDC DALI supply
- Ethernet — 1× RJ45 10/100 Mbps (Modbus TCP)
- Console — mini-type B USB 2.0 for Intesis MAPS configuration
- Port B / Modbus RTU — EIA485 3-pole screw terminal
B1 (B+) / B2 (A−) / B3 (SGND)and EIA232 SUB-D9 male (alternative) - USB — Type-A USB 2.0 for flash drives only (150 mA max)
- SWA / SWB — DIP switches (SWA reserved, SWB controls RS-485 termination and polarization — see Configuration below)
Power supply
- Input: 24 VDC ±10 % on the 3-pole terminal (+, −, Earth)
- Source: NEC Class 2 or Limited Power Source (LPS), SELV rated
- Upstream protection: 250 V / 6 A circuit breaker required
- Earth: May be earthed through the negative terminal only — never through the positive terminal
To avoid earth loops that can damage the gateway and connected equipment, never use a DC power supply with the positive terminal earthed. Earth only through the negative terminal, or leave the earth floating.
RS-485 Modbus RTU wiring (Port B, EIA485)
Connect the TapHome RS-485 bus to the EIA485 terminal block on Port B:
| IBOX-MBS-DALI terminal | Signal | TapHome RS-485 |
|---|---|---|
| B1 | B+ (D+) | A+ / D+ |
| B2 | A− (D−) | B− / D− |
| B3 | SGND (reference ground) | GND |
Respect polarity. B1 = B+ (D+) and B2 = A− (D−). Crossing A/B will silently break communication without any hardware damage.
Cable specification (EIA485 limits):
- Max length: 1200 m on a single RS-485 segment
- Max nodes: 32 devices including the TapHome master and the IBOX-MBS-DALI
- Termination: 120 Ω at each bus end — TapHome Core has a built-in 120 Ω resistor on its BUS terminals, so the IBOX-MBS-DALI only needs termination enabled if it sits at the far end of the RS-485 segment (see DIP switch SWB below)
If the gateway is installed in the middle of the RS-485 bus (not at an end), leave SWB in the OFF position and do not add external termination.
EIA232 alternative: The Port B SUB-D9 male connector provides an EIA232 interface using TX, RX and GND only, with a 15 m maximum cable length. TapHome does not natively support RS-232, so EIA485 is the standard TapHome connection.
DALI bus wiring (Port A)
Connect the DALI line to the Port A orange 2-pole terminal:
- A4 — DA+
- A3 — DA−
The IBOX-MBS-DALI provides 16 VDC (±2 %) bus voltage, with a guaranteed 235 mA (max 250 mA) of DALI current. DALI is polarity-insensitive per the standard, but this internal supply must be enabled in Intesis MAPS before any DALI communication works — see DALI commissioning below.
DALI capacity on a single line (leave ~10 % headroom for dynamic processes):
- Up to 64 ECG ballasts (typ. 2 mA each → 128 mA)
- Up to 64 DALI input devices / 16 recommended when using push buttons (typ. 5 mA each)
- Example budget:
64 ECGs × 2 mA + 16 sensors × 5 mA = 208 mA < 235 mA × 90 %
DALI is an inherently low-speed bus (1200 baud) with a 1.5 s gateway start-up time and a 7 s shutdown time. DALI commands issued from TapHome reach the ballasts with a small but non-zero latency compared to direct wired control.
Configuration
DIP switch SWB — RS-485 termination and polarization
The SWB DIP switch on the 1-channel IBOX-MBS-DALI controls only the RS-485 bus characteristics — there is no DIP-switch-based Modbus slave address on this gateway (slave address is set in Intesis MAPS, see below).
| Position | ON | OFF |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 120 Ω termination active | Termination inactive |
| 2 | Polarization active | Polarization inactive |
| 3 | Polarization active | Polarization inactive |
- Position 1 = ON — enables the internal 120 Ω termination resistor. Use this when the IBOX-MBS-DALI is at the last physical position on the RS-485 bus.
- Positions 2 and 3 = ON — enable bus biasing (polarization). Use this when no other master on the bus provides biasing. TapHome Core provides biasing on its BUS terminals, so these can usually stay OFF.
SWA is reserved for future use on this hardware revision and has no runtime effect.
