Insteon Compatability with X-10

You would use the X10 to Insteon Translator. It "hears" the X10 signal and sends out the appropriate Insteon signal to activate an Insteon device that's been registered tot the translator. I'm using it now to translate from the Stargate Controller to Insteon.

From:gymfolks snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com

Read through Bruce Robin's thread(s) named...

Insteon Transmitter Insteon Translator (title corrected from transmitter)

He is using a (beta) Insteon translator that sits on the powerline and repeats *some* X-10 codes as Insteon and vice versa. The translator needs to be programmed for the codes you want it to translate and you need to provide delays (if used in macros) to prevent collisions.

There are others who are working on devices that act like a TW523 on the TTL side but send/receive Insteon on the PLC side. These will let existing devices designed to use a TW523 work with Insteon devices. Whether they will be sophisticated enough to send one or the other depending on programming will probably depend on the manufacturer.

Note that the compatibility has some limitati>Wow, great discussion on my other post. THANKS you guys!

Yes, I am building new and hope to avoid X-10 completely (except for my alarm panel - Ademco Vista 20P -.... I like it for other reasons). Since the alarm panel transmits X-10 via a plug in transformer, is it correct to assume that I could plug that transformer DIRECTLY into the "X-10 to Insteon translator" (link below)

Would there be any ill effects from X-10 signal (possibly passing through the translator)? Or would the translator "absorb" all the X-10 signal and just send out Insteon (remember that single source of X-10 signal would be coming from the transformer that would be plugged directly into the Insteon translator).

I'll let Bruce confirm this but I think you will plug the translator into an outlet and then plug the Ademco transformer either into the "Always On" outlet on the translator or into another nearby outlet.

The X-10 signals will reach the powerl>Yes, I am building new and hope to avoid X-10 completely (except for my

Dave has it right. However, when I had an Ademco panel with X10 in my old house I found it to be, shall we say, "less than robust" in it's operation. I use a Caddx panel now with a serial connection to the Stargate. There is a way to isolate the X10 from the powerline and I plan try an experiment later this week. I'm going to plug the TW523 (similar to the Ademco transmitter) into the Translator and plug both the translator and an RF repeater into a power strip that is plugged into two piggybacked X10 filters to keep the X10 from getting on the powerline. However, Dave mentioned that others are working on a TTL level translator (sign me up!) so you could take the output of the Ademco that goes to the X10 transmitter and plug it into the translator.

From:Dave Houston snipped-for-privacy@whocares.com

Suppose you wanted to take it a step further... Ademco/Honeywell Vista

I'm not sure what you're asking.

If you mean...

Have the Ademco 20P send X-10 to the SmartHome translator which then sends Insteon to the Insteon interface connected to the Mac, the answer is yes. However, SmartHome has apparently decided to discontinue the translator so it's a moot issue.

Besides, Insteon is 120V/60Hz only at this point. By the time it's available for 230V/50Hz there may be other ways to do what you want.

But Insteon supports X-10 pretty well (not perfect, but pretty well), so not having a translator is not really a big loss.

Also, the translator isn't dead. SmartHome has made it open source, free for anyone to sell or develop, you just have to be a registered developer. The translator is just another app that can run inside the Insteon PowerLinc (just like the timer app).

Well, Dave, you're the only one that mentioned Australia.

(just because one guy posted with a spoofed .au adress doesn't mean he is in Australia, and if the guy really is in Australia he's probably already going to know that 120V/60Hz powerline automation isn't going to work there)

mean he

already going to know that 120V/60Hz powerline automation isn't going

there)-

Fair enough. I'm posting from the states. I do end up on the local mirror for the IRC chat from time to time, though. Dunno why it gave my addy a .au suffix, though. I just googled for any links to Ademco/Honeywell and INSTEON, and here I am ;)

It also gave you an NNTP Posting Host at a legitimate Australian ISP. I've gotten in the habit of checking the email address and NNTP Posting Host (especially when the question is unclear) because a high percentage of posts here are from Europe and elsewhere and there have been a few Insteon related questions from places that do not have 120V/60Hz.

It's still not clear what you are asking. The Insteon interface supported by Indigo (2414U) sends/receives X-10 (as does the 2414S) so it will "hear" the output of the Vista 20P. I don't know whether Indigo can then act as a translator, sending an Insteon signal in response to an X-10 input - you'll have to ask that question of the Indigo developers.

OTOH, if you want the Ademco to control an Insteon device without going through the 2414U/Indigo/Mac path, you'll need a translator and I can only give you the same advice I gave the OP - follow Bruce Robin's thread on the translator. There are some problems that can arise when the X-10 signal is on the powerline so the best method of translation is to do it at a higher level before the X-10 signal gets to the powerline.