Re: Experience with X10Pro versus old X10?

["BruceR" <br@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Joerg,  Your best bet then would be to stock up on some X10 filters.
They look just like the other plug in modules but you use them on items
that attenuate the signal or add noise to the line. Your printer is a
perfect example as are various TV sets, EMI power strips, vacuums, etc.
I have about 5 in my home and they do a nice a job.  It's really a
matter of lowering the noise and raising the signal level.
 The analogy I use when explaining X10 is that of me at one end of the
house yelling to my wife at the other end of the house to turn on a
light.  On a quiet day she hears me and all is well. If a TV is blaring
somewhere in the house the noise drowns me out till the door of the TV
room is closed (filter) and she can hear me again. I could also use an
intercom to call her (repeater or RF bridge) or a megaphone (XTB).

 Joerg wrote:
> Hello Bruce,
>
>
>> When it comes to wall switches, the ones from Smarthome and Leviton
>> are best. For Appliance Modules and Lamp Modules there's little
>> difference. Some of the lamp modules I recently pulled in my
>> conversion to Insteon were over 20 years old.  Do you have a passive
>> coupler or active repeater?  Before spending money on replacing
>> modules order an XTB signal amp from Jeff Volp and install a passive
>> coupler. That's more likely to solve your problems.
>>
>
> Signal amplitude is often not the real issue, I measured over 500mV at
> the outlet in question. But the filter circuit in those old X10
> modules is the pits. Whenever there is a noise generator (vacuum
> cleaner motor, printer power supplies etc.) the modules don't react.
>
> So, I hooked one up on the lab bench and tuned through the "filter"
> with a generator. Basically injecting a variable frequency into the
> line and then tapping it off with a FET probe after the 33pF
> capacitor in the modules. At 150kHz it was barely down. That is one
> poor resonant circuit. The minute you plug in a noisy printer supply
> the hash of that switcher drowns out the X10 signal. When I use my
> comms receiver I can clearly hear it with plenty of margin but the
> modules can't pick it out because of that lousy filter in there.
>
> I haven't yet found a schematic for the pro series, only for the old
> modules. But there was a generic interface pro schematic and that did
> not look encouraging WRT the receive filter. But it looked like a
> really old schematic and things could have changed.