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[rwelte]

I had to realize that my CM15A that I want to use in Switzerland does rely on the power line frequency being 60 Hz (I do have 110V US power outlets throughout my house). All the programmed timing events are therefore off due to the 50 Hz frequency that we have in Europe  . Strangely enough my old CM11A interface that I have been using for years does not have this problem. That one must base its timing reference on a crystal oscillator.

Does anyone of you know if the CM15A hardware/firmware can be altered for 50 Hz via jumper setting or firmware update?

Many thanks for helping,
Roland

[Brian H]

Are you using a step down transformer? As your country is also 230 volts.

I have not see any modifications for the CM15A for 50Hz.
The schematic does not show any jumpers and the firmware is not programmable.

[rwelte]

Thanks Brian for your answer.

>>Are you using a step down transformer?
Yes, I have a 1200VA step down auto transformer down in the cellar.


>>The schematic does not show any jumpers and the firmware is not programmable.
That's really sad  . I like this X10 stuff and would love to replace my CM11A with the CM15A. Additional problem is that RF reception of the CM15A does not work either if power line frequency is 50 Hz. Using power line frequency as the time base is just a really lame design decision although it may make sense economically.

Regards,
Roland

[Brian H]

The X10 RF frequency here is 310 MHz.
The International X10 RF frequency is 433.92 MHz. So your RF devices may not work if they are the International Versions and the CM15A is on 310 MHz.

[rwelte]

All my X10 devices are bought in the US so everything is compatible. No 433.92 MHz X10 devices in my house.

[Noam]

From this post: http://forums.x10.com/index.php?topic=11810.msg92843#msg92843 , it seems that the design of the CM15A doesn't make it easy to switch it from 60Hz to 50Hz.
However, if the only problem is the clock, that post goes on to say that if you leave it connected to the PC, it updates its internal clock every 10 minutes or so, which would mean your timers should work properly, but within a somewhat random 10 minute window. (I suppose it is possible that some timers might get missed, if they occur during the time the CM15A's clock is being updated).

There is a European version of the CM15A, as well as of the modules, designed to run on 220V/50Hz.

[rwelte]

>> ...say that if you leave it connected to the PC, it updates its internal clock every 10 minutes or so...
This is correct. However, there is no sense in leaving the computer turned on 7/24 just to keep the clock of the CM15A on track.

>>There is a European version of the CM15A, as well as of the modules, designed to run on 220V/50Hz.
OK, but then all my US X10 devices would not work anymore and would have to be replaced with European devices.