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[dave w]

PS.  I also use these to control washing machine pumps and a vast array of solenoids harvested from washing machines, ice makers and dishwashers at halloween.

I am definitely going to have to drive east this October. Your house must do nothing but hum, buzz, and click come mid October.

[bkenobi]

The dual brite feature is a bit of a downside to these in that you are paying for a feature that can't be used.  In this case, they did include a switch to disable it entirely, so that's where it's set.  I would much prefer a cheapo motion sensor that had a relay built in, but I couldn't find one locally to test and I didn't want to buy countless units online unless I knew there was a shot of them working.

As it stands now, I've wired this unit in with a new external box and a conduit, so I'd prefer to stick with it.  I'm not entirely happy with how things are since I'm getting a series of random chimes from my SC546.  I can't tell yet if it's a logic problem with my macros (probably) or if it's an issue with the hardware (I doubt it due to the amount of testing did prior to installing things.  For now, I may have to disable the macros to keep my wife from blowing a gasket.   

Maybe the sun and clouds are causing issues as they move around.  If so, I guess a sensitivity adjustment would be in order.  Not sure yet...

On the up side, I'm really happy with the way the installation looks!  But, I'd probably have been better off just using my compound miter saw to cut a block for mounting 2 ActiveEye sensors in a single location and a third out near the entrance to the driveway.  It would have been more work with the software though, so who knows.  Is this the "fun" part of home automation?   

[Knightrider]

I am definitely going to have to drive east this October. Your house must do nothing but hum, buzz, and click come mid October.

Well, it's not exactly my house.  I left the big town for the sticks about 15 years ago.  An old friend of mine actually pays me to decorate his place.  (I get payed to play!)  I've posted the pipe organ of fire, but not sure about any of the other stuff that Knightmares has cooked up over the years.  Dad was kind of a nut when it came to that stuff, and I picked it up about 1986.  Incidentally, he won a state award for designing a JayCee's haunted house about 30 years before I won mine.  I met my wife in that haunted house.  Tried to quit at 20 years, but too many people keep requesting to see what we cook up next, and it's kind of a tribute to my father.

[Knightrider]

.  Is this the "fun" part of home automation?  

Yep.

[bkenobi]

Is there an easy way to disable a macro?  I can't seem to find one, so I ended up backing up my setup and deleting the motion sensor related macros until I get a chance to figure out what's going on.  I guess I could have switched the PF to a different H/U code, but I didn't think of that quick enough.  Anyway, thoughts?

[dave w]

Is there an easy way to disable a macro? 

Change the trigger to an unused HCUC(?).

[bkenobi]

I hadn't thought of that, but it would work.  I guess I was hoping that there might be a simple check box I wasn't seeing.  Better than deleting the whole thing!

Ok, so I think I'm starting to get my head wrapped around how to rewrite the macros to get things to work, but I have a question about delays that I'm not sure about.  The way I had things working (which was pretty nice) was that the motion would turn on lights and turn them off after 16 minutes of no motion.  It would also chime every time new motion was detected (no more often than 1/minute).  The reason this would work is I leveraged the MS16A's continued sending of the ON code whenever it saw motion and only sending the OFF code when the timer ran out.  This new motion sensor turns on when motion is detected and off after no motion for a selectable period (test =~5 seconds, 1 min, 5 min, 20 min).

What I want to do is have the chime work if motion is detected even if the sensor is already on.  I know this a bit difficult when it doesn't have a way to send this info, but I think I can get the info even without the code being sent...maybe.  Here's what I'm thinking:  If motion detected in test mode, the motion sensor will trigger on and turn off after 5 seconds.  If motion is still going after 5 seconds, it will remain on.  So, if use that info, I know that if there is no OFF code sent after the delay I'm expecting, there is still motion outside, so I could simply trigger a chime if the motion sensor is still on after 1 minute since it should have turned off by then (55 seconds earlier).  This would be an issue if I used the 20 minutes since 1 minute of initial motion would result in a 21 minute motion on time and chiming at 20 minutes would be 19 minutes too late.

Anyway, I'm just wondering if there's a slicker way I'm overlooking.


ALSO, I want to have 2 timers going at once...I think.  I want to have a timer that keeps the light on for say 15 minutes after motion stops as well as one that chimes every 1-5 minutes of motion (I haven't decided on a time yet).  So, say the motion sensor is on for 3 minutes and then turns off.  I want the lights to stay on for a total of 18 minutes and the chime to have gone off at least initially and maybe additional times depending on the second timer.  I'm not seeing an easy way to do 2 timers currently, which is why I'm asking...

