Re: XPS3 Strangeness

["BruceR" <razrbruce@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

David,
Your assumptions about the SignalLinc & Booster are correct. The Booster
is a repeater and the Coupler is a passive connection.  Try turning on
your oven to see if control is any better - the oven acts like a passive
bridge.  However, in today's electrical environment, which was not
anticipated when X10 was invented in the 70's, there is bound to be
noise and other signal sucking gremlins scattered about.  The Booster
helps by repeating the signal at about 5 volts but Jeff's unit boosts it
20 volts which blasts through just about whatever noise would be there.
The XTB only sends to one side of the line but with a coupler will
deliver a good signal to the other side as well.  However, the XTB-IIR
is the star of the show and puts the signal on both sides of the line.
Given that you are using the lower end X10 stuff (even the PRO stuff is
lower end) without AGC and/or Intellisense I would get the XTB-IIR. I
promise you it will save you hours of frustration!

As for the LED on the slave, IIRC it does nothing.

 David White wrote:
> Thanks for the response Bruce. I had not heard of the XTB units. But
> in my old house I had a SmartHome SignalLinc (no booster) in my dryer
> outlet. It will not fit my dryer in the new house though (and there is
> not enough room behind to fit).
>
> If I understand the SignalLinc and BoosterLinc operation, they both
> are attempting to create a better bridge across the two sides of my
> electric panel so that signals can pass more easily (the booster adds
> some form of signal amplification). Is this correct and true also of
> Jeff's units?
> I have not checked yet to see if the garage interior light circuit and
> the circuits having the controllers  are on different sides of the
> panel. If they turn out to be on the SAME side, what sort of
> improvement might I expect from such a unit as Jeff's?
>
> Thanks.
>
> BruceR wrote:
>> Do you have a coupler or repeater installed in the breaker panel or
>> nearby? Without at least  a coupler you cannot expect reliable
>> operation.  Best Bet (by far): buy and install an XTB-IIR from Jeff
>> Volp http://jeffvolp.home.att.net/xtb_files.htm. It is by far the
>> best X10 problem solver available.  Second Choice and not nearly as
>> good: Get a plug in BoosterLinc from www.smarthome.com that plugs
>> into your 220v dryer outlet.
>>
>>  David White wrote:
>>> I have recently installed two XPS3 switches. One - inside my garage
>>> - has a XPSS (WS14A) companion installed and controls my interior
>>> garage lights (both incandescent and fluorescent). The other is
>>> stand-alone and controls the lights on the garage's exterior
>>> (incandescent only). I also have a mini controller (MC460) plugged
>>> into an outlet inside
>>> the garage in a location where there are no switches so I can
>>> operate both interior and exterior lights.
>>>
>>> Finally, I have my computer connected to a CM11A running ActiveHome
>>> (1.3x). I am using this only for test purposes right now.
>>>
>>> So here are the issues:
>>>
>>> (a) It seems that the mini controller can ALWAYS turn the interior
>>> lights on (B5) but it has difficulty turning them off sometimes.
>>> When this happens, repeated attempts sometimes work - but not
>>> always. (b) I find the same as (a) when using ActiveHome and the
>>> CM11A to
>>> control the interior garage lights (B5).
>>>
>>> (c) Neither the mini controller or CM11A seem to have any problems
>>> with the stand-alone XPS3 for the exterior lights (B6). They appear
>>> to go on/off first time, every time.
>>>
>>> (d) I have also noted that the interior garage lights sometimes
>>> (while I was in the garage) turn themselves off. This auto-off thing
>>> is rare but it has happened twice that I have noticed (maybe more
>>> not noticed).
>>> My first thought is that the interior XPS3 is faulty (or maybe the
>>> companion) since the controller issue seems limited to that switch
>>> AND because that switch does the weird auto-off thing. But the
>>> interior lights ALWAYS seem to respond when either the XPS3 or XPSS
>>> is pressed directly an the controllers always are able to turn them
>>> on. So I am not really sure I can blame them.
>>>
>>> That would seem to saddle the problem with the controllers. But I'd
>>> think it very unlikely that BOTH controllers are somehow bad. And
>>> they both work fine on the exterior lights (and other devices).
>>> Plus, they do turn the interior lights ON first time, every time.
>>>
>>> Any ideas or suggestions?
>>>
>>> Thanks