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🖥️ActiveHome Pro => ActiveHome Pro General => Wish List => Topic started by: bryana_fl on February 02, 2005, 06:24:06 PM

Title: 2 Way Switches
Post by: bryana_fl on February 02, 2005, 06:24:06 PM

I would like to be able to purchase 2 way
switches from X10.

Is one in the works?

Title: Re: 2 Way Switches
Post by: bryana_fl on February 05, 2005, 03:42:46 PM

X10  Can you answer this?

I would like to be able to purchase 2 way
switches from X10.    Is one in the works

Title: Re: 2 Way Switches
Post by: donald mcmow on February 06, 2005, 09:58:30 AM

The following modules are 2-way modules and
are available from X10: LM14A, AM14A,
AM15A, RR501 (transceiver) - these are all
a wall cube style that plugs in to a wall
plugin. There are replacement wall switches
available from smarthome.com that replace
standard wall outlet switches.

Title: Re: 2 Way Switches
Post by: bryana_fl on February 06, 2005, 01:20:46 PM

I am aware of those modules but would like
to get a lest costly wall switch than the
one smarthome sells.

Title: Re: 2 Way Switches
Post by: joe s. on February 06, 2005, 01:36:36 PM

Cheapest 2-way wall switches I've seen are at:
http://www.automatedoutlet.com/product.php?productid=97&cat=0&page=2

Still $48 bucks or so, though.

Title: Re: 2 Way Switches
Post by: roger1818 on February 06, 2005, 03:31:23 PM

Bryana_fl wrote:
“…like to get a lest costly wall switch
than the one smarthome sells.”

X10’s 2-way lamp module is $32.99.  If X10
did make a 2-way light switch, I would
highly doubt if it would be any cheaper
than that.  I wouldn’t expect one any time
soon though.

Title: Re: 2 Way Switches
Post by: tony on February 17, 2005, 05:20:40 AM

Bryana_fl:  The WS4777 is a 3-way (control a
light fron 2 switches)and can be set up as 4-
way (control a light(s) from 3 switches)
with a second WS277 companion switch.

Title: Re: 2 Way Switches
Post by: roger1818 on February 17, 2005, 11:03:55 AM

Tony:  The WS4777 3-way switch is NOT a 2-
way switch.  In X10 terms, a 2-way switch
both receives and transmits X10 signals.
It really is a bad name, since it causes a
lot of confusion.

Historically in an n-way circuit, n
indicated the number junction boxes.  Thus
if 2 switches controlled 1 light or 1
switch controlled 2 lights, both were
called 3-way circuits.  Eventually it
became common practice to only refer to an
n-way circuit as one that has n-1 switches
(i.e. a 3-way circuit has 2 switches, a 4-
way circuit has 3 switches, etc).  A 3-way
switch became the name for the type of
switch needed for 3-way circuits and a 4-
way switch became the name for the type of
switch needed for a 4(or more)-way circuit
(in addition to two 3-way switches).  The
term 2-way circuit dropped out of common
use.

When X10 first created a module that both
transmits and receives X10 signals, they
decided to use the now unused term 2-way.
Personally, I think a different name should
have been used, but we have to live with it
now.

Title: Re: 2 Way Switches
Post by: tony on February 19, 2005, 06:08:23 AM

RogerH: Thanks for the info. My reference
points are the traditional communications
and electronics. I now understand that 2-way
module can return status on poll or state
change.  Any caveats?

Title: Re: 2 Way Switches
Post by: roger1818 on February 19, 2005, 08:12:51 AM

Tony:  Yes there are a couple caveats.  The
main one is that 2-way devices absorb more
of the X10 signal than receivers.  Also if
they aren’t designed well, they could cause
collisions with other X10 signals and they
cost more than regular receivers.

Title: Re: 2 Way Switches
Post by: tony on February 20, 2005, 05:09:53 AM

Roger:  Thanks for the insight,  I really
appreciate it.