Re: Insteon -- Any New Experiences?

[nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx (Dave Houston)]

James Himmelman <donttry@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx (Dave Houston) wrote in news:44178bdb.350742062
>@nntp.fuse.net:
>
>> A $50 ESM1 meter will usually find a noise source.
>
>Yes. When I first installed Insteon, I was discouraged to find major
>reliability problems. My ESM1 pinpointed a major noise issue with my under-
>counter low-voltage "puck" lights whenever they were switched on. I changed
>them to very similar LINE-voltage puck lights, but while changing them, I
>uncovered a problem in the wiring that had the ground wire in contact with
>the neutral wire. I went ahead with the swap anyway (and fixed the wiring),
>but of course it ocurred to me that the bad wiring may have been the
>culprit all along - especially since the same lights in another location
>did not seem to introduce any noise at all.
>
>Anyway, my Insteon system has performed perfectly ever since. Now I'm just
>waiting for wireless remotes, motion sensors, and universal modules in
>Insteon.
>
>I would agree with fpmacko that, with -any- PLC type system, you will have
>to be somewhat mindfull of noise. However, RF is far from perfect as well,
>and Insteon is much better than X10 and I like the idea that EVERY Insteon
>device is a PL signal repeater as well. Now that every switch in my house
>is Insteon, my house blanketed with close to 60 signal repeaters and
>reliablity is rock solid.
>
>Jim H

Insteon is somewhat less likely to be bothered by noise because of the
tendency of all the repeaters to saturate the "network" with the Insteon
signal. It's also less likely to be bothered by signal sinks for the same
reason. Plus, it probably has a far narrower band of sensitivity to noise.
Still, it uses 131.65kHz while X-10 uses 120kHz so it will be subject to
some of the same gremlins as X-10. I noted that in my initial review a few
months back. OTOH, it also has 10mV sensitivity.

Not all PLC systems will have the same sensitivity to noise. The HomePlug
system can adapt to noise, shifting to other frequencies to avoid
interference.

Your ESM1 will also provide a measure of Insteon signal level. It might be
useful to others if you would post the results of measurements from various
points in your extensive Insteon "network".

I'm hoping to send Bruce Robin a ZX-24 based version of roZetta by the end
of the month. Among the things it will do is allow people to use X-10 RF to
trigger Insteon actions.