Re: Frustration with X10 Powermid

[Lewis Gardner <lgardner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

km@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

> I decided to take the Powermid transmitter outside my apartment, and
> found that the LED glowed even brighter outside.

Unless I am having a major brain fart all you are proving is that the IR
sensor is very prone to interference. If you want to test for RF
interference you would use the receiver without any valid Powermid
transmissions in the area and see if it emitted IR.

This IR sensor is the major problem with the Powermids. I quit using
them years ago because they considered everything on planet earth to be
a signal worth repeating. IMHO they are junk.


> I was going to try a URC-9910, but I see its also at 433 which is
> discouraging. (Also they seem to be in very short supply).

I believe that your problem is likely the crappy IR of the Powermids not
RF interference. The URC-9910 is under $50 and would likely be a
improvement over the Powermids.


> I really seem to be stuck. I wish someone would make an 802.11 device.
> That would allow generating the IR sequence from a laptop/pda as well
> as from a matched 802.11 repeater, and also work more reliably.

What is wrong with wire? Don't you have a coax between the viewing
location (where the remote is) and the equipment location? Is running a
wire between the two impossible? Wired IR repeater systems are more
reliable than wireless.

802.11 will cost considerably more than a wired system.