Re: Do these exist: "Instant on" or very rapid start CFL???

["Robert Green" <robert_green1963@xxxxxxxxx>]

"Smarty" <nobody@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:it7of1$i2h$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

<stuff snipped>

> Thanks again for your insights and comments Bobby. To answer your
> question, I do not own any 2 way X-10 devices. My X-10 devices were
> almost entirely light control, with some outdoor motion detector
> spotlights which could emit X-10 codes to turn on indoor lighting when
> motion was detected. I had several appliance modules to switch heavier
> loads, some pocket RF transmitters to remotely control things,
> controllers all over the place, some with built in timers / clocks, and
> not much more. My total investment in X-10 was, at most, a few hundred
> bucks. It was very easy to walk away from it financially, but I do miss
> the ability to control everything.
>
> X-10 owners like us are likely to be "control freaks" to some extent,
> and having a system which acts randomly and erratically defies our
> "authority". It is frustrating to see the system mis-behave, and even
> more so while our significant others scoff and smirk and complain when
> lights begin to randomly turn on, turn off, or not light at
> all.......... It was extremely easy for me to eventually "pull the plug"
> on X-10 as my CFL and other noise environment took over control...
>
> I had a long and happy run with X-10, and was indeed an early adopter,
> probably late 1970's if I had to guess up until the late 1990s for the
> truly useful and reliable operation. I would call that a success, and
> thus I had no problem taking it down. Some stuff still remains, and I
> occasionally look at the Insteon stuff and think about starting over
again.
>
> Then I take a deep breath and put down the Smarthome catalog and come to
> my senses...........

I have four of the dreaded PR511 outdoor floods.  They could easily have
been a large part of your problem because they can listen and talk X-10
signals and when configured to the max they can put a lot of traffic on the
powerline.  They are, essentially a two-way module.  Mine are in a box in
the basement because it turned out cheapo $10 motion detectors plugged into
an appliance module worked just as well and more reliably.

Admittedly many people (I am sure we'll hear from them!) run them without a
problem.  But they are so remarkably configurable it's easy to believe that
no two PR511 setups are the same. IIRC, you can have it send four different
codes upon motion activation and four more different codes based on
dusk/dawn.  That's a busload of possible configurations - combine that with
its unique ability to sense birds in flight (I had one hell of a problem
with house wrens nesting right near the unit one spring and that's when I
declared the game over and pulled them, replacing them with Home Depot
standalones.

At least now I can sleep comfortably with the knowledge that wherever those
damn floodlights go, trouble follows and that they had some role in your
weird turn ons.  The reason I dumped mine in a box is that I didn't want the
lights coming on for every cat, possum, rabbit or squirrel that came near
the house.  The PR511's complex settings were a real problem for me since I
had to climb ladders to change them.

Did you have/use a CM11A?  When they were disconnected from the programming
PC they could go bonkers and start sending out a flood of bogus codes.
Again, some people swear by them but I mostly sweared AT mine.  Replaced it
with an ADI CPU-XA (which became the Ocelot) but hated the C-Max ladder
logic programming so much I bought a much easier to use HomeVision
controller, which owner/developer Craig Chadwick still actively supports via
a very active Yahoo group.

I find maintenance and design a lot easier when most of the "action" is
performed by a central CPU and rely on the Homevision controller to execute
complex macros.  I tap button "1" on the Maxicontroller three times to "wake
up" the house and button "4" three times to put it to sleep.  Both commands
activate 8 different modules on different housecodes.  Tapping "9 1 1"
activates the 12" bell mounted on the front porch.  HomeVision really
"opened up" X-10 in a remarkable way, and it's got digital I/O and Dallas 1
wire sensor support.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/homevision-users

Well, good luck with your system.  Too bad we didn't meet sooner.  I could
have helped prolonged your X-10 agony at least another six months!  (-:

--
Bobby G.