X10 Community Forum

🔌General Home Automation => Automating Your House => Troubleshooting Automation Problems => Topic started by: culver on December 07, 2008, 06:21:25 PM

Title: Metal halide lamps cancelling X-10 signal
Post by: culver on December 07, 2008, 06:21:25 PM

I am new to this forum, but have been using X-10 gear for years.  Today I encountered a new problem, I hope you can help:

We are installing a German light fixture over a salt water fish tank. 

We installed the five ballast fixture, ballasts and X-10 appliance modules.  The two fluorescent ballasts work fine with the X-10 modules but activating any of the there three separate metal halide ballasts totally cancels any X-10 commands.
 
I've determined it's the bulbs and not the ballasts because the very same ballasts work fine with the fluorescent tubes.  Any ideas?  Will the XPPF filter address this, or are my troubles deeper.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Title: Re: Metal halide lamps cancelling X-10 signal
Post by: Brian H on December 08, 2008, 06:53:11 AM

I would try an XPPF as it sounds like the lamps are causing power line noise.
Just watch your total amps as I believe it is a 5 amp filter. There are heavier filters by other manufacturers if needed.

Title: Re: Metal halide lamps cancelling X-10 signal
Post by: culver on December 08, 2008, 12:55:26 PM

Thank you.   The ballasts are 250 watts each so I am comfortably within the rating of the XPPF.  I'll give that a go and report back.

Title: Which filter to buy? Metal halide lamps cancelling X-10 signal
Post by: culver on December 08, 2008, 04:48:19 PM

I went to buy a XPPF filter, but note there are quite a few for sale, including a hardwired unit called the ACT AC100 which mentions ballast issues.   Should I stick with the XPPF, or try another?

http://www.smarthomeusa.com/Shop/Noise-Blocks-Filters/

Title: Re: Metal halide lamps cancelling X-10 signal
Post by: Brian H on December 09, 2008, 06:49:02 AM

The AC100 seems to be a choke designed to lower noise from a HID ballast.
I would think the XPPF maybe a better choice if the fixtures have AC plugs on them and they are designed for X10 power line signal frequency.