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[Noam]

I have a filter on each of my three UPSes (a Belkin 1500VA, and two APC 650's).
I don't have one on my FIOS power supply, because that never seemed to cause any problems for my setup.

I never tested the APCs without the filters (one replaced an older Belkin whose battery finally gave out after a few years), but it doesn't hurt me to use them, since I already have the filters.

[bkenobi]

I'm looking at getting a 1500VA unit.  According to the specs, it's capable of supplying up to 900W.  If my calculations are correct, 900W @ 120V = 5.4A.  So, if I were to max out the UPS, I would be exceeding the 5A X10 plug-in filter.  I suppose that means I need to go with one of the higher rated units such as a 10A FilterLinc (as was already suggested).  Of course, the price on these has gone way up in the last few months.  I believe they were under $10/ea mid-2011.  As of this morning, the cheapest prices are 50-100% more (plus shipping).  If I go that far, I'll just get the filterlinc for ~$30.

These prices are not an issue for one, but to deploy them en mass around the house could get pricey!

[Brian H]

I have a 10 Amp Smarthome FilterLinc on my APC BX1000 UPS and the unfiltered pass through outlet has my automation interace in it.

[Noam]

These prices are not an issue for one, but to deploy them en mass around the house could get pricey!

You might be able to get away with filtering the one or two worst offenders, and that might eliminate enough of the problem that the rest of the system works.

[JeffVolp]

I'm looking at getting a 1500VA unit.  According to the specs, it's capable of supplying up to 900W.  If my calculations are correct, 900W @ 120V = 5.4A. 

900W is 7.5A at 120V.  And you have to allow for the charging current.  My 2200VA SmartUPS can pull almost 20A at max load while charging the batteries.  I used the 20A XPF filter.

Jeff

[bkenobi]

Ok, that might be a better way to go then.  I think I'll get a power box from a hardware store and install an outlet into the top and a power cord to the wall.  Then I can plug the UPS into a filtered outlet and have an unfiltered available if needed.  Either way, it should be cheaper than buying one of the plug in units (albeit not as fancy looking).

[bkenobi]

FWIW, I know that I'll never see 20A from my UPS in any state since the system is located on a 15A circuit.  But, having the filter over sized is not going to hurt anything.  I ordered one from my usual ebayer and it should be here early next week.  Hopefully this will reduce the issues I'm having. 

I can't test anything at the moment anyway since we lost power due to the massive storms that came through the Seattle area the last couple days.  With any luck, we'll be back up this evening when I get home.

[bkenobi]

I set up both my file server and desktop to running on the new UPS yesterday.  Idle loads are VERY small (~150W between the 2 systems).  I don't know what they are when both are cranking, but that's not something I'll be doing much if ever.  We had an "opportunity" to test out the motion sensor last night since we had a pretty decent wind storm come through.  I now have a record of 800 on/off commands sent by the motion sensor in a 22 hour period (most were within 11 hours during the storm).  I have a socket rocket in a test lamp set to the same HU as the motion sensor's PF module so I have a visual indication of what's going on without having to monitor a log.  I did not notice any instance of the light being stuck in the on position, but with so many triggers, that's not unexpected.

I can deduce at least 2 things from this data.
1) I need to adjust the aim of the sensor to see if I can reduce the number of trips or else I'll be replacing the components (relay, PF, light bulbs, etc) much sooner than anticipated depending on the amount of wind seen.
2) The majority of these signals were matched (on - off).  Of the 800 signals, I have a 50 that were unmatched (meaning I missed 50 commands or 6%).

I was thinking I wouldn't need the XPF that showed up Monday, but after reviewing this data, it looks like there may be enough missed commands that it would be a good idea to set it up to see if it helps.  I am going to build a box and make it all nice, but for now I think I'll just use wire nuts and an outlet to get it going for testing.  If that corrects the problem (fingers crossed), then I'll clean the installation up real nice!

[bkenobi]

A little update...

