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Author Topic: ALL X-10 modules stopped responding.  (Read 6548 times)

Noam

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Re: ALL X-10 modules stopped responding.
« Reply #15 on: January 03, 2012, 09:38:19 AM »

"Nothing changed" might not be 100% accurate. More likely, there is *something* that changed, you just don't know what. A CFL starting to go bad can cause noise. That noise pattern can change as the bulb warms up, and random noise CAN cause random turn-ons.
A motor load (like a refrigerator, heat pump, or even a furnace) can also cause noise. Since those things generally cycle on and off at different times, the noise can seem to have no pattern.

When it happens, the quickest way to troubleshoot would be to turn off one circuit breaker at a time, and see if the problem goes away. Obviously, turning off the circuit with your X10 modules and controllers on it wouldn't do much good, so if turning off each of the other circuits in your house doesn't find the problem, you may need to unplug EVERYTHING else on those circuits with X10, while shutting off everything else in your house. You might try moving the X10 devices and controller to the SAME circuit, and then moving them around the house together to different circuits, to see if EVERY circuit in the house is affected. Sometimes only one phase is affected, not the other.
If the modules are on opposite phases from the controller, then the signal might be weak to begin with, and a small amount of noise,  or a signal sucker (surge protectors can actually reduce the signal strength as they absorb some of it) could be the "straw that is breaking the camel's back" in this case.

If you DO find a circuit that seems to be causing the issue, then one-at-a-time, unplug or disconnect each device on that circuit, until you find the problem one. You may need to buy a filter or two for the problem devices.

If turning off EVERYTHING doesn't not fix the issue, then it could be noise coming in from the outside.
You COULD switch to a different technology, ot perhaps you could try Jeff Volp's "Tuned Signal Sucker" or "Active Noise Reducer".

See his website for more details: www.jvde.us (I don't get a commission, but I have bought some of his products, and they do work well for most people).

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