Re: Insteon Compatability with X-10

[nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx (Dave Houston)]

Read through Bruce Robin's thread(s) named...

     Insteon Transmitter
     Insteon Translator (title corrected from transmitter)

He is using a (beta) Insteon translator that sits on the powerline and
repeats *some* X-10 codes as Insteon and vice versa. The translator needs to
be programmed for the codes you want it to translate and you need to provide
delays (if used in macros) to prevent collisions.

There are others who are working on devices that act like a TW523 on the TTL
side but send/receive Insteon on the PLC side. These will let existing
devices designed to use a TW523 work with Insteon devices. Whether they will
be sophisticated enough to send one or the other depending on programming
will probably depend on the manufacturer.

Note that the compatibility has some limitations. Simultaneous X-10 and
Insteon signals will collide and be seen as garbage by both systems. All
Insteon devices are two-way so they act as X-10 signal sinks. This means
that the more Insteon devices you use, the less reliable your X-10 devices
will be. Since you are building new, you can go 100% Insteon and ingnore
these issues.

"gymfolks" <gymfolks@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>Wow, great discussion on my other post.  THANKS you guys!
>
>In reading over Insteon's white paper (please reference
>http://www.insteon.net/pdf/insteoncompared.pdf ) I am confused about how
>compatible Insteon really is with older X-10 items (it says Insteon devices
>can switch to X-10 mode) and how to "address the older X-10 to Insteon"
>devices
>
>The note below is from the white paper.
>
>  1.. At a minimum, X10 compatibility means that INSTEON and X10 signals can
>coexist with each other on the powerline without mutual interference.
>INSTEON-only powerline devices do not retransmit or amplify X10 signals. But
>X10 compatibility also means that designers are free to create hybrid
>INSTEON/X10 devices that operate equally well in both environments. By
>purchasing such hybrid devices, current users of legacy X10 products can
>easily upgrade to INSTEON without making their X10 investment obsolete.
>I am NOT a present X-10 user (so my question may be a bit "dumb" - sorry)
>
>Here is my question:
>
>How would you set up the addressing so that a security panel (Ademco Vista
>20) that could send out X-10 signals to the proper Insteon device?  I
>read/understood how Insteon devices "learn to recognize" each other, but
>with "X-10 signaling to Insteon", I am not sure how that would be set up.