Re: Insteon/X10

[nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx (Dave Houston)]

"Paul" <PAUL_R_JACOBS@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>I had installed X10.  It was very flaky in my house. I bought a plug
>in phase coupler which didn't help much. I have lights going off
>randomly, some lights unable to controlled etc.
>
>Is Insteon going to be much better?  I was hoping that the RF was used
>to send signals,but as I understand it, the RF is used for phase
>coupling.  That being the case, since I already have a coupler, can I
>expect much better with Insteon.

It's hard to say without knowing why your X-10 installation is flaky. In
general, Insteon does a better job because all of the Insteon modules and
switches repeat the signal and the "network" tends to be evenly covered and
less prone to signal sinks (depends on density of devices). However, Insteon
uses 131.65kHz vs. X-10's 120kHz and is therefore subject to the same noise
sources and signal sinks. Insteon devices have better sensitivity and this
might make noise sources (e.g. CFLs) even more of a problem.

There have been several X-10 users who have switched and who report Insteon
works better but they have been ones who were also skilled at
troubleshooting and maximizing their X-10 systems.

I'm not sure what you mean by the reference to your coupler. An X-10 coupler
may not couple Insteon signals. You will need the Insteon SignaLincs for
that and also for receiving RF from wireless remotes once they become
available.

I've written a brief article explaining X-10 noise and signal sinks. See...

     http://davehouston.net/noise.htm


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