Re: XTB, reliablity, etc.

[Marc_F_Hult <MFHult@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On 10 Dec 2006 17:32:05 -0800, craft.brian@xxxxxxxxx wrote in message
<1165800725.427029.282670@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>:

>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.

I agree with Brian.  This newsgroup deserves a solid A for its
cumulative effort and worth in explaining, diagnosing, and recommending
X-10 installations and thinking up and building X-10 hardware
improvements. Very remarkable.

But it gets a gentleman's C with respect to hard-wired lighting systems
in my opinion. Take the example of converting to centralized hard-wired
dimming of a ceiling light powered through a wall switch. Commonly you
can get to the supply to that individual switch where it comes up the
wall from the basement. Retrofitting for a centralized hardwired system
consists in replacing the SPST switch with a wirenut, replacing the
faceplate with the hole with one with no hole, and running a 14/2+G to
the dimmer panel through the basement ceiling. How hard is that? Other
installations in US stick-built houses are often simple variations on
that theme including some drywall patching.

... Marc
Marc_F_Hult
www.EControl.org