Re: The problems with X10 ...

[Joerg <notthisjoergsch@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello Julian,


>>>...  are firstly, the x10.com company.  If the company sells products
>>>as they are, there won't be god knows how many abandoned modules around
>>>the globe.  On top of that, the company is one of the most hated
>>>company online.  I hope this is the first of a serious of articles of
>>>my rantings about X10, the protocol and the company.
>>>
>>>Like most users, I brought a kit for the price, tried it and felt that
>>>it was cool.  When I committed to it and expanded to the whole house,
>>>it became another infamous haunted house.  There's no way you can make
>>>the X10 products work reliably from the product literatures from
>>>x10.com.  I had many light switches and modules, three RF transceivers,
>>>a full security system with two PIR detectors and many door/window
>>>modules.  Also I have several cameras controlled by DC adapters from
>>>X10.  I kept on adding to the system but at the same time part or most
>>>of the system are abandoned.
>>>
>>>The many troubleshooting guides on the net doesn't help much.  They are
>>>rarely written by Electronics Engineers.  Anyway, I started around 1999
>>>so there wasn't that much information around.  Well, who will get into
>>>X10 if they know they need to install another box at the distribution
>>>box or consumer box, to block out noise and potential interference from
>>>neighbors using x10?  And they need one isolator or blocker for any
>>>electronic equipments including DC adapters for phone chargers?  And
>>>then a 3-phase coupler for most houses.  And a coupler and repeater if
>>>you have a large house.  How about the new RF transceiver that listen
>>>to all possible house codes and can generate a log for the ghost
>>>activities?  And a pair of testers at $100?
>>>
>>>But if I were to do it all over again, it will still be X10.  A total
>>>wireless system is still too expensive; every module has to have a
>>>receiver that is more complicated than the x10 crap.  Modules are
>>>selling about 1/3 on eBay compared to the x10 website.  After 7 years,
>>>everything still works, though not together.  Despite all the hype, I
>>>think I only need one blocker/isolator for the main TV and the
>>>electronics around it to solve the reliability problem.  The price is
>>>some $10 on eBay?
>>>
>>>Though my system will still be based on x10, but I would have mixed in
>>>a lot of other components.  For example, for rarely opened and
>>>difficult to enter windows, I would use a small independent alarm which
>>>could be as cheap as a few dollars.  The x10 cameras are crap, which
>>>also need short line of sight reception to be non-irritating.  More for
>>>the next message.
>>
>>
>>If you buy cheap, you get cheap.
>
>
> Like my Chinese Grandfather used to say:
>
> Good Stuff No Cheap
> Cheap Stuff No Good
>

A wise man. The problem with X10 seems to be that it is tough if not
impossible to find any good stuff.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com