X10 Community Forum

💬General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: jfaska on December 24, 2019, 12:27:47 PM

Title: my cm15a has died
Post by: jfaska on December 24, 2019, 12:27:47 PM
My cm15a has passed on and I'm looking for suggestions. I know I can buy a new one and keep everything the same, but it's probably time to consider other options. Smart plugs are cheap, but rely on the internet being up :(

What are other people doing?
How easy is it to use one of the other x10 controllers with the pix10hub?

Thanks in advance
Title: Re: my cm15a has died
Post by: petera on December 24, 2019, 01:13:28 PM
If you want to retire your X10 setup ZWave is probably your best bet as far as HG is concerned. It’s not without its problems either so maybe the cost of a new CM15 might be money worth spending.
Title: Re: my cm15a has died
Post by: brobin on December 24, 2019, 03:34:48 PM
My cm15a has passed on and I'm looking for suggestions. I know I can buy a new one and keep everything the same, but it's probably time to consider other options. Smart plugs are cheap, but rely on the internet being up :(

What are other people doing?
How easy is it to use one of the other x10 controllers with the pix10hub?

Thanks in advance

If the X10 stuff you have is otherwise working well you might consider a Smartenit Harmony.  For $75 (P2 w/2412U PLM) it controls X10, Insteon and ZigBee devices and is compatible with Alexa/Google Home.  It's not as sophisticated as the PiX10Hub but it has the advantage of being ready to use right out of the box with an Android/IOS app an web portal.  Download the app and plug it into your router and you're ready to go.
 https://smartenit.com/product-category/gateways-hubs/
Title: Re: my cm15a has died
Post by: Tuicemen on December 24, 2019, 03:41:07 PM
I wouldn't count out your Cm15A just yet I have managed to bring a few back!
Title: Re: my cm15a has died
Post by: jfaska on December 24, 2019, 08:31:40 PM
any suggestions? AHP says that it's not connected (and none of my schedules are working).

Meanwhile I'll look at the other suggestions. I think I have a firecracker and CM11 in a box too, but by themselves they can't replace the cm15.

Thanks
Title: Re: my cm15a has died
Post by: Tuicemen on December 24, 2019, 08:44:29 PM
Ok that just means the USB Driver/connection isn't working.
Have you tried reinstalling the USB drivers or another USB port?
Have you tried connecting to another PC/Laptop?
the cm11 can use AHP
Title: Re: my cm15a has died
Post by: jfaska on December 24, 2019, 10:54:35 PM
Just tried a second computer and it also did not see the CM15, so while I can look for another cable I doubt that's it. If it were, then my timers would have still been working, but they are not. That's what made me try to reconnect to the CM15.

I had forgotten that AHP could work with the CM11. I'll have to try to find it and then get an adapter. Anything special I need to look for?

Thanks!
Title: Re: my cm15a has died
Post by: Tuicemen on December 25, 2019, 07:29:02 AM
So you normally run the cm15 disconnected?
Remove the batteries and clean contacts..
I've not ran batteries in my Cm15s for over 8 years your timers wouldn't work correctly if batteries have failed. dirty contacts can prevent them from working
I'd abandon AHP and move to something more powerful like HomeGenie. If you give up on X10 you'd have to do that anyways.
Get a cheap Raspberry Pi ZeroW and connect your cm15, 11 or 19 to it.
Title: Re: my cm15a has died
Post by: jfaska on December 25, 2019, 03:15:06 PM
I run with the CM15a plugged in, but not connected to the computer. It was working fine till about a week ago, but stopped.

I tried cleaning the contacts and putting in batteries, but APH still does not see the CM15a.

Pix10Hub sounds interesting, but I need a working interface for it.

Guess I either need to buy a USB to Serial adapter or another CM15a. Then I can see if hooking it up to a PIXHUB makes sense. Is there a link to what hardware is needed (I see the links for installing)?

