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[Klankster]

For the last few days, some of my modules have decided to not behave properly.  These have been rock solid for ages, except for when my old controller went bad.  This morning, my orchid case light and aquarium light in my office did not turn on, so I went and looked to see if the interface had lost its time or something.

Well, the time on the interface is OK, and all my macros are where they should be.  Nothing has changed as far as appliances that would absorb the X10 signal.  I loaded the activity monitor and saw this (this is just a partial section):

0    5/2/2009 6:56:30 AM    Receive    F7
1    5/2/2009 6:56:30 AM    Receive    F7
2    5/2/2009 6:56:31 AM    Receive    F7
3    5/2/2009 6:56:31 AM    Receive    F7
4    5/2/2009 6:56:32 AM    Receive    F7
5    5/2/2009 6:56:33 AM    Receive    F7
6    5/2/2009 6:56:34 AM    Receive    F7
7    5/2/2009 6:56:35 AM    Receive    F7
8    5/2/2009 6:56:35 AM    Receive    F7

There are some scattered "Receive N4" and "Receive F4" events scattered through this part of the log, and it goes on all the way until 7:02 (484 events!), when I see this:

483    5/2/2009 7:02:19 AM    Receive    F7
484    5/2/2009 7:02:19 AM    Receive    F7
485    5/2/2009 7:02:23 AM    Receive    F On
486    5/2/2009 7:02:24 AM    Receive    F On
487    5/2/2009 7:02:24 AM    Receive    F On
488    5/2/2009 7:02:25 AM    Receive    F On
489    5/2/2009 7:02:26 AM    Receive    F On
490    5/2/2009 7:02:26 AM    Receive    F On
491    5/2/2009 7:02:27 AM    Receive    F On
492    5/2/2009 7:02:27 AM    Receive    F On
493    5/2/2009 7:02:28 AM    Receive    F On
494    5/2/2009 7:02:29 AM    Receive    F On
494    5/2/2009 7:02:29 AM    Receive    F On
495    5/2/2009 7:02:30 AM    Receive    F On
496    5/2/2009 7:02:30 AM    Macro    A5 (Library Window)
497    5/2/2009 7:02:30 AM    Macro    A Off (Library Window)
498    5/2/2009 7:05:45 AM    Macro    B7 (Orchid Cooler)
499    5/2/2009 7:05:45 AM    Macro    B On (Orchid Cooler)
500    5/2/2009 7:05:46 AM    Macro    B7 (Orchid Cooler)
501    5/2/2009 7:05:46 AM    Macro    B On (Orchid Cooler)
502    5/2/2009 7:05:47 AM    Macro    B7 (Orchid Cooler)
503    5/2/2009 7:05:47 AM    Macro    B On (Orchid Cooler)
504    5/2/2009 7:16:46 AM    Macro    B4 (Attic light)
505    5/2/2009 7:16:46 AM    Macro    B Off (Attic light)
506    5/2/2009 7:16:47 AM    Macro    B4 (Attic light)
507    5/2/2009 7:16:47 AM    Macro    B Off (Attic light)
508    5/2/2009 7:16:48 AM    Macro    B4 (Attic light)
509    5/2/2009 7:16:48 AM    Macro    B Off (Attic light)

Several things here:

1) What is "Receive F On"?  Line noise?

2) My module A5 is indeed my library stained glass window light, but it turns OFF here at 7:02:30, and in fact its macro is supposed to turn it ON at 8:55AM and OFF at 11:30PM!  What is going on with this?

3) The attic light module (B4) has three OFF events starting at 7:16:46, but its macro is set to turn it ON at 7:45 PM and OFF at 12:22AM.  Another event happening at the wrong time.

