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Re: Justify Upgrade from X-10 to Z-Wave?



"BruceR" <bruceNO@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:2YqdnUuWVfDPevnVnZ2dnUVZ_sDinZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> For driving just one leg he could use the basic XTB with the WGL
> wireless receiver plugged into it. However, he'd be better off for
> future expansion with the two legged version as he's bound to use both
> legs eventually.

I also believe the two-legged version (XTB-IIR) will repeat the signal of
any transmitter it hears in the second half of the frame, on that same
phase, giving greater "bang for the buck" as IIRC, the OP has non-RF
mini-timers to contend with as well as the RF.

> Even with a full panel an XTB-IIR can be piggybacked
> onto existing breakers. Most panels will accept double half size
> breakers on the bottom 3 or 4 positions on both sides so a couple of
> full sized ones can be replaced and provide a dedicated breaker from
> each leg.

Someone willing to wire a line cord to two or three PC terminals might not
want to tackle anything related to 240VAC.  I was that guy for 20 years!  I
haven't priced adding a new 240VAC outlet lately, but I assume it's not
cheap.  I bought the XTB-IIR eventually and *learned* how to add the outlet,
more or less to code.  It seems so easy once you know how to do it, but when
I had the HCA-10E running, it was hooked into the panel via Velcro and
insulated jumper cables.  That experience convinced me I was right to not
have wasted money having it professionally installed.  After buying the
plain XTBs, I realized that there was now a repeater with someone willing to
fix whatever bugs came its way that outperformed the competition by several
orders of magnitude and that my purchase would benefit a small American
business too?  So I bit the bullet, asked the questions, bought the books,
the tools, the equipment and spent far more time, $ and energy than hiring a
pro, but now I can do it again the next time with incredible ease.

I use the standalone XTB's I bought at the beginning with my own
mini-timers, Controlinc Maxis and other line transmitters to guarantee that
they can blast around any signal suckers that crept into the house.  Not
sure how the second frame looks, with the two 25+V signals on the line at
the same time, but perhaps that's why I can hear the X-10 signal buzzing
faintly from the remote chime module when I plug it in nearby.  (-: Sounds
like little bumble bees and different commands have clearly differnt "zzzzt
zzzzt zzzzt" patterns. I have nothing that would tell me how many volts in
the combined signal unless I recalibrate or attenuate the sensitivity of my
meters.  That's another question for Jeff to answer . . .  What happens when
an XTB signal is repeated by an XTBIIR?  What are the voltage levels for the
first and second (repeated) frames?

--
Bobby G.





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