XTB - the Future of X10 has arrived! - Cabling-Design.com Forums

Robert Green · 2006-05-29T01:58:41+00:00

Every once in a while you come across a product so useful that it changesthe fundamentals of how you live and work. Recently, I had the opportunityto help beta test fellow newsgrouper Jeff Volp?s XTB (X10 Transmit Buffer).This is one of those ?breakthrough? products.Anyone who has an even moderately complex X-10 based system has more thanlikely been sucked into the netherworld of signal attenuation.Transmission problems are the work of a variety of demons, pixies and Orcsthat inhabit the average home?s power lines. I've wasted countless hourstracking down X-10 signal strength issues. The XTB is like a mightyelectrical Excalibur, capable of slaying the motley army of X-10 demons witha single slash.What is it? Well, it?s almost like the mythical carburetor than runs onwater. If it were a rifle, you?d never miss. If it were a cell phone,your calls would never be dropped. If it were a power drill, you?d be ableto punch through stainless steel ingots as if they were butter.The XTB is an amplifier unlike any you?ve ever seen. It takes thereal-time output of an X-10 transmitter like a TM-751 or a CM11A andturbo-charges it to previously unheard of levels in the X-10 world. (Atleast I?ve never heard of them!) The output is so high that both myMonterey Signal Analyzer and my ESM1 bar graph meter ?pegged? out at theirmaximum levels (4v for the former, 5v for the latter) at a considerableelectrical distance from the XTB.It was fairly easy to calculate the voltage based on extrapolation. Icompared the voltage drop between point X and Y with a weak transmitter likethe CM11A. Then I repeated the readings with the XTB. Based on theoutput voltage, I concluded that the signal exits the XTB at 22 to 24v.Admittedly, it?s nowhere near as precise as an o?scope but the attenuationratios are fairly consistent in my house for point to point readings. Ifthe CM11A clocked in at 50mV at a particular receptacle, adding the XTBwould boost that reading to .25 volts, or about 5...

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Josepi 15 years ago

Thanx for the info!

Would that built in programmable ramp be settable to ramp for an hour? Not that I get up to go to work anymore. but that was the speed. 0-100% in 1 hour...LOL

It is typically better (well mostly but I can't think of an exception right now) to let the lower level devices do as many smarts as possible. Sometimes control is needed in the middle of a loop and it it needs an abort method from the control processor.

Ok. So "recursive" but not "recursive looping".

Yes, if you want to use the computer CPU to perform this function, HS will let you do it, both through scripts and through HS-managed (not hardware-based) built-in code for X-10.

Note though that most/many modern HA lighting devices provide hardware-based ramping of output level. This is more robust with less overhead that having the CPU/mpu track and control ramping for many devices. A single command to the device sets the ramp rate and a subsequent single command begins the process. The (eg) light switch itself takes care of making it happen.

Check out the spreadsheet of HA software and hardware at

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through

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HTH ... Marc

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M

Marc_F_Hult 15 years ago

My recollection was wrong. HS's ramping of X-10 depends either on HS scripts or is device dependent, ie., ramped by the switch hardware. No "built-in code" ABIK.

As do some X-10 switches.

HTH ... Marc

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Dave Houston 15 years ago

This gets rather complicated. The best way to do this type of ramping is by using your current method but with microsteps.

All X10-made dimmers will respond to microsteps but I'm unaware of any that have programmable ramp rates. See...

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an explanation of 'microsteps'.

Insteon dimmers can be set for X10 mode and have a programmable ramp rate (in either mode) but the maximum time is 9 seconds, far short of what you want. They do not handle microsteps the way X-10 does but IIRC they respond as if it were a preset dim/bright command which uses 32 dim levels.

You can use X10 preset dim/bright in a loop BUT you MUST send both address and level commands as any intervening commands can reset the housecode for the preset commands.

I don't recall any other makes of X10 compatible dimmers that have programmable ramp rates but some 'may' have them in their native, non-x10 modes.

One caveat - I have not kept current on this as I've been in and out of the hospital for the past year and have had nearly weekly appointments with various specialists, leaving little time for anything else. I think my warranty must have expired as all of my systems seem to be breaking down at once.

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Josepi 15 years ago

Thanx Dave.

Too bad about your health. This seems to happen sometimes to some people. Not to get into it here but sometimes a good Naturopathic Doctor has long term solutions that the standard chem/cut doctors just don't seem to understand.

Best of luck.

All X10-made dimmers will respond to microsteps but I'm unaware of any that have programmable ramp rates. See...

formatting link

an explanation of 'microsteps'.

Insteon dimmers can be set for X10 mode and have a programmable ramp rate (in either mode) but the maximum time is 9 seconds, far short of what you want. They do not handle microsteps the way X-10 does but IIRC they respond as if it were a preset dim/bright command which uses 32 dim levels.

You can use X10 preset dim/bright in a loop BUT you MUST send both address and level commands as any intervening commands can reset the housecode for the preset commands.

I don't recall any other makes of X10 compatible dimmers that have programmable ramp rates but some 'may' have them in their native, non-x10 modes.

One caveat - I have not kept current on this as I've been in and out of the hospital for the past year and have had nearly weekly appointments with various specialists, leaving little time for anything else. I think my warranty must have expired as all of my systems seem to be breaking down at once.

"Josepi" wrote:

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Dave Houston 15 years ago

Before they introduced UPC, PCS had a line of X10 dimmers (under license). They repurposed the Hail Request & Hail Acknowledge commands to do microdim & microbright. I don't think they are still marketed however.

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