X10 Community Forum
🔌General Home Automation => Automating Your House => Troubleshooting Automation Problems => Topic started by: tjlwolf on April 04, 2008, 10:49:31 PM
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Is there a tutorial on exactly how to do this??? Opening up my breaker box scares me.... Ive seen articles but nothing like a step by step process..
Like on YOUTUBE! :'(
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There are types that plug into a dryer plug. This post has a list of a few different types of passive couplers: [VOLUNTEERS] *Comprehensive* Filter, Passive Coupler & Signal Analyzer LINK List (http://www.x10community.com/forums/index.php?topic=11184.0)
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Is there a tutorial on exactly how to do this??? Opening up my breaker box scares me.... Ive seen articles but nothing like a step by step process..
Like on YOUTUBE! :'(
Working in the breaker box can be daunting. Even with the main breaker OFF there is the incomming line area where 240V is still present. If the instruction sheet with the coupler repeater don't give you a warm and fuzzy, think about having an electrician do it.
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Listen to what is being recommended. I bought one of the phase couplers that plugged into the dryer receptacle a long time ago and it was one of the BEST things I ever did for X10 reliability.
I have a whole house full of this stuff and since buying the coupler it has been about 98% reliable. The best part is that you don't have to mess with household wiring at all.
Plug it in and you are done. And if you move it is easy to take it with you.
Smarthome has some good ones. That is where I got mine.
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This has been my experience as well. The plugin phase coupler seems the way to go, unless you have some access problem to the dryer outlet.
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The dryer thing may work well but frankly,
I would buy the XTB IIR and if you are uncomfortable (though it is not difficult) -- have an electrician wire it into your box.
You could also wire up your own adapter to the dryer plug if you want.
XTB IIR will outperform ANY other phase coupler in my opinion. Your mileage may vary so no flames please. :)
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Well received my dryer phase coupler........didnt work at all...dangit!! :-\
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I tried one of the dryer outlet combination couplers and repeaters. I can say that it was by far the worse X10 related product I have ever bought, and the only one that I ended up returning.
The repeater function got very, very confused if it "saw" any of X10's extended commands, like the ACK returning from a 2-way lamp module, and started to continuously output garbage onto the powerlines until you unplugged it.
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Hey Walt - could you please tell us the make & model of the coupler/repeater the was bogus?
Thanks
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Well received my dryer phase coupler........didnt work at all...dangit!! :-\
Now that you have the phases coupled you can focus on finding and eliminating noise sources and signal suckers.
If you give more information on what didn't work then we can help guide you to solve the problem.
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Both the wire in Leviton HCA02 and the Smarthome dryer outlet 4826B have been mentioned in therads. My Smarthome one did not like some extended commands. Seems what House Code and Unit Code I used; could trigger the signal firestorm while others seemed OK [in short tests]. I now use an ACT CR134 wire in unit; that so far seems good. Though I have a mixed system with Insteon devices that also are using a Primary X10 Address.
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Hey Walt - could you please tell us the make & model of the coupler/repeater the was bogus?
Both the wire in Leviton HCA02 and the Smarthome dryer outlet 4826B have been mentioned in therads. My Smarthome one did not like some extended commands. Seems what House Code and Unit Code I used; could trigger the signal firestorm while others seemed OK [in short tests].
Yep, is was the Smarthome coupler/repeater 4826B. >:(