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[maxglitz]

I've surveyed the household members and no new electric items, including compact fluorescent bulbs have been installed in the last few weeks. Nothing, not even a change in what's normally turned on. Yet in two different rooms, with two separate control boxes for their own set of lamps (one room doesn't control the other), on the same evening both quit working. After a week of testing, I noticed they work normally during the day, but not at night, when I need them the most.

If it had been just one control box with its lamps, I'd have figured it went bad and replaced it. But not two. As another test, I changed the codes on both the boxes to see if it made a difference. No. I switched them back to the original codes and again, fine during the day, but not working at night.

[dave w]

It is likely something ON at night but OFF in day (brilliant deduction, eh?). But IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE SOMETHING NEW, although new gizmos is the first thing to check for, older gizmos can become noisy with age).
Assuming you do not have a X10 ELK signal meter,  one method of isolating is to wait until the room lights do not work and unplug other possible noise sources in the room.

If things do not start to work, then you can try the gross isolation. Have someone else continually turn the unresponsive lamp ON and OFF with the non-working controller while you go to breaker panel and begin flipping off breakers one-at-a-time. Helps if you have 2-way radios.

When/if the lights suddenly start working you have isolated the branch containing the noise source (there may be more than one, with the noise being additive). Once you find the branch, it is easier to find the source.

Good luck

[maxglitz]

Know what? I'm at my limit for technology that sorta/kinda works. Until I hear that something doesn't require all these tests, I'm buying a long extension cord and a table-top dimmer. DRAT. And I've loved these things. Between computers, wrist watches that need manuals just to set the time and the like, I'm tired. And the thing is, I'm technically savvy about a lot.

[HA Dave]

Know what? I'm at my limit for technology that sorta/kinda works. Until I hear that something doesn't require all these tests, I'm buying a long extension cord and a table-top dimmer. DRAT. And I've loved these things. Between computers, wrist watches that need manuals just to set the time and the like, I'm tired. And the thing is, I'm technically savvy about a lot.

Start with the basic... what you always wished you'd done anyway... map your circuits:  http://forums.x10.com/index.php?topic=11117.msg63562

[JeffVolp]

It is likely something ON at night but OFF in day (brilliant deduction, eh?). But IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE SOMETHING NEW, although new gizmos is the first thing to check for, older gizmos can become noisy with age).

Boy, ain't that the truth!  I found that out myself the hard way.  I had installed a Lumoform 120V 4W LED bulb last year to provide some illumination in an otherwise dark interior hallway.  The light is on 24/7 because it lights the way to the bathroom at night.  When first installed I did not detect any increase in noise level.  Since I do check background noise every time I test a batch of XTBs, that is something I monitor closely.

Some months later there was a significant increase in the background noise almost directly in the X10 frequency band.  Since this was shortly after a new neighbor moved in next door, and we share the same utility transformer, I suspected it might be coming in over the powerline.  Only after seeing a report from someone else reporting a problem with a 120V LED light did I re-check the Lumoform bulb.  Sure enough, it was the culprit.  It is actually generating more noise than any CFL I have ever tested.

I am not sure why I didn't see the noise in the beginning.  I do check noise after passing through the XTB coupling network, so that would reject out of band noise.  Perhaps the frequency moved into the XTB bandpass.  Or, maybe a filter which was supposed to prevent noise from reaching the powerline has failed.  But it is clear that a once benign device can become a severe noise generator.

Jeff

[HA Dave]

...... I had installed a Lumoform 120V 4W LED bulb last year to provide some illumination in an otherwise dark interior hallway.  The light is on 24/7 because it lights the way to the bathroom at night.  When first installed I did not detect any increase in noise level.......

I have read that LEDs can generate noise as they age... and have been keeping an eye on that myself. I recently installed a 4 Watt LED floodlight which does an excellent job of replacing a 40 Watt "regular" floodlight and seems much brighter than the 19 watt CFL floodlight it is paired with. I am surprised you need that much "night-light" wattage. 4 watts of LED light... is BRIGHT.

[JeffVolp]

I am surprised you need that much "night-light" wattage. 4 watts of LED light... is BRIGHT.

Yes, the 4W LED produced a surprising amount of light.  The hallway is off rooms that are very well lit during the day, so it needed more than a nightlight while the sun was up.  While somewhat dimmer than the prior incandescent, it was certainly adequate during the day and evening.  But, the LED bulb was not dimmable, and it was too bright at night.  I wrote that off as the downside of saving energy.

As reported elsewhere, that Lumoform bulb has been replaced by a 5W Sylvaina dimmable CFL, which works perfectly.  It is even brighter during the day, and can be dimmed to a dull glow at night.

Jeff