Re: Smarthome PowerLinc 1132B frequent failures

["random735" <random735@xxxxxxxxx>]

not sure if i was one of the two or not (can't remember what i posted
re: this problem) but I did also have a 1132B fail on me, after it had
been hooked up to an XTB for some period of time.  I have no way of
knowing if the XTB had anything to do with it or not.  got it replaced
under warranty by smarthome but since then i haven't hooked up the new
one up to my XTB out of fear something about the signal boosting was
harming the module.

in my case the failure pattern was that first sending became less and
less reliable (did not stop entirely, just had to send multiple times
to get devices to respond, even going through XTB) and then eventually
sending stopped working entirely, along w/ receiving.

I don't mean to disparage the XTB at all here because i have no way of
knowing if the two were related whatsoever, probably was pure
coincidence if the 1132B is as unreliable as seems to be indicated
here, but just figured i'd add my anecdotal info.

It's a shame because the XTB was helping me get to the last corner of
my house...some CFLs that would turn on but not off w/o XTB.  Guess i
need to explore filters instead.



Jeff Volp wrote:
> Two people reported problems using the 1132B with the XTB.  However, their
> system worked fine with a X10 TW523.  Because of this, I do not recommend
> pairing the 1132B with the XTB.  Sorry...
>
> Jeff
>
> <googlegroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:1165700029.873745.112110@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > I use a PowerLinc 1132B [http://www.smarthome.com/1132b.html] with a
> > Ware Brothers sprinkler controller [http://www.warebrothers.com].  It
> > sends X10 signals to control landscape lighting.
> >
> > The 1132B fails fairly often, perhaps every six months or so.
> > Monitoring the X10 signals with another unit and the Synapse PC
> > software shows symptoms of seemingly garbled commands.
> >
> > I order another unit and replace it, and the symptoms clear.  But then
> > several months later, the same problem recurs.
> >
> > One highly unscientific test:  Malfunctioning units seem to smell of
> > burnt electronics, although opening the units doesn't reveal any
> > visible damage.
> >
> > Judging by other posts on the newsgroup, the 1132B suffers from a
> > reputation of poor quality.  But I don't see an easy alternative, as
> > it's the only unit available compatible the Ware Bros. sprinkler
> > controller (with which I'm quite happy).
> >
> > Does anyone have suggestions about how to avoid these frequent
> > failures?  Would some sort of filter protect it from noise or spikes
> > burning it out?  I've read of Jeff Volp's XTB
> > [http://jeffvolp.home.att.net], but this seems designed to boost
> > outgoing X10 signals, not to protect the transmitter.
> >
> > Or shall I just program the Smarthome warranty replacement number into
> > my speed dial?  :-)
> >
> > Thanks!
> > Larry Lang
> >