X10 Community Forum
🔌General Home Automation => Automating Your House => Troubleshooting Automation Problems => Topic started by: eternal on April 21, 2009, 08:38:02 PM
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i live in a fairly old house and basically my x10 modules wont work unless they are plugged into outlets on the same breaker, so if i have the transceiver plugged in one room and a lamp module plugged into another, nothing happens. :(
is there a way around this?
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i live in a fairly old house and basically my x10 modules wont work unless they are plugged into outlets on the same breaker, so if i have the transceiver plugged in one room and a lamp module plugged into another, nothing happens. :(
is there a way around this?
I'm assuming you have your house codes and unit codes set right....
:' Sounds like a "Phase" issue...... You could get a Phase Coupler and should fix your issue.
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You need a Phase coupler... Do a search on here for it.
http://forums.x10.com/index.php?topic=7951.0
Here are some:
http://www.smarthome.com/_/ProductResults.aspx?Ntt=phase%20coupler
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alright thanks
if i had the house and unit codes set wrong, it wouldnt work in the same room either o_O
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If you have a 220v dryer or oven you can turn it on and see if the x10 module turns on. If it does than you do need a phase coupler like everyone said. If not than it could be some noise problems on the power line, in that case you would need some noise filters. ;)
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You might want to read the troubleshooting series I wrote:
http://jvde.us/x10_troubleshooting.htm
The ones on Passive Couplers and Filters should help you.
Jeff
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The dryer and stove trick doesn't always work to find 100% need for a phase coupler. Some people have tried it and it didn't help there problem but buying a phase coupler did.
I might be thinking to much but I would say..... If you live in a house with 2 power phases like most people do. Then a Phase coupler of some kind is a must or multi transceivers like other automation platforms use.
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The dryer and stove trick doesn't always work to find 100% need for a phase coupler. Some people have tried it and it didn't help there problem but buying a phase coupler did...
Good point. If turning on the stove/dryer does help, then a coupler most likely will help. However even when it doesn't help a coupler can help.
The signal has to find a path from one phase to the other. Without a coupler this may mean that the X10 signal has to go all the way to the street and back to travel through the transformer there. In the old days before many of our common signal suckers and noise generators this worked more often. So a signal problem can and often needs to be helped in more than one way.
You might want to read the troubleshooting series I wrote:
http://jvde.us/x10_troubleshooting.htm (http://jvde.us/x10_troubleshooting.htm)
The ones on Passive Couplers and Filters should help you.
Jeff
Ditto on the above! Jeff is one of our foremost signal experts here. The products that he makes or some of the best for assuring a reliable setup.
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This is the coupler I bought..... :)% It did the trick for me !!!!
http://www.smarthome.com/4816B2/SignaLinc-trade-Plug-In-Phase-Coupler/p.aspx
Also if you look to the right of the page you can get them for $16.99 (opened box special) This is how I got mine and it works GREAT.. Or buy a new one for $29.99
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FYI: The 4816 contains nothing more than a 0.1uF capacitor in series with a small 18uH inductor wired directly across the two hot phases.
Jeff
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FYI: The 4816 contains nothing more than a 0.1uF capacitor in series with a small 18uH inductor wired directly across the two hot phases.
Jeff
:' I have no idea what you just said or what any of that means........
>! I just know it's working for me
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The .1 uf capacitor is what most use to pass the X10 signal between the phases.
The added small coil tunes the coupler to be more selective in what it passes.
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FYI: The 4816 contains nothing more than a 0.1uF capacitor in series with a small 18uH inductor wired directly across the two hot phases.
Jeff
:' I have no idea what you just said or what any of that means........
Just that it is only a buck worth of components that actually do the coupling.
Jeff
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FYI: The 4816 contains nothing more than a 0.1uF capacitor in series with a small 18uH inductor wired directly across the two hot phases....
Yes but it comes in such a pretty package. ;D
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Yes a pretty package that anyone can install.
I know to most on here even me...That installing a .1 uf capacitor somewhere would be easy. But not everyone should do it or would have a clue. So the extra money for a already built plug in will save there house and health.
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Yes using the capacitor is not always the best thing to do.
Most would add it inside the breaker box and would be a code violation.
I did at one time ad I used a AC Power Line rated one. Made for AC Power Line use by UL and a few other authorities.
I would not trust a 600 volt one most say to use.
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A .1uF capacitor has a capacitive reactance of 13 ohms at 120KHz. The 18uH inductor cancels that out, providing a low-impedance path for the 120KHz signal. I use .22uF and 8.2uH in the XTB for the same function.
I agree with Brian that capacitors rated for 250VAC across line operation are the best for this application. However, a metalized polyester capacitor rated for 600 or 630VDC should also be safe. The ones I use from CDE are rated 630VDC / 250VAC.
FYI: Unless they changed it recently, the capacitor in a 4816H SignaLink is only rated 400VDC.
Brian is also correct that a capacitor should not be installed across two breakers in the distribution panel as it will violate the electrical code.
The point I was trying to make earlier is that the SignaLink is a very inexpensive coupler in a convenient package. The XPCP made by X10 is a much more elaborate unit with twin tuned circuits and complete isolation between them. That coupler is code compliant when installed in a standard electrical box adjacent to the utility panel.
Jeff