X10 Community Forum
🔌General Home Automation => Automating Your House => Topic started by: paul warshawsky on September 24, 2006, 09:11:55 PM
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I have to install another transeiver in a particular room and I will need to use the first code, which makes the solenoid in the transeiver click (which I find annoying). Other than using a CM15a instead of a TM751 does anyone have any suggestions? I'm tempted to open the TM751 and see if I can cut the wires to the solenoid (probably not a great idea - has anyone done this?) Also does anyone know if having to CM15a's in the same house would cause any problems? Obviously one of them would have nothing programmed into it.
Thanks,
Paul
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There are several users running dual CM15As, There are other transcievers becides the TM751 and the CM15A which ones don't click ??? Perhaps someone else can answer that! ???
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If you don't need to use all the unit codes, consider using a RR501 Transceiver on which a slider switch allows choosing either unit 1 or 9 for the built-in appliance module relay.
Alternatively, if RF range is the issue a single WGL V572A All Housecode Transceiver (~ $80) will probably suffice for your entire house, and it has no built-in appliance module.
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The RR501 if you can find one has the choice of unit 1 or 9 as mentioned. Also unlike the TM751 it is polite and will try not to step on a X10 Powerline signal if present from another sender. Also the RR501 can be polled for its on or off state.
The WGL V572AB is great and can do all 16 house codes or be programed to do only some.
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I have to install another transeiver in a particular room and I will need to use the first code,
Why?
...which makes the solenoid in the transeiver click (which I find annoying).
...I'm tempted to open the TM751 and see if I can cut the wires to the solenoid (probably not a great idea - has anyone done this?)
With 256 available choices (16 HC x 16 UC) *AND* a CM15A, please explain why you see this as your only alternative.
Also does anyone know if having to CM15a's in the same house would cause any problems?
One isn't *BUGGY* enough for you? ;)
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I have used an older firmware and buggy CM15A as a transceiver only. Not a cheap way to go but if it is sitting in the box as not used maybe ::)
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TTA,
Why, you ask? Good question! Simple - I have a palmpad and an ir minicontroller (IR543) that I would like to use to control 4 lights in that room. I'm stubborn and would like the four lights to correspond to the first four buttons on the palmpad. I realize I could set the palmpad to be unit codes 9-16, but the ir mini controller can only be set to be 1-4 or 5-8. So if I want to set it up exactly as I like, then I have to use 1-4!
Anyhow I've taken my CM15a which had to be moved out of the room my computer is in since it stopped working when I bought a new monitor (still not sure exactly how that happened) and I've moved it down to the basement (the room in question) and this has solved my problem, so don't worry anyone I will not attempt to cut wires in the transceiver!
Paul
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Paul.
As to your monitor problem, sounds to me it's a driver problem. What O/S does your PC have? A new monitor should not cause a PC to quit.
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Why, you ask? Good question! Simple - I have a palmpad and an ir minicontroller (IR543) that I would like to use to control 4 lights in that room. I'm stubborn and would like the four lights to correspond to the first four buttons on the palmpad...
Ah! That logic I can understand (being married 32+ years!). 8)
...Anyhow I've taken my CM15a which had to be moved out of the room my computer is in since it stopped working when I bought a new monitor (still not sure exactly how that happened)...
I just checked your stats - you're a "Founding Member" here! :o
You've gone through the Troubleshooting Pictorial in my LINK, read Uncle Phil's articles about noise / signal strength / filters and still haven't figured out what happened with the new monitor? ;)
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TTA,
Thanks. Yes I am an old-timer. I haven't posted in a long time because everything more or less worked after the CM15a was changed three times by X10 and many of the glaring bugs were worked out! Indeed I did help with some of the inital troubleshooting back then. I should have learned my lesson that once you get the system to work you should never change ANYTHING in your house! I guess I do understand how the new monitor affected transmission from the CM15a - what I guess I'm saying is that I'm suprised that it did. The other thing that threw me off is that initially the problem seemed to be isolated to macros (I thought the timers and RF controls were working ok - turned out I just hadn't noticed that they weren't working) and this seemed like a strange symptom to see from a noise/signal strength issue.
I feel bad for someone who starts off with a monitor (or some other device) that makes the CM15a not work - at least in my case I could figure out what caused it and come up with a solution! I was lucky - I didn't even have to spend any money on the solution! I have no filters/amplifiers/phase couplers and I still have a system that works!
Thanks to all for the help,
Paul
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Paul,
I'm curious. Exactly what was the new monitor doing, and what were you able to do to solve your problem?
I had to recently replace my monitor. My old AOL 20" CRT monitor developed the worst case of jaundice I've seen. Everything suddenly got a yellow cast to it. I got a digital flat panel monitor, shut the box down, unplugged to old monitor, plugged in the new monitor and rebooted. Nice new bright display and 1280x1024 resolution, and no yellow. And, AHP was happy as the proverbial clam.
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Dan,
I can't say with 100% certainty that the problem is the new monitor (I suppose I could plug the CM15a back into the outlet in question and see if the failure recurs, then unplug the monitor and see if it fixes the problem, but honestly I'm not that curious.)
