Not sure if anyone else has found a solution but I finally figured out how to solve the problem with having to have the CM15A connected directly to a computer. I have a rather larger home with no phase coupler (moving soon and no sense in installing it now). I had finally found the perfect spot by my front door to put the CM15A so that it could communicate with nearly the entire house (or at least the devices I needed at the time). The problem was that I would have to either plug it in temporarily near my computer to program it or bring my laptop closer to it. That was annoying. So I got to thinking about how I could communicate with it wirelessly over the network. There was a thread (
http://forums.x10.com/index.php?topic=4701.0) a while back that had people thinking about it but it seemed to have been closed rather quickly (and abruptly) after some people just said it couldn't be done. That's (almost) never true. Something can almost always be done. One person had recommended the Belkin Network Hub but I never tried it because I wanted something small to fit on CM15A, making sort of an attachment. Another person mentioned the IOGear GUWIP204 4-Port Wireless USB Hub. They however said that it connected to the computer and AHP recognized it was connected with no error but it would not download the programming or work 100% properly. I decided to finally purchase this last week and try it out for myself. Sure enough, it did exactly that. Connected to AHP but the download would just keep saying downloading with no progress. There wasnt even a blue progress bar shown. I will be returning it to Amazon.
I had another item in mind the last year or two (however long ive been doing this lol) and that is the Silex SX-3000WAN. This is a rather pricey unit but figured it may be worth. It is however hard to get a hold of reliably. Only a couple marketplace sellers on Amazon have it, and it wont ship with Amazon Prime so if it doesn't work, then I'll be out shipping, plus return shipping, and maybe incur a restocking fee. I decided to try the IOGEAR device first since it was Amazon Prime eligible and sold directly from Amazon. After trying it, I decided to get the Silex. But I first noticed another option on Amazon. It was the TRENDnet Wireless N 1-Port Multi-Function USB Print Server TEW-MFP1 and it was sold directly from Amazon, eligible for Prime shipping. I tried it out yesterday and it has the exact same software interface as the IOGEAR device. I figured "great, going to be the same problem". However, I hooked it up correctly, added a couple random macros, and clicked download. The blue progress bar came up after a couple seconds!! It worked! After it downloaded, I tried to use the macros with a PalmPad and it worked like it should (after realizing I programmed it to turn things on when I wanted them off cause they were already on lol). I reprogrammed them (this time with an ON and an OFF macro) and downloaded. It worked again. And I was able to turn on those three devices with the ON macro and off with the OFF macro.
Now, even though it did work, it downloaded extremely slow! Approximately 1/4 the speed compared to when it is directly plugged into the computer. This was the same both right next to the router (the first time I did it before bringing it back downstairs) and when plugged in by the front door. Both the computer and the print server communicate with the router from down there. It's just going to be slower no matter where it is. But I don't really care about that as much as I do the fact that it works. I have since tried it with my computer from my bedroom upstairs, with the print server downstairs connected to the CM15A. I am able to change the programming and turn on and off devices without being plugged in to the CM15A. I did not yet test the activity monitor nor did I try to clear the interface memory, change the transceived codes, or try changing the dusk/dawn memory. For what I want right now, it works. I may try the others later. But it really is nice now. And this TRENDnet print server was only $48.78. The IOGEAR that did not work was $64.29. The Silex device is around $130. I'd say I made out well. For less than $50, you can now put your CM15A wherever you want instead of having it right next to your computer or Home Automation PC (which I may do in the future to enable control remotely outside the home network). I wanted to do an HAPC but that ultimately turned into a nice Home Theater PC that I dont want left on ALL the time lol I would also have had to put the CM15A near the computer which I wanted upstairs. But that is not longer an issue. Anyway, I now have the CM15A plugged into the bottom plug of my outlet and the print server plugged in above it. The power cord is just wrapped up and taped to the power adapter and the print server is taped to the front of the CM15A. I'm ordering a short 1.5 ft USB cord instead of the 6ft one I have plugged in right now. And then it will all be complete (may change up the appearance a little to make it aesthetically nicer)! I'll post up some pics of what it looks like when I get them.
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Topic: How To Make The CM15A Communicate Wirelessly With Your Computer (Read 37569 times)