Lights going on at random times!! Any ideas?

We have had X-10 for decades and never had this issue before!

We use the IBM Home Director HD11A (same as CM11A) and ActiveHome

1.42d software. We have many X-10 switches and all work. Sometimes when one stops it is because of a lamp being burned out from our multi- light outside lights.

Anyway, we just added a new power center for my wife's new system. Since then, several lights come on at random times during the day! I now took it out of the circuit and have added her old power center back to see if that is creating the issue. However, what I want to know is how this could be the cause? I ask as I have had noisy components before, but they just prevent a light from going off if it was on, or on if it were off. I never had a component turn a light on at random. It seems to me that turning a light on, in this case C2, should not respond to random noise, but takes a bit stream...ie

11000010 (C2) with a code for ON.

Can the noise corrupt the software in the CM11A? I am testing with the old power center as I said, but wonder how this could happen.

OH, for extra credit, is there a better Computer interface available now with more memory and better software that is not as prone to line noise? I heard about the CM15, but also heard it was very prone to noise...especially the clock.

Reply to
MPSAN
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I don't claim to fully understand it, but devices that load down the X-10 signals can cause this symptom. I had a Sony TV that did it. My guess is that the modules see less signal and thereby increase their gain to compensate thereby becoming more vulnerable to noise. Regardless of whether that explanation is right or wrong, plugging the TV into a filter solved my problem. In your case add a plug-in filter before the new load center. Remember that a lot of the new surge protected power strips are designed to swamp out noise. Unfortunately, X-10 signals are just "noise" on the power line. I go out of my way to buy non surge protected power strips.

Reply to
greenpjs

I've seen similar with a few installations where the on/off commands are caused by new equipment or a neighbor. In this, it definitely sounds like your wife's new equipment. I have seen noisy equipment that sends out noise which X10 interprets as commands, as opposed to just blocking them out.

What I've done in the past is install units such as an X10 filter

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the new equipment and the wall plug, and this has usually solved the problem. Where that hasn't been suitable I've used line isolation filters such a
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Reply to
homeautomationaustralia

Thank you both. The new power center does have a surge circuit. I think the other one did as well. I also made my own filter using two barrel toroids. I wound several turns of each power line around a toroid and it has worked VERY well. If her new power center is proven to be the issue, I may just open it and disable the Surge system and just make it a group of switches and sockets! It is going into a UPS, and the UPS into my filter, so if it is noisy, it must be VERY noisy.

Also, with all that is going on with Home Control now, isn't there any better Computer Interface and software around?

Reply to
MPSAN

Personally I'm using ActiveHome Pro

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allow me to use my iPhone as a remote control
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Reply to
Home Automation

Noise on the mains. X10 is a crap protocol. The cheapest and nastiest.

Reply to
Dirk Bruere at NeoPax

In answer to your interface question: Yes the ACT TI-103 is on of the best interfaces around, but it is old, still using an old RS232 serial com plug (like your Home Director). I use Homeseer as my software, a bit expensive but one of the best home control programs on the market(IMHO of course). Homeseer will work with the CM15A, CM11, ACT, etc interfaces. If cost is an issue, look at the CM15A with AHP but put a good coupler/amp in the house. I like either the ACT 234, or XTB-IIR by Jeff Volp. Both crankout enough signal to over ride most noise.

Reply to
D&SW

Great, I will take a look. Also, I may not have a noise issue but not enough signal. Will test it with my ELK.

Reply to
MPSAN

MPSAN wrote in news:40c1b666-f830-457c-ab23-00bb69948757 @p2g2000prf.googlegroups.com:

Maybe you have a signal strength issue also, but I don't see how lack of signal strength creates random commands to turn on. This would only be true if a command occurred at that time but was misinterpreted due to insufficient signal.

Otherwise, random turn-on should be the result of noise (or interference by a neighbor's X-10).

Random FAILURE to turn-on could be due to insufficien signal strength.

Reply to
Ian Shef

57

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OK, I agree. I may have two issues but NEVER had the random turn on before. I will look at the noise issue with her new power center. So far the old power center is in and all seems good. I think, if nothing else, I can open the new one and disable the surge stuff in her new Power Center if it turns out to be the issue. Who needs it anyway as it goes into a 1500VA UPS.

My signal level concern comes from the outside lamps. We have spotlights, and Low voltage lamps. In the past, whenever a low-voltage lamp went out...the lights may not go on...or off. Then the Transformer failed and I got a new one. This was very bad, and it may be that it was causing the signal level to get even smaller! I added toroids and noise filters but it did not help.

Still looking for an interface I can program from the computer with more memory than the CM11!!!

Reply to
MPSAN

I just looked at UPB. Even the TEC-60. This stuff looks great, but I think $200 for a controller and $70 for a single switch seem way out of line. Is there a less expensive UPB solution?

Reply to
MPSAN

I've had several problems with X-10 devices over some decades:

  1. A Norelco electric razor that would turn off the bathroom light within about 15 seconds of use. Fix: eventually that razor wore out. Changing the unit code made it happen a little less frequently.
  2. An old dot-matrix TI printer with a switching power supply jammed all X-10 in the house. Fix: plug the printer into a UPS, which seemed to isolate the crap it was dumping into the power line. Fortunately I wasn't attempting to control the printer.
  3. The same old dot-matrix printer would sometimes activate or deactivate device modules at random when it was actively printing something. Fix: same as #2.
Reply to
Gordon Burditt

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