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[lb110]

Okay, I have two timers with problems.   Both timers have been in use for at least five years,  I noticed a problem with the first one about six months ago.  The on off times seemed to have drifted, so I reset and downloaded.  Altho the numbers had changed on the computer screen to what I wanted,  the time of activation did not.  Tried it again a couple of times.  Still the same. I have this timer set up to code A3 with 6 modules set to A3. It turns on the hall light, a small garage light, three outside lights and a wall socket.  The socket makes a racket and tells the dog it is time for his walk around the house. Sub problem: the garage light and the wall socket stopped working on the CM15A commands but still work with manual control.  I think I know what caused the sub problem.  I will know tonight.  The second  timer controls a power strip that has all the wall transformers for the computer.  The CM15A is not on this strip.  Its always plugged into power and always has been.  I turn the computer on and off by itself manually.  Always have.  This is the timer that mostly turns on an hour early.  One macro operates flawlessly.  I have a timer on dawn to dusk with no problems and another for holiday lights with no problem .  Still using 3.186.    I hope you can make sense of all this!   Wayne

[Noam]

What types of modules are the ones that won't respond on the timers, AND how are they defined in AHP?

With such an old version of the software, there may be a limit to the amount of troubleshooting we can do, as the program has changed a lot in the nearly 6 years since 3.186 was released (3.186 was release in April of 2005!).

Have you changed any of the modules, or added ANY electrical devices around the time the problem crept up?
You may have a noise issue, causing those two modules not to respond well.

As for the timer running an hour early, do you keep your CM15A plugged into the PC all the time? Is the Pc turned on or off when this timer is supposed to run?
There were reports of CM15A's with "clock drift." If you keep it connected to a running PC, then the clock re-syncs every two hours. Otherwise, the clock and drift off, and timers may run early. If you then pwoer up the Pc later, it will re-sync the clock again.

[lb110]

OK Noam,  I think you have the answer!  I always have the CM15A connected to the PC with the USB cable.  I turn the PC off at about nine PM.  I mean I turn it all the way off, not just into power save.  The batteries are supposed to keep the clock running in the CM right?  If they don't and the clock goes off time,  It won't start to adjust back until I turn the PC back on at around 8:30 AM.  By the time the next timer activates (around 8:PM) the time is adjusted back to nearly correct.  Is there a way to see the actual time that the CM has at any chosen moment?  Could I look at it first thing in the morning to see?   Wayne

[Dan Lawrence]

OK Noam,  I think you have the answer!  I always have the CM15A connected to the PC with the USB cable.  I turn the PC off at about nine PM.  I mean I turn it all the way off, not just into power save.  The batteries are supposed to keep the clock running in the CM right?  If they don't and the clock goes off time,  It won't start to adjust back until I turn the PC back on at around 8:30 AM.  By the time the next timer activates (around 8:PM) the time is adjusted back to nearly correct.  Is there a way to see the actual time that the CM has at any chosen moment?  Could I look at it first thing in the morning to see?   Wayne

AFAIK, NO.  I presume all timers are uploaded to the CM15A.  I do run the PC that has AHP on it 24/7 and even when we have PC problems uploaded timers run as scheduled.

[Noam]

OK Noam,  I think you have the answer!  I always have the CM15A connected to the PC with the USB cable.  I turn the PC off at about nine PM.  I mean I turn it all the way off, not just into power save.  The batteries are supposed to keep the clock running in the CM right?  If they don't and the clock goes off time,  It won't start to adjust back until I turn the PC back on at around 8:30 AM.  By the time the next timer activates (around 8:PM) the time is adjusted back to nearly correct.  Is there a way to see the actual time that the CM has at any chosen moment?  Could I look at it first thing in the morning to see?   Wayne

You can't see the CM15A's time, but you should be able to figure it out yourself, with a little testing.
You already know that by 7:00 AM, the time is an hour fast.
Set up an "indicator" module (you can use a lamp, or a chime module, or even listen for the "click" of an appliance module).
Set up timers to turn it on and/or off every hour or so. Since you know what time it SHOULD be happening, keep an eye on it through the night, and compare when the timer runs to when it SHOULD run.

The "clock drift" is (reportedly) due to a design flaw in the CM15A. Instead of using a clock chip, the designers decided to same money and count the 60Hz power cycles, and use those to track the time. Since power fluctuations can happen, the time can get off sync.

Unfortunately, the only solution I know of is to keep the Pc running 24/7.

[lb110]

Hi Noam,  First of all I would like to thank you for your kind assistance.  Last night my timers turned on and off at exactly the scheduled times: 7:58, 8:04, 9:58 and 10:04.  This morning the timer turned on at the exact scheduled time; 8:05.  Maybe all my rummaging around in the system shook something loose! The two modules that don't respond do not bother me. The fact that they both stopped working at the same time is a good clue.  Thanks---Wayne

[Noam]

Hi Noam,  First of all I would like to thank you for your kind assistance.  Last night my timers turned on and off at exactly the scheduled times: 7:58, 8:04, 9:58 and 10:04.  This morning the timer turned on at the exact scheduled time; 8:05.  Maybe all my rummaging around in the system shook something loose! The two modules that don't respond do not bother me. The fact that they both stopped working at the same time is a good clue.  Thanks---Wayne

My pleasure.
Did you keep the PC turned on overnight (which would have kept the CM15A's time in sync with the PC)?
If not, then perhaps there is some variation in the 60Hz signal on your power lines, and the problem is likely going to come back at some point.

As for the two modules not working, that is probably noise-related. There are a bunch of posts related to tracking down noise. I went through a similar thing over the summer, and it turned out it was a failing CFL that was creating the noise. It took me a while to find it, because it wasn't in my house. It was across the street, on my neighbor's porch! The noise level was so high, that even by the time it travelled across the street, it hadn't attenuated enough that it still caused problems. I bought my neighbor a pair of new CFLs for his porch.

[lb110]

Hi Noam,  I had the PC turned off overnight as usual so we will see what happens over time.    Wayne