RE: Newbie - controlling lights and creating scenes (Ocelot?)

["Keith Doxey" <ukha@xxxxxxx>]

I have been using X10 for about 8 years now and the only failures I have
had
have been....

1 Module with a broken code Wheel
- electronic code setting would be better and more flexible as you can code
the software to respond to multiple codes whereas a physical setting can
only respond to one code.

Several blown fuses - but thankfully the triac always survived. All dimmers
of any type are prone to those faults.

Several occasions when commands wont get through, usually traced to some
peice of kit sucking up the signals.

Li's point about planning is important and applies to ALL forms of
PowerLine
comms. Since all the CE EMI regs came into force manufacturers of
electronic
kit are required to prevent high frequency noise from gettin back onto the
powerline.

This they do by including a choke which presents a high impedance to the
noise and this removes most of it but to kill any residual noise they then
stick a capacitor across the mains input. Unfortunately this appear as a
dea
short to any X10 signals on the mains wiring and attenuates the signals
reaching the places you want it to reach.

This would happen to any form of Powerline comms and the higher the carrier
frequency used, the worse that attenuation would be. The only way to
prevent
this is to fit a filter to devices causing the problems that is designed to
stop interference getting INTO equipment. ie Choke then Capacitor.


Keith

www.diyha.co.uk
www.kat5.tv


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Kevin Hawkins [mailto:lists@xxxxxxx]

>> X-10 can be made to be almost as reliable as hardwired systems if
>> sufficient planning and preparation are done beforehand.
>> Unlike a closed
>> and restrictive hardware system, X-10 sometimes gets the blame for
all
>> kinds of problems that are beyond the control of X-10 itself.
>

> Yes, but it is a design weakness that makes X10 susceptible
> to these issues
> in the first place. I use X10 here and I have areas that work
> almost 100%
> and areas that just don't work. True I could probably fix
> this with the use
> of repeaters, better modules and filtering but the fact
> remains it is not a
> system that you can depend on totally.
>