X10 Community Forum
🔌General Home Automation => Automating Your House => Troubleshooting Automation Problems => Topic started by: flimflam on June 19, 2014, 12:04:56 PM
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After extensive searches on the web, to no avail, I decided to do my own "range" testing of the MS13 motion sensor.
All testing was performed using fresh AA batteries in the MS.
My results are as follows:
Test A: thru/via an open garage door to my workbench.
Door Door Door
open partial Closed
Both units w/o
passive antenna 25' 10' 5'
CM15 w/o ant, 90' 80' 70'
MS13 w/ant
CM15 w/ant, 15' 15'
MS13 w/o ant.
Both w/ ant 100' 70' 70'
Test B: attached screened in porch, with u/v glass in door and Tyvec insulation
Door Door Door
Open Partial Shut
Both units w/o
passive antenna 15' 12' 13'
CM15 w/o ant, 50' 50' 45'
MS13 w/ant
Test B is thru Tyvec house insulation and our "tinted" windows on the sliding glass door. Tyvec is essentially tinfoil, inside the wall. Sliding door has the "u/v" tinting.
The "passive" antenna definitely increases the range if mounted/taped to the side of the MS13, and as shown above, the antenna only provides a marginal improvement if used on the CM15, either in conjunction with, or by itself.
As a side note, I also determined that the MS13 draws about 0.05 ma in an "idle" state, and 2.5 ma (for about 1 sec) when transmitting/motion sensed.
My passive antenna is the one mentioned in this forum, and is a piece of unstripped 14 gauge wire, 18 1/2 inches long, taped to the left side of the MS13.
Hope this helps someone, and maybe explains some of the transmission problems using the various motion sensors.
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Thank you for your tests and posting the results.
Helpful from me.