Re: X-10 Mister House Motion sensor problems

["Robert Green" <ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx>]

"Jim Baber" <jim@xxxxxxxxx> and Bobby G. wrote

<stuff snipped>

> >Mom and Dad who need more than a dimmed bulb hallway bulb.  I am looking
at
> >installing LED or similar "carpet lights" that you see in theaters and
> >airplanes.  It's clear that in low light, with dark adapted-eyes, a
series
> >of small lamps illuminating the pathway is the proper way to go.
> >
> I agree.

The issue will be making the lights cosmetically acceptable to Mom.  I don't
want them to look geeky or get caught by a cane or in the vacuum.

>>Those on one unit code, the regular lights on another and a
>>way to tell when it's dark or light and it's done.  It's not a
>>challenge for X-10 because there's no dimming involved.
>> They come on when they sense motion, they go off after
>>a while or when the bed sensor says "back in bed."

> Well I wouldn't be quite so quick to make that assumption.
>
> For years I have used a X-10 Appliance module to turn my Christmas
> tree's sub miniature light strings on and off successfully.  I did this
> so I did not have to get down on the floor to plug or unplug them.  I
> don't have a switched outlet within 30 feet.  I changed over to the LED
> strings last Christmas, to save wattage and the X10 appliance would not
> turn off the 5 strings of 50 each bulbs. They just dimmed about 50%.
>
> Same problem as CFL lights, the 6 strings only draw 42 W total at full
> brightness.  The leakage current the X10 module uses to test if an
> appliance is turned on or off, is enough to give about 50 % of the
> normal light from all of the LED lights.  I used them anyway and just
> accepted the daily 0.67 kWh * $0.08199/kWh cost = $0.05513 cost of
> operation each day.

I see - you just let the leakage current power the string at partial
current.  Amazing that it would work that well.  I've seen neon lights glow
from X-10 "sensing" current but not a whole string of lights.  Did you
consider making the "diode snip" that cuts the leak current off?

> >I'm probably going to end up using Christmas lights because I love COTS
> >solutions and there's nothing cheaper or that requires less labor.
> >Concealing them artfully will be the only issue.
> >
> >
> I am still using 1 string of 35 white LED christmas bulbs to illuminate
> a path in our house. Our dog has decided that path  is his bed.  He is
> an 120 pound Akita, and does a damn good job of blocking that path from
> our bedroom to one of the bathrooms.  Unfortunately he is mostly the
> same color as the carpet, a very sound sleeper, and while he does not
> seem to object to being stepped on, neither my wife nor I care to fall
> over him.

(-:  I had a cat that liked to sleep on the very top stop of the basement
stairs.  I think he had it in for me.  Blending right in with the shadows.
Taught me to be very careful where I step.

> Ergo, we needed a night light for the whole hall, and the LEDs hung on
> adhesive cup hooks at the ceiling provide an unobtrusive ghostly light.
> I am planning to drop the existing cornice trim about a half an inch and
> then lay the light string behind the cornice and put a outlet and J-box
> at one end. I will wire that to an existing attic light switch and
> replace the existing attic lights with CFLs at the same time. (At least
> I will know if someone has left the attic lights on!)

Yes, all the new forms of lamps are not making X-10 any easier or friendlier
to use, I'm afraid.  I just bought another 6 pack of plug in filters to help
fight the war against signal sucking CFLs, among other things.  Even with
the XTB, some appliances are just black holes.  If they show up as noisy on
the meter, they get a filter.

I'll be looking more closely at airline and theater "runway" lights to see
if I can come up with a good way to conceal the lamps down near the floor
level.  Floor molding that appeared to match the color of the walls by day
but glowed softly at night would be nice.  I thought of running a strip of
Lucite along the top edge of the molding and injecting light at one end of
the strip.

--
Bobby G.