[no subject]

What I am trying to say is that unless you have some pretty specialized
tools in your radio shack, investigating serious X-10 problems isn't very
easy with a scope, even if only you need to drag it to a few different
outlets or get 100' long extension cords.

> In the case of my own X-10 EMI as well as the more troublesome
> wideband EMI that compromises my shortwave and AM reception, I have
> learned to live with it. Even if I am willing to invest the time and
> effort and money, my neighbors still create a lot of powerline and near
> DC to 20 MHz trash as well.

Well, you're clearly out of my league.  (-:  Maybe Jeff will chime in and
talk about all the troublesome installations he's tamed.  I realize you've
taken another path with Ethernet and I believe that some form or wireless
Ethernet home automation solution will dominate the market - the "highway"
is already built and is usually power-failure protected and standalone (no
PC required).  Until X-10 for Ethernet appears, I'm going to stick with X-10
for lights, fans and other non-critical appliances.  For the rest of the
stuff, I've got a HomeVision expansion board with relay and sensor chain
channels.  Not quite as plug and play as the Ethernet but sufficient to
monitor and execute criminal (oops, I meant critical!) functions in the
house.  Since Ethernet is workable world-wide, it's going to overtake any
proprietary protocol.  Why build another highway when so many layers of the
OSI network are already built, usually with enormous overcapacity (at least
1GB nets in the house, anyway)?

> I entirely agree that Zigbee has been far too long in coming although
> there are some devices out there. Hardly a replacement for X-10 at this
> point. And Insteon appears to have gained enough traction and solved
> enough problems to be the real contender at this stage.

I'm amazed they survived the recession.  Lots of similar "modern living"
stores folded during that time.  I've been stranded by companies going out
of business before.  Their proprietary nature gives me pause.  But I agree,
they seem to be the only contender out of many that appeared around the year
2000, except for hoary old CeBuS (cough) that still has defenders throughout
the world but that never lived up to the hype.

Sorry if I offended you.  My proselytizing is better aimed at people who
haven't yet converted away from X-10.  Maybe that number is shrinking
because a lot of people have disconnected back to ground zero or who just
use a minitimer to control some lights when they are away

--
Bobby G.

*I've set my XTBM meter up in front of a small, focusable B&W minicam (less
than $20) that is recorded on the fourth channel of my CCTV recorder.  This
way I can call up the video and play it in slo mo, reviewing all the
commands received in the last week.  I can also see real-time readings of
X-10 from any TV in the house.