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🖥️ActiveHome Pro => ActiveHome Pro General => Topic started by: SteveRF on February 03, 2006, 08:15:23 PM

Title: Simple Antenna Mod (That Works!)
Post by: SteveRF on February 03, 2006, 08:15:23 PM
I made a simple antenna mod to my MASTER
CM15A by pulling the excess (antenna wire
already coiled up in the box) antenna wire
out through the top of the "existing  antenna
(take the bulb off the top), soldering
another 9 or 9.5 inches forgot what I
measured, to the end of the existing antenna,
glued a thin hollow tube to the whoe thing
and put it back in the utility room.  Viloa,
my range has increased dramatically. I walked
out off the rear deck and was about 30-40'
from the CM15A and it was still working well
with a handheld remote.  Not sure at this
point what the limit is.  Now I can try some
outside motion detectors that were not able
to communicate with the CM15A before the mod.
So far so good...
SteveRF
Title: Re: Simple Antenna Mod (That Works!)
Post by: Brian H on February 04, 2006, 06:26:27 AM
Yes I believe JoeS on the accessha.com
forums did something close to what you did.
He used the exsisting antenna wire only with
an extended tube. One point that newer cm15a
users may find. Unlike the older models with
the extra antenna wire just bunched up in
the case. Newer units have the extra antenna
wire hot glued in a wide 'U' shape to the
main board. I have a few of both types.
Older bunched up newer hot glued.
Title: Re: Simple Antenna Mod (That Works!)
Post by: Eric Edberg on February 04, 2006, 09:14:26 AM
The RX RF range does indeen suck.  Worse is
the TX RF range.

Be carefull when doing other mods.  Most
that I have studied will improve RX
reception, but will also adversely affect
TX RF range as they are not impedance-
matched.

This solution should not affect the already
questionable TX range.

I personally built the mod below as I was
not worried about TX range that much.  I
get 175 feet RX with my PalmPad from 3
houses away.

http://www.shed.com/tutor/mr26ant.html
This site also has pretty pictures of the
cm15a.


Don't forget to stick to 50 ohm (impedence)
components as that is not clearly specified
in hardly any of the plans you read.  This
is why TX suffers because it's not
matched/tuned to the antenna (e.g.: similar
to how CBs need to be tuned -- SRW)


Title: Re: Simple Antenna Mod (That Works!)
Post by: Brian H on February 04, 2006, 11:07:21 AM
The transmit antenna is completly different
in the cm15a. A separate wire from the
transmitter module; only glued to the top
cover and doesn't even stick out of the
case. So we know why that range stinks.
Title: Re: Simple Antenna Mod (That Works!)
Post by: Brian H on February 04, 2006, 11:16:36 AM
Eric; Yes the twin lead antenna. Some have
used it with good results. I also saw one
made from 5 pieces of heavy wire on a SO239
connector. Four where ground planes and the
fifth the receiveing element. I found the
complete cm15a schematics and photos on the
FCC Web Site. X10 left them all in public
access [some like Smarthome do not].
B4S is X10s Grantee ID.
B4SCM15A is the whole ID#.
Remove spaces added here:
https://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/oet/cf/eas/rep
orts/GenericSearch.cfm
Title: Re: Simple Antenna Mod (That Works!)
Post by: SteveRF on February 08, 2006, 10:39:24 AM
All that info is great and I appreciate the
details but what I was trying to convey is
a "simple and easy" way to increase RECEIVER
range.  After more testing, this simple
modification has given me total control all
over the house and adaquate range outside. I
didn't have to worry about impedance
matching, antenna tuning or going to the
local radio shack for parts. It was a simple
effective, non-intrusive, solution that
works.
SteveRF
Title: Re: Simple Antenna Mod (That Works!)
Post by: Brian H on February 08, 2006, 04:15:53 PM
Yes we did go off on a tangent. The
extending of the original wire in a longer
tube is a great way to get distance. Even
just uncurling the original one and adding a
longer tube helps, added wire is a plus.
Just for owners with newer units. The extra
wire maybe hot glued in a 'U' shape on the
main board.
Title: Re: Simple Antenna Mod (That Works!)
Post by: JimC on February 08, 2006, 06:11:13 PM
SteveRF,

Thanks for the information. I use motion
sensors throughout my property, inside and
out and I have been looking for a simple
way to improve reception of the CM15A. I
really don’t have the time or desire to get
inside the thing and start tinkering. Your
solution is just what I was looking for.

Thanks again,

Jim
Title: Re: Simple Antenna Mod (That Works!)
Post by: SteveRF on February 09, 2006, 08:48:55 AM
Jim and Brian,
Hello from the Gulf Coast.
Jim, hope this mod works for you.  My
existing Rcv antenna was coiled in the box
and did require me to open it up,uncoil and
gently pull it up through the existing
antenna.  As Brian mention, some may find the
receive antenna glued to the case.  I
suppose what is most important is that you
make sure to only mess with the receive
antenna for this simple mod.  Mine works
pretty darn well now.  Now for the new
software update.  Hope that does not mess it
all up.
Regards,
SteveRF
Title: Re: Simple Antenna Mod (That Works!)
Post by: Tony Olson on February 11, 2006, 05:43:38 PM
SteveRF - the mod sounds right down my
alley (simple). I'm great at taking things
apart, but a liitle slow in putting them
back together <g>. I assume you take the
CM15A apart with the 4 screws on the back
and clip the bulb off the antenna and pull
it up through. What did you solder (9
inches) to the antenna? I need to get range
when I'm hooked to the PC using the MyHouse
Plug In. I usually have my CM15A plugged in
another location for better reception. I
not comfortable with electronics (I'm an
old data processor).

Thanks.

Tony.
Title: Re: Simple Antenna Mod (That Works!)
Post by: Brian H on February 11, 2006, 07:02:07 PM
Tony; Even if you don't do the whole mod for
antenna jack. You may want to look at the
internal photos in the mod files for
refference. Remember newer units may have
the extra antenna wire glued to the main
board. Also someone on accessha used a piece
of hollow tubing from a hobby shop, to
extend the tube itself after getting the
excess from the main housing. Actually I
believe they replaced the tube with a longer
one.
www.accesha.com
In the modification area.
Title: Re: Simple Antenna Mod (That Works!)
Post by: Tony Olson on February 12, 2006, 06:14:51 AM
Thanks Brian H. Actually I've looked at the
mod on www.accesha.com already which made
SteveRF's mod more appealing to me <g>.
Before I proceed I'll review and print it
off.


Tony
Title: Re: Simple Antenna Mod (That Works!)
Post by: SteveRF on February 13, 2006, 08:58:09 AM
Tony,
Yes, you are correct.  I did open the CM15A
and found part of the internal receive
antenna wire coiled up inside the box before
runing up into the existing antenna. I
clipped the bulb off the top of the existing
antenna, pulled the excess wire up so that it
extended out the top of the existing antenna,
measured the existing length (about 9 or 9.5
inches) and soldered a exact equal amount of
wire onto the top of the existing antenna
wire.  Then I glued a small plastic tube that
slipped down over the new wire and the old
antenna. The whole thing is now approximately
18" long. The only reason I used an addon
tube was to support the new wire at the
solder joint. For the first few days, I just
used a stiff straw to support it with some
tape.  That was for testing.. The big red
straw looked like heck but it worked well..
Let us know how your mod goes...
Regards,
SteveRF
Title: Re: Simple Antenna Mod (That Works!)
Post by: Tony Olson on February 13, 2006, 12:30:48 PM
Thanks much SteveRF.

I'm trying to increase range (when I need
to be connected to my PC) by using a USB
extender and putting the controller as high
as possible in my PC area.

I'll keep you posted how I come out with
the CM15A mod.
Title: Re: Simple Antenna Mod (That Works!)
Post by: SteveRF on February 14, 2006, 11:52:57 AM
Tony, Thanks for input.
I have 2 CM15A's, one is disconnected 24/7
and is mounted high in my utility room next
to a breaker panel that also has a passive
coupler across the 240v line.  That is the
unit I made the antenna mod to. It does all
the bull work and contain all my macros and
timers.  The other CM15A is connected 24/7 to
my computer and I use it for X10 video only
and the house codes on that unit are
restricted to only the Video uses.  So far, I
am very pleased with the rf receive range I
am getting.  Let us know how it goes with
your setup.
SteveRF
Title: Re: Simple Antenna Mod (That Works!)
Post by: me too on February 15, 2006, 03:14:06 PM
I have another simple antenna modification
that I tried that does not include cutting,
opening or physically changing the antenna.
I took about 10 inches of lightweight
galvanized wire,  and wrapped it around the
antenna at the mid section a few times.
Then extended the wire past the antenna
about 8 inches.  My range improved
dramatically. The wraps of wire around the
CMA15 antenna may act as a loading coil.
Title: Re: Simple Antenna Mod (That Works!)
Post by: bill on February 16, 2006, 08:11:53 AM
Just a question.  Would a Whole House
Transceiver (V572AB) not achieve the
objective that we are all looking for in an
antenna mod.
Title: Re: Simple Antenna Mod (That Works!)
Post by: SteveRF on February 16, 2006, 11:27:06 AM
Bill,
The objective here was to simply increase the
reception range of the existing CM15A with
minimal effort and expense.  In my opinion,
adding another whole house transceiver
(V572AB) to the setup adds another interface
and process to the loop that the CM15A was
intended to handle.
Bocage, that was a good idea ! I should have
tried that first...
My first test  was to simply pull off the
bulb at the top of the antenna, grasp the
antenna wire with a tiny set of needlenose
pliers and pull up just enough to add a 9.5
ince piece of hookup wire.  I then slipped a
Macdonalds drink straw over it and tested...
worked well and I didn't even have to open
the case.  Of course my final solution was to
make something a bit more permanent and nicer
looking... Final cost: ZIP....
SteveRF
Title: Re: Simple Antenna Mod (That Works!)
Post by: Dan Lawrence on February 16, 2006, 11:41:42 AM
Reading all this makes me wonder why X10 USA
hasn't done a similar mod to the CM15A. It's
not the proverbial "rocket science". Extend
the antenna  to 18" at the factory and
everybody benefits.
Title: Re: Simple Antenna Mod (That Works!)
Post by: SteveRF on February 16, 2006, 11:55:18 AM
Dan,
You made a GOOD POINT !
Maybe they should have used an extendible
antenna similar to their security consoles.
But then, it would not have looked so cute.
It would have worked better !
SteveRF
Title: Re: Simple Antenna Mod (That Works!)
Post by: bill on February 16, 2006, 06:18:42 PM
SteveRF
I understand your point but since I do not
plan on doing any antenna mods, I seriously
would like to know if the V572AB solution
would be as good an alternative. (Range and
reliability particularly with motion sensors
over various house codes)
Title: Re: Simple Antenna Mod (That Works!)
Post by: Brian H on February 16, 2006, 07:43:27 PM
The v572ab will add much distance to your
reception. It interfaces with an X10 TW523
or X10 Pro PSC05. It sends the decoded X10
signals back on the powerline to the cm15a
or any other X10 signal receiving module if
you want direct control. So normal X10
signal cautions are needed. Like can the
signal get to the needed areas of the home
and is there anything to absorbe or noise to
mask the signals.
Needs at least a two outlet wall outlet. One
for the X10 interface and one for the power
wall wart. Smarthome has a version with
their 1132B serial interface that also
provides power to the v572.
Mine added great distances to my remotes
never tried long range motion sensor tests.
Title: Re: Simple Antenna Mod (That Works!)
Post by: Dan Lawrence on February 16, 2006, 09:53:16 PM
Why spend close to $80.00 when what SteveRF
did for very little out of pocket expenses
does the same thing?

Makes zero sense to me.
Title: Re: Simple Antenna Mod (That Works!)
Post by: Tony Olson on February 17, 2006, 08:37:40 AM
Great ideas...

Bocage - what's lightweight galvanized wire
and where do you get it? Radioshack?

SteveRF - where did you get your hookup or
antenna wire. What type of covering goes
over the top of the extended antenna; where
can I purchase it?

As you probably guessed by now I'm
electronic knowlege challenged <g>. Me with
a soldering iron is a bit disconcerting <g>.

Tony

Tony
Title: Re: Simple Antenna Mod (That Works!)
Post by: me too on February 17, 2006, 08:48:08 PM
It's a NO 20 soft galvanized wire.  I made
about 6 turns around the antenna before
extending it up 8 or 9 inches.  I got the
wire at my local ACE Hardware.  I always
keep it around because it comes in handy
with repairs and such.
Title: Re: Simple Antenna Mod (That Works!)
Post by: Brian H on February 18, 2006, 07:13:07 AM
Tony; I have seen a similar antenna
extension in a message thread in
accessha.com.
In that case they removed the whole tube and
used a longer one. Avilable in varried sizes
at your local hobby shop. I bought both 1/8"
and 3/16" 'StripStyrene' for the project as
I was not sure which would fit better. Then
got side tracked and the project got changed
to the add antenna connector and the
extension never happened.
Bocage's externally coupled added thing
sounds good also. No internal things needed
at all.
Title: Re: Simple Antenna Mod (That Works!)
Post by: WinS on February 18, 2006, 02:19:16 PM
SteveRF
Thanks for starting this thread - very
informative.  FWIW, here's my experience.  I
had done the accessha.com mod, adding the F
connector, coax cable and antenna (from
another site).  This did improve the
reception but I still had "dead" areas where
the motion sensors wouldn't work.  Well, I
like to experiment so I did the
following...after reading a few manuals on
antenna theory.  I first clipped the ground
wire from the F connector (inside the CM15A).
Then added a short (18 inches or so) coax
cable.  The cable was stripped at one end so
9.5 inches of the center wire was exposed
(the shield was removed).  Then I looped the
coax from the F connector under the CM15A and
up the side so that the base of the bare wire
was about 2 inches above the component side
of the circuit board, and perpendicular to
it.  Picture: CM15A horizontal with circuit
board up, soldered side down, coax/connector
coming from side and looping under and up
opposite side of unit with shield ending 2
inches above unit and bare wire extending
vertically 9.5 inches.  Really was quite easy
to do since the connector mod had already
been done.  Anyway, I found that with the
circuit board acting as the antenna
groundplane the reception was much improved
and the "dead" spots were gone, probably
because this design is more omnidirectional
than the other antenna design (from the other
web site).  The distance the base of the
antenna is from the circuit board influences
it's effectiveness, and I found 2 inches to
be best. This resulted in the best reception
for my home variables.  I even got the most
distant motion sensor to work - about 75 feet
away through 4 walls.  Interestingly,  this
is little different from just extending the
wire as discussed in this thread, except that
the wire is shielded.  Just thought I'd add
my two cents.
Title: Re: Simple Antenna Mod (That Works!)
Post by: SteveRF on February 18, 2006, 03:15:22 PM
Tony,
The hookup wire was nothing more than some
small guage (think I used 14 or 16) solid
copper wire. I happend to have some in the
shop but any short piece of small guage solid
copper wire should do.  I used a short piece
of stiff plastic tube I also found around the
shop.  That was it.  Soldered on the end of
the existing antenna and slipped the tube
over it and glued.  It is just one vertical
antenna.  Soon as I have a chance, I will put
a motion detector outside and see how much
distance I get but my handheld units  all
work well outside around the home.
Regards,
SteveRF
Title: Re: Simple Antenna Mod (That Works!)
Post by: Tony Olson on February 19, 2006, 09:58:41 AM
Thanks all for the info. I tried Bocage's
non invasive technique and it does increase
the CM15A range. Maybe I'll give SteveRF's
and Brian H's mods later.

Tony

Title: Re: Simple Antenna Mod (That Works!)
Post by: martin on February 23, 2006, 10:11:26 AM
I have to try this as well, will report back.