So then it's quiet in the log unti 8:55 rolls around, when the library window macro fires:

516    5/2/2009 8:55:46 AM    Macro    A5 (Library Window)
517    5/2/2009 8:55:46 AM    Macro    A On (Library Window)
518    5/2/2009 8:55:46 AM    Receive    A5 (Library Window)
519    5/2/2009 8:55:47 AM    Receive    A5 (Library Window)
520    5/2/2009 8:55:51 AM    Receive    A On (Library Window)
521    5/2/2009 8:55:52 AM    Receive    A On (Library Window)
522    5/2/2009 8:55:53 AM    Receive    A On (Library Window)
523    5/2/2009 8:55:53 AM    Macro    A5 (Library Window)
524    5/2/2009 8:55:53 AM    Macro    A On (Library Window)
525    5/2/2009 8:55:54 AM    Receive    I All Lights On
526    5/2/2009 8:55:55 AM    Receive    A On (Library Window)
527    5/2/2009 8:55:57 AM    Receive    A On (Library Window)
528    5/2/2009 8:55:57 AM    Receive    A On (Library Window)
529    5/2/2009 8:55:58 AM    Receive    A On (Library Window)
530    5/2/2009 8:55:58 AM    Receive    A On (Library Window)
.
.
.
976    5/2/2009 9:05:47 AM    Receive    A On (Library Window)
977    5/2/2009 9:05:48 AM    Receive    A On (Library Window)
978    5/2/2009 9:05:48 AM    Receive    A On (Library Window)
979    5/2/2009 9:05:49 AM    Receive    A On (Library Window)
980    5/2/2009 9:05:50 AM    Macro    A10 (Vase Light)
981    5/2/2009 9:05:50 AM    Macro    A On (Vase Light)

4) Yes, that's something like 450 "Receive A On (Library Window)" events.  What the heck is going on?

5) The Vase Light (A10) is mostly correct -- It is set to go ON at 9AM and OFF at 11:35PM.  Not sure why it turned on 5 minutes late.  "Security" is NOT turned on for this macro.

I double-checked and the module has the correct time.

Has my controller just gone crazy, or what?  This is a relatively new unit, a USB version I bought last July to replace a bad serial version.

Any suggestions for troubleshooting this would be appreciated.

[Jsnlong]

The first thing I look for when I see a storm of the same signal is a remote somewhere that has a button stuck.. I have kids and I find them in the couch seats or even in a toy box upstairs.. 

what kind of remotes and other controllers besides the CM15 do you have?


You could also try the rest on the CM15.. unplug it from the computer and wall then remove the batteries. Then plug it all back in and reload your AHX file.

[Jsnlong]

I also forgot  I have a UR74A. When I have it controlling my tv and dvd player it will send stray x10 codes.

Like tv channel up will send a D11 on.. weird I know but I still have never figured out why. Maybe you have a remote like mine that has just gone bad.

[Klankster]

Hmm.  Interesting thoughts.  I have never used the remote that came with my X10 system -- Never even installed the batteries, and I never used the receiver module with the antenna on it.  And the only remotes I use much right now are our TiVo remotes -- no universals or anything that would control X10 components.

And nobody was up in our house at the time these events were happening, so it wasn't anything we were doing with our AV components.

The only thing that is a wildcard for me is that we have two X10 signal amplifiers in our house due to its sprawling nature and the fact that over the 80 years it has been here, the electrical system has been upgraded and had additional breaker boxes installed, making transmissions to some parts of the house problematic.  These amps have been in place for years with no trouble, though.  Part of me was wondering if something was wrong where these were somehow ping-ponging signals around back and forth between them, if there was a delay happening or something.  Maybe I'm grasping at straws here.

What I find really interesting is that the spurious signals are sometimes happening a couple of times a second for over an hour, then just stop.

I will take your advice and unplug the CM15, remove the batteries, rest it and reinstall fresh batteries.

If I leave the Activity Monitor window open, will it update those messages on the spurious receives in real time?  If so, maybe that would be a way to troubleshoot this and link it to other things going on in the house...

[Klankster]

OK, I reset the CM15, installed new batteries and downloaded all my timers to it.  When I was verifying everything, I also noticed that the Transceived House Codes setting was set to Auto -- I don't use any remotes, so I changed that to NONE.  Maybe that will make a difference -- At least it should ignore RF input, correct?

[Boiler]

OK, I reset the CM15, installed new batteries and downloaded all my timers to it.  When I was verifying everything, I also noticed that the Transceived House Codes setting was set to Auto -- I don't use any remotes, so I changed that to NONE.  Maybe that will make a difference -- At least it should ignore RF input, correct?

Klankster,

The log entries you showed in your original post were powerline transmissions, not RF.  This implies that another device is initiating the communication.

You mentioned that you don't use RF.  Do you mean no RF on the CM15a or not RF at all (i.e. no RF transceivers installed).

