X10 Community Forum
🔌General Home Automation => Automating Your House => Troubleshooting Automation Problems => Topic started by: tjlwolf on April 03, 2008, 01:07:54 PM
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I just received my IR 543 and 1 light switch module. I want to be able to control my lights in the art nook in my entry hall. (for starters) I wired it up and plugged in the controller to the bathroom 5 feet away from the switch to test it and the light works perfect. However, when i move the controller to the living room (for permanat placement) 20 ft away and try several plugs i get zero response from the light :-\ Sounds like the phase problem right? Im not goin gthrough all that! Is there any other options?
Im going to be pretty dissapointed if there isnt...
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If you want things to work correctly, eventually you're going to run into an issue that requires some additional investment of time and/or money... you're right in that it sounds like it could be a phasing issue. I solved a similar problem using a passive coupler (in my case, just a $1 capacitor strung across a new 240V breaker in my panel).
You can troubleshoot, or just limit yourself to the parameters within which your devices work--e.g., plug the controller into a bathroom outlet & deal with it.
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Update: I can plug the IR543 into EVERY socket in the house AND outside and it works! Just not the 4 in the home theatre room! WTH??? I unplugged every device I have hooked up in the living room. Everything, and still does not work. The only thing I have in there out of the ordinary is a Lutron IR light switch. Surely that cant be the problem...?
Oh and thanks for the earlier response. I'll sit on the toilet and work my hall light. If you dont have anything constructive to add then dont bother.
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................... Im not goin gthrough all that!
I messed around with a phase issue for way too long.... before I decided resolved it. I simply purchased a dryer-plug passive phase coupler (http://www.smarthome.com/4816b2.html). It plugged in between the receptacle and the dryer plug... takes like 3 seconds to install. I really wish I'd done that on day one!
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Well i read to turn on the dryer and try it and Bingo, the light came on. Though it will not turn off! :D Sometimes will, sometimes wont!
So i turned off the dryer and before I unplugged the unit i hit the on button again and it still works! OFF on off ON, works! How can this be? A few times it would turn on and not off.....hmmm. Will the plug in fix this issue?
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Oh and thanks for the earlier response. I'll sit on the toilet and work my hall light. If you dont have anything constructive to add then dont bother.
You sound like you've misunderstood... I've run into the same problem you had. I had two choices, either 1) deal with the way it works, or 2) troubleshoot the problem. It sounds like in your first post that the IR543 works while plugged into the bathroom, but you don't want to troubleshoot phasing problems... so... you have that choice to make.
Update: I can plug the IR543 into EVERY socket in the house AND outside and it works! Just not the 4 in the home theatre room! WTH??? I unplugged every device I have hooked up in the living room. Everything, and still does not work.
I don't understand the quoted post above--the IR543 works, or it doesn't work? Are you using an IR remote to send the X10 signal, or pressing buttons on the IR543? If your problem is in fact that the signal won't bridge the phase gap, unplugging things isn't going to help. Try a phase coupler of some sort.
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Well i read to turn on the dryer and try it and Bingo, the light came on. Though it will not turn off! :D Sometimes will, sometimes wont!
So i turned off the dryer and before I unplugged the unit i hit the on button again and it still works! OFF on off ON, works! How can this be? A few times it would turn on and not off.....hmmm. Will the plug in fix this issue?
How about that... a phasing problem...! As I mentioned in my first post, I solved my phasing problem with a capacitor across a two-phase breaker. Cheap, simple, and quick. You can fix your problem with a phase coupler, but be prepared to troubleshoot in case the "can't turn it off" problem is a result of something else...
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Update: I can plug the IR543 into EVERY socket in the house AND outside and it works! Just not the 4 in the home theatre room! WTH??? I unplugged every device I have hooked up in the living room. Everything, and still does not work.
I don't understand the quoted post above--the IR543 works, or it doesn't work? Are you using an IR remote to send the X10 signal, or pressing buttons on the IR543? If your problem is in fact that the signal won't bridge the phase gap, unplugging things isn't going to help. Try a phase coupler of some sort.
I meant that the device works perfect in every socket I plug it into except (of course) the 4 sockets i need it to work on ....