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[Kenyon]

I've had X10 in my house for many years. Probably 20 years. In the last few years I've added and changed the electrics in my house some. Recently I added a phase coupler because I was having new problems communicating with certain modules. I have about 20 assorted modules house wide. I use 2ea. 16ch desk top controllers, 2ea. 8ch. controllers as well as 3ea. key chain remotes and 3ea. large handheld remotes. Over time I've added a few extra wireless receivers around the house to hopefully get across phase. When I added the phase coupler all wireless communications except the key chain remotes ceased working immediately. I really haven't looked at anything yet in the way of troubleshooting.

Any ideas ?

Thanks

[Brian H]

Are the added Transceivers a TM751 or RR501?

Was the phase coupler a passive type or a repeater/coupler?
If it is a passive type. It maybe passing noise that is causing some modules to misbehave to the other phase and now every thing is going down hill.

http://jvde.us/x10_troubleshooting.htm
http://www.act-remote.com/PCC/uncle.htm
http://www.davehouston.net/

[Noam]

Adding to what Brian said, it sounds like your system WAS working perfectly, and then started having problems relatively recently.
It sounds to me like you have some noise-generating (or signal-sucking) electronics, which are contributing to (if not entirely causing) your problems.
While a phase coupler is a good thought, it might be causing more harm than good, especially if it is passing that noise across the phases.

I'd suggest you looks for the sources of the noise first, then try to fix them. There are some really great troubleshooting threads here on the forums, and you're probably going to want to do the "breaker box test" (turn off one breaker a a time until the problem goes away or gets better) as a first step.
Pay attention to any electronics that were added around the time the problems started, as well as any CFL bulbs that may have been changed. Just about anything can be a noise-maker or signal-sucker, and it will take some detective work to find the culprits and filter them out.

[dave w]

$0.02
Using transceivers to couple phases AND having a new phase coupler in the loop may be causing problems. If two trancevers, each on a different phase, can both pick up the RF remote's signal, you can get signal collisions through the phase coupler.

[dhouston]

I agree with dave w. There are differences in phase couplers/repeaters. Some couple the signal in realtime while some delay the transmission to the other phase. Add transceivers on each phase and you likely have a jumbled mix of PLC bits.

[Kenyon]

Thanks much to all who replied. The original reason I had two wireless receivers was to "couple" phases. I added an additional wireless receiver close to the front of the house to be more effective with my key chain remotes when I pulled in the drive way. I'll try taking out all but one and see what happens.

Again, thanks for all the input.

Kenyon

[Noam]

Adding wireless transceivers (RR501 or TM751) will only be able to improve RF-to-PLC transmission (by providing more entry points for the RF signal). However, they don't transmit over RF, so they won't do anything to improve signal propagation for any plug-in controllers you may have.