Re: Starting over

[dlh@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

On Saturday, July 14, 2012 11:46:50 AM UTC-4, Pat wrote:
> I also used a CP290 for years and still have two of them in a drawer.
> Like you, I purchased two as insurance.  I also bought two 1132CU's,
> but lost one to a lightning strike a few years ago.  The other one is
> still working, but when it goes, I will be stuck with a lot of useless
> software.  I currently use the "plus" software to download a sc=
hedule
> into the 1132CU, but have my own software that talks to it for live
> commands.  I never did figure out the protocol for downloading
> schedules, but I can send it things like A1 On, A2 Dim, etc.
>=20
> Pat

I have no idea whether these odes work with the 1132CU but...
     http://www.madreporite.com/insteon/commands.htm

X10 has discontinued the TW523/PSC05 (and probably the PL513/PSC04 but I ha=
ven't seen any notice), and RR501 and have modified the TM751 (removing the=
 relay). They have also discontinued the CM15A but swear they'll have a rep=
lacement by year's end. I suspect they are merely using up whatever invento=
ry they have and then will disappear.

Smarthome has discontinued X10 support in their modules/switches so that's =
just another indication that X10 is no longer relevant.=20

Insteon would be my recommendation were it not for the frequent design chan=
ges they've made, obsoleting several less than 5 year old controllers, etc.

UPB is somewhat pricey although comparable to Insteon prices but does use t=
he powerline and it has been stable since its introduction. It's from PCS w=
ho offered upscale X10 devices for many years. They use very high amplitude=
 (40V) pulses with their position relative to ZC determining what bits are =
set in the message. I haven't seen much about it but this group being on it=
s deathbed is likely the reason for that.
     http://pulseworx.com/

IMO Z-Wave has a fundamental flaw. Because of its mesh networking design, t=
he modules have limited RF range. But there is (or was when introduced) a l=
imit on the number of hops a message could make before dying of old age. Th=
ere were instances where you ran out of hops before running out of real est=
ate. They may have addressed this - I am not current. There was also a prob=
lem wen a module failed. It destroyed the mesh routing but could not be rem=
oved since it was incommunicado, requiring a total reprogramming of the ent=
ire network. Again, that may have been addressed. My evaluation was back sh=
ortly after introduction.=20

There are some ZigBee and Bluetooth approaches but none seem to have gained=
 much traction.