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[Delboy]

Well maybe more than 1hr by time I now relocate the Homeseer 2 PC from its low WAF location in the dining room, but installation of Jeff's XTB-IIR took my 'best' signal from < 0.3Vpp to over 2.5Vpp at the furthest point as soon as I powered it up (9.99Vpp at the nearest outlets to the XTB-IIR which is the max it displays).

I have wasted 6 months trying to stabilise my X10 system, multiple filters, a next to useless SVX10 repeater, changed the CM15 to a CM11, new RF module (V572AE) and countless hours chasing a moving target in terms of what worked yesterday fails today and would be fine tomorrow 

I have seen other well written accolades for all the XTBxx devices and can only say my experience in dealing with Jeff, installing the XTB-IIR and resolving my problems in literally a matter of minutes has been outstanding. I need to fix a really bad signal sucker in my study (probably UPS, multiple LCD's, myriad of low voltage power supplies etc) but even the outlets in this room now respond 100% of the time to my X10 commands where previously I could never control anything in this particular room. I now have 1.88Vpp on my study outlets - 2.8Vpp if I turn of the UPS:-).

Jeff, thank you for the quick turn around on the 220v versions, immediate dispatch and subsequent email support when answering my initial questions following installation.

Dereck

[Brian H]

Thanks for the information on how your system has been improved.

If you unplug the UPS. I can almost guarantee a real jump in voltage. Even off the AC line filter in them kills X10 signals big time.

The V572 was also a good thought. It will vastly improve your RF coverage.

[Delboy]

The V572 was probably the best investment I had made until the XTB-IIR and XTBM purchases.

My UPS and PC's all sit behind a plug in filter and still show a clear 1.0Vpp increase when powered off. Do not have the option of isolating this circuit so will need to investigate a better filter solution for my 220v 50Hz system.

Regards

[Brian H]

Some generic filters can also absorb X10 signals.
Could be when the UPS is off. Some of the circuitry absorbing the X10 signals is also disconnected.

I can verify my XTBM has been a very helpful troubleshooting tool. 

[Delboy]

XTBM - I should have invested in a meter right from the start, problem is 220v meters are expensive in Oz so I thought I would be able to work through the issues using a logical approach.

Whilst I had improved the system significantly from when I started there is no way I could have known my Vpp was so low, typically less than 0.3Vpp. Today I tracked down two more signal suckers, the washing machine and two CFL's, what is interesting about the CFL's is I use around 15 CFL's but two in particular were generating a lot of noise (N.90), turned out these are 'new' Dimmable CFL's that i purchased a couple of months ago, they are now in the rubbish bin!

[Brian H]

I have a EarthLed EvoluxS 13 watt LED bulb. It generates all kinds of noise. To the point it reads .99 and that is the high as the meter goes. So it is probably higher as I can see noise all over the house when it is ON. Well it is in a storage box as it was $79.99. Yes that is for ONE. 

[JeffVolp]

Here a 4W Lumoform 120V LED bulb generated a huge amount of noise.  It is not a problem when isolated with a X10 XPPF filter.

These 120V LED bulbs must use some sort of switching regulator to drop down the line voltage to the relatively low voltage needed by the LED.  It appears that at least one regulator designed for this application likes to run near the X10 carrier frequency.  Obviously, this will become more of a problem as LED bulbs become more widespread.

Jeff

[Brian H]

Mine was a universal power type. 90-277 Volt 50/60Hz. to make things more complicated. Also has a small fan in it to keep the LEDs and electronics cool.

I had a few dimmable CFLs and as Delboy found. Also noise makers.