I still see some issues with the light control, but I'm starting to wonder if part of the problem is the PF sending Extended Codes sometimes.  Here's an excerpt from my AHP log:

Code: [Select]

Event Date/Time Action Data
0 1/25/2012 5:12:59 PM Transmit O3 Extended Code 3e 31 - Preset receiver operation (Garage Front (Motion Sensor)) 
1 1/25/2012 5:13:03 PM Transmit O3 (Garage Front (Motion Sensor))
2 1/25/2012 5:13:03 PM Transmit O Off (Garage Front (Motion Sensor))
3 1/25/2012 5:15:10 PM Transmit O3 Extended Code 3e 31 - Preset receiver operation (Garage Front (Motion Sensor)) 
4 1/25/2012 5:15:16 PM Transmit O3 (Garage Front (Motion Sensor))
5 1/25/2012 5:15:17 PM Transmit O Off (Garage Front (Motion Sensor))
6 1/25/2012 5:17:08 PM Transmit O3 (Garage Front (Motion Sensor))
7 1/25/2012 5:17:08 PM Transmit O On (Garage Front (Motion Sensor))
8 1/25/2012 5:17:14 PM Transmit O3 (Garage Front (Motion Sensor))
9 1/25/2012 5:17:14 PM Transmit O Off (Garage Front (Motion Sensor))
As you can see, the "O3 Off" is not matched with an "O3 On" every time.  However, if the Extended Code means "On", then it may be working correctly.  Does anyone understand the ExtCodes enough to help decipher what this one means?  AHP reports the code as

Code: [Select]

O3 Extended Code 3e 31 - Preset receiver operationBut my code receives the following using the SDK

Code: [Select]

RecvPlc, o3, ExtCode, 49, 62,
If I understood what "3e 31" or "49, 62" meant, then I could simply add that as something for my code to look for.

Thanks!   

[bkenobi]

Looking further down my log, I may be chasing an issue that's noise related.  I see the following in AHP:

Code: [Select]

181 1/26/2012 5:12:56 AM Receive O3 (Garage Front (Motion Sensor))
182 1/26/2012 5:12:56 AM Receive O On (Garage Front (Motion Sensor))
183 1/26/2012 5:12:56 AM Transmit A6 (Entry Lights)
184 1/26/2012 5:12:57 AM Transmit A On (Entry Lights)
185 1/26/2012 5:12:57 AM Transmit B1 (chime)
186 1/26/2012 5:12:58 AM Transmit B On (chime)
187 1/26/2012 5:12:59 AM Receive O3 (Garage Front (Motion Sensor))
188 1/26/2012 5:30:18 AM Macro A7 (Cabinet Lights)
189 1/26/2012 5:30:18 AM Macro A Bright 100(Cabinet Lights)
This appears as follows in my code's log:

Code: [Select]

RecvAction: RecvPlc, o3, On, , ,
RecvAction: RecvPlc, a6, On, , ,
RecvAction: RecvPlc, b1, On, , ,
RecvAction: RecvPlc, a7, Bright, 100, ,
Is it possible that there's some noise/signal sucker on the line that damages or destroys the signal?  I know signals can be damaged and destroyed such that they are invalid (based on reading other threads), but can a signal be damaged but still interpreted as valid (such as an ExtCode)?  This probably relates to what the unknown code means (as posited at the end of my last post).

[Brian H]

Is A7 a Soft Start style device?
It looks like an extended command for a soft start device is being sent.

[Noam]

As far as I know, a PowerFlash cannot send Extended commands.
Since those are all "Transmit" entries, I think they are all coming from within AHP and the CM15A, not from the PowerFlash.

The "Extended Code 3e 31" is a "turn on a full brightness" Extended command. Those are the hex values. The SDK reports the decimal values 49 and 62.

What version of AHP are you running?
What is module O3 defined as in AHP?

[bkenobi]

I just found the same info in another post regarding 3e 31 by searching for "Preset receiver operation".

http://forums.x10.com/index.php?topic=22034.15;wap2

I believe I'm running the latest version of AHP (3.318?).

A7 is several older 2 plug lamp modules.  They are not soft start and are set that way in AHP AFAIK (something I should check though, thanks for pointing that out).

The PF module is set to O3 and is defined as a Powerflash in AHP.  I originally had it set up as a motion sensor (a while back), but last month I noticed the PF item under the PRO modules, so I set it up that way.  Perhaps I should try something different, but I'm not sure what else would work.  2-way appliance module (AM14A)?  Back to a motion sensor?  I didn't like using the motion sensor because I can't see the on/off state in AHP (and it's not really a motion sensor).

At this point, I feel like this is most likely an AHP related issue, so you guys are definitely helping get this close to a resolution!  I'll post an update this evening when I can check my setup.

[Dan Lawrence]

If you have 3.318, there are two different sets of modules, Lamps, which are for Soft-Start modules and Older Lamps (no SoftStart) for older modules.

[bkenobi]

Yup, I'm aware of that.  I have some of each, so I'll have to see what I have set up right now.  I believe that I manually switched all of the WS467 units over, but I bet I didn't look at the lamp module units since I didn't realize they also had soft-start equivalents.  I suspect I just didn't update them correctly.

As for the Powerflash, I'll have to try using something else to see if the ExtCodes disappear.