Re: XTB - the Future of X10 has arrived!

["brobin" <nospam@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I'm at my other home now and the XTB works like a champ. Unfortunately, I
still need to leave my repeater installed so the Leviton 16400 wall
controllers can do their job. Tried just a a coupler but no joy. That's to
be expected as the XTB only amplifies the signals fed to it through the
front outlet and not what's already on the line.


"BruceR" <br@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1cMjg.12088$Z67.4475@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Well, I got my XTBs (1 built and one kit) on Monday and they are very
> powerful devices.
>
> First, about the kit:
> Jeff's online instructions and detailed photos took any guesswork out of
> assembly.  I used a 20 watt soldering iron with thin guage 60/40 Kester
> solder. All the parts were packaged logically and assembly was
> straightforward.  The board is tightly packed but not so much that it
> presents any difficulty in assembly.
>
> I took my time and double-checked everything as I did it and the entire
> process took about an hour. My care paid off as it worked first time I
> plugged it in with the output of the kit matching or exceeding the
> assembled version's output.  If you have good soldering skills and a
> little patience you can tackle this project with confidence. I'd rate it
> as an "intermediate level" build.
>
> Second, about the performance:
> I now have about 50 X10 signal sucking Insteon devices installed - quite a
> challenge for any X10 transmitter! With those, X10 signal strength from
> the TW523 is virtually worthless except to a few close modules. With the
> XTB installed I can reach about 95% of the Insteon units that have been
> programmed with an X10 address. So, with the translator on line as well,
> pretty much everything can be controlled even during macro execution.  I
> be doing more tests and schedule tweaking over the next day or two.
>
> I'll also be bringing one of the XTB's to my home in Texas - a "pure" X10
> environment that works fairly well with a Smarthome plug-in repeater.
> I'll test to see if the repeater can be replaced with the XTB and a
> coupler and report back over the weekend.
>
>
>> I have one so I'll give it a try. I'm hoping the package arrived
>> today.
>>> Thanks Dave,
>>>
>>> That Powerlink has a transformer-coupled input.  While not the same
>>> as the one in the TW523, it looks like it should work fine with the
>>> XTB.
>>>
>>> Jeff
>>>
>>> "Dave Houston" <nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>>> news:448a9aed.373071671@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>> Jeff,
>>>>
>>>> John Galvin published a schematic of the original 1132B. You can
>>>> find a link to it in this thread.
>>>>
>>>>
>>> http://groups.google.com/group/comp.home.automation/browse_frm/thread/de6c29de3c6b3420/b5c6b361a0f7b9fe?lnk=st&q=galvin+powerlinc+schematic+group%3Acomp.home.automation&rnum=2&hl=en#b5c6b361a0f7b9fe
>
>