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[spam4us]

Can anyone tell me how to use analog dial. I understand I need to set the MS16A to use the dial. When I turn the dial, how can I tell how much the delay time is.? How can I tell how many minutes I set the dial to? Let's say I want to set the delay to 19 minutes.

Thanks

[brobin]

 From the MS16A manual:

Delay after Motion before an OFF command is sent: When no motion is detected, the default amount of time that will pass before the OFF Command is transmitted is Analog; i.e., the setting on the Top Dial (under the rubber plug on the top of the MS16A). The dial adjusts the delay range from 1 minute to 60 minutes. The following procedure allows you to alter this setting.
 
  1. Press the House button once, the Red LED flashes.
 
  2. Press and hold the Unit button, the Green LED turns ON. 3 seconds later, the Red LED will report the setting as follows: -1 blink for Analog Dial 1-60 Mins. -6 blinks for 32 minutes. -2 blinks for 2 minutes. -7 blinks for 64 minutes. -3 blinks for 4 minutes. -8 blinks for 128 minutes. -4 blinks for 8 minutes. -9 blinks for 256 minutes. -5 blinks for 16 minutes.
   Note: When the setting is 2 blinks or higher, the dial on top of the MS16A is disabled.
 
  3. If you do not wish to change the current setting, take no further action at this point. A few seconds later, the MS16A will timeout. The MS16A will indicate this to you by displaying a sustained blink (slightly longer than the report blinks).

  4. To change the current setting, first select the delay time you wish to use from the chart above and remember the blink value listed to the left of it   (i.e. for 64 minutes there are 7 blinks). Determine the time you wish to use before starting the programming procedure because the MS16A will only wait a few seconds after it has finished reporting its current setting for you to begin entering the new setting.
   
  5. Press the UNIT/OFF button the number of times equal to the blink value in the chart above. Hold the button down on the last press (i.e. for a setting of 64 minutes, press the UNIT/OFF button 7 times and hold on the last press).
 
  6. A few seconds later, the red LED will blink the new setting.
 
  7. If the programming fails, the red LED will display a sustained blink (slightly longer than the report blinks). This can occur if you wait too long to start your programming, you press the button more than 2 times, or you press the HOUSE/ON button. If the programming procedure fails, you must start the procedure over. 

[spam4us]

brobin….thanks for the reply but I am still confused. The manual says that the dial under the rubber plug  adjusts the delay range from 1 minute to 60 minutes. I assume that the dial is turned but the manual doesn't mention what position the dial would be in.

  The instructions below starting at step 4 are for entering a predetermined amount of minutes depending of the number of presses. 2 blinks for 2 minutes. -7 blinks for 64 minutes. -3 blinks for 4 minutes etc.

If I press the button 1 time to set the delay to analog then the dial on top can be turned a certain amount to increment the delay so many minutes.

If this is the way it is supposed to work, how can I set the delay to let's say 19 minutes or 56 minutes?

Thanks

[brobin]

I agree.  I don't think they could make the instructions any more complicated.   I've never tried to program that but it looks the dial doesn't do much of anything and programming is done through button presses.  Maybe someone who's done this before can chime in.
If you have an intelligent controller we can talk about alternate ways to do it.

[spam4us]

brobin
I contacted x10 via support form on the site.  The dial is a "try a setting and see". For the dial, there is no specific setting that corresponds to a time delay. The delay will either increase or decrease depending on which way it is turned. However, like you said, there are some specific delay times that can be set using the buttons.
 
Thanks for you help.

Here is the x10 response.

The analog dial is more like a volume control.  One end is 1 the other is 60 minutes.  There is no sort of digital readout, so you would need to adjust and test and repeat that until you got the delay you were looking for from 1-60 minutes.
 If you want specific timing, there are a few delays that the MS16A can be set to specifically (via the 'blinks' as outlined in the manual).  The set times are 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, or 256 minutes.

Instructions from the manual on ma
1. Press the House button once, the Red LED flashes.
2. Press and hold the Unit button, the Green LED turns ON. 3 seconds later, the Red LED will report the setting as follows:
-1 blink for Analog Dial 1-60 Mins.
-2 blinks for 2 minutes.
-3 blinks for 4 minutes.
-4 blinks for 8 minutes.
-5 blinksfor 16 minutes
-6 blinks for 32 minutes
-7 blinks for 64 minutes.
-8 blinks for 128 minutes.
-9 blinks for 256 minutes.
When the setting is 2 blinks or higher, the dial on top of the MS16A is disabled (so changing to once of these set times above disables the 'volume' dial on top.

Sincerely,

Support

[Brian H]

That sounds about right.
No dial or display for the analog time. Test which way raised and lowered the delay and start from there.
Also no data in the FCC Database on that model. To see if it had any clues.

[brobin]

I'd just set it with the blinks method and be done with it or set it to analog max and turn it off with your controller like this:

Assuming Motion detection sends A1-On:

IF
A1-On received
THEN
Delay 10 minutes
Send A1-Off

[toasterking]

I can confirm.  The analog delay dial is a feature that sounds great on paper but was implemented horribly.  Stuffing that crappy little pot in there was an afterthought to an existing design.  10 cents in hardware and they charged an extra $10 or so per unit.  Once I figured out how it works on my MS16As, I decided it best to ignore that feature.

The procedure is to put the digital setting to 1, as you have done, then make a rough guess as to where to set the analog dial.  Activate the motion detector, confirm that your module switches on, and mask the detector to prevent false positives.  Sit there and wait with a stopwatch to see how close it gets to your 19 minutes.  (Or if you have a controller/software that logs all commands, come back later and check the log.)  Tweak the dial accordingly.  Repeat.

That's why they don't provide the instructions.  If you read that on the Web site, would you still want to buy it?

If you have a controller that does some form of macros, definitely go for brobin's suggestion.  That additionally protects you against any scenario that causes the OFF command from the MS16A not to be received by the module.  I wish they had just included a way to disable the OFF commands from the MS16A.

[brobin]

That $10 upcharge also got you a little screw on the battery door! 

[toasterking]

And some extra glue and silicone gaskets that don't really fit to make it "weatherproof"!

[dave w]

And some extra glue and silicone gaskets that don't really fit to make it "weatherproof"!

Yeah, I converted my motion sensors to external lithium 18650s because it took me 30 minutes to try and squeeze that silicon gasket back in the grove. Infuriating.

[bkenobi]

But each time you replace batteries, you have to pull the battery cover to reset the HC/UC and other settings.  I suppose if you don't care about that being weatherproof once the batteries are removed, it's less of an issue but the button is still not safe.  I don't use these much now after going rounds with water intrusion.  I have some backups but the only one that's still in place is one by my front door well under cover.  All others are now LED light fixtures with motion sensors built in which have not failed me in a few years.