Re: trying to set up some old x10 units -- having some problems

["BruceR" <razrbruce@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Your breakers are split every other one from top to bottom. That way two
breakers can be placed one above the other to make a 220 volt circuit.
You don't need any other parts from X10. The small piece that plugs into
a serial port is the Firecracker which you don't need.  What you DO need
is to couple the two legs of the AC so that the signal will travel
throughout the house.  There are several products available but one
outshines them all - Jeff Volp's XTB II
http://jeffvolp.home.att.net/x10xmtbuf/XTB-II_description.htm.
 There are cheaper solutions - as low as buck for a .01 mfd 600wvdc
capacitor installed between two breakers - but they don't fully resolve
the problem and even if it does you then have to look for noise and
filter that. Read
http://www.hometoys.com/htinews/feb03/articles/chadwick/debug.htm for
more info.
 The XTB II delivers signal to both legs and does it with so much
strength that it overcomes most noise problems.  Although it may appear
pricey, trust me, it will be the best and most usefull X10 item you will
ever purchase and will save you days of frustration. By the time you buy
a coupler and some filters you'll have spent enough to wish you had just
bought the XTB II.  BTW, I get nothing for pushing his product. I use it
and I'm wildly enthusiastic about it's performance - I just wish it had
come along in 1984 when I first started use X10 (I've graduated to 95%
Insteon now).

 jaggedpeak wrote:
> Sorry for being vague, I'll try to be brief. We installed some X10
> wall modules several years ago and promptly didn't use the system :-).
> Anyway, we want to get them working now so that we can have them timed
> on/off.
>
> Here's what I did -- ("*****" denotes errors/weird things
> happening :-)
> - 3 wall modules (I2, I3, I4)
> - 1 lamp module (I5)
> - attached computer interface CM-11A to computer, plugged into socket
> - ActiveHome software installed, added each of those modules.
> - tested lamp module. Worked ok.
> - tested wall module I2 - ok
> - tested wall module I3 - ok
> - tested wall module I4 - nothing happened *****
> - switched wall module I4 to A1
> - tested again, nothing happened
> - plugged in RR501 Transceiver, set to housecode A
> - tested again, nothing happened except the transceiver turned off/on
> (could hear the "CLICK!") *****
> - put A1 back to I4
> - put transceiver to housecode I
> - tested again, nothing happened and the transceiver *didn't* turn
> off/ on *****
> - checked electrical panel: I4 is on a different circuit than I2 and
> I3, but on the same phase I believe (24 breakers, 1-12 on top, 13-24
> on bottom, I2/I3 on 14, I4 on 24.
> - plugged I5 into a plug on same circuit as I4.
> - tested I5 -- NOTHING HAPPENED. *****
>
> My son says we had a small device that used to plug into the serial
> port (I can't find that).
>
> Am I missing something that needs to be added to the system, or is
> there something else I should be checking/doing to make this thing
> work?
>
> Any help would be greatly appreciated.