Re: Water heater eating X-10 signal

[ddl@danlan.*com (Dan Lanciani)]

In article <1177821975.289731.89000@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, graftonfot@xxxxxxxxx (Mr. Land) writes:

| Through trial and error I identified the breaker which feeds the
| lights in question.  I re-ran my looping test script and used the ESM1
| to measure the signal at the screw connection to that breaker.  I saw
| a the 5-bar signal level there, along with the green X-10 light on the
| ESM1.  Next I removed one of the troublesome WS467's (the pole lamp)
| from the wall near the front door.  I disconnected it and tested from
| ground to each wire there at the box - on the line side wire I saw the
| same "healthy" 5 bar signal level there.  Really confused at this
| point, I rewired the WS467 into the circuit, and tested again - I
| still saw the 5 bar signal level!  Yet the WS467 does not respond to
| it.

Sounds more and more like a noise problem.  Perhaps it's time to
look at the control circuit for the water heater.  It might have
some "helpful" electronics...

| Could this be some sort of minor garbling and/or ringing that the ESM1
| can handle well enough to show a green X-10 indicator, yet be enough
| to foul up the WS467's?  Could two phase wires in the 70-odd feet of
| 10/2 feeding the heater be causing some sort of weird ringing?

The WS467 has a very sensitive receiver and you can get some surprisingly
complicated transmission line effects in the wiring network, but I'd keep
looking for simpler explanations for a while.  I know from personal
experience that the ESM1 will not show noise that can incapacitate a WS467.

				Dan Lanciani
				ddl@danlan.*com