Re: XTB - the Future of X10 has arrived!

["BruceR" <br@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

No offense taken! Had I known about the XTB a few months ago I would
have waited before jumping onto the Insteon bandwagon.  I'm still using
X10 in my other home and I will still use X10 for some signalling with
the Insteon using the XTB.
 The reports so far have been glowing and I can't wait to get my hands
on them.  The big question in my mind is, "why didn't X10 develop this
20 years ago and eliminate all the repeaters and other "fixes" and
problems that have plagued it?"  It seems to me that just turning up the
volume on the signal is so elegant in its simplicity that it would have
been done before now.  In any case, hats off to Jeff for doing it!


> "BruceR" <br@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>
>>> I'll bet that an XTB will help you maintain your Stargate
>>> installation
>
>> I'm counting on it!
>
> The XTB's going to allow me to keep using X-10 until "the next big
> thing" emerges in HA and maybe even beyond that.  Whether it's
> Z-Wave, Zigbee, Insteon, UPB or something else apparently remains to
> be seen.  I've been less than happy with X-10 for a while now,
> primarily because of signal strength issues.
>
> The XTB has allowed me to restore a number of items that had been
> consigned to the dustbin because they could not reach every part of
> the house even with a repeater.  (My experience with repeaters was
> both costly and fruitless.)  Fortunately most of the loads I want to
> control are on one phase, but I'd like to be able to reach everywhere
> without any problems so I've ordered a simple capacitor and more
> complex tuned circuit SignalLinc passive coupler to test with the
> XTB.  My feeling is that the .11 volt signal that I get on the phase
> opposite the XTB (via street pole transformer coupling) will jump.
> How much, I can't say.
>
> The best part of all this is that the new technologies are forcing the
> prices of X-10 equipment on Ebay to outrageously low levels so that I
> can easily afford to be 1 level deep in spares on every item and 3 or
> 4 levels deep on critical items.
>
> In addition, I have an inside line on some new X-10 devices that I
> believe will be nearly as revolutionary as the XTB, at least for some
> of us.
>
> Please don't take this as an insult, Bruce, but what I want to avoid
> is a system like yours that's straddling multiple technologies.  I
> also need something simple enough that if it fails when I am away, I
> can walk my wife through some basic troubleshooting.  I also stand a
> chance of her swapping a bad module or having her shut down the
> quirky parts of the system and go to manual control until I return.
> I wonder about some of the other systems I read about.  What happens
> when the original designer is out-of-service for any reason?  The
> Leviton repeater had her going into the box and flipping breakers one
> too many times which is why we're repeaterless.  :-)
>
>
> "BruceR" <br@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:_SIeg.8882$9W5.5135@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> I'm counting on it!
>>
>>
>>> "BruceR" <br@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>>> news:iYseg.7920$9W5.3517@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>> Great news!
>>>
>>> I'll bet that an XTB will help you maintain your Stargate
>>> installation running smoothly despite the issues created by having
>>> so many Insteon devices.