Modbus RTU communication parameters
All RTU parameters are configured in the Intesis MAPS project and must match the TapHome module settings exactly.
| Parameter | Values | Template default |
|---|---|---|
| Baud rate | 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, 19200, 38400, 56700, 115200 | 9600 |
| Parity | none, even, odd | none |
| Stop bits | 1, 2 | 1 |
| Data bits | 8 | 8 |
| Slave address | 1–247 | Configurable in MAPS |
The Intesis gateway supports Modbus RTU and Modbus TCP simultaneously on the 1-channel variant. TapHome uses RTU; a parallel BMS or diagnostic tool can keep reading the same register map over TCP without interfering.
Enabling Modbus communication
Modbus communication is enabled by loading a valid project onto the gateway with Intesis MAPS (no DIP switches are involved on this model). Short version:
- Install Intesis MAPS on a Windows PC and connect to the gateway via USB Console or Ethernet.
- Open or create a project based on the
INMBSDAL---0200-Template. - In the Configuration → Modbus Slave tab, set baud rate, parity, stop bits and slave address to match TapHome.
- In the Configuration → DALI tab, enable the internal 16 VDC DALI bus power (see DALI commissioning).
- Click Send to transfer the configuration; the gateway reboots automatically.
- Use Diagnostic → Viewers to verify Modbus frames on Port B TX/RX.

DALI commissioning
DALI addressing is performed in Intesis MAPS — not in TapHome. The TapHome template references DALI short addresses 0–63 and group addresses 0–15 by their register offset; physical ballasts and groups must be bound to those addresses first.
High-level commissioning workflow (full procedure in the Intesis user manual, Annex A):
- In MAPS, open the project for the 1-channel gateway and go to Configuration → DALI → ECG Channel A.
- Click Commissioning → Scan to discover ECG ballasts on the DALI bus.
- For each ballast, assign a short address (0–63) via the Wink button (blinks the physical ballast for identification) or Auto Addr. (sequential automatic assignment).
- Optionally set per-ECG parameters: Device Type (0 = Fluorescent, 1 = Emergency, 6 = LED, …), min / max level, power-on level, system-failure level, scene configuration and group membership (0–15).
- Click Commissioning → Set All to push the configuration from MAPS down to the DALI bus.
- Click Send to transfer the gateway-level configuration (Modbus parameters, signal map) back to the IBOX-MBS-DALI.
After commissioning, ECGs identified by short address in TapHome (e.g. ECG 5 → register H:506) map one-to-one to the physical ballasts. Group membership must also be defined in MAPS for the DALI Group devices to work, although the template exposes per-ECG Add to DALI Group / Remove from DALI Group service actions that can re-assign group membership at runtime on compatible firmware.
Per the r1.5 user manual (May 2024), signals 29 and 30 (Add to DALI Group / Remove from DALI Group) are marked as Not used on current firmware. The TapHome template still exposes these actions because they were functional on earlier firmware, but stable group assignments should be configured in Intesis MAPS, not written at runtime.
Register map overview
TapHome uses a single formula for all registers:
| |
On the 1-channel variant, channel = 0 always. The template exposes the following register ranges:
| Range | Function | Exposed by template |
|---|---|---|
H:0 – H:3 | Ballast/lamp failure bitmask (ECG 63..0, 4× UInt16) | Yes — as module-level failRegister |
H:SA+5 | ECG ballast status bitmask (per ECG) | Yes — errors, warnings, info per ECG |
H:SA+6 | ECG actual level 0–100 % (read) | Yes — dimmer position feedback |
H:SA+7 | ECG device type enum | Yes — as service attribute |
H:SA+11..+14 | Power-on / system-failure level, fade time / rate (read) | Yes — as service attributes |
H:SA+15 | ECG arc power level 0–100 % (write) | Yes — writelevel, linearly mapped into Min/Max |
H:SA+23..+30 | Set fade time/rate, set levels, add/remove from group | Yes — as per-ECG service actions |
H:6400 + 20·GR | Group arc power level 0–100 % (write) | Yes — as write-only DALI Group device |
H:6801 | Broadcast Arc Power Off/On (0/100 %) | Yes — as module All On / All Off |
H:6812 / H:6813 | Broadcast Set Power-on / System-failure Level | Yes — as module service actions |
Input devices (occupancy sensors, push buttons, light sensors) at addresses 14000 + 640·LINE + 10·IDX + INSTANCE + 1280·SIG are not implemented by this template.
