X10 Community Forum

🔌General Home Automation => Automating Your House => Topic started by: Youngblood on December 17, 2012, 01:49:37 PM

Title: Bluetooth mouse turns on X10 lightswitch?
Post by: Youngblood on December 17, 2012, 01:49:37 PM
I do not consider this to be a problem, just thought that I would mention it ... and I won't be surprised if someone here (Brian H?  ;)) points out to me that this has been a known issue for a long time.

I first configured my house for an X10 security system (PS561 Security Console ++) in ~1996.

Last year my sister gave me a broken & discarded-as-worthless 2009 Dell Inspiron 1545 laptop that had been abandoned by one of her daughter's (apparently, well-off) friends at college (Sis was aiding in a move to a new apartment and stumbled across the thing and got the story from her daughter).  Terry well-knew of my hobby & success in fixing such devices (I rebuilt a couple of Dell Latitude C640s for her & her daughter a couple of years ago), and brought it back for me.

I rebuilt it and then added a few improvements, one of them being an internal Bluetooth module ... I then acquired a BT mouse.

I use the laptop (now my favorite) on my kitchen table ... and, often during use, the BT turns on the X10 wall switch for the TV Room that is located ~10' from the laptop.  I know the BT to be the culprit after switching it off and using a USB mouse instead.

I prefer the BT mouse (and being able to easily use/synch my cellphone with the laptop), so I happily live with the TV Room light popping on.   :)

Just wondering if anyone else had run into this.
Title: Re: Bluetooth mouse turns on X10 lightswitch?
Post by: dhouston on December 17, 2012, 02:10:29 PM
Bluetooth uses 2.4GHz and very low power so it is difficult to understand the mechanism operating here - is Bluetooth affecting an X10 transceiver or acting directly on the switch in some manner? Some X10 wall switches left a couple of PIC pins floating. This link explains how one person fixed a random on problem.