Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length

Author Topic: cm19a distance issues  (Read 3810 times)

picknick

  • Newbie
  • Helpful Post Rating: 0
  • Posts: 1
cm19a distance issues
« on: January 13, 2008, 09:17:37 PM »

i have a cm19a distance issue i think when i use my remote outside camera recotrds motion works fine when i try to access using cm19a which is only about 15feet through concrete it doesnt work at all how can i solve this
Logged

Charles Sullivan

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Helpful Post Rating: 94
  • Posts: 1565
    • HEYU - X10 Automation for Linux, Unix, and Mac OSX
Re: cm19a distance issues
« Reply #1 on: January 13, 2008, 09:59:41 PM »

i have a cm19a distance issue i think when i use my remote outside camera recotrds motion works fine when i try to access using cm19a which is only about 15feet through concrete it doesnt work at all how can i solve this

A hardware antenna modification similar to what people have been doing with the CM15A would undoubtedly help, however a much simple thing to try first is the passive radiator described here:  http://jvde.us/x10/passive.pdf

« Last Edit: February 26, 2010, 10:17:29 PM by JeffVolp »
Logged
Yesterday it worked.
Today it doesn't work.
X10 on Windows is like that.

HEYU - X10 Automation for Linux, Unix, and Mac OS X     http://www.heyu.org

Lonny

  • Newbie
  • Helpful Post Rating: 0
  • Posts: 3
Re: cm19a distance issues
« Reply #2 on: June 25, 2008, 08:27:57 PM »

I too am having distance issues with my cm19a. I have four cameras, each with motion sensors. One camera has the ninja attached, which is working. My problem is that when motion is sensed at the cameras, the Vanguard software does not take a picture or email me as it's suppose too. If I place a motion sensor within ten feet of the cm19a, Vanguard software works perfectly every time. A picture is emailed to me, but place the eagle eye sensor back by the camera and it will not take a picture or email me. I have tried placing the 18 1/4" wire to the body of the cm19a, but see no difference in performance. I am using the xp operating system.

The troubling part of this is that the camera with the ninja connected is the farthest away from the cm19a and it functions perfectly.

Does anyone have any idea why the eagle eye motion sensors will not work with the cm19a? I do have the TM751 transceiver installed in the house.

Lonny
Logged

-Bill- (of wgjohns.com)

  • Advanced Member
  • Hero Member
  • ******
  • Helpful Post Rating: 81
  • Posts: 1340
  • He's just this guy. You know?
    • wgjohns.com
Re: cm19a distance issues
« Reply #3 on: June 25, 2008, 09:35:24 PM »

Does anyone have any idea why the eagle eye motion sensors will not work with the cm19a? I do have the TM751 transceiver installed in the house.

Lonny

The TM751 receives RF X10 commands and re-sends them on the powerline.  It doesn't repeat the commands as RF, so it won't be much help with the CM19A which only receives RF, not powerline commands.
Logged
-Bill- (of wgjohns.com)
bill@wgjohns.com

In the real world, the only constant is change.

When I'm online you can find me in the Home Automation Chat Room!

x10challanged

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Helpful Post Rating: 5
  • Posts: 102
Re: cm19a distance issues
« Reply #4 on: June 26, 2008, 06:48:40 AM »

Hi Lonny & Picknick and welcome to the forums,
My personal experience has been that the best thing for sensor range issues is an SR731 repeater off e-bay, I did the coathanger antenna trick which helped but only to about 40' the repeater gives me the 100'+ range I needed in my house.  I am not good at electronic modification so I try other things first before opening the case.
I have also found that on two of my eagle eye sensors, simply moving them a few inches one way or another helped with range.  Why? I do not know other than there must have been some type of interference directly behind where I had them mounted the first time.  For range, snapshot and still pic quality I purchased the video relay modules from x-10.  This gave me the 100'+ range and improved pic quality tremendously for my 8 wireless cameras.  Not as good as wired but a lot closer.  I did extend the camera antennas and mount them about 3' away from the cameras this is an easy modification (do a search for camera antenna modification to read more about it) and inexpensive you may find sometimes there is interference between the ninja and camera antennas since each one has their own.  These are things that helped improve my system, obviously you may or may not have the same results with yours.
Hope this helps Good Luck
Logged
 

X10.com | About X10 | X10 Security Systems | Cameras| Package Deals
© Copyright 2014-2016 X10.com All rights reserved.