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[spam4us]

hello all,

     I have a signal sucker problem. I have a power strip plugged into the wall on the same circuit that I have a lamp module LM465 plugged in to turn on a light. The power strip supplies power to some of my home theater components.

     At first I though the components were causing the lamp module not to respond so I unplugged the power strip and the lamp module responded. I then plugged the power strip back in and then unplugged each component one by one to see which one was causing the problem. No luck, with nothing plugged into the power strip, the lamp module would not respond.

     I then unplugged the now empty power strip and the lamp module responded.  I plugged in the empty power strip and turned the switch on the power strip off.  The lamp module responded.

     I then tried a different power strip (different manufacturer) and whenever I turned on the switch, the lamp module would not respond.

     Neither of the power strips have any surge protection in them.  Just a reset button.

     Any ideas what could cause this?

Thanks

[Brian H]

Sounds like that the surge strips may have a simple capacitor in them across the line to neutral and it is after the power switch.
In the UDI forums someone reported finding such things in surge strips with no markings. That they had any added noise suppression in them but did have a cap in it.

If you are handy you could open one and see if it has a capacitor in it.

[dave w]

    Any ideas what could cause this?

H-m-m-m, a wild guess would be ...the power strip. 

Did the system ever work with that power strip in that circuit? If it never worked, then are you sure it has no built in filtering? If at one time the X10 components did work with everything plugged in to the current outlets, and now it suddenly stopped, then it gets interesting. 

[Brian H]

If it did work at one time as dave w mentioned.
The power strips may still have a small cap in it and your signals where marginal.
Now something has deteriorated in the home making the signals worse. Removing the strips was just enough to allow the signals to again be marginal.

[spam4us]

My bad.  I took apart the power strip and indeed there is a small circuit board inside. Upon closer examination, there's a worn off area that says "max suppression 400v". so this power strip has surge suppression.

Ok, so now what?
The lamp module is new for the circuit.  I have mini controllers that control my exterior floodlights plugged into the same circuit. The floods are on a different circuit though and they work fine.  The lamp module is plugged in another receptacle on the same circuit as the power strip about 10 feet away. Unplug the power strip and the lamp module works. Plug it in and it doesn't.

Any ideas for a work around?

[Brian H]

There is a difference between a power strip with just surge suppression and one that has both a surge suppression and noise filter in them.
I have a few strictly surge suppression and they don't seem to effect X10 or Insteon.

X10 style filter between the wall outlet and the power strip. Rated high enough to safely handle the current.
10 amp FilterLinc, 15 amp Act AF120 and Jeff's own 10 amp XTB-F10. http://jvde.us/xtb/XTB-F10_description.htmF10

[bkenobi]

I found a number of power strips in my home that caused signal issues.  I was originally going to invest in better quality ones, but I found that even my good quality strips (using name brand as the quality metric).  In the end, I watched ebay for SmartHome filters and installed them on all of my signal sucker/source locations that were feasible.

Good luck!

[spam4us]

Well, things just got strange.  I purchased an x10 pro XPF module and mounted it in a 4 gang box.  At the 4th gang, I put a duplex socket and wired the XPF to it. The other 3 gangs are blank since the XPF takes up these spaces.

I plugged in all of my signal suckers BUT I still have the problem with lamp module (LM465) not turning on. Just like the old power strips, I unplugged everything from the XPF so that all that was plugged in was the XPF.  The lamp module would still not turn on or off.

I then unplugged the XPF from the wall and the lamp module now works.  As soon as I plug it back in, the lamp module stops responding.

If I hold down the on button on my controller and unplug the XPF from the wall, the lamp module will turn on. Likewise, if I hold down the off button on the controller and unplug the XPF from the wall, the lamp module responds and the light goes out. in both cases, nothing is plugged into the XPF

I've triple checked the wiring that I made and it's as it should be. Anyone have any ideas that I can try?

Thanks

[Brian H]

Your power line signal is very marginal at that location.
The XPPF actually will add a small load on the X10 signal and it looks like it is just enough to go over the unreliable edge.

