cm12 trouble

[Stephen <yahoo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello,

I think my cm12 has blown-up. This my third cm12. The other two went
very hot and smelly; this one has not, but nothing is switching
on/off so I guess it must have failed.

The retaining clip on the cm12 end of the serial cable has fallen off,
so I cannot communicate between pc and cm12 to test it. Can these
cables be bought separately?

I am getting fed-up with replacing these cm12s. I know people on this
list have used three or four, so it is a common failure. How are
Marmitek getting away with this, when so many fail? Why don't they
build them more robustly?

I was thinking of buying a combi-pack of Homeseer and new cm12 but the
proce is over £100. I didn't think it was that much. I was expecting
it to be about £80. Has the price gone up, if so why? Is Homeseer the
best bit of HA software to use; is it worth the price?

I am getting fed-up with x10; what are my other options? C-bus?

Thanks.