Device capabilities
Per-ECG dimming (64 ECG devices)
Each short address 0–63 is exposed as an individual TapHome dimmer device (ECG 0 through ECG 63). Capabilities per ECG:
- Actual level — reads
H:SA+6(0–100 %) as the dimmer position feedback - Arc power level — writes
H:SA+15(0–100 %), linearly mapped from TapHome’s 0–1 dimmer scale into the ballast’s configured[min level, max level]range - Ballast status — a bitmask on
H:SA+5drives TapHome diagnostics: BallFail and LampFail raise errors, BallLimit, Reset and PowerCycle raise warnings, FadeRun is surfaced as info, MissingShortAddr raises an error - Communication fault detection — the module reads the 64-bit failure bitmask on
H:0 – H:3and flags individual ECGs as faulty independently of theH:SA+5status
Per-ECG service attributes (read-only metadata)
Each ECG device exposes five service attributes that read its current DALI configuration:
- Main Device Type —
H:SA+7enum (0–8): 0 = Fluorescent, 1 = Emergency, 2 = Discharge, 3 = Halogen, 4 = Incandescent, 5 = Digital signal, 6 = LED, 7 = Switching, 8 = Colour Control - Power-on Level [%] —
H:SA+11(0–100 %) — level the ballast returns to after DALI bus power-up - System-failure Level [%] —
H:SA+12(0–100 %) — level the ballast enters on DALI bus failure - Fade Time —
H:SA+13(0–15) — DALI fade-time index (time to reach a target level on direct arc power writes) - Fade Rate —
H:SA+14(1–15) — DALI fade-rate index (speed of step up / step down commands)
Per-ECG service actions (write)
Each ECG also exposes six service actions for online reconfiguration:
- Set Power-on Level — writes
H:SA+27(0–100 %) - Set System-failure Level — writes
H:SA+28(0–100 %) - Set Fade Time — writes
H:SA+23(0–15) - Set Fade Rate — writes
H:SA+24(1–15) - Add to DALI Group — writes
H:SA+29with the group number (0–15) — see commissioning caveat above - Remove from DALI Group — writes
H:SA+30with the group number (0–15)
Every write is automatically committed by the template via H:SA+4 = 1 (Update All ECG Status), which refreshes the gateway’s cached read values.
DALI groups (16 write-only broadcast dimmers)
DALI Group 0 through DALI Group 15 are exposed as write-only dimmer devices:
- Write register:
H:6400 + 20 × GR(e.g. Group 0 =H:6400, Group 15 =H:6700) - Behavior: writing a TapHome dimmer value 0–1 sends
Arc Power Level = Le × 100to every ECG that is a member of that DALI group - No read feedback — the group signal has no actual-level register, so TapHome tracks the group level from user input only, not from real ballast state
Use groups for rooms or zones where several ballasts dim together. Group membership is configured per-ECG via the ECG service action Add to DALI Group or (preferably) in Intesis MAPS.
Module-level broadcast actions
The main module (Intesis DALI Gateway) exposes four service actions that address every ballast on the DALI line at once:
- All — On — writes
H:6801 = 1, broadcasting 100 % to every ECG - All — Off — writes
H:6801 = 0, broadcasting 0 % to every ECG - All — Set Power-on Level — writes
H:6812(0–100 %) to configure the level all ballasts return to after DALI power-up - All — Set System-failure Level — writes
H:6813(0–100 %) to configure the level all ballasts enter on DALI bus failure
These are faster than iterating per-ECG writes when all ballasts must reach the same target state (e.g. panic off, morning preset).
Status LEDs and push buttons

| LED | State | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Run | Off / Green | No power / device powered and running |
| Error | Off / Red | No error / error condition |
| Port A Tx / Rx (DALI) | Off / Blink green / Blink yellow | No activity / TX packet to DALI / RX packet from DALI |
| Port B Tx / Rx (Modbus RTU) | Off / Blink green / Blink yellow | No activity / TX packet on RS-485 / RX packet on RS-485 |
| Button A indicator | Off / Green | DALI broadcast state: OFF / RECALL_MAX_LEVEL |
| Button B indicator | Off / Green | No default function (configurable in MAPS) |
Button A (DALI A) — pressing toggles a DALI broadcast between RECALL_MAX_LEVEL (100 %) and OFF, useful for a quick on-site sanity check of the DALI line without TapHome involvement. After 30 s the Button A LED turns off and the ballasts return to their previous level.
