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[KLF]

I have several Socket Rockets that have been in use for a bit less than a year. They have seemingly worked fine.
However they all seem to have died at once. They do not respond to commands and do not seem to be reprogrammable. The bulbs in them (cfl's) are fine.
This became noticeable within a day or so of some stormy weather with several brief power outages.
Are these SR's toast or is there a way to resurrect them? Is this a common problem?
         

[Brian H]

Sounds like they have died. When the power flickered it may have had a surge that damaged them.
One common failure is stuck on. That is as soon as the power is applied they go on and can not be turned off. This is most times caused by a standard bulbs filament burning out and the surge has fried the triac.

[dave w]

KLF

Before you toss them, try reprogramming with an incandescent bulb in the socket. You CAN NOT program a Socket Rocket using a CFL.

[Brian H]

Dave made a good point. Try them with a regular type bulb before making any decisions.

[KLF]

Before you toss them, try reprogramming with an incandescent bulb in the socket. You CAN NOT program a Socket Rocket using a CFL.

Are you sure about that? One of the reasons I got them in the first place is because they DO work with CFL's, very low wattage ones at that.
But I don't remember what I used to program them when they were new.
In any case, the incandescent bulb trick did not work, they're still dead.

[Brian H]

The programing with a standard bulb eliminates any noise the CFL bulb may make. That would make programming harder. I have used CFL bulbs with Socket Rockets.

Sounds like they are dead. Did you try using a table lamp right next to a controller. That would eliminate any signal problems.

From what you have said. They may have died.

[dave w]

Before you toss them, try reprogramming with an incandescent bulb in the socket. You CAN NOT program a Socket Rocket using a CFL.

Are you sure about that? One of the reasons I got them in the first place is because they DO work with CFL's, very low wattage ones at that.
But I don't remember what I used to program them when they were new.
In any case, the incandescent bulb trick did not work, they're still dead.

KFL I think you miss read my comment, or I wasn't clear. A Socket Rocket does a great job of controlling a CFL, but when you try and program a new house code/ unit code you need to use a standard incandescent bulb during the programming.

As Brian pointed out CFLs may generate enough  noise to make programming unreliable or difficult. I should not have said you "CAN NOT" program a Socket Rocket using a CFL, I should have said you "SHOULD NOT".  I could not get my Sockets Rockets with CFLs to reprogram, until I temporally replaced the CFL with an incandescent.

Also as Brian pointed out, yours sound like they have died, I just though it weird that 1)they died in an OFF state,  and 2) nothing else in the house was effected, so thought it might be a programming issue.
Good luck.

[KLF]

As Brian pointed out CFLs may generate enough  noise to make programming unreliable or difficult. I should not have said you "CAN NOT" program a Socket Rocket using a CFL, I should have said you "SHOULD NOT".  I could not get my Sockets Rockets with CFLs to reprogram, until I temporally replaced the CFL with an incandescent.

Also as Brian pointed out, yours sound like they have died, I just though it weird that 1)they died in an OFF state,  and 2) nothing else in the house was effected, so thought it might be a programming issue.
Good luck.

The "can not" vs  "should not"  distinction clears it up.  As I said, I used them only with CFLs but do not remember what I used to program them originally. 
I do not know exactly when mine died but they were used daily and their "deadness" became apparent at more-or-less the same time for all of them.
The only sign of life is an occasional flicker of a bulb as power is turned off and on manually. That gave me some faint hope hope that there might be a method of getting them operating.
But they do not respond even when a controller is plugged into the same outlet used for a portable lamp (same routine I used originally).
 

[KLF]

I just though it weird that 1)they died in an OFF state,  and 2) nothing else in the house was effected, so thought it might be a programming issue.

1. I thnk that's true but I don't know
2. I didn't say that, but I have now discovered that an old Radio Shack X10 timer seems to have failed too.

[KLF]

OK Here's an update on the dead Socket Rockets. I had left one of the presumed dead SR's in a lamp socket which was switched on.
Just sitting there and a half hour or more after I last played with it, the apparently dead lamp spontaneously came on.
I tried another SR and it did essentially the same thing after as similar period of time.
Nothing controllable or programmable, but at least juice was getting to the bulb in some sort of weird switching activity.
 

[HA Dave]

OK Here's an update on the dead Socket Rockets. I had left one of the presumed dead SR's in a lamp socket which was switched on.
Just sitting there and a half hour or more after I last played with it, the apparently dead lamp spontaneously came on.
I tried another SR and it did essentially the same thing after as similar period of time.
Nothing controllable or programmable, but at least juice was getting to the bulb in some sort of weird switching activity.
 

Would be my guess... they are both set to the default A1 codes now.

[KLF]

Would be my guess... they are both set to the default A1 codes now.

Seems like a reasonabe assumption, but as far as I can tell they are not controllable with any code. 

[Brian H]

Sounding more like they have died. If they will not respond to a controller even if in a test lamp on the same outlet. They are dead.