Re: XTB, reliablity, etc.

[craft.brian@xxxxxxxxx]

Robert Green wrote:

> Maybe one switch.  How about 16?  What if you've got a bad situation like a
> very old house with some totally inaccessible spaces?  I'd say X-10 does a
> pretty good job if the installer understands its real world operating
> parameters.  Oh, and since X-10 *can* be made reliable without hiring an
> electrician, usually within the constraints of the UL and NEC, it trumps
> pulling that old 12/2 romex any day.  There's usually no one who would
> consider pulling a new hardwire 3 way switch as easy as an X-10 based
> solution except an electrician or a *very* seasoned DIY'er.

That is utterly false. People able to do their own residential wiring
easily out-number those able to troubleshoot x10 by several orders of
magnitude. Residential wiring is among the most common of DIY projects.
Bookshops, hardware stores, and libraries everywhere carry extensive
documentation on the subject. I could find a dozen people to install a
switch within walking distance of my house. Odds are I couldn't find
one who would know how to troubleshoot x10, or for that matter, who
would have even heard of it.

I'm curious how you install a whole-house filter without employing an
electrician, or being comfortable doing your own residential wiring.

Pulling wire for a switch takes an afternoon. Debugging x10, including
measuring the signal attenuation of every device in the house, ordering
and installing filters where necessary, installing  phase couplers,
signal boosters or repeaters, researching device compatibility (to
avoid lock-ups, repeated dim commands, collisions, and assorted other
problems), and then installing the actual devices, takes at least days,
probably weeks. And, the jobs is never really finished since at any
moment someone can plug in a device that will suck the signal and cause
it to fail.