X10 Community Forum
🖥️ActiveHome Pro => ActiveHome Pro General => Topic started by: webb on January 03, 2006, 11:31:30 AM
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If your interface does not control turn
modules on and off with the programed times
set try another model module. Non X10 like
Radio Shack do work with the interface. All
you have to do is chose the one that works
with it.
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I hate to tell you, Webb, ALL X10 Modules,
regardless of the name on them, are all made
to the same precs (and possibly in the same
place. X10, Radio Shack, Phillips, Stanley,
they all work with Active Home and Active
Home Pro with no problems. The progam has no
idea who's name is on the outside as long as
it can communicate - and it does.
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Sorry Dan, I don't think that is entirely
true. Though MANY X10 lamp modules are
identical, just with someone elses name
painted on them, others, such as smarthome
lamplincs, and likely others really are
different and I believe use slightly
different protocols ("extended dimming"),
etc, and though basic ON/OFF should work
fine with AHP- CM15A, more advanced
functions, dimming, and polling on the
smarthome products may NOT work correctly.
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Yup X10 has nothing to do with the Smarthome
modules and maybe a few other brands.
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I read somewhere quite a while ago that one
factory in China makes most, if not all, X10
modules. I don't know who makes the modules
for Smarthome, I don't have anything of their
products. I do have X10 Lamp and Appliance
Modules and PRO modules and noise filters,
plus lamp and appliance modules from Stanley,
Sears (Yes, once upon a time Sears sold X10
compatable equipment), Radio Shack, Heath,
and a couple of oddball lamp modules, all
happily working in AHP. A bunch of those
Radio Shack and Stanley modules date from DOS
days (I've been with X10 that long. I bought
my first 290 from a Heath store in Baltimore
in 1988. Ran the DOS X10 program on a PCXT.
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Dan - I have seen most of the brands you
mention, and I am fairly certain those
brands are IDENTICAL electronics, with just
some case differences. However, amny of
the higher end , better quality stuff is
different.
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Dan; X10 also made the Black and Decker
Freewire equipment. It is not 100%
compatible with X10 stuff. Modules are
controllers and remotes are not. Different
transmitting frequencies. Yes Smarthome does
their own thing and some features are
advanced over X10.
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I think I read somewhere that Lightolier
makes the modules for SmartHome. The other
manufacturers of X10 equipment are ACT and
PCS (although I am not sure if PCS makes
their own switches or contracts it out).
Leviton contracts the design and manufacture
of their X10 compatible equipment to X10.
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Possibly X10 Pro might be willing to provide
a listing of modules that DON'T work with AHP
so we don't have to play the "buy it and see
if it works or not" game.
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It would be hard for me to come up with a
list of devices AHP doesn't work with -- I
don't have a list of all the X10-type devices
that are available.
Obviously everything with the X10 or X10 Pro
brand should work. So should all of the Radio
Shack brand modules and remote controls. The
Black and Decker modules should all work, and
so should RCA brand modules. I don't know
anything about Black and Decker remotes, but
I can find out. Leviton modules should be fine.
Other brands are more difficult. As long as a
module responds to the normal X10 on/off/dim
PLC commands it will work with AHP. Use of
the extended code or preset dim for various
functions would require us to write new code
for specific modules.
It is important that you choose the right
module type in AHP.
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Interestingly enough, the suggestion you
made doesn't work either, as ALL of my
modules WERE purchased from Radio Shack
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Alan: What problems are you having? Could
your problem be related to signal strength or
powerline noise?
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When I try to turn some modules on from
the interface (through the computer) some
will respond. but not all. Sometimes when I
startup AHP I will see a device that's
supposed to come on at a particular time,
but thebackground is blue. I have to turn
it off, then turn it back on. Several of my
devices will not turn ON from the interface
but will turn OFF at the scheduled time.
I've tried the electrical phasing, creating
macros, but nothing seems to solve the
problem. I moved the interface to a
different outlet, plugged it next to teh
device I want to operate..etc. etc. H-E-L-
P!!!!!
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Alan: The blue background is the result of
running AHP and connecting to the interface
when it has been running on its own for a
while. The blue means the interface has told
AHP that while it wasn't connected the module
was dimmed. The interface doesn't store the
exact dim level, so we show this as an
unknown in AHP. Brightening or dimming the
module a bit will make it go away, though
turning off then on also works.
Doe you have the control problems with all
modules, or just some? What kinds of modules
are they? How are they defined in AHP?
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Alan: The most probable causes are either
phase coupling or powerline noise. I wrote
tutorials for both of these. You can find
them at:
http://www.x10.webhop.org/Phase_Coupling.htm
and
http://www.x10.webhop.org/Powerline_Noise_and_Noise_Filters.htm
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each the i try to load the active home pro
i get an error message that say active home
pro has encounted a problem and needs to
close. what the problem?
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I have been able to get AHP to work from
remote. I open AHP from my desk top. Then
click on live video. Then click on connect.
Then minimize it to the taskbar. Then click
on the link in the email I sent. AHP opens,
then from here I click connect. It opens
and I can control a module AND SEE MY xc18a
Camera. One PROBLEM is that overlay time
stamp in the video is off by 7 hours. A
note if I go back and close my desktop AHP
my Remote will also stop working. So it
appears that if the computer was turned off
the remote site would also stop working. So
it would appear that you have to keep your
home computer on in order to see video at a
remote site. Hope this is of help to
someone.
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For X10 Pro:
What does the blue backround mean when the
module has 100% light level. This only
happens with lamp modules, appliance modules
are not affected.
Another question. Does AHP talk to the
interface to find out what lamps were lit by
the interface and report the status? It should.