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[x10junkie]

Hello. This is my first post and I need some help with my setup.


I have 2 xcam wide insant on cameras on ninja bases, vcr commander 2, audio/video reciever, tranciever, and 2 motion sensors (one indoor/outdoor).

A1 is on my front porch about 40 feet from the reciever and vcr commander. They are located in the bedroom where my A2 is also.

The A2 works fine, but the A1 wont turn off at the 2 min. delay it is set on. Instead, It stays on for hours, and when it does turn off, it won't come back on until I unplug and replug it. Also, when it is on it won't record, and when I use my ninja scanpad to switch cameras, the vcr starts to record. (I can handle this little problem) The other thing is, when I switch to A2, It switches back to A1 in a matter of 1 to 3 minutes, even if the sensor is laying face down and no motion is detected. Oh, and just to clarify, A1 switches fine with the remote, as long as it is on. Once it turns off however. It wont come back on until unplugged. Also, when I bring the sensor inside the house, A1 will record. So I think the repeater will solve the record problem. What's really stumping me is the on/off problem.

I am gonna try a repeater for the vcr commander problem (since I don't solder). Does anyone have any suggestions about the on/off problem? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[x10junkie]

Well, I got the repeater and it helped with the recording problem, but the on/off problem is still there. I have moved things around all I could with no results. I'm thinking maybe it's the plug-in for the camera? It's on my porch light. Has no one else had any problems like this? I would appreciate any ideas/comments.

[Brian H]

The cameras power supplies are turned on and off by powerline signals. You may have a signal problem to the area where the camera is normally installed. We have some good tutorials on troubleshooting problems; that you may want to look at.

[KDR]

x10junkie If its not to far of a run you might try plugging in the second cam into the same outlet the first one is in by way of an extention cord. (just for testing) to see if it turns on and off. If it does then noise or a phase issue may be the problem. As Brian H indicated there are lots of post addressing that issue. Try and do the extention cord test and let us know how it goes. I have no doubt that we will be able to help you get things running.

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

[TakeTheActive]

...I have 2 xcam wide insant on cameras on ninja bases, vcr commander 2, audio/video reciever, tranciever, and 2 motion sensors (one indoor/outdoor).

A1 is on my front porch about 40 feet from the reciever and vcr commander. They are located in the bedroom where my A2 is also.

The A2 works fine, but the A1 wont turn off at the 2 min. delay it is set on...

...The other thing is, when I switch to A2, It switches back to A1 in a matter of 1 to 3 minutes, even if the sensor is laying face down and no motion is detected.

I have NO cameras, but I do have a few ideas :

• When you work with Motion Sensors (MSxx), *ALWAYS* observe the "BASE+1" Rule (0=Motion & +1=Light).
  
  
• If you own battery-powered HouseCode/UnitCode button-press programmable devices, *AVOID* HouseCode A.
   - Each time you change batteries, you'll be transmitting either an A1 ON or an A1 OFF just to get into programming mode.
  
  
• Temporarily, disconnect everything associated with CAMERA #2 and see how well CAMERA #1 works.
  
  
• Temporarily, disconnect everything associated with CAMERA #1 and see how well CAMERA #2 works.
  
  
• Let us know how you make out...
  

[Charles Sullivan]

I have NO cameras, but I do have a few ideas :

• When you work with Motion Sensors (MSxx), *ALWAYS* observe the "BASE+1" Rule (0=Motion & +1=Light).
  
  

The OP may not understand what you're getting at - that an X10 motion sensor can transmit on both its set unit code and at its set unit code plus 1.

To avoid any possibility of conflict, the OP would be well advised to immediately change the A2 motion sensor to A3 (or change both sensors so they are at least two unit codes apart).

[x10junkie]

Thanks for the replies guys. I will change the unit code from A2 to A3. If that doesn't help, I'll try plugging the camera into a different plug. I hope the plug- in is not the issue because it's the only plug- in on my front porch and I like the camera's current position.

[x10junkie]

Ok, I changed to A3 and it has no effect. I'll work on trying different plug-ins tomorrow. I also unhooked camera 2 and camera 1 still wont turn on, so that had no effect either. The transceiver clicks, but that's all.

[Brian H]

Cameras work in groups of 4. 1-4;5-8;9-12 and 13-16. So if you turn any one in the group on the other three go off. If you do more than one group or span two groups, you may have to take extra care or two may stay on at the sametime.

[x10junkie]

Yes, I understand this. Both of mine are in the 1-4 range.

Ok, I used an extension cord and plugged the problem camera (A1) into an inside plug. It turned on and off perfectly for about five minutes, but wouldn't record. After about five minutes, it turned off and wouldn't turn back on.  So changing plug-ins did make some difference, for a little while anyway. All it did was confuse me even more 

[x10junkie]

Ok, I switched to a different plug-in by running an extension cord from the porch to the living room. The camera is now working right. The only problem I have now is sometimes, when cars pass by, (about 50 yards away) the motion sensor turns the camera and vcr on. I don't know why. I've tried tilting the motion sensor down and moving it around with no luck. Any ideas what would cause this?