Here's what happend:
1) Got a new monitor. It is plugged into a UPS on a different socket (but same circuit) as CM15a.
2) CM15a stopped working. In retrospect, I think it was "working" but many messages were not being received by modules. The earliest symptom was that my macros wouldn't work at all, or wouldn't work correctly (i.e. 2 of 3 lights would go on). I later realized many lights controlled by timers didn't work either.
3) Before I thought about the possibility that the new monitor was "responsible" there was a period of time where the monitor was OFF, though still plugged in, and I still had trouble (strange, but possible, I suppose)
4) Tried resetting CM15a by clearing, downloading, taking out batteries, no effect
5) Moved CM15a to another room (now disconnected from USB to computer) and it works fine (i.e. not faulty.)
The monitor is a 19 inch LCD. It wasn't the only thing I changed - I also removed a power supply for a pair of speakers from yet another outlet, but I doubt that made a difference.
I think the moral (for me at least) is: If X10 stops working, think about what is new in the vicinity, because anything can cause interference.
Paul
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All,
I guess I'm not the only one annoyed by the click of the transceiver, I came across this site (while looking something else up on the x10 forum) which details how to modify the transceiver to not click! It's too complex for me (I was thinking of just disabling the ability to control an appliance from the transceiver, this acutally replaces the relay with a solid state relay!
http://www.idobartana.com/hakb/index.htm (http://www.idobartana.com/hakb/index.htm)
I found this while looking to see if there was a way to deal with compact florescent bulbs and lamp modules. I'm curious if anyone has done the modification of the lamp module to diable local sensing in order to use it with the florescent bulbs!
Paul
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All,
I guess I'm not the only one annoyed by the click of the transceiver, I came across this site (while looking something else up on the x10 forum) which details how to modify the transceiver to not click! It's too complex for me (I was thinking of just disabling the ability to control an appliance from the transceiver, this acutally replaces the relay with a solid state relay!
http://www.idobartana.com/hakb/index.htm (http://www.idobartana.com/hakb/index.htm)
I found this while looking to see if there was a way to deal with compact florescent bulbs and lamp modules. I'm curious if anyone has done the modification of the lamp module to diable local sensing in order to use it with the florescent bulbs!
Paul
Unless the CFL is designed to be dimmable, you'd be asking for trouble operating it with a lamp module.
Many users have reported success in controlling a CFL with a LM15A Socket Rocket - it's quiet, has no local sensing, and is non-dimmable. However it supports the other "lamp" commands, e.g., All Lights On.
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Dan,
I can't say with 100% certainty that the problem is the new monitor (I suppose I could plug the CM15a back into the outlet in question and see if the failure recurs, then unplug the monitor and see if it fixes the problem, but honestly I'm not that curious.)
Here's what happend:
1) Got a new monitor. It is plugged into a UPS on a different socket (but same circuit) as CM15a.
2) CM15a stopped working. In retrospect, I think it was "working" but many messages were not being received by modules. The earliest symptom was that my macros wouldn't work at all, or wouldn't work correctly (i.e. 2 of 3 lights would go on). I later realized many lights controlled by timers didn't work either.
3) Before I thought about the possibility that the new monitor was "responsible" there was a period of time where the monitor was OFF, though still plugged in, and I still had trouble (strange, but possible, I suppose)
4) Tried resetting CM15a by clearing, downloading, taking out batteries, no effect
5) Moved CM15a to another room (now disconnected from USB to computer) and it works fine (i.e. not faulty.)
The monitor is a 19 inch LCD. It wasn't the only thing I changed - I also removed a power supply for a pair of speakers from yet another outlet, but I doubt that made a difference.
I think the moral (for me at least) is: If X10 stops working, think about what is new in the vicinity, because anything can cause interference.
Paul
Best thing to do is have the PC and Monitor on the UPS and the CM15A on a normal outlet. Plug the CM15 into the same outet the UPS is. If the outlet the UPS is on is not a double outlet, get a 3-prong cube tap, plug that into the outlet and the UPS and the 15 on the cube tap. UPS units are notroius for "eating" X10 signals.
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I'm curious if anyone has done the modification of the lamp module to disable local sensing in order to use it with the florescent bulbs!
Unless the CFL is designed to be dimmable, you'd be asking for trouble operating it with a lamp module.
I agree with Charles that you shouldn't use a lamp module with a CFL unless it is dimable. I have cut the diode on several appliance modules for use with CFLs and the mod works great. Strangely enough, the local control still seems to work on CFLs even with the diode cut. I have a few theories as to why but I haven't proved any of them.
Many users have reported success in controlling a CFL with a LM15A Socket Rocket - it's quiet, has no local sensing, and is non-dimmable. However it supports the other "lamp" commands, e.g., All Lights On.
Good point about the SocketRocket supporting "lamp" commands. That and the loud clunk are the two things I don't like about using appliance modules for CFLs. I should pick some up the next time they have an X for 1 sale on them.
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I have done TParents SSR mod to a Lamp Module and also removed the sensing stuff. Works OK with CF L's.