Print

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

[the other steve]

(I have searched myself silly and not found any posts addressing the issue I am having, so please go easy on me...)

I have had great success with AHP for many years.  I have a CM-15a, modules of many descriptions, macros triggered by dawn/dusk, timers and RF, etc.

I have another macro that is triggered by timers every hour that controls a universal module to turn on my furnace fan to circulate air and reduce stratification of temperatures in my house.  That macro starts, waits 5 minutes, turns on the universal module (the only thing on its house code), waits another 5 minutes, and turns off the module.  It has been working fine for years.

Now, occasionally an extra off command turns off the module a minute after it is turned on.  The log shows that it is issued from a macro, but no such command exists in this or any other macro.  It never occurs when the macro is not "running", and it is always an "off" command.  Most of the time the macro runs perfectly.

I have changed the CM-15a between two known good ones, changed the house code, rebuilt the macro and timers, swapped the universal module, downloaded the timers and macros many times, and looked for changes or additions to the noise environment (although the log shows that the command is being issued and there are no received or transmitted commands).  The recycle bin is empty.  Macros are set to download to the CM-15a.

None of the other macros exhibit this behavior and the extra command is only issued during the 5 minute delay.

Help, please.  What am I missing?

Steve

[Tuicemen]

Check the AHP recycle bin to be sure it is empty.
AHP has been reported to still treat discarded macros and timers here as active.

[the other steve]

Thanks, but the recycle bin is empty.

The strange part is that it only happens exactly one or two minutes into the macro.  No other time.  There isn't any other module, macro, etc., on that house code.  Also strange is that the same macro runs every hour and much of the time it works flawlessly.

I did leave out one piece of information: I am using an HCA02.  I have been using it for way more than 5 years and it hasn't caused problems.  Since the erroneous command is always early, I can't imagine that it could be related to the repeater.

Thanks for the reply.

Steve

[Brian H]

The HCA02 has been reported to sometimes cause Status Request Fire Storms but I have never seen reports of it causing Macro issues.
http://kbase.x10.com/wiki/Known_Issues_with_ActiveHome_Pro

[Tuicemen]

What module address are you using for your Phantom ?
Have you tried a different address to see if the problem follows?
Is it possible a neighbour has started playing with X10?

[the other steve]

There are no dim commands involved, but I wonder (we are grasping at straws here) how long the CM-15 waits to reissue the command after a collision.  And how long a "storm" lasts...

The module is currently on J5 and I have moved it around - both house code and device number - many times.  It is possible WRT neighbors, but the activity logs and "Find Other Computers" never show activity other than mine.

The furnace module and CM-15 are on opposite phases, so I can't just turn off the HCA02 to test.  I am lusting after an XTB-IIR; that could remove a lot of variables, I think.

Steve

[the other steve]

Quick update:

My system returned to its normal behavior, but I am not sure why.  After 50 years as a working electrical engineer I worry about that things that heal themselves - they can revert to the deviant behavior by themselves, too.

The only thing I did was to power off the HCA02 for a couple of minutes.  After years and years of correct behavior I am skeptical that it had a single malfunction, but maybe...  It went from frequent phantom macro commands to none (for a week) in two minutes.

As far as the neighbor theory - it is, of course, possible that that was the cause and that it was shut off in that two minutes, but I have still never seen an event in the activity log or had it show up as another computer.

Thanks for the suggestions; i'll continue to watch for recurrence.  (It runs nearly a hundred commands a day.)

Steve

[Brian H]

Oh I do hate self healing electronics. You know eventually it will happen again.

It is possible the power supply in the HCA02. Is just starting to get flaky after years of use.
 

[the other steve]

I have this lingering idea that Jeff's XTB IIR would make my life better and even allow my house guests to plug in an occasional phone charger with immunity.  I think that, the current issue aside, my HCA02 is doing things that it isn't designed to do.

Steve

[joe s.]

lingering idea that Jeff's XTB IIR would make my life better

That's what happened in my "X10-Life" for the last 1.5 years or so!  Can't really classify X10 so much a hobby anymore....whatever I try or change just seems to work these days!