Latest Version of the LM465 Now Has "SoftStart"?!?

[KDR]

FWIW - I talked to a X10 rep today and they told me that X10 has not made any changes to the LM465 module.

With that said I ordered a new one today to see what I get

^{----------------KDR}

[steven r]

FWIW - I talked to a X10 rep today and they told me that X10 has not made any changes to the LM465 module....

It seems like at least one rep is in the dark.

[Brian H]

Even X10 admitted of the change in the Knowledgebase.

[Dan Lawrence]

OK, how do we tell which LM465 we have without opening the case?

I have 5 unused LM465's, all have a small round sticker on the back on the lower right corner.  2 have code 07A01, 2 have code 04L51 and 1 has code 05E19.

Are any the  Latest Version of the LM465?

Open a new room in AHP and drag in a LM14A icon set to the same address as your module.   Drag the brightness slider on the icon up a ways, then down a ways.  If the lamp responds, it's a redesigned unit, otherwise it's an old one.  (The Activity Monitor should show the Extended Codes being sent when you twiddle the slider.)

I tested all the LM465's and ALL are "old" units. None would reply to the LM14A module in the test. but would dim if a LM465 module was used. I used address A9 (unused in my X10 system).  Two if the LM465's were bought from Automated Outlet in the last 3 weeks.

[edited by CS to delineate quoted and new material]

[KDR]

I just purchased a new LM465 and it has a date code of 07C12. It responds like the old versions of the LM465. No special features.

^{----------------KDR}

[Charles Sullivan]

Here's a summary of what we've seen so far regarding the new "soft start" LM465 versus old LM465:

Date code   Type   Reporter
-------------    ------    ------------
07A01          Old      Dan Lawrence
07A05          New    Puck
07C12          Old      KDR
07D17          New    Charles Sullivan
07G27          Old      Brian H
07I37            Old      wazkaren
07J44           Old      wazkaren
[Edited to add Puck's response to the original post.]
[Edited to add wazkaren' information]
[Edited again to add wazkaren's further information]

[Puck]

Here's a summary of what we've seen so far regarding the new "soft start" LM465 versus old LM465:

Date code   Type   Reporter
-------------    ------    ------------
07A01          Old      Dan Lawrence
07C12          Old      KDR
07D17          New    Charles Sullivan
07G27          Old      Brian H

You can add this:

Date code     Type     Reporter
-------------   ------    ------------
07A05           New     Puck

[Brian H]

Thanks for the chart Charles and added date Puck. Seems we will need it. 

[steven r]

Here's a summary of what we've seen so far regarding the new "soft start" LM465 versus old LM465:

Date code   Type   Reporter
-------------    ------    ------------
07A01          Old      Dan Lawrence
07C12          Old      KDR
07D17          New    Charles Sullivan
07G27          Old      Brian H

Argh... I had hoped we would find a cut off date where the old ones would stop and the new ones began but with 07D17
being new and 07G27 being old it doesn't look that way. Let's hope we don't we don't find any mixed batches.
i.e. The same Date Code showing up on both new and old units.

[Dan Lawrence]

Why do I have this nagging feeling we will have mixed batches for the foreseeable future, knowing how X10 ships to the various vending companies. 

[Brian H]

Dan; I share that feeling with you. 

[wazkaren]

I see this thread is a few months old so maybe this is old information, but I just asked X10 support about this.  I asked if I order a LM465 today will it have "Softstart".  The answer was Yes.

So I ordered one and I'll find out in a few days if it's true.

Greg

[Brian H]

Thanks for keeping us up to date on the mixed new and old shipments in the past. Will be interesting to see what you will be getting.

[wazkaren]

I see this thread is a few months old so maybe this is old information, but I just asked X10 support about this.  I asked if I order a LM465 today will it have "Softstart".  The answer was Yes.

So I ordered one and I'll find out in a few days if it's true.

Greg

It looks like tech support is still clueless.  I got my LM465 today and it does not appear to have SoftStart (On command does not ramp up, does not respond to the extended dim commands).  The date code is 07137.  Looks like I wasted my money since SoftStart was the only reason I bought it.

EDIT: I thought I was in luck when I got the order confirmation.  The SKU was LM465-S (I thought maybe the -S meant SoftStart) while the SKU on my previous order last year was LM465-HA.  But the box looks the same as always, no -S.
Greg

[Charles Sullivan]

I've edited my summary message from Sept 14, 2007 to include wazkaren's information.

I'm starting to wonder if the "soft start" LM465 was just a flash in the pan and X-10 has reverted to the old firmware design.   One clue would be if a LM465 with the original characteristics has the new hardware design.

The original hardware used a microcontroller chip in a dual inline package mounted on the component side of the circuit board.  The redesign has the microcontroller in a surface mount package on the back side of the circuit board.