I am an extensive user of X10 and have been using it in my home for last 4 years. It has always impressed my friends and neighbors who are amazed at lights switching on/off automatically and controlling lights with a remote. Whenever I have a light on/off problem to solve, X10 modules always help.
Recently, I have faced a strange problem. Some of my macros stored in CM11A have stopped working. I will give a typical example which totally rules out any problems with the X10 setup like faulty modules, electrical noise, weak signal etc.
I have my bed lamp connected to a lamp module at code G4. When I press the G4 ON button on the remote, the lamp turns on, when I press the OFF button, the lamp turns off. I can dim/brighten the lamp using keys on remote.
I had created a macro G2 which effectively turns on G4 with 20% brightness. When I press G2 ON button on the remote, the lamp turned on and then dimmed to 20% brightness. When I pressed the G2 OFF button, the lamp would turn off. This macro has suddenly stopped working. I can turn on/off the lamp from the G4 key every time without a problem. This eliminates any noise/signal suppression issue. When I press G2 ON, nothing happens which is strange since G2 calls G4.
I monitored the communications log on CM11A using the ActiveHome software and it clearly shows that the signal has been sent out to turn on G4 with 80% dimming but the lamp module fails to respond. I have already installed a phase coupler/repeater module which also shows that signal is being transmitted on both phases by blinking red/green LEDs.
I have same problem with some other modules where modules are responding correctly when addressed directly but fail to respond when addressed via a macro. These macros were created several years ago and were working fine till couple of months ago. I have replaced the CM11A with a new one but problem persists.
I am out of ideas and would like to seek help from the community to troubleshoot this issue.