Re: Chattering Super Sockets

["Robert Green" <ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx>]

"Dan Lanciani" <ddl@danlan.*com> wrote in message
news:1338664@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> In article <e-idnVV9A9Rrv6zbnZ2dnUVZ_sudnZ2d@xxxxxxx>,
ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx (Robert Green) writes:
>
> | Unscrewed the white cover from the back of the bad super socket so I
could
> | inspect the cams and when I tested it again, to observe the chattering
> | behavior close up so I could photograph it, I pressed B4 ON/OFF and it
> | clicked on and off without chattering, repeatedly.  WTF!?  Now what?
>
> Yes, the relay wall switches do that too.  You've again slightly changed
> the shape of the frame.

Now that I have it completely apart I can see the case didn't crack from
being jammed into a small space.  It cracked right where the brass relay arm
pivots inside the plastic shell.  Apparently heat and mechanical wear make
the plastic quite weak and brittle and it breaks.  The only upside is that I
can recover a good (for who knows how long?) cam from the unit and possibly
repair one that has broken that way (which I believe is the typical failure
mode) instead of at the pivot point.  In the meantime, it goes into a baggie
that goes into the ever-deepening box of Dead X-10 Junk.

I don't think I'll use the super sockets for anything that will be switched
on and off more than once a day and that might even be pushing it.  At least
I've personally confirmed all the bad reports about the super sockets.  I
can also see that just a slight change in chemical formulation of the
plastic could have a significant affect in one batch of switches being a lot
more prone to failure than others.

--
Bobby G.