I've seen activity similar to what you've posted - we refer to it as a firestorm and it normally involves an active repeater.  Do you have any active repeaters installed (Signalinc or Leviton)?

Boiler

[Jsnlong]

++++" two X10 signal amplifiers in our house due to its sprawling nature and the fact that over the 80 years it has been here, the electrical system has been upgraded and had additional breaker boxes installed, making transmissions to some parts of the house problematic"+++


How big is your sprawl.. seem 2 amps is allot. I have a older house to about 109 years old i know the troubles they bring not just in automation 
What X10 amps are you using.. are any of them a phase coupler?

I guess the amps are like repeaters? maybe that is where your probelm is. like Boiler said!! I didn't pay attention to the log you posted..meaning I didn't see that they were powerline signals and not RF.

[Klankster]

To confirm, I do not have any controllers other than the CM15 installed.  I don't have any RF controllers.  I did notice yesterday that the transceiver in the CM15 was set to AUTO and have turned that off.

Here's how my house is configured:

Power comes in to a 200A main breaker box in the basement.  This is where the circuit that runs to my office, and the CM15, is connected.  The run to my office is roughly 75 feet.  Several devices I control (orchid case lights, aquarium lights, Tempest video game) are in my office, on another circuit, so that's another 75 feet back to those devices.

For other, older parts of the house, it's even worse.  There is a secondary 100A breaker box on the north end of the garage that used to be the house's main panel.  It is now fed from the main box in the basement, and it's also about 75 feet from it.  It is feeding circuits back in the main house, some of which are another 75 feet away.

So let's say my controller is sending a signal to the living room.  It goes 75 feet back to the main breaker box, then 75 feet through the subpanel feed to the garage panel, then 75 feet back into the main house to the living room.  That doesn't even count the possibility that the circuits might be on different legs of the 240V setup, which could really mess things up!

I was getting pretty poor reliability on transmissions to any of the devices in the living room when I first set up the system, so I added a Leviton X10 Signal Bridge at the garage box, and that sort of cleared up most of the problems in the living room, but I was still having occasional failures on the office devices, so I added a Leviton 2-phase Amplified Coupler/Repeater in the main breaker box to cover all my bases.  This has worked very well since I installed it, and only started seeing some strangeness in the last week or so, when things won't turn off when they are told to.

Incidentally, I do have the "Repeat" option checked on all my timers, so I'm seeing three sends on all timer events.

I did look at my Activity Monitor this morning and am not seeing any of the really strange stuff showing up since rebooting the interface -- Just my timers going off (showing as ""Macro").  Fingers crossed.

[merkelck]

I have to sympathize with your dilemma here as I have many of the same problems and like you, they were not always there. I have a thread running here as well (intermittent timer problems). I do use the rf remote pads and a couple of switches but they all seem to work fine. It was just that some of the timers were flaky. You can see my current fix at that thread, but it involves the use of macros. I am beginning to wonder if there is some sort of new technology in the hands of consumers that is causing these aberrations in the activity log??? Particularly iwth the modifications to the CM15A antenna to improve it's performance. We may be shooting ourselves in the foot trying to get better reception. I have seen hundreds of "STATUS REQUEST" entries. I also have seen timer responses with as many as 300 entries when I use the "REPEAT" button in a timer.
I have way too much wrapped up in this to give up however.
Good Luck

[Boiler]

I was getting pretty poor reliability on transmissions to any of the devices in the living room when I first set up the system, so I added a Leviton X10 Signal Bridge at the garage box, and that sort of cleared up most of the problems in the living room, but I was still having occasional failures on the office devices, so I added a Leviton 2-phase Amplified Coupler/Repeater in the main breaker box to cover all my bases.  This has worked very well since I installed it, and only started seeing some strangeness in the last week or so, when things won't turn off when they are told to.

Klanster,

From the above, the Leviton Signal Bridge at the garage box sounds like a passive coupler - Correct?

The Leviton Repeater at the main panel - Model HCA02?  If so these have been known to cause looping or firestorm problems with the CM15a (I have one myself).  I had to disconnect my HCA02 when I realized it would start looping whenever my 220V well kicked in.

Your line runs don't sound overly long.  Being 80 years old, you may have issues with connections at the panel or in your junction boxes themselves.  Where is your CM15a in relation to the panels (near the main panel or the garage)? 

Boiler