Re: Why cling to old X10?

["Robert Green" <ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx>]

"Jeff Volp" <JeffVolp@xxxxxxx> wrote in message news:2pSFi.89395

<stuff snipped>

> Thanks for the compliments fellows.
>
> When we moved here 4 years ago, I chose to stay with X10, but wanted to do
> it right.  So we updated from all the old X10 push-on / push-off switches
to
> the Leviton "red line" (since replaced by the "green line").  We put all
X10
> devices on one phase (so the XTB-II isn't really necessary here).  I
> installed a whole-house block, and wired Leviton 6287 filters in series
with
> all CFL ceiling cans.  Perhaps most important, I had the electrician run a
> single circuit throughout the house for known problem loads.  That runs
> through one of those big XPF filters.  No other plug-in filters were used.
> After that things worked nearly 100% without even a repeater.  One CFL
light
> in the living room missed its "off" once in a blue moon, but everything
else
> worked day in and day out.  With hundreds of X10 commands sent daily, that
> is pretty high reliability.  A simple filter probably would have corrected
> the CFL problem, but it wasn't significant enough to even bother with.

I'm not sure what's going to happen when we move.  I want to have all the
lights and outlets controlled by hardwire, but the expense of switching over
is incredibly high.  Even with a separate X-10 circuit, I'd always worry
that someone was going to plug something like Bruce's now infamous power
supply <g> into the wrong outlet and its effect on the system won't be
noticed for a long enough time that it might be hard to find when something
fails to operate.

Your approach has the high SAF of fewer wall warts around.  Adding a filter
to every signal sucker or noise maker isn't very pretty.  I've resorted to
all sorts of methods of concealing the wall warts but I always worry that
they may overheat as a result.  I may follow your lead and run X-10 specific
circuits, perhaps with different types of outlets as a visual reminder that
they are specialized circuits.

> From the feedback I've received, it seems that many other people are now
> achieving near 100% reliability.

We've only heard compliments (profuse ones, at that!) and no complaints
unless you consider my comment about how my meters are now too sensitive to
the whopping big signals from the XTBs.  But that's a problem I'm glad to
have since before the XTB's, the X-10 signals were also off the scale, but
in the wrong direction. That's pretty impressive!

> FYI, there was a new post today regarding UPB Noise problems.

I would have expected them to have done better, what with all the tools and
HW available now that Pico didn't have when it designed the X-10 system.
There isn't a lot of gear from the 80's that's still relevant.  Cassettes
are dead, VCR's are dying, records are mostly gone, etc. So many things have
disappeared because they've been replaced by newer technologies that are
substantial improvements over their predecessors.  X-10 hasn't vanished
because the technologies meant to replace it don't offer the quantum leap in
performance and convenience that something like the transition from LPs to
CDs did.

--
Bobby G.