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Author Topic: MS16A reliability...FAIL!  (Read 2102 times)

bkenobi

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MS16A reliability...FAIL!
« on: January 01, 2012, 09:54:18 PM »

I have 3 MS16A motion sensors installed outside my house.  One is for my wood shed lights which seems to work fine.  The second and third are both for a single set of outdoor lights on one side of my house.  Since this set of lights covers a whole side of the house, I need 2 sensors to detect motion.  Initially, I had an issue with these sensors not having the range to reach my CM15A, but after much work, I got the range.  Skip forward ~1 month and now one sensor is not functioning.  I pulled the sensor for testing and noticed that the lens has moisture inside it.  When the sensor was installed, it was flashing to indicate motion, so I assumed this was a transmission problem.  After replacing the batteries and reprogramming, the lights still didn't turn on.

So, what should I try next?  I opened the sensor to let the moisture dry, but I'm not sure how it got in there in the first place.  I'll try using the sensor next to the other one to see if it's range/interference issues or if it's a bad sensor.  Other thoughts?

bkenobi

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Re: MS16A reliability...FAIL!
« Reply #1 on: January 02, 2012, 01:40:43 PM »

I don't think the module is bad, but I don't know why the range went down.  I decided to just add a 1/4 wavelength passive antenna (I have a few lying around...for some reason).  I'll have to take a walk around the outside to see if that gives consistent results.  I also tried new batteries with no improvement.

The only thing that's changed recently is that I've installed a new furnace an heat pump.  The heat pump is relatively close this module (~20ft) though it's not in-line with the CM15A antenna.  For what it's worth, the wood shed sensor is farther from the antenna in the other direction and seems to work fine.
 

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