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[chuck53]

yesterday my house went dark (x10 reference), not one module would work nor still does...

I thought the wife had plugged in a new toy or kitchen appliance, but nope.
i decided to grab a pushbutton pad with an appliance module, put them on a 3 outlet adapter for testing.
set them up for code A and number 1.  basic starting point
I plugged them into a socket and presseed the ON 1 button, nothing, I was floored,  the keypad is next to the appliance module, no long distance and yet it did not work.

tried another socket, then another and I kept going.    finally on a GFI circuit I got the module to tun on and off.

Of all the sockets in all the rooms, only 3 sockets would work.

keep in mind just yesterday, all of my 8 modules worked fine!

Noise maybe, surpression of the signals maybe.  

I also have the split home system checked with the cap to allow both lines achieve active codes.
but then again, I had the plug in keypad and appliance module on the same outlet whe  testing,
can't get any closer than that...

my next step is to perform the breaker test, as there has to have been a change somewhere .

for now Ghosts and Gremlims are being blamed, but I'm hoping there is a ghost buster out there that can shed some experience on this.

[Brian H]

If the same outlet tests failed. I would be thinking on the severe power line noise angle.
Do you have an X10 power line filter? Like a XPPF, that you could temporarily isolate both a module and controller. To see if they would work that way.
Did your power company install a smart meter yesterday?

A breaker test maybe a good way to start.
You probably have seen the troubleshooting tutorials but just in case.

http://jvde.us/x10_troubleshooting.htm
http://www.act-remote.com/PCC/uncle.htm

[joe s.]

Recently I had a piece of hardware lock into continuous transmit (not that it matters, but it was code D4).  I think it was an old CM15A I had pulled out of retirement for testing some software.  I could make it stop by power cycling my XTB-IIR.  But within a day or so, it would start again.  Are you monitoring your powerline for codes?  I finally figured it out and removed it, and the signal storm has never happened again.  Might be something like that - a failed TM751 or RR501 etc.

[Noam]

Clearly, it sounds like *something* changed - it is just a matter of figuring out what that could be.
I can think of two possibilities that should be easy to test:
1. A signal storm (as Joe S. suggested). Look for a palmpad (or similar) remote that got stuck between the couch cushions, or under something, and has a button held down. If you can monitor the powerline (using AHP and a CM15A), you might find see the signals.
2. Noise - and lots of it. Hopefully, the breaker-box test would help narrow down the source - but it could be coming from outside your home. Your account indicates you're new here, but old-timers would remember the experience I had a few years back. In that case, my neighbor across the street (on the same transformer) had an older CFL light bulb that was starting to fail. The circuitry was throwing out enough noise that it incapacitated my system when the light was on. This bulb happened to be in one of his porch fixtures. That was the biggest clue for me - since the problem only happened at night (when his porch lights were on). Once he removed the bad bulb (I bought him a replacement for it the next day), the problem disappeared. The same thing had happened to me a few monhts before - but in that case it was one of my own CFLs that was going bad.

I'm not saying the problem is definitely outside your house, but it could be possible. I'd check your house first, though. Did you recently change any bulbs out, or move any electronics around inside the house?

[chuck53]

we've had a smart meter for a couple yrs now, nothing new there.
No new bulbs or equipment.
Don't have any filters on the house.
and no neighbors, as my sons house is next door and he and I are the only ones on this circuit.

and nothing out of  the ordinary has changed, but I like the idea of a rogue transmitter...

today is the breaker test.

been using x10 for 20+ yrs and this has me scratching my head..

but today is the day

[chuck53]

breaker test results.  nothing

turned off breakers in all rooms except the bedroom and tested with a keypad and appliance module...
did not work.

nothing else in the room was plugged in, so for those few minutes I only had the x10 on the circuit

I plugged in  TM751 and hooked up an indandesanr lamp and with the HR12 was able to turnit on and off as expected since it was local and not using the power lines for transmission

in the next wall socket in the room plugged a good appliance module and it would not work.

here is a strange thing the keypad with appliance module DID work in the kitchen GFI circuit

not sure where to go now...

