Re: INSTEON: Let the recalls begin ...

[Larry Moss <moss@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Bobby,

I shouldn't have opened my mouth.  I'm afraid this is going to end up
rehashing old arguments.  That really wasn't my intent.  That's kind of
pointless. I'm not really sure what mood I was in that I posted.  I don't
usually post just to hear (or see) myself.  I usually only like to post
when I truly have something new to offer, which, er, well, sorry to say, I
don't.  So, I'll answer only to clarify what I meant before.

On 2006-07-18, Robert Green <ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Well, as I mentioned in the post you're quoting, I can buy 4 load
> controllers for X-10 for the price of 1 Insteon controller. That's a big
> price differential and I thought it was obvious from what written today and
> in the past.  Apparently not.

You were very clear about that.  My comment was due to you talking about
the non-cash cost.  Yes, X10 hardware can be acquired for less money.
That's the reason I have it.  I just don't think using X10 as a comparison
on the reliability and time expense really does anything to boost X10's
merits.  I have not yet played with Insteon myself.  (Yet another reason I
should have stayed quiet.  I have no first hand experience.) What amuses me
(and yeah it was really amusement, nothing more) is that you seem to find
postings of problems/questions/issues with Insteon as a reason to champion
X10.  I'm not talking about your comments just in this thread. It seems
that every chance you get you jump in with, "then it's not better than
X10".  I wish you could see my face now.  An emoticon isn't sufficient.
I'm smiling as I write this.  I'm not bashing you, picking on you, or
anything else negative.  Think of my last post as merely an observation.
:-)

>>It has all the same problems when dealing with a new installation.
>
> Must respectfully disagree.  With X-10, I take a yellow pad, twist two dials
> and mark down "Bathroom = F10" and I am done.  Insteon apparently adds a fun
> "manual linking" step to that installation process.   They also apparently
> added a magical "reset upon unknown circumstances" feature long ago that
> they still have not resolved. Those aren't the "same" problems, they are
> "new" problems, and apparently thorny ones if these devices can unlink and
> relink and reset themselves at will with no clue as to why.

ok, maybe I should have said, "an equivalent number of problems."

>> You frequently talk about all the knowledge that's on the 'net and
>> all anyone has to do is *spend time* researching the issues.
>
> That doesn't sound like me to me, but if you say so . . .

If I get a chance, I'll look up the discussion we had a while back.  That
is what I remember.  Maybe my memory is wrong.

> FWIW, I didn't start this thread.  Are you
> sure you're not conflating postings from several different posters?

No.  I was thinking of your comments here as it related to other threads,
including a month old one that the two of us discussed a lot and where you
were one of the people trying to help me through a problem.  (That
assistance is greatly appreciated.  If I didn't say it before, thank you.)

> Whether it's a
> shower massager or a home automation component, I would maintain spares. So
> in reality, the gap between Insteon and X-10 widens, not decreases, because
> X-10 spares are cheaper.

In my year and a half of using X10, I've already had some things fail. X10
stuff has been unreliable.  there have been reports of the unreliability of
Insteon, notably with the flicker. And this recall certainly creates
questions.  But I do believe they are acting responsibly.  I haven't heard
of a lot of (any?) total failures of Insteon devices yet.  So, yeah, having
a few backups of things around isn't bad.  I wonder though if you need to
have the cases of backups that everyone I know with X10 stuff keeps.  If
replacements arent' needed as often, the higher monetary price is worth it.
I believe this is still a definite unknown.  So I hesitate to stand in the
way of progress in order to continue using a system that's known to be
flawed.

> Although I have a box of spare X-10 wall switches (they were $3 and change
> each at closeout), I haven't replaced one in perhaps 10 years now.  (Some
> Murphy's Law wags would say that's the point of having spares:  Having them
> on hand means you'll never need them!)

I picked up a bunch of used stuff recently for backup purposes.  None of
the used stuff has failed on me, but several of the ones purchased as new
did.  (Smarthome replaced them without question.)

Anyway, I didn't htink you were picking on Smarthome more than any other
vendor, and I wasn't trying to pick on your or start anything.  I really
 don't know why I opened my mouth.  sorry about that.`

--
Larry Moss, http://www.airigami.com
PO Box 23523, Rochester, NY 14692, (585) 359-8695
Airigami: The art of folding air in specially prepared latex containers.