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[mritorto]

guys,

I just got the video sender.

what's the range.

the directions state the attenas have to be facing each other

but my one tv is on the first floor and my bedroom is on the 3rd floor.

I have them set to channel c  and its not working.


I have the sender hooked up to my tv.  BUt it also has a vcr and cable box tied to it. how will that work.

The receiver side also has a vcr hooked up to it.

the cable in my house is splice but I only get 72 channels on the tvs not hooked up to the cable box.

I would like to see certain channels and pay per view events from the sending tv to the receiving tv

is that possible

marc

[dave w]

Range varies depending on number of walls, floors, and material of such, the signal has to go through.

The antennas are fairly directional and NEED to generally point at each other...maybe that is why it isn't working.

You have the Sender unit coupled to a TV,  so the TV has video and audio OUTPUTs and that is what you have the Sender coupled to, correct?

The Sender only has one input for video and audio, so if you plan on having three separate sources (TV, VCR, and cable box) you will need a video switcher to select which device to connect to the Video Sender. They are available at Best Buy, Walmart, Radio Shack etc.

The Video Receiver only has one output for video and audio. If you want to connect a TV and a VCR to one Video Receiver you can probably use "RCA to RCA Y adaptors". The Y adaptor takes the one output and send it to two devices. Best Buy and Radio Shack should have them. Or you could connect the Receiver output to the VCR and use video output from VCR to feed TV.

IF your "sender TV" displays Pay Per View then the receiving TV will display the same material. These things are not rocket science. Other than their ability to extend remote control range, picture them as a very long set of RCA video/audio cables running from the video/audio OUTPUT of one device to the video/audio INPUT of another. 

[mritorto]

how can u have the attenas poiting to each other if each device is another room ?

[mritorto]

I have the sender hooked up to the vcr red, yellow, and white holes and then I tried the tv's red, yellow and white holes.


I had the same set up on the receiver end.


instead of using a switcher can't you choose the source , video, line1, line2?

How about if I disconnect the vcrs on both tvs how should I connect it.

[dave w]

The Video Sender must be connected to the OUTPUT(s) of the device having the video you want to send to another TV.  So are the "red, yellow, and white holes" outputs ? They will probably be labeled "OUT"

As far as the switcher; if the "sender TV" really has red, yellow, and white OUTPUTS and you normally switch between VCR and cable box by switching the TV's "Line 1", "Line 2" then no, you would not need a seperate video switcher since the TV is providing that function. But most TVs only have video and audio INPUTS.

[mritorto]

what  about the attenas

[dave w]

As it states in the instructions,  they need to be aimed at each other (line of sight), especially when going from the first to the third floor. 

[mritorto]

how can they be aime at each other if they are in separate rooms?

[dave w]

Aim them in the general direction of each other. Stand next to the "Sender TV" and point your finger where you think your bedroom is at. Aim the Video Sender antenna that direction. Now go to your bedroom upstairs and point where you think the first floor TV would be and aim the Video Receiver antenna in that direction.

If that doesn't work, do you know any Amature Radio operators (hams) where you live. If so, ask them for help.

[steven r]

Aim them in the general direction of each other. Stand next to the "Sender TV" and point your finger where you think your bedroom is at. Aim the Video Sender antenna that direction. Now go to your bedroom upstairs and point where you think the first floor TV would be and aim the Video Receiver antenna in that direction.

If that doesn't work, do you know any Amature Radio operators (hams) where you live. If so, ask them for help.

I am an Amateur Radio operator and don't see how you could make the instructions any simpler.
If the above doesn't produce an acceptable picture (i.e. You haven't guessed what a line of site would be if there were no walls in the way.) try rotating one of the antennas up to 90° each way. Then try the other one.

If you still have problems, set up a test from a closer room or maybe with both the sender and receiver in the same room.

[x10dude]

The antennas on these things really suck. In fact, so far, all the antennas in every X10 device that I've bought (over $1000 - fool me!) don't have any real reach.

I started on this X10 stuff just about a month ago, and let me tell you, had I known what I know now, I would have never done it. I dove right in and bought all kinds of stuff (cameras, video sender/receiver, remote controls, LOLA, full house alarm, AHP, filters, repeaters, powerhorns, etc.) Now, I'm in debug mode - for just about everything I purchased - what a waste of time! Don't get me wrong, at first the idea of learning, digging, and playing with something new to me sounded great - little did I know.

Anyway, if the antenna on the CM15A is any indication on the "quality" of the antenna inside the case for the sender/receiver, I doubt you'd be able to get it two floors up. I tried and failed miserably - no matter what direction I pointed the sender & receiver's antennas to. Your best bet is to point both of them to the ceiling, play around with the channels, and hope to get something. Otherwise, you'll probably need a 2.4ghz signal repeater. Also, if you have a wi-fi network, be careful. These devices do interfere with it.

What's worse is if you have other X10 devices that use RF, even though they use a different frequency, they caused problems for me. The claim is 100ft reach for the sender/receiver, but that's actually if you have them in TOTALLY open space with no interference whatsoever (not even the wind).. Try to create that scenario in real life!

Keep in mind that if you do get them to work, anyone with a strong 2.4ghz video receiver (like the ones used for babycams) will be able to "share" what you're viewing on your TV. If that happens, it will definitely steal badwidth too.

My recommendation would be to find a way to replace the antenna in both the sender & receiver. It will probably void your warranty though. That's what I had to do with my home automation USB unit (CM15A). It came with about a 5 inch piece of wire as the antenna (enclosed in a small plastic tube for professional presentation)! PLEASE! I replaced it with a UHF/VHF (rabbit ear style) antenna and now, my reach is much better.

