X10 Community Forum

🔌General Home Automation => Automating Your House => Troubleshooting Automation Problems => Topic started by: Brandt on September 05, 2009, 06:54:06 PM

Title: SS13a doesn't play well with RR501
Post by: Brandt on September 05, 2009, 06:54:06 PM

I had a TM751 that worked well with my palm pad and ss13a. Then one day it died. I replaced it with an RR501 because I also needed it to receive PLC commands.

Now the palm pad works decent (not perfect) with the RR501, and the SS13a almost never works with it. If I put the RR501 almost right next to the SS13a it works ok. The battery voltage of the SS13a still reads over 3 volts so it is good i think.

I've also tried the surge supressor trick where you put the lamp module and the rr501 on the same power strip to work in a quiet environment and it still has problems receiving. especially from the ss13a.

anyone have ideas?

Title: Re: SS13a doesn't play well with RR501
Post by: Brian H on September 06, 2009, 10:09:54 AM

Was the TM751 a fairly new one? The new ones where much better at receiving RF commands in my tests. Over the older TM751 and even an RR501.

Title: Re: SS13a doesn't play well with RR501
Post by: Brandt on September 07, 2009, 11:06:37 PM

the TM751 was about a year old, when i came home one day to find it dead.

Title: Re: SS13a doesn't play well with RR501
Post by: Brian H on September 08, 2009, 06:20:54 AM

My Date Code 08D14 [14th week of 2008] has the newer receiver in it yours may also have had the newer receiver in it. Mine received better than my RR501 Date Code 02F23 [23rd week of 2002]. The SS13A is no known for great communication distances in some installations. This maybe why your TM751 had enough signal strength to receive it while the RR501 didn't.
Do a search here as I know some have used a small piece of wire next to the SS13As body to make the signal stronger.

Title: Re: SS13a doesn't play well with RR501
Post by: Charles Sullivan on September 08, 2009, 10:49:55 PM

Quote from: Brian H on September 08, 2009, 06:20:54 AM

My Date Code 08D14 [14th week of 2008] has the newer receiver in it yours may also have had the newer receiver in it. Mine received better than my RR501 Date Code 02F23 [23rd week of 2002]. The SS13A is no known for great communication distances in some installations. This maybe why your TM751 had enough signal strength to receive it while the RR501 didn't.
Do a search here as I know some have used a small piece of wire next to the SS13As body to make the signal stronger.

Here's a reference to the passive antenna.  It does work.

http://jvde.us/x10/passive.pdf

Title: Re: SS13a doesn't play well with RR501
Post by: Brandt on September 23, 2009, 01:48:46 PM

The passive antenna worked but that is ridiculous. I switched back to a TM751, removed the antenna and it works flawlessly. Eventually I am going to get a W800usb.