Boy oh boy, I've been reading your posts and I'm confused as you are. It seems the most common "it's not our fault" reason for so, SO many problems is the old noise ploy, so better get your check book out.
And you'll need filters for each computer installation (I have 3), every item that has a motor (refrigerator, freezer, fans, TV's, stereos, cable TV boxes, humidifiers, etc (I figure I have 9 standard) and I need a circuit box isolator to separate my power tools lets say 2), and you'll need filters and power strips for sockets where you plug chargers into so you can gang them (I have at least 3) and you'll need a noise filter for your incoming line if the neighbors Christmas lights or CFL bulbs are overwhelming the noise of your controller. That's around $500 for the parts and then there's the installation cost for the incoming line unless your an electrician (I had an estimate of $450 (labor and additional service box installation and wire runs)). So that's about $1000 for noise filtering.
And you'll need amplifiers the one I saw that was guaranteed to "solve your problems" for about $120 but you have to sign a waver of liability in case of fire or equipment damage. So that's at least another $120.
And then there's a cross over for an additional $120 to $150 (I've seen them up to $250)?
And then there's replacing every CFL or florescent lamp in your house. I guess incandescent bulbs are about a buck apiece (I have about 30 in my house) but there's the loss of the energy efficiency and that's more money every month. Oh, and don't forget you have to have at least a 40 watt bulb to guarantee voltage sensing. And, oh, don't forget you will need to use only new bulbs because as a filament stretches it changes the resistance and can induce harmonic noise in the circuit. So that's another $30 to $40.
After all that you've potentially spent another $1300 to $1500 to get your $45 CM15a to work consistently and you are still subject to the dreaded noise ploy.
But, you know, maybe your doing good, I've read about people that can get a CM15a to work with no problems at all. Maybe your one of those houses that have no noise, no motors that generate noise, no power supplies, no Christmas lights, no computers and none of your neighbors have them.
I've done the dreaded noise search unplugging everything in my home and plugging them in one at a time to find the current offender, and it didn't turn up squat. Maybe if I hook an oscilloscope to my line and meter the circuitry noise, ugh no I don't think that's is possible. I hooked a volt meter up once and the power fluctuates more than I imagined.
It's always the same, the timers work for a few days then they get flaky and then don't work and then they work and then it's sporadic, and on and on and on. Maybe the problem is coming from the computer I use to program my CM15a. Maybe the problem is coming from the power supply on my neighbors vibrator. I'm just not sure how effectively anyone can ever identify the dreaded noise problem.
Anyway, I digress: I'm with you all, I need a better explanations of whats happening, you know frequencies, signal wattage, you know real information. At least something better that maybe it's some abstract noise from a potentially indeterminable number of sources, inside or outside of the house, but it's not our hardware. OR, I need a better technology.
Here's an kluge I've resorted to for home security. I use macros that have multiple on or off commands each set a few minutes apart and a number macros sending off signals at timed intervals just to be sure I don't have lights on all night long. The good news is random light timing is good for security.
The bad news is if your trying to get something to turn on at a specific time then better get your check book out and buy a digital timer with a good battery backup.
