Re: OK.. Weird one here - a shredder

[nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx (Dave Houston)]

I dug one of the LampLinc 2000STW modules out of my junk box and checked the
MCU. It uses a PIC16C622A so the idea that noise spikes might trigger a
reset is plausible. It might also be that the spikes merely cause it to send
a false local control signal. The *Linc two-ways send an On or Off when
their load is turned off or on. It doesn't send when itself is powered on
but only when there is a change in the load state. Was the light itself
cycling or were you just seeing the logged commands? That it was sending
both its own address and one other address makes me suspect the noise spikes
were messing with its mind.

While I had it out I decided to test how the 2000 STW responds to microdims.
It has a non-standard and non-linear response to DIMs. 32 microdims take it
from full on to full dim. 32 of what would be 6% DIMs for an X-10 made
module also take it from full on to full dim but ~20 contiguous DIMs seemed
to also take it the full range.

nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx (Dave Houston) wrote:

>It might be enlightening (no pun intended) to put a scope on the powerline
>to see whether it is noise or low voltage. But, whichever it is, this may be
>the Achilles Heel of the various *Linc two-way switches and modules.
>
>I haven't looked at the innards of my LampLinc two-way modules. I wonder
>what MCU they use.
>
>"AZ Woody" <Reply@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>>I do think it was a "brown out" type problem...
>>
>>I moved the shredder to an outlet across the room (the outlet was on the
>>same wall all the smarthome 2-way wall switch) and the problem is gone.
>>
>>I tried a filter and it didn't do anything (had a spare one)
>>
>>
>>"Dave Houston" <nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>>news:427b5c57.177742657@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>> >I picked up a new paper shredder the other day.  I plugged it in in my
>>home
>>> >office, and started using it.  (same circuit as some smathouse X10
>>stuff...)
>>> >
>>> >Well, when I use it C1 (smarthouse 2-way ) keeps repeating (C1-ON) when
>>ever
>>> >I fire up the shreader!  I also get C2 on's to the basic X10 lamp module
>>I
>>> >have on the same circuit...
>>> >
>>> >What the heck to I do?  It's not a "signal sucker" problem, as I only get
>>> >these bizare X10 events at the time that the motor on the shredder fires
>>up!
>>>
>>> This one may be tough. A filter may not help. It depends on which of two
>>> scenarios (see next paragraph) is applicable.
>>>
>>> I suspect the shredder motor is pulling the line voltage down causing a
>>> brown-out reset by the MCU (not so) smarthouse (I assume you mean
>>SmartHome)
>>> two-way. Or, the motor noise is somehow triggering a reset directly. I
>>doubt
>>> a filter will solve the former but may solve the latter. I don't recall
>>> whether you can disable local control or even local control reports in
>>these
>>> two-ways. I have three but they exhibit different flaws and I don't use
>>> them.
>>>
>>> This would explain a few similar reports. I just never made the connection
>>> until you noted that you have the smarthouse (sic) two-way. They report
>>> local control changes, thus generating valid PLC commands.
>>>
>>> Given the Manchester encoding used by the X-10 powerline protocol, I think
>>> it's impossible that a noise source can generate valid X-10 commands out
>>of
>>> whole cloth. I've been taken to task by several people for insisting that
>>> there has to be a transmitter that is sending the signals when there are
>>> apparently valid signals being logged.
>>>
>>> X-10 has documented the brown-out reset case in one of their FAQs.
>>