Re: No more X10 at Radio Shack?

[ddl@danlan.*com (Dan Lanciani)]

In article <pan.2006.12.10.00.00.14.483183@xxxxxxxxxxxx>, cwsulliv@xxxxxxxxxxxx (Charles Sullivan) writes:
| On Thu, 07 Dec 2006 06:33:11 +0000, Dan Lanciani wrote:
|
| > In article <pan.2006.12.06.23.37.24.901638@xxxxxxxxxxxx>, cwsulliv@xxxxxxxxxxxx (Charles Sullivan) writes:
| >
| > | The AM14A Appliance Module is supposed to report whether of not
| > | the load is connected, but is buggy and (almost) always reports
| > | that the load is connected when it's not.
| >
| > You know that the AM14A can determine whether the load is connected
| > only when the relay is off, right?
| >
| > 				Dan Lanciani
| > 				ddl@danlan.*com
|
| Yes, that too, but...
|
| What I've found is that the only time an extended status_ack from
| a PLM22/AM14A module will report "no load" is:
|
| 1. Immediately after applying AC power to the module, with
| nothing plugged into the module and the module initially Off.
|   -- or --
| 2. If a load is unplugged from the module while the module is in
| the Off state.
|
| Once the module has been turned on with no load connected, it
| continues to report that a load _is_ connected after the module
| is turned off again.

That seems to explain the behavior I remember.  At first I thought it
was being helpful by saving the state from off to on and was just buggy
or getting latched up later.  But it sounds like it is consistent firmware
bug. :(  It's too bad because I know they could do better.  I coded the
load detection in my replacement RR501 firmware, and the hardware is pretty
much the same.  For that matter, I guess anything that could get local control
right must also be able to do load detection when the relay is off...

| I've checked several different units and gotten the same results.
| Under the circumstances, the load-reporting feature of these
| appliance modules is practically worthless.
|
| By contrast, the load-reporting of the LM14A Lamp Module seems
| to be reliable.

I thought I also had some problem with that, but this sounds encouraging.
I'll have to do some fresh testing with the 10 LM14As I got on that last
special 2-way module sale. :)

				Dan Lanciani
				ddl@danlan.*com