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[BillyC]

...like the good old CP 290 days. I have been an X10 user for a long time. I am retired from IBM after 30 years in hardware maintenance, programming and management. Before that, I came from a technical background having been an Electronic Technician in the US Navy working on Communications and Radar Systems.

I have purchased just about every box I can think of from X10 and ActiveHome that seemed to tout a capability of replacing my CP 290s (I have three for different properties that I have automated). So far nothing even comes close.

I've read that some users like me have abandoned the CP 290 because they couldn't get any software to run. I haven't done that. I am still using Plato (believe it or not) with some minor issues on XP - like I can't save an x10 file but can communicate quite reliably via the serial ports on several fairly new machines that I got from Dell that they are still selling that have serial ports installed in the motherboard. But it would sure be nice to see a new system and have a new box that at least has the following:

1. Ability to store programs in the interface, disconnect from the PC and, with battery backup, not have to worry about losing power. It appears to me that both the CM15A only saves the clock info with battery backup. The CP 290 has a 9-volt battery that protects everything and the battery lasts for at least a year. And the CM11A appears to have a somewhat reduced capability of the number of timers/macros that can be stored, so multiple systems are required to accomplish any degree of complexity.
2. The CP 290 has a very strong signal that it sends through the house wiring - it's my understanding that the CM15A has a 5-volt signal (not sure of the real strength of either the CM15A or the CP 290 - but the proof is in the pudding), and I have found the CM15A to be unreliable and very hard to get to distant locations in the house (even sometimes in the same room). My CP 290 reaches everywhere, even to the shed that is hardwired in the backyard.
3. A GUI interface that is similar in function to the software provided for the CM15A (that's one nice thing about that box - too bad I can't get it to be reliable and have confidence in it). I share the concerns of Trent1467 in the thread "AHP CM15a does not work but CM11a works?" He says that functions work sometimes and sometimes they don't and switching back and forth between two modules aggravates the problem.
4. A USB connection similar to the CM15A instead of the serial connection that the CP290 has. You can still get computers with serial ports and with the Plato software that I have installed, it will all work, but you can't save a program. What I do is count on the CP290 to have the program in its innards and when I connect to it serially, I upload that existing CP 290 program, make any changes, and then download it and disconnect.

So here's the frustration that many of us old timer x10 users feel: "If you've ever used a CP 290, then you know what's missing from X10 today. It's almost like we keep sidestepping the obvious improvements that should be made to automated lighting and control systems."

Any comments, suggestions welcome. I am all ears.

[Dan Lawrence]

The CP290 is 1980's, the CM11A is 1990's, both are serial devices and most PCs today have one serial port if at all.  The CM15A is USB, the standard today.  No home automation software can control one location only, not multiple locations.

[dave w]

So here's the frustration that many of us old timer x10 users feel: "If you've ever used a CP 290, then you know what's missing from X10 today. It's almost like we keep sidestepping the obvious improvements that should be made to automated lighting and control systems."

Any comments, suggestions welcome. I am all ears.

Well stated.

X10 ain't what they used to be. Too many short cuts to save a penny here, penny there. Management that believes "bandaids" are an acceptable element of product quality, and "high" quality happens at the end of the assembaly line when the product does not go bang when plugged in.

Comments? Suggestions? If you have been around since the CP290 and own nearly everything X10 made, then you know the suggestions: Upgrade your systems with a very high output repeater (XTBIIR, or ACT CR234) a few filters, and a coat hanger to make up for the limitations of the CM15A. OR move on to a completly new HA platform, because history tells us X10 ain't gonna get no better (IMHO).

BTW did you work at Boca?

[BillyC]

Spent a few 2 and 3 month assignments at Boca, but my home base was Indiana, Illinois (CHI) and Missouri (STL). Now reside in the Daytona Beach area.

[TwinCreeks]

Hey BillyC.  I'm still running my house on CP 290 connected to a dedicated 1980s IBM PC running DOS 6.2. I agree with your observations. The X10 folks have a seemingly odd business strategy when it comes to technology upgrades and quality improvements.  The CP 290 does seem to have a stronger output signal.

I am also running a  CM11A from my Dell desktop (with a serial port board added) and XP SP3.  The CM11A is very handy when I am working at my desk to control office lights.  I have a couple of desktop shortcuts--two mouse clicks and the lights go on and dim.  It also controls power to my laser printer,  so I don't have to get out of my chair to turn it on.

The CP 290 does just about everything I need it to do--house lights, water heater, irrigation system, coffee in the morning, etc.  In some cases, I program it to send a ON/OFF command to control a macro I have on the CM 11A.