[spam4us]

Thanks. The signal is getting thru because I can see it in active home pro activity report. Since the XPPF adds a small load to interfere with the signal, is there an easy way to boost the signal.  I suspect that the lamp module is on the opposite leg of my breaker panel from the leg (circuit) that the signal is being sent from.  I do have one of the x10 passive couplers installed at the breaker box.

Is there anything else I can pruchase to boost the signal.  I am not adept at soldering so it would have to be something I could easily hook up.

Thanks

[bkenobi]

XTB-IIR solves a lot of problems.  I resisted buying one for quite a while and eventually gave in.  It has resolved MANY of my problems.  Between this unit and adding filters on all signal suckers/noise generators, I have fixed all but one of my signal issues.  The last one is a very long run and I can fix it another way if it becomes an issue again.

http://jvde.us//xtb/XTB-IIR_description.htm

The unit can be purchased complete or in a kit.  I have some soldering experience as a hobbyist and that proved more than enough to build the kit version and save a few hard earned dollars.

[Noam]

XTB-IIR solves a lot of problems.  I resisted buying one for quite a while and eventually gave in.  It has resolved MANY of my problems.  Between this unit and adding filters on all signal suckers/noise generators, I have fixed all but one of my signal issues.  The last one is a very long run and I can fix it another way if it becomes an issue again.

http://jvde.us//xtb/XTB-IIR_description.htm

The unit can be purchased complete or in a kit.  I have some soldering experience as a hobbyist and that proved more than enough to build the kit version and save a few hard earned dollars.

I agree on the recommendation of the XTB-IIR, but I purchased mine fully-assembled (with a signed waiver). It is *pretty* easy to install, as long as you're comfortable doing some electrical wiring. It needs to be connected to both phases, and the recommended way to do it is by installing a new double-pole breaker (one half on each phase), dedicated for the XTB-IIR.
Jeff further recommends wiring the double-pole breakers to a 220V socket, and wiring a matching 220V line cord to the XTB-IIR. (I did this, and also added a split-wired duplex outlet for future testing on each phase).
If you don't feel comfortable adding the double-pole breaker, you may want to get an electrician to do the install for you.

[dave w]

Spam4us
I am a great believer in the XTBIIR also. It is the Mercedes of X10 repeaters. However if you are just getting started or you know your system will remain small the XPCR

 http://www.x10pro.com/pro/catalog/platform.html#couplers

may still be available on Ebay for around $20.

[bkenobi]

I had the XPCR before the XTB-IIR and it did work fine for what it was designed for.  I upgraded when it became apparent that it was not meeting my needs.  Be aware that the price of the XPCR is no longer $20.  Last I checked (a couple months back), the cheapest ebay price was close to $50 and selling online other places for over $60.  If I were looking at the two given those prices, I would probably opt for Jeff's unit.  If you could find the XPCR for $20 and it met your needs, that's certainly a viable option and a good financial choice too!

As for kit versus prebuilt, I wouldn't recommend building the unit yourself if you are not comfortable that you can build a circuit.  This is a device that can carry a lot of power and could cause damage to you, your house, and potentially PUD equipment (though less likely).  If you don't WANT to build it for fun (and a small cash savings), just buy the assembled unit.   

[spam4us]

Thanks for all the replies. I will look at the XTB-IIR.  Right now I have the xpcp hooked up.  Everything I have that  is x10 related works fine except for the lamp module on this one circuit.  I probably have around 35 or so wall switch modules scattered around the house that all work fine. These control floodlights, ropelights, can and pendant lighting.  In addition, I have 2 of the older security systems (ds7000 I think) that are coupled together that support around 31 door/window/motion sensors as well as multiple eagle eyes. It all works (most of the time). Just trying to get past this one issue.

Does the XTB-IIR  have any problems dealing with the v572rf32?  I have one on these as well for reception of the eagle eyes and hand held remotes.

Thanks again.