Thanks for all the help
Title: Re: my cm15a has died
Post by: Tuicemen on December 25, 2019, 06:06:10 PM
The PiX10Hub requires a cm15 or cm19. You can use  a cm11 with the proper addaptor I'm told but dont have one to test with a Zero w pi. There is a thread stating what hatdware is required and links to where is the best place to order from. I think it is in the PiX10Hub general section.
Home Gwnie will install and run from Windows and since it uses different drivers for X10 it maybe  worth installing it to test your CM15 with. You can get the windows installer from http://homegenie.it
Title: Re: my cm15a has died
Post by: jfaska on December 25, 2019, 07:39:17 PM
cleaned the battery contacts and put in new ones. Now the CM15a shows connected, until I plug it in. Then it disconnects again :(
Title: Re: my cm15a has died
Post by: Tuicemen on December 25, 2019, 08:28:25 PM
Ok pull batteries and try without them. If it shows still disconnected when plugged in try to clearvits memory and purge macros while unplugged.
Title: Re: my cm15a has died
Post by: jfaska on December 25, 2019, 10:27:50 PM
Without batteries I can't connect to it at all. With batteries I can purge running macros, and clear memory. But as soon as I plug the CM15 in, the device disconnects.

Thanks
Title: Re: my cm15a has died
Post by: Brian H on December 26, 2019, 06:20:53 AM
Looking at the CM15A's schematic in the FCC Database.
Your symptoms sound like the AC run power supply has a problem.
When not powered by AC the batteries are running the CM15A with limited features. Until they are exhausted. You could do somethings like clear the memory.
When reconnected to the AC the supply is making the CM15A malfunction.

You mentioned a CM11A. Although later AHP revisions support it. There are varied reports here on how well it worked.
Title: Re: my cm15a has died
Post by: HA Dave on December 26, 2019, 09:14:17 AM
... Your symptoms sound like the AC run power supply has a problem.

My "gut feeling" would be reversed polarity. 
Title: Re: my cm15a has died
Post by: petera on December 26, 2019, 09:56:38 AM
cleaned the battery contacts and put in new ones. Now the CM15a shows connected, until I plug it in. Then it disconnects again :(

Your CM15 issue sounds terminal. If you’re going to continue this route I’d invest in a new one.

Regarding your CM11, I can assure you it works fine with HomeGenie and many other controllers out there, most based around a Raspberry Pi solution but not all, with the aid of a serial to usb cable albeit without the benefit of RF communication.

I wouldn’t invest too much time and energy into AHP. Even Mr T realized this a while back.
Title: Re: my cm15a has died
Post by: brobin on December 26, 2019, 10:45:33 AM
Without batteries I can't connect to it at all. With batteries I can purge running macros, and clear memory. But as soon as I plug the CM15 in, the device disconnects.

Thanks
If you can't fix it I have two CM15A's I'm not using that I'm too lazy to post on ebay. PM me if you need one.
Title: Re: my cm15a has died
Post by: Brian H on December 27, 2019, 03:36:09 PM
My thought are dried out capacitors. In the AC supply. Too much AC ripple.

This is from the FCC Database Schematic of the through hole controller modelCM15A. The present surface mounted controller CM15A model is a different design.
When the AC run power supply, 30 DC Volts is not there. The Battery DC is routed through a diode into the small 5 volt regulator. When AC is On the diode is back biased and the battery is disconnected.

I have seen this dried out capacitor issue in may electronic devices. Especially the Insteon 2413 PLM. Has a switching power supply and capacitors not made to be in a switching power supply.
Title: Re: my cm15a has died
Post by: brobin on December 27, 2019, 04:49:39 PM
That's a very common problem where manufacturers choose caps that aren't up to the task in their power supplies to maybe save a nickel.  I used to have a bunch of ReplayTV units and every one of them needed a new cap in the power supply.  Same thing with the Insteon hub and some PC graphics cards that were used in flight simulators at a museum.  When replacing caps I always go with ones rated for "high heat" (105C) and select as high a VDC rating as physical dimension limitations permit.  Never had to replace one twice.
Title: Re: my cm15a has died
Post by: jfaska on December 28, 2019, 08:23:24 PM
Got a used one off of ebay. It works without batteries (when plugged in). This one only shows connected when not plugged in with batteries.

Was the suggestion reversing the batteries or the device in the plug?

Thanks
Title: Re: my cm15a has died
Post by: JeffVolp on December 29, 2019, 10:00:07 AM
I have seen this dried out capacitor issue in may electronic devices.

Both my main and backup Ocelots failed due to dried up electrolytics, but it was an easy repair.  The symptom was random actuations, which I tracked down to it occasionally running through the power-up sequence with no power interruption.  The power up sequence sets X10 devices to the state they should normally be in at that time of day (daytime, evening, or night).  With the electrolytic replaced, I'm back to 100%.

Jeff