[Brian H]

The cap on the breakers didn't fail did it?
You may want to look at it and see if it has blown up.
We have seen reports of caps blowing up. Especially if not an X2 across the power line rated type.

[dave w]

I sort of skimmed this thread, so if I am stepping on someone, my appologies.

But to Chuck, the Palm Pad (keypad?) does not transmit directly to a module. The Palm Pad transmits a radio signal to a tranceiver module (RR501, TM751, CM15A etc). The transceiver then puts the X10 command on the homes power line which is the way the Appliance, Lamp, Wall Switch modules are controlled. Check your tranceiver module. You could have a noise source near the tranceiver or a failed transceiver.

[chuck53]

thanks to all

Ill ck the cap,need to pull the breaker panel tomorrow.

the keypay should work directly with a lamp or appliance module, but at this stage does not

I hooked up the CM17 and looked at the recieve window, did not see any commands
strange when I sent other commands from the HR12 I thought I should have seen these in the rcv window but did not see anything....

update:  i did get the living room lamp to work with the RR501 transmitter and the HR keypad and standard lamp module.

but the bedroom is still a black hole

i have the older firecracker cm17a and I can control the living room lamp ok ( code D ) but i never see any
recv codes coming in.  this is the first time using the CM17 so not familiar with the software but it is basic (old)

I was hoping it wouls stream the rcvd codes as the lamp was turned on and off, but nothing...

is there a better freeware to use with the CM17 ?

chuck

[dhouston]

The CM17A only sends RF - it neither sends nor receives PLC (i.e. powerline commands) nor does it receive RF so software could only report commands it receives via the serial port which it then sends as RF. It's not likely to help us diagnose your problem which seems to be either an HR12A under a couch cushion or a noise source (as others have suggested). It might be a device that suddenly became a noise source due to some component failure.

[chuck53]

I have to agree with the noisey device, but after turning the house breakers off except the master bdrm and that room is still dark, not sure where to turn,

the cap is tomorrow

no buttons stuck, we only have one HR controller that we use it is sittin on the table

[chuck53]

I dug in my drawer of X10 goodies and found a CM11 module that I hope I can use to investigate this mess.

trying to get the software installed today, found it on one of the X10 sites.  Have not used this so any one with suggestions would be helpful.

chuck

[Brian H]

If you are using the Active Home Software for the CM11A.
There where some issues with XP and above in some instalations.
If you have communications issues.
You may want to try this.
Left click on the AH Icon.
Left click Properties.
Compatibility Mode.
Run as Windows 98/Windows ME
Disable Visual Themes
Turn Off Advanced Text Services.

[dhouston]

I dug in my drawer of X10 goodies and found a CM11 module that I hope I can use to investigate this mess.

Unfortunately, X10 interfaces will only report activity that appears as legitimate X10 commands, so they are not likely to help in situations like this. Some third party interfaces would report all activity although I'm not sure how they handled continuous noise like that suspected here.

It's a shame that the ESM1 X10 meter was discontinued, as it showed all powerline activity in the 75-200kHz range. Authinx would be doing the X10 universe a great service if they were to offer a low cost device similar to the ESM1. I believe some of the devices Jeff Volp sells will report noise like this but I'm not acquainted with the details.

My webpage article may be helpful in understanding the issue.

• http://davehouston.org/noise.htm

[bkenobi]

The XTBM is a very good device that would report noise when detected.  It will report valid X10 commands that it sees coming in.  It will also report bad commands that could be collisions or some form of noisy electronics that come close to X10 commands.  It will not report signal suckers directly, but it will help in locating them if you have a transmitter of any kind.  If you can't figure things out with the tools you have, seriously consider trying the XTBM as it helped me immensely in my noisy/signal sucking/long electric run house.  My PLC modules are 100% reliable with