Button B — no default function on this gateway; can be configured as an RS-485 action in Intesis MAPS.
Mounting
DIN rail (recommended)

EN60715 TH35, preferably inside a metallic cabinet connected to earth. Leave the fixing clips in their inward factory position, engage the top edge of the rail first, then press down to snap the bottom.
Wall mount

- Separate the fixing clips from their original position (for DIN rail mount) by pushing them outward until they click into the wall-mount position.
- Use the holes in the fix-to-the-box to fix the box to the wall. Use the template below for the drill holes.
Space and environment
- Installation space: allow 130 × 100 × 100 mm (H × W × D) around the device for connectors and cabling. Net dimensions: 90 × 88 × 56 mm.
- Environment: IP20, indoor only. Operating temperature 0 °C to +50 °C (user manual) / +60 °C (installation sheet), humidity 5–95 % non-condensing.
Troubleshooting
No Modbus communication (Port B Tx/Rx LEDs stay off)
- Check RS-485 wiring — verify B1 (B+) / B2 (A−) polarity against the TapHome RS-485 terminals; crossing them is the most common mistake.
- Check SGND — connect B3 to the TapHome ground. Missing signal ground is the second most common cause of flaky RTU.
- Match the serial parameters — baud rate, parity, stop bits and slave address in TapHome must match the values in the Intesis MAPS project exactly.
- Check SWB DIP switches — if this gateway is at the physical end of the RS-485 bus, set SWB position 1 = ON (120 Ω termination). If it sits in the middle of the bus, set all SWB positions to OFF.
- Confirm TCP is not holding the slot — the gateway allows 5 simultaneous TCP sockets and 1 RTU master; a misconfigured MAPS connection does not block RTU, but it is worth closing MAPS during TapHome debugging.
Modbus works but DALI ballasts do not respond
- Enable the internal DALI bus power — new gateways ship with DALI power disabled. Open Intesis MAPS → Configuration → DALI → DALI Channel A and set Power the DALI bus = Enabled, then Send the configuration. Without bus power the gateway reports a hardware error on any DALI write.
- Quick sanity check — press Button A on the gateway. It should broadcast
RECALL_MAX_LEVELand toggle every connected ballast on/off. If nothing moves, the DALI bus itself is the problem (wiring, voltage, ballast power). - Run an on-bus scan in MAPS — Commissioning → Scan on DALI Channel A lists every ballast the gateway can see. Missing ballasts usually mean unpowered ECGs, an unassigned DALI short address, or a cut in the DALI bus.
- Verify short addresses — TapHome addresses ECG 5 at register
H:506; if short address 5 has not been assigned in MAPS, the register exists but the physical ballast is not bound to it.
A specific ECG reports a fault in TapHome
TapHome surfaces two failure sources for every ECG:
- Module failRegister (
H:0 – H:3) — one bit per ECG. A set bit raises a communication error (the gateway cannot talk to the ballast at all). - ECG ballast status (
H:SA+5) — a per-ECG bitmask. BallFail and LampFail raise errors (hardware ballast or lamp failure), MissingShortAddr raises an error (the ECG answered, but it has no short address), BallLimit, Reset and PowerCycle raise warnings, FadeRun is informational.
Replace the faulty ballast or re-commission the short address in MAPS to clear the fault.
Write accepted but ballast does not change level
- Confirm the ballast is not in fade — FadeRun on
H:SA+5means the ballast is currently fading; wait for it to finish. Shortening Fade Time (H:SA+23) reduces the perceived latency. - Check Min / Max Level — TapHome linearly maps its 0–1 dimmer scale into the
[min level, max level]window read from the ballast (H:SA+9 / H:SA+10). If both are equal, the ballast cannot change level; re-configure min/max in MAPS. - Add/Remove from DALI Group — on latest r1.5 firmware these per-ECG actions are marked as deprecated; perform group assignments in MAPS instead.