[dave w]

FWIW
I should not continually tout Homeseer on the X10 forum, but X10 does have a Homeseer discussion tab on this forum, so.....
Macros in Homeseer can be easily inhibited by a check box. It has no problems with timers, or soft start modules, or conditional logic, or (etc. etc. etc).

The only problem is comparing Homeseer to AHP is like comparing a Cadillac CTX to a Ford Focus. Focus is a great car. Gets you from A to B inexpensively. Cadillac is bigger, more powerful, more luxurious, does everything the Focus does, times 10...and (alas) is more expensive.  Homeseer has a 30 day trial and can use the CM15A as powerline interface. 

[bkenobi]

I've looked at HomeSeer in the past, but thought that it would be better to use AHP since you can't upload your control logic to the CM15A.  I guess it's not really an issue since I have my HA computer on all the time anyway (it's also my file server).  Do you think the desired capabilities I've stated would be easily doable in HS?  I really love to hate AHP and would not have an issue abandoning it!  I just don't want to spend more money on another dog of a program.

Probably worth the trial anyway.

[bkenobi]

WOW, I didn't realize that it cost $600 for HSPro!  I suppose I could get HS2, but that's still over $200.  On the up side, it has better logic control and a built in web server (something I've been looking into as well).

On the other hand, you have to buy any add-on you want.  Course that's the same as X-10, but the prices are much higher from the looks of it (what you actually pay).

Hmmm.  Have to think harder.

[dave w]

WOW, I didn't realize that it cost $600 for HSPro!  I suppose I could get HS2, but that's still over $200. 

Stunned silence at this end.
Glazed eyes begin to clear...

Yeah,  I don't know who needs HS Pro. HS Pro is HS with all the HS plug-ins, which is IMHO really dumb marketing since you definately would not use all plug-ins.  What single user would use Lightolier and Lutron and CentraLite plug-ins, etc. I suspect the only users who can really use HS Pro is HS dealers.

HS ain't cheap but it is high quality.

I see so many AHP complaints on the forum that smacks of poorly written software, begging to be cleaned up, and I have lost faith in X10 doing anything about it.

[bkenobi]

Yeah, $200 isn't free, but it's also not out of the question I suppose.  The initial shock of $600 was pretty big.  I didn't look at the features after seeing the price tag.

I must admit that I never wanted to use the X10 software in the first place.  I only went with it after talking to the customer service person during the order process and he claimed that I wouldn't be required to use the stupid graphical programming interface.  I specifically asked if AHP was written like AH or if it was a newly designed software that you could program logically.  Well, I suppose believing what I was told was my own fault and not returning it once I realized I'd been had wasn't any better.  Oh well, my bad.

Once I get this motion sensor hardware straightened out, I may have to look at getting some decent software to go with it.

[bkenobi]

Ahhhh, I may have a resolution to some degree...at least as for why the motion sensor doesn't work reliably.  I found that the motion sensor requires the resistance of a light bulb in order to turn on the switched 120vac leg (actually, it fooled me and cost me my first power flash module, but that's another story  ).  I decided the best bet was to install the smallest wattage light bulb I could find inside the garage and use it as an indicator that motion was sensed.  I found a 7.5 watt bulb and things looked like they worked ok.  As it turns out, that motion sensor requires a minimum of a 40 watt resistive load for things to work correctly.  I'll have to give that a try and see what, if anything, is improved by installing the correct bulb.  I don't know why that's not in the spec for the unit.  Seems simple enough to publish the range of bulbs that work (40-500watt) and don't work (inductive bulbs like CFL and LED).

[dave w]

Definately using a triac for control. Could you use the small bulb in one of these: http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&sugexp=ldymls&xhr=t&q=socket+outlet+adaptor&cp=21&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&wrapid=tljp1303224215688040&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=16629121678499543774&sa=X&ei=p5-tTcivOfOC0QGCitG9Cw&sqi=2&ved=0CEsQ8wIwBA#
and plug a 120V AC coil relay into the outlet for your Power Flash?

[bkenobi]

I have a little more complex setup than that socket adapter, but it works basically the same way.  I just need to put a bigger bulb in I think.  I might install a pull chain on the side of the outlet box where the power flash and bulb are located (and the power for the motion sensor is routed through) so I can reset the whole thing if it turns out it needs fixing from time to time.  I currently can reset by going to the basement and toggling the garage outlet at the breaker, but I'd rather not do that too many times.  Switches are designed for more actuation cycles than breakers and are easier to install too.