Re: X10 TM751 Endless Dim Problem

[nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx (Dave Houston)]

That's certainly interesting. A fan blowing air over the oputside of the
plastic case can't be doing much cooling to the internal electronics. That
it makes a difference is surprising. Maybe it's just blowing away bad karma.
;)

I'd love to have an oscilloscope looking at the powerline.

"Gavin" <gavin.alloyd@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>Well, I'm pretty sure at this point that it's mostly heat related.
>With the fan on, it continues to work fine, but after a few minutes
>with the fan off, endless dims start back up.  When I turn the fan back
>on, the endless dims go away after a couple of minutes.
>
>Too bad there isn't a good spot inside the module for a small copper
>heatsink.
>Thanks again Dave, for all your help.
>
>- Gavin
>
>
>Dave Houston wrote:
>> It may not be entirely coincidental (I suspected the 20 minute abeyance
>> after (de)tuning might be heat related.) but I suspect the heat is somewhat
>> normal (or an effect of the endless transmissions). The TM751 draws 1.2W
>> when idle so should be slightly warm. If you have a ~3W nightlight, the
>> nightlight should be warmer than the TM751.
>>
>> It's been a few years since I investigated this but I found I could induce
>> it in 100% of the TM751 modules I tested (about a dozen) by aligning the
>> antenna with an extension cord. Inductive feedback of the 120kHz on the line
>> appears to trigger the phenomenon.
>>
>> The RR501, while not immune, is far less susceptible.
>>
>> However, I recommend going to the Leviton HCPRF All Housecode Transceiver.
>> It costs more but handles all housecodes, has a silent relay, and appears to
>> be immune to the endless dim syndrome.
>>
>>      http://www.smarthome.com/4017.html
>>
>> "Gavin" <gavin.alloyd@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>
>> >Well, thanks Dave for the response.  Now this is interesting... I
>> >noticed that the TM751 was slightly warm when I would go over to unplug
>> >it to reset my lamps.  I didn't think much of it, but the next time I
>> >plugged it in, I put it right next to a fan running in my apartment,
>> >with air blowing right across the model.  It's been plugged in for at
>> >least a couple of hours (a record), and I haven't had an endless dim
>> >since (I've been testing it every 5 minutes or so)...
>> >
>> >Is there any possibility that an overheating module would cause an
>> >endless dim, or is this more likely a coincidence? (even if it's not, I
>> >don't really want to run a fan 24/7 just to keep the dimmer working).
>> >
>> >And if it does turn out to be a coincidence, is there a newer
>> >transceiver module that doesn't suffer from this annoying problem?
>> >
>> >Sorry for so many questions and thanks again,
>> >Gavin
>> >
>> >
>> >Dave Houston wrote:
>> >> It sounds like you've already tried the things that worked for some people.
>> >> Only a few people reported that detuning worked. If you've tried diffenent
>> >> outlets and tried reorienting the antenna (horizontal works for some,
>> >> vertical for others), I don't have any other suggestions.
>> >>
>> >> "Gavin" <gavin.alloyd@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> >I know this is an old subject... but I could use some help. :-]
>> >> >
>> >> >Just got ahold of a TM751, 2 lamp modules and an RF pad.  Hooked up two
>> >> >lamps, everything worked great the first day.
>> >> >
>> >> >The next day I started to get the endless dim.  Lamps turn on OK, but
>> >> >when I try to dim, they keep dimming and dimming until the lamp is off.
>> >> > To get it back on I usually have to unplug/replug the tranciever
>> >> >module.
>> >> >
>> >> >I read about (de)tuning the slug inside the TM751, opened 'er up and
>> >> >turned it 1/16 of a turn clockwise.  Put it back together, and
>> >> >everything seemed to work fine, but the endless dim starts up again
>> >> >after about 20 minutes.  To fix it I then I have to give the slug
>> >> >another turn, and still this only lasts for about 20 minutes.  I have
>> >> >tried the TM751 on every outlet in my apartment (about 9 different
>> >> >outlets).
>> >> >
>> >> >Any ideas?  Thanks all.
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> http://www.davehouston.net
>> >> http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/roZetta/
>> >> roZetta-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>
>>
>> http://www.davehouston.net
>> http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/roZetta/
>> roZetta-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


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