No strings attached: the buzz about wireless is picking up. Is it worth your time to get behind this high-tech phenomenon?

Pool & Spa News, June 4, 2004 by Julie Sturgeon

Last spring, Don Riling had just the ticket he needed to convert a well-to-do customer who wanted to outfit his $8 million custom yacht with a portable spa into a satisfied buyer.

One particular spa's built-in sound system captured this customer's attention, but he fretted that the spa-side controls would be difficult to access within the yacht's tight, precise quarters.

A wireless remote control helped salvage the sale, says Riling, sales manager of Olympic Hot Tub Co. in Seattle.

Nearly 2,500 miles away in Houston, Graham George, president of Custom Spa Inc., had to deal with a tough spa installation of his own. Relying on the power of transmitters that could extend the wireless remote control's range, George suggested placing the new spa next to a peaceful river, 200 feet down the bank from the customer's house. As long as control would remain at his fingertips, the customer jumped at the possibility.

During the last few years, many spa retailers have heard similar or experienced their own--wireless technology success stories. And as more products enter the market, more customers are catching the wireless wave.

"Wireless technology adds to the enjoyment of the product," says Chris Robinson, chairman of NSPI's Hot Tub Council and director of sales and marketing at Lucite Surfaces in Cordova, Tenn. "It allows a spa to be a more friendly device ... a smarter machine. It helps us keep our product fresh and 'with the times.'"

Of course, with the proliferation of personal digital assistant (PDA) devices and cell phones, the public hardly needs an introduction to the concept.

What has changed, retailers say, is that the public now regularly asks for this option. Consumers see spas equipped with advanced electronics, waterfeatures, stereo systems and more--and they demand even more high-tech options to operate it all. Happily, the market is evolving to keep up with the pace of their technological desires.

The wireless revolution

Products that use wireless technology have become such a hot commodity that both manufacturers in the technology sector and many spa makers themselves offer items geared for the market.

While some are installed at the spamanufacturing facilities, others can be added as aftermarket items, opening the door for even more customers to obtain these high-tech gadgets.

"Companies are trying different things," Robinson says. "The concepts that seem to be catching on tie into the real mind-set behind spas, such as relaxation. Wireless technology goes right along with that, whether it's used to turn on the spa, make it easier to operate or aid in troubleshooting."

Two categories dominate the wireless market: remote controls and advanced monitoring systems.

* Remote controls

Wireless remotes first entered the scene in the late 1990s. At their most basic, these wireless controls allow spa owners to turn on the jets and adjust the temperature remotely.

But why limit a good thing to such a one-dimensional function? Today's waterproof remotes are capable of turning on the lights, switching the colors on mood lighting, adjusting the music volume, turning on a television set, viewing the temperature from afar and locking the controls from prying fingers.

Many spa manufacturers have embraced this technology, engineering the products themselves or partnering with high-tech firms. For example, Independence, Ore.-based Marquis Spas features a remote control panel that allows users to monitor spa functions from their homes. In addition, Master Spas in Fort Wayne, Ind., as well as Jacuzzi Premium Spas and Sundance Spas Inc., both in Chino, Calif., and others offer wireless remotes that work with their spas' entertainment systems.

"Wireless products are definitely the wave of the future," says Lupe Tarin, brand coordinator at Sundance, which added a pump-control component to its infrared wireless remote in 2004. "Consumers want convenience, and these products deliver it."

In many cases, homeowners can select between a handheld control or a set of keypad panels throughout the house. Some manufacturers offer two-way communication that allows spas to "talk" back, alerting owners when something doesn't go as instructed. There are even remotes that glow in the dark.

Older technology sometimes balked at barriers, the obstacles such as walls and furniture that got between its beam and me device. However, many of today's spas use radio frequency signals and other means to render these household issues moot.

Balboa Instruments Inc.'s wireless remote, for one, works on infrared or radio frequency, says Joe Stone, vice president of marketing at the Tustin, Calif., firm. "The same remote that works with the spa can also work with your home-theater system."

Watkins Manufacturing Corp. also recently debuted a remote that communicates with its spa's control system via two-way radio frequency. The electronic functions can be controlled from anywhere within a 100-foot radius of the spa, according to the Vista, Calif., firm.

* Advanced monitoring systems