Re: Survey: Home Control Software

[nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx (Dave Houston)]

I use software I've written myself so I'm not familiar with the packages
others use or the reliability level.

Your flaky receivers may have a nearby signal sink which attenuates the
signal. Usually, this is a piece of electronic gear that has a capacitor
across the mains. Some of these are only bothersome when turned on, some are
always a problem. For a brief explanation see...

     http://davehouston.org/noise.htm

An ELK ESM1 X-10 Signal Strength Meter can eliminate most of the guesswork.
You can even "borrow" one from AutomatedOutlet.com.


http://www.automatedoutlet.com/product.php?printable=Y&productid=463&cat=44&page=1

Which RF receivers do you have? The TM751 does not "hear" powerline activity
so it's output can collide with other signals on the line. Usually, the
result is like automobile collisions (junk) but occasionally the result is a
valid X-10 code (even when both have different housecodes). This is the most
likely cause of what you experience. The RR501 "hears" the powerline and
backs off after sensing a collision, sending its code only after the line is
clear. It doesn't totally eliminate collisions but does reduce the number.
The Leviton HCPRF handles all housecodes so you may not need as many of them
although none of these have really great range so you may need multiples
just for coverage. There's a brief paragraph on the HCPRF here...

     http://davehouston.org/leviton-aht.htm

X-10's wireless motion sensors can exacerbate the collision problem,
especially when placed where one or more see the same motion.

Batteries lose their "oomph" rapidly as the temperature drops (and recover
when they warm up). A few people have run tests using their freezers and
posted their results. To begin with, the X-10 motion sensors are not top
shelf in terms of quality. There are more costly (but non-X10) motion
detectors designed for outdoor, cold weather use but all have problems at
really low temperatures - 'tis the nature of the beast.

     http://www.powerbattery.com/pages/default.aspx?pageid=59

"John J. Bengii" <nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>I would like to know what people are using to control their home
>devices.
>
>Also a short note on how reliable they feel the system is.
>
>Thanx
>
>I use Harpers HC2000 / DOS control programme...has some quirks and the
>system is too slow.
>
>-I found X10 receievers work flakey in certain locations, despite
>trying to correct for 15 years. Must be a resonant piece of wiring??
>
>-I found X10 wireless RF receiver/X10 converters to be really bad.
>They send out All Lights On codes at random sometimes and mistake
>codes. I run four units with different house codes and they all seem
>to do it about once every month or two.
>
>- I found wireless X10 motion detectors do not work well in the cold.
>Not the batteries, unless just weaker. They begin to work better as
>the weather warms up (garage wall)
>


http://davehouston.net  http://davehouston.org
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/roZetta/
roZetta-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx