I have read all I can handle so now I will write. All of this so-called "help" is moot...
...There is NOTHING on any X10 product packaging which implies that conditions must be PERFECT for the product to work and purchase of additional items (noise filters, signal meters, etc.) WILL be required.]
Now, before anyone gets upset with me (usually the hobbyists and electricians) about ranting about my problems, let me say that I've been using the X10 Mini-Controller and Lamp Modules for about 5 years. Everytime they quit working I would just replace them...
...Now I find out that all those controllers and modules I threw away may have been fine...
...This time, however, the new hardware didn't work. Out of curiosity, I took the "bad" controller and module into a different room and voila! Everything was fine. Back into the original room...nothing. Strange, since nothing has changed. Nothing has changed throughout the house. Nothing new plugged-in anywhere.
I'm told here that I'm just an idiot because I don't understand how it works. I shouldn't have to! The product is sold in the store as "plug it in and it works!"
...I'm not an electrical engineer so don't talk to me as if I am. In layman's terms, explain to me why my Mini-Controller and Lamp Module decided to stop working in this room where nothing has changed and it has worked perfectly for nearly a year. And what can I do that doesn't involve even more money than I've already spent.
The packaging should read:[/size]"This device depends upon conditions being ideal. X10 devices should be installed by qualified electricians only. Individual results may vary. Additional expense may be required to create ideal conditions for this device. Conditions may change unexpectedly without warning or explanation."
Many of you probably know that the X10 protocol was developed back in the 70’s by a Scottish firm called Pico Electronics. Back then, homes contained relatively few electronic devices. Things like computers and switching power supplies were barely on the horizon. There was very little to interfere with X10 powerline communication in an average home, and those early BSR modules worked pretty well.
Fast-forward a few decades. Our homes are becoming filled with more and more electronic devices. We have computers, media systems, flat-panel televisions, electronic gaming systems, electronically-controlled major appliances, and compact fluorescent lights. Many of these new devices incorporate switching power supplies. The AC powerline environment has vastly changed, but the X10 protocol has remained the same. Because of this, X10 devices don’t always work correctly “out of the box”.
Some people quickly throw in the towel and criticize X10 devices for being junk. Actually, they are the same devices that worked very well when they were developed several decades ago. All we have to do today to achieve that same level of reliability is to provide a similar environment for their powerline communications. Below is an overview of the steps to be taken to achieve reliable X10 operation. Other documents will go into each of these steps in much greater detail...
On the filtering point. The device that is making the noise has to be filtered. If the filter was in the X10 Module the required signal to control it would not get through.That makes sense, thank you. Okay, so the filtering part has been addressed but still does not apply in this case as, once again, nothing has changed. Oh, I have saved new files to my hard drives. Does that count as a change that could affect the X10 system? If so, why has it never been a problem in the past? Of course that's just silly. No, something has certainly changed. just not anything within my household.
If you are sure that nothing has changed in the home, even a new cell phone charger or electronic gadget; then possibly something already installed is changing.
You said you where doing graphics? Is this on a computer and does the computer have a filter or surge suppressor on it. If so try the lights with the computer Unplugged as off is not enough. Most computers are running all the time on a standby supply.
Thanks for your support (I think). In the future, please do not alter the structure of my posting by altering color, font, font size, etc. These things do not make the point more clearly, just like adding more exclamation points at the end of a sentence does not change the meaning of a single exclamation point.
I have read all I can handle so now I will write. All of this so-called "help" is moot...
...There is NOTHING on any X10 product packaging which implies that conditions must be PERFECT for the product to work and purchase of additional items (noise filters, signal meters, etc.) WILL be required.]
Now, before anyone gets upset with me (usually the hobbyists and electricians) about ranting about my problems, let me say that I've been using the X10 Mini-Controller and Lamp Modules for about 5 years. Everytime they quit working I would just replace them...
...Now I find out that all those controllers and modules I threw away may have been fine...
...This time, however, the new hardware didn't work. Out of curiosity, I took the "bad" controller and module into a different room and voila! Everything was fine. Back into the original room...nothing. Strange, since nothing has changed. Nothing has changed throughout the house. Nothing new plugged-in anywhere.
I'm told here that I'm just an idiot because I don't understand how it works. I shouldn't have to! The product is sold in the store as "plug it in and it works!"
...I'm not an electrical engineer so don't talk to me as if I am. In layman's terms, explain to me why my Mini-Controller and Lamp Module decided to stop working in this room where nothing has changed and it has worked perfectly for nearly a year. And what can I do that doesn't involve even more money than I've already spent.
The packaging should read:[/size]"This device depends upon conditions being ideal. X10 devices should be installed by qualified electricians only. Individual results may vary. Additional expense may be required to create ideal conditions for this device. Conditions may change unexpectedly without warning or explanation."
Amen! :-
You won't find a single Old Geezer here that doesn't agree with you 100%.(Well, maybe 99½%. Something *DID* change; that's WHY it stopped working. So what! :D )
JeffVolp recently explained it rather well in his *NEW* X10 Tutorial Series: X10 Troubleshooting Tutorials - Feedback & Input Requested (http://www.x10community.com/forums/index.php?topic=11766.0).Quote from: JeffVolp's X10 Tutorial Series
Many of you probably know that the X10 protocol was developed back in the 70’s by a Scottish firm called Pico Electronics. Back then, homes contained relatively few electronic devices. Things like computers and switching power supplies were barely on the horizon. There was very little to interfere with X10 powerline communication in an average home, and those early BSR modules worked pretty well.
Fast-forward a few decades. Our homes are becoming filled with more and more electronic devices. We have computers, media systems, flat-panel televisions, electronic gaming systems, electronically-controlled major appliances, and compact fluorescent lights. Many of these new devices incorporate switching power supplies. The AC powerline environment has vastly changed, but the X10 protocol has remained the same. Because of this, X10 devices don’t always work correctly “out of the box”.
Some people quickly throw in the towel and criticize X10 devices for being junk. Actually, they are the same devices that worked very well when they were developed several decades ago. All we have to do today to achieve that same level of reliability is to provide a similar environment for their powerline communications. Below is an overview of the steps to be taken to achieve reliable X10 operation. Other documents will go into each of these steps in much greater detail...
Read Jeff's articles (and my FAQs) and you'll have a better picture of what's really going on... ;) There are PLENTY of non-X10 Staff folks here ready, willing and able to help you out! ;D
I have read all I can handle so now I will write. All of this so-called "help" is moot. Every posting which is meant to tell me why my Mini-Controller and Lamp Modules suddenly stopped working is simply meant to make me feel stupid.
I'm told here that I'm just an idiot because I don't understand how it works. I shouldn't have to! The product is sold in the store as "plug it in and it works!"
I think Charles is long gone.
The nice thing is that even though the origanal poster may be long gone it will benefit many here now and even more who haven't joined yet. Keep up the good work gil shultz(http://www.bdshost.com/X10/lpup.gif)---(http://www.bdshost.com/X10/lpup.gif)---(http://www.bdshost.com/X10/lpup.gif)---(http://www.bdshost.com/X10/lpup.gif)---(http://www.bdshost.com/X10/lpup.gif)----KDR
Good Evening,
It is interesting to see that my useless posting was a bad use of my time. That decision cannot be made by one for all. For this being an old question and the original person who posted it being gone there sure are a lot of replies and a lot more people have read it. Did I waste my time, I cannot make that decision, the people that glean information from this will. Did they understand what I stated, many probably did not, some did and some learned a bit. It is my believe that if you understand signal attenuation you can resolve over 50% of the problems; if you call it something else you simply do not understand it.
For me the instructions etc are nice and yes I do read them, I believe in the RTFM (Read The Flipping Manual) axiom. I personally would get maybe 50 times the benefit if the schematics were also available but most of the people using X10 could not read them much less fully understand what is on them. Understanding the basic principals makes troubleshooting a lot less work. Yes there are some good schematics available on the web but not for all modules.
Did I waist my time, I do not think so!
Gil Shultz