Somfy Altus RTS 510S2 Motor Fit, Torque and Tube Guide

Tube inner diameter decides this purchase. The Somfy Altus RTS 510S2 needs 1.85 inches of clearance inside the roller tube, and it turns that tube at 38 rpm with 10 Nm behind it. Somfy builds the 510S2 on the LT50 platform with a star head and a radio receiver inside the motor body, so commands arrive over 433.42 MHz and no control wire runs back to a wall box.

Exterior solar screens and insect screens

Somfy publishes two applications for reference 1038165: exterior solar screens and retractable insect screens. Both pull light fabric across a wide opening, and both reward speed. Screen fabric weighs a fraction of a rolling shutter curtain, which is why Somfy pairs 10 Nm with a 38 rpm output on this reference instead of the 14 rpm gearing found further up the range. An owner who runs a patio screen four times a day notices that difference.

Fabric weight and finished drop set the torque you need. The 500 Series databook carries the load tables, and Somfy sizes the rest of the Altus RTS family above this one for heavier work: the 525A2 at 25 Nm, the 530R2 at 30 Nm, the 535A2 at 35 Nm, the 540R2 at 40 Nm and the 550R2 at 50 Nm. Pick the 510S2 when your screen calculation lands inside 10 Nm and the opening calls for radio control.

Verified specs for reference 1038165

Two numbers in that table drive the order. The 1.85 inch minimum inner diameter rules out small tube, and the 9.84 ft SJTW pigtail decides where your junction box sits.

Crowns, drives and brackets for the 510S2

An LT50 motor reaches the tube through a crown at the head and a drive wheel at the tube wall. Match both to the tube profile on your order. Round 2.5 inch tube takes the LT50 2.5 inch round crown and drive set. Octagonal 70 mm shutter tube takes the octagonal LT50 70 mm crown and drive set. Crowns and drives sold for 40 mm or 28 mm motors will not seat on an LT50 body, so stay inside the LT50 range.

The head mounts next. A star head needs a bracket cut for that pattern, and the LT50 star head motor bracket drops straight onto the 510S2. Installers who want adjustment in the bracket plate choose the LT50 universal motor bracket and keep the spring clip retention. Confirm the bracket face against the head on the motor you receive before you drill the headbox.

Order the idler end of the assembly to match. A screen tube carries the motor at one end and an idler pin at the other, and the idler bracket has to sit on the same centerline as the motor head or the tube tracks crooked over a long drop.

RTS control and the remotes that reach it

The receiver lives inside the 510S2, which puts every control decision on the radio side. The motor stores 12 controls, holds a 433.420 MHz rolling code with 16 million combinations, and answers a transmitter up to 656.2 ft away in open field. Walls, stucco, metal headboxes and low-E glass cut that figure, and Somfy sizes the published range with margin for that reason.

A single screen pairs to the Situo 1 Channel RTS Pure remote in under a minute. Larger jobs move to a five channel Situo, a Telis timer or a DecoFlex wireless wall switch, and all of them write into the same 12 control memory. TaHoma Switch brings the 510S2 onto a phone app and into schedules alongside Zigbee and RTS hardware on the same site.

Radio controls are the path here. A maintained rocker switch wires to a motor that has no receiver of its own, so it has no route into an Altus RTS head.

Limits, wiring and install notes

Somfy gives the 510S2 electronic limits with a 250 turn capacity, set from a paired remote rather than with a screwdriver at the motor. Program the end points with the tube loaded and the fabric attached, because a dry run on a bare tube puts the lower limit in the wrong place once the hem bar adds its weight.

The motor arrives with a 9.84 ft SJTW pigtail. Class I insulation means the ground conductor carries a real job, so land it. IP 44 covers splash from any direction, which suits a screen housing under a soffit or inside a fascia. Mount the motor so water runs away from the head, and keep the cable entry below the body.

Thermal protection trips after 5 minutes of continuous run and resets once the motor cools. A screen cycle takes seconds, so the limit only shows up during repeated programming attempts. Let the motor rest, then carry on.

Putting the 510S2 order together

Measure the tube inner diameter, confirm 1.85 inches of clearance, then add the crown and drive set for your tube profile and the bracket that matches the star head. Add one RTS transmitter per control point. The Somfy Altus RTS 510S2 carries a five year Somfy warranty, and every part listed above comes from the same Somfy catalog, which keeps the fitment predictable from head to idler.

Frequently asked questions

What tube does the Somfy Altus RTS 510S2 fit?

Somfy publishes a 1.85 inch minimum inner diameter for reference 1038165. Measure inside the tube, not the outside wall. Round 2.5 inch tube and 70 mm octagonal shutter tube both clear that figure with the matching LT50 crown and drive set installed.

How many remotes can the 510S2 store?

The receiver holds 12 controls. A single channel Situo, a five channel Situo, a Telis timer and a DecoFlex wall switch all consume one memory slot each, so a screen can answer a handheld remote and a wall control at the same time.

Why does the 510S2 run at 38 rpm?

Somfy gears this reference for light exterior fabric. Solar screens and insect screens weigh far less than a rolling shutter curtain, and 38 rpm moves them through a full drop in seconds. Heavier curtains move to the 25 Nm and 30 Nm references in the Altus RTS range, which Somfy gears at 14 rpm.

Does the 510S2 need a separate RTS receiver?

No. Somfy builds the RTS receiver into the motor head, so the 510S2 pairs direct to a transmitter with no external receiver box in the circuit. Power and ground run to the motor on the 9.84 ft SJTW pigtail, and the radio handles the rest.

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