Re: UPB (was: Re: Stylish keypads?)

["Robert Green" <ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx>]

"Dean Roddey" <droddey@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message

> I kind of look at X-10 as dangerous at any price :-) Seriously, I just
would
> never use X-10 anymore with the alternatives that are out there. I'd
rather
> have fewer, more reliable switches personally. Just my opinion of course.

There are all sorts of reasons to use X-10.  When a friend was having
prowler problems I easily set her up so that she could light up half the
house from her bedside.  Took a handful of modules and 10 minutes to set up.
Since the modules cost $4 each and the controllers $2, she was ready to rock
and roll for well under $50.  No other automation system can touch that.
For another $20 or so I could have set up a PIR and a transceiver, too.

I use X10 for Christmas lights, general house lighting and some appliance
switching but nothing critical or related to security.  I've had a fair
number of modules fail, but at less than $5 a load, I buy spares.  The real
bugaboo has been all the devices that require filtration to keep a steady
X10 signal but even buying a $20 filter brings the total up to less than any
other protocol.  I've also found that with careful planning you can put two
or three signal suckers on a filter.  Most often, they are low current draw
switching power supplies or compact fluorescent.

--
Bobby G.