Re: garage remote jamming

["Robert Green" <ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx>]

"Bill Kearney" <wkearney-99@hot-mail-com> wrote in message
news:FaGdnUXTI7KtZXjYnZ2dnUVZ_hGdnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > Access and in-house BPL prove PLC can be reliable. It remains to be see
if
> > HPCC can be both reliable and low cost but the next couple of years
should
> > answer that.
>
> Hasn't that been said before, like once every ten years?  Echelon comes to
> mind...
>
> PLC just seems to be the kiss of death for nearly every tech product
that's
> attempted to piggyback onto residential AC wiring.  It stands to reason
new
> ones will tank too.

The home powerline is far dirtier, electrically, than it has ever been.  But
the same can be said for the RF spectrum.  There are more and more
transmissions emanating around the world every day.  Both control mechanisms
have been, and will be, subject to interference and signal propagation
issues.  That's just life.  There are lots of new protocols bouncing about
that may or may not survive.  It's too early to tell.

I think our discussions have previously boiled down to a fairly
straightforward cost v. reliability graph, with people who value flawless
performance over price on one end, and me on the other end.  I love the fact
that I can put switch points wherever I want them for $1 to $100, depending
on how complicated I want them to be.  I value the portability, the
universality and the patent-free nature of X-10.

More importantly, our usage profiles and the unique demands we make on our
systems further separate us, Bill.  I like the idea that if I implement a
dog feeder for four dogs, that I still have plenty of addresses left I can
use.  I also have controllers that are a snap to address.  I like the speed
with which I can set up remote operations.  I'm hoping that the powerlines
aren't going to get any worse in terms of signal suckers and interference.
I truly believe that Jeff Volp may have very well bought another 20 years of
use from X-10.  If that's true, it works out to about $25 a year to preserve
my existing investment.  Less if I had built them myself (but even *I* like
reliability!).

I think your perspective on PLC has not adjusted for the fact that someone
used his noggin and built a demonstrably better mousetrap.  The XTBs change
the landscape.  I agree that PLC was often as bad as you've noted, but that
was before the XTB.

I'm not sure where you live, but I think it's close enough to a rat's nest
of military transmitters on Nebraska Ave. that you may not be totally immune
if there's a city wide attempt to lock down all remote IED's by jamming.

--
Bobby G.