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[lflorack]

Jeff,

Probably a silly question but here goes.....

The XB-IIR has a recepticle in the front that one could plug in a CM15A for instance.  Does it have to be plugged in there or can it just be plugged in the system somwhere else?  My breaker box is at the far end of my ranch house in the garage and that's where I'd put the XB-IIR.  I don't think my RF commands for the CM15A will reach that far without help.  My assumption is that Idon't have to use the front recpticle but I guess I'm not sure.

Lee

[JeffVolp]

Your CM15A can be plugged into the XTB-IIR for direct X10 Boost, or left plugged into any other AC outlet.  In that case, its output will be repeated at high power by the XTB-IIR.

If you have trouble with RF commands, there have been some CM15A antenna mods described on the forum that improve its performance.  And the WGL V572A is an excellent transceiver with much better range.  It can plug directly into the digital port on the XTB-IIR.

Jeff

[lflorack]

Your CM15A can be plugged into the XTB-IIR for direct X10 Boost, or left plugged into any other AC outlet.  In that case, its output will be repeated at high power by the XTB-IIR.

If you have trouble with RF commands, there have been some CM15A antenna mods described on the forum that improve its performance.  And the WGL V572A is an excellent transceiver with much better range.

Jeff

Thanks for the quick response Jeff.

[lflorack]

Today's Update:

I really need to remove the Leviton 2-Phase X10 Amplified Coupler/Repeater (HCA02) as soon as the Passive Signal Coupler (XPCP) arrives.  This morning the CM15A/HCA02 got into the continuous loop four times while I was watching the log.  None of them involved anything other than on/off commands!  Two were from a palm controller and two were from the AHP screen.  I had to pull the CM15A from power to get each event to stop.

I cleared the CM15A's memory and reloaded timers.  We'll see how it goes.

[lflorack]

Since last Saturday morning and my four looping events, I've made a conscious effort to not use any macros of any kind.  I've also not moved the CM15A from it's preferred wall socket.  I take my laptop to it for any timer changes.  The result of making those two changes is that the CM15A and it's timer events have been absolutely perfect!

That's good news -- except I'd like to able to use macros.  So, the XPCP passive coupler I ordered has arrived and I'll be installing soon -- perhaps tomorrow.  If macros work OK and I can still reach the entire house without a repeater, I'll be happy (for a while).   We'll see.

[lflorack]

The XPCP passive coupler I ordered arrived and I installed.  Although The XPCP handles extended commands OK, it did not provide full signal coverage throughout the house.  I have therefore ordered a XTB-IIR http://jvde.us//xtb/XTB-IIR_description.htm. 

Jeff was very helpful with some questions I had about installation, so I ordered it.  It should be on it's way in the next few days.  I look forward to installing and using it!

[lflorack]

OK.  Last post of this thread (I think).  I just wanted to complete it before starting any new ones....

• Jeff's XTB-IIR arrived yesterday and I installed it.  It works great.  No more issues with macros and it sends out a good strong signal from the garage (next to my breaker panel).  Shipping was very fast and Jeff was extremely helpful leading up to my purchase.  Thanks Jeff!
• After getting the XTB-IIR installed yesterday, I decided to try different positions for the CM15A and the TM751 that I have in my small (1600 sq ft) ranch house to try and get the best coverage for RF remotes.  In doing so, I discovered that if you have those two devices too close to each other, it can appear that RF signals are not making it to them.  However, I think they're actually canceling each other out.  By moving the CM15A to plug into the XTB-IIR in the garage at one end of the house, the two transceivers stopped fighting with each other and the TM751 covers almost all of the house -- except for the end of the house nearest the garage.  RF coverage is now very good and there are only very small weak spots (i.e., even moving the RF remote a foot cures the issue)  Plugging the CM15A into the XTB-IIR also seems to have made the X10 signal stronger and more evenly distributed throughout the house but it's hard to tell.
• I also found that the reason my master bedroom light was not dimming properly is due to an electric blanket that's in there.  Even though it was 'off', the controllers were still drawing current and affecting the X10 signal in that room.  I put an XPPF Filter on the blanket and all is well.

Last question for now:  Both the XTB-IIR and now the CM15A are in my unheated garage.  It's a little warmer in there during the winter than it is outside but maybe only 10 degrees or so.  Since I live in upstate NY, we tend to have temperatures at or near zero (F) during large portions of our lengthy winter.  Can the XTB-IIR and the CM15A deal well with those temperatures?

[Brian H]

The TM751 is not polite and will step on any other X10 power line signals. Technically the RR501 and CM15A are polite, but if they see the line clear and start sending. The TM751 then could garbage the signals. That maybe why the RR501 and TM751 being too close gave you that problem. Both received the same RF command and sent a power line signal.

[lflorack]

The TM751 is not polite and will step on any other X10 power line signals. Technically the RR501 and CM15A are polite, but if they see the line clear and start sending. The TM751 then could garbage the signals. That maybe why the RR501 and TM751 being too close gave you that problem. Both received the same RF command and sent a power line signal.

I agree that it appeared that what you describe is exactly what was happening.

[JeffVolp]

Last question for now:  Both the XTB-IIR and now the CM15A are in my unheated garage.  It's a little warmer in there during the winter than it is outside but maybe only 10 degrees or so.  Since I live in upstate NY, we tend to have temperatures at or near zero (F) during large portions of our lengthy winter.  Can the XTB-IIR and the CM15A deal well with those temperatures?

It should be no problem for the XTB-IIR.  The battery in the CM15A may not like the low temperature, but it will not be quite as cold inside the CM15A as the surrounding air due to its internal dissipation.

Jeff

[lflorack]

Last question for now:  Both the XTB-IIR and now the CM15A are in my unheated garage.  It's a little warmer in there during the winter than it is outside but maybe only 10 degrees or so.  Since I live in upstate NY, we tend to have temperatures at or near zero (F) during large portions of our lengthy winter.  Can the XTB-IIR and the CM15A deal well with those temperatures?

It should be no problem for the XTB-IIR.  The battery in the CM15A may not like the low temperature, but it will not be quite as cold inside the CM15A as the surrounding air due to its internal dissipation.

Jeff

Thanks Jeff.  I'll leave them both in the garage and watch for any issues.

Also, thanks again for your great product and support.  The XTB-IIR is a great product.