Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[BaBaLou.]

Hi all,

A little help with the readings of voltage on my XTBM in comparison to two separate locations.

The business has a XPCR at the 3 phase panel. There I get readings in the range of 5 or less v and low readings near noise suckers/makers.

The home setup has the XTB-IIR near std. home panel. There I get readings in 9 to 9.99 v and less v reading near noise makers/suckers.

I don't recall my v readings at the home locations when first testing the XTBM, It mainly was used at the business to solve problems there, or which it did help very well.

So is getting readings of v at home in that range OK or not. Could I have reset anything on the XTB-IIR by accident since I use HC "P" in my AHP setup configuration ?.

Any info or comparisons are always welcome.

BaBaLou.


  P.s. To all the great people at our X10 Forum, From our Family to yours. A very Merry Christmas and Happy New year.

[Brian H]

9 volts sounds great. Most X10 controllers can only do 5 to 6 volts right at their power connection.
The XPCR is probably like most of the X10 transmitters and has about a 5 volt output.

My XTB-IIR with a Elk ESM1 gives me four bars at the poorest point in the house and 9.5 bars at the best. I believe the ESM1 has a 5 volts at the tenth bar of the bar graph display. It is logarithmic if memory serves me and I don't have the ESM1 in front of me to see what four bars is.

Found an on line users manual for the ESM1. It displays 100mV to 5.0V

I redid a few locations and now feel that the signal was >5.0 volts and was just maxed out. I believe my lowest 4 bars is 1V and that is plenty of signal. Also my whole setup is Insteon with X10 addresses added. Insteon modules are two way modules so each one is most likely absorbing some of the signals. Along with the ancient wiring in my house.

[JeffVolp]

The XTBM maxes out at 9.99Vpp.  The XTB-IIR should be pumping 20-30Vpp into the powerline where it is connected.  The signal level will decrease as it moves away from the distribution panel.  Signal voltages above 1Vpp are fine.  5Vpp is excellent.  Here is some feedback I received today:

"I installed the XTB-IIR and now the XTBM recognizes it.  On the first floor my old signal levels were around 0.55V and on the second floor 0.27V.  Now I'm at 8.0V on the first floor and 2.5V on the second - definitely a huge increase."

I really appreciate when I receive some feedback.  Rarely do I hear anything back unless someone runs into a problem.

Oh - to answer your question on accidentally programming the XTB-IIR, that is unlikely.  It requires the exact sequence 9-8-2 sent in less than 12 seconds to access the programming mode.

Thanks to all of you for supporting this work.  Have a great holiday!

Jeff

[BaBaLou.]

Many Thanks,

Glad to hear that my status is a positive one and not negative.

The XTBM is a vital tool for any semi or serious X10 automation. So easy to use with an almost Sherlock Holmes approach in searching for clues of the eluding noise maker that lurks in any setup.
Being able to see the readings of the XTBM live as each trigger takes place helps to point out problems that one may have and then an easy filter or modification will most always fix the problem. The XTBM took a simple and affordable system of X10 and made it into a power house.

Brian H,
I too have the ESM1 and found it not very helpful in telling me anything more than I have a problem but with XTBM I get to see the CFL bulb burst out noise right at the instant of it being turned off or on. I get to see how my Voltage changes with every test point I use.Tried the XTBM on a circute using a filter, plug in or wired in and then seeing how the numbers, especially the voltage drop right down to around 1v but still maintaining 120 frequency signal.
 
I still have the desire to put together a little kit comprising of the XTBM, a power bar, plug in filter and then going to shop for new electronics and see how I can compare say TVs with each other and see if noise is an issue that would be needed to be addressed before installation. Don't panic, I will be making sure its OK with the store before any attempts, but maybe a friend or two may become guinea pigs for me just to make my liability a little less.

Would I or could I do any diagnostice without my XTBM, no way no how.

[Brian H]

I like that idea.
  A Kit of test gear to see how a new device acts before purchasing it.