Frank

[dave w]

My recommendation would be to find a way to replace the antenna in both the sender & receiver. It will probably void your warranty though. That's what I had to do with my home automation USB unit (CM15A). It came with about a 5 inch piece of wire as the antenna (enclosed in a small plastic tube for professional presentation)! PLEASE! I replaced it with a UHF/VHF (rabbit ear style) antenna and now, my reach is much better.

Frank

"Dude"
Read the thread beginning.  mrtorto is connecting his video sender to the "red, yellow, and white holes" on his TV, (which may or may not be an actual OUTPUT, I am not sure if he knows) and VCR. Telling him to find a way to replace his antennas probably isn't the way to go. I'm still trying to get him to read his instructions, apparently without success.

[nnixon]

Hi, everyone! My name is Nick Nixon. I'm new to the X10 user forum, but I've been an avid X10 fan and user for over 20 years.

Someone who posts a troubleshooting request in a 'Product Review' forum and refers to RCA-type a/v connections as "red, white and yellow holes" is someone who is already over their head with almost any consumer electronics issues. It seems that mritorto has discovered the outer limits of the X10 a/v sender's operating range, and no 'tweaking' will solve his problem.

-------------------

My advice to mritorto is to either reread the instructions for understanding, educate himself in a/v stuff, phone-a-friend, or hire a local X10 contractor. As someone has already said, 'this stuff isn't rocket science', but all consumer electronics devices have operating parameters and should be expected to perform at optimum only within stated limitations.

Penetration of three floors, walls, electrical wiring, plumbing, HVAC, furniture and who knows what else, would be a challenge for most home-type wireless devices. I would be among the first to acknowledge that the X10 a/v senders, both the old and new models, have limitations beyond which the equipment will just not function. The secret is to keep the xmtr and the rcvr within a range (physical proximity) that works in your specific situation.

Two out-of-the-box(off-the-wall?) solutions I would offer mritorto are:

1. bring the sender and receiver closer together by repositioning them, in their respective rooms, through the use of longer RCA-type a/v cables at one or both devices. Don't buy longer cable at RS or BB -- go online to monoprice.com or bluejeanscables.com for much cheaper prices, especially on longer cables.

2. use an additional a/v sender-receiver pair as 'repeaters', back-to-back and set "pair 2" to a different frequency than "pair 1". Added expense, sure, but easier and cheaper than fishing wires through walls and floors.

Best of luck.

Regards, Nick

[HA Dave]

Hi, everyone! My name is Nick Nixon. I'm new to the X10 user forum

Welcome to the forum Nick!

Someone who........ refers to RCA-type a/v connections as "red, white and yellow holes" is someone who is already over their head

Yes.... but so very few people come to the forum... because they have NO problems. But.. This is a community forum. We aren't on-line tech-support. We offer an understanding ear... and rarely does anyone leave without a working setup. Most posts by newbies are more about "how does the technology work" than anything else. Of course it can be tempting to say read the directions. But reading directions doesn't work well for many people. But this forum format [with all its faults].... has helped thousands.

If someone is over-thier-head in X10 trouble... and don't even know the proper names and terms... this is the place to read, post, and learn.

[Ddbord]

The antennas on these things really suck. In fact, so far, all the antennas in every X10 device that I've bought (over $1000 - fool me!) don't have any real reach.

I started on this X10 stuff just about a month ago, and let me tell you, had I known what I know now, I would have never done it. I dove right in and bought all kinds of stuff (cameras, video sender/receiver, remote controls, LOLA, full house alarm, AHP, filters, repeaters, powerhorns, etc.) Now, I'm in debug mode - for just about everything I purchased - what a waste of time! Don't get me wrong, at first the idea of learning, digging, and playing with something new to me sounded great - little did I know.

Anyway, if the antenna on the CM15A is any indication on the "quality" of the antenna inside the case for the sender/receiver, I doubt you'd be able to get it two floors up. I tried and failed miserably - no matter what direction I pointed the sender & receiver's antennas to. Your best bet is to point both of them to the ceiling, play around with the channels, and hope to get something. Otherwise, you'll probably need a 2.4ghz signal repeater. Also, if you have a wi-fi network, be careful. These devices do interfere with it.

What's worse is if you have other X10 devices that use RF, even though they use a different frequency, they caused problems for me. The claim is 100ft reach for the sender/receiver, but that's actually if you have them in TOTALLY open space with no interference whatsoever (not even the wind).. Try to create that scenario in real life!

Keep in mind that if you do get them to work, anyone with a strong 2.4ghz video receiver (like the ones used for babycams) will be able to "share" what you're viewing on your TV. If that happens, it will definitely steal badwidth too.

My recommendation would be to find a way to replace the antenna in both the sender & receiver. It will probably void your warranty though. That's what I had to do with my home automation USB unit (CM15A). It came with about a 5 inch piece of wire as the antenna (enclosed in a small plastic tube for professional presentation)! PLEASE! I replaced it with a UHF/VHF (rabbit ear style) antenna and now, my reach is much better.

Frank

Frank......

I just setup the Sender/Receiver with the Sender in a room on the second floor in the extreme SW portion of the room.

I then setup the Receiver in the BASEMENT in the extreme NE part of the room.

Perfect picture and sound!  Just kinda aimed the upstairs antenna toward the basement room, and then wiggled the basement antenna to get a PERFECT picture and sound!

But.....  The remote that came with the package DOES NOT SEND EVEN FROM THE NEXT ROOM!

   Ddbord

  PS Good Luck    follow the directions to the letter!