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[concerned]

Hello,

I made my first X10 purchase almost a year
ago. I am new to the forum. I am very
concerned about what I have read. I've been
fairly happy with AHP except for what I
believe to be a phase issue. After reading
a number of postings I am very concerned
about my decision to purchase iWitness and
add to my system. I would consider myself a
basic user (mainly remote control and
timers) so I don't know if I have just not
had the opportunity to feel the pain I find
expressed here.

X10, would you care to defend yourselves in
regards to all the complaints posted here?
Convince me I made a good choice? I'm
having a difficult time accepting the idea
that you would not respond to many of these
posting if they were not true.

I'm also curious if someone on the forum
would be willing/able to provide a summary
of known issues? I've read about time
issues, macro issues, RF issues, etc. I'm
pretty sure I'm having phase issues.

Concise, genuine feedback would be greatly
appreciated.

[tcassio]

I will refrain from commenting on most of
your questions as I no longer use the CM15A
and AHP.  The phase issue is not a problem
only to the AHP and CM15A, it is a product
of you basic house wiring.  You will have
this issue reguardless of who produced you
HA equipment.
T.

[SteveRF]

Concerned,
I have a second CM15A (first did not function
well) and have had no major trouble, however,
I did have phase trouble right at the onset.
I resolved it quickly by installing a
passive phase coupler across a 220 breaker on
an inside power panel.  That took care of my
phase troubles.  All in all, my systems seems
to be fairly stable.
Good luck,
SteveRF

[concerned]

SteveRF:

I've looked at several different phase
couplers, active and passive, from several
mfg. What made you choose passive over
active and what make/model did you purchase?

As you seem to have had fairly good luck
with your system what do you make of all
the negative comments on this forum? Is it
something I should take with a grain of
salt and not worry about?

I appreciate your feedback.

[carmine pacifico]

Concerned

I would suggest a passive phase
coupler/blocker, this device needs to be
installed in the electrical panel by an
electrician, not only eliminate the phase
coupler issue, but else block PLC signal
from outside you home from interfering with
your system. Unless you have a large home(
> 2500 sq feet) you do not need an active
coupler. Keep in mind that some electronic
devices ( computer, UPS, TV’s, filtered
power bar) could attenuate PLC signals and
may require additional local filtering.
Regarding reliability you can not expect a
low cost product to be as reliable as a
product costing several times more money.
You need to judge your application, if you
system is simple and you can tolerate the
occasional reset than X10 will be OK; in
the other hand if you are paranoid with
reliability (like me) than the alternative
is very expensive.
I could not find a sprinkler control that
would meet my reliability requirement, I am
building my own, it has a lot of fail save
feature, flow rate, rain gauge, hardware
shut-down in case the unit crashes, but
even with all these features I can not say
it will be 100% reliable.

[jeff w]

Get the HCA02-10E active coupler ($70 or so
from worthington) it amplifies and provides a
little debug capbility

[Tom F.]

If you don't want to hire an electrician,
Smarthome makes both phase couplers and
couplers/repeaters that plug into a 220
dryer outlet.

[david k]

Concerned

For about $8 you can make a phased coupler yourself and bridge across your two 110 volt bars.  There are several links associated with making a very reliable phased coupler online.  The 650VDC Capacitor is only a few cents and a choke (if you can find them) is also cheap.  I actually found a place that will give you up to 5 to get your business, but I didn't really have any business to give them so I can't get anymore.  A housing is the most expensive part at about $4.  If it does not solve your problem you can always purchase an active coupler.

http://www.idobartana.com/hakb/index.htm

[david k]

Concerned

PS  If you are nervous about getting into
the breaker box you can plug the two wires
into the dryer outlet where the two
POSITIVE wires are in the plug.  Be sure to
flip the breaker before trying.  Plug the
dryer back in with the wires in place.  You
can do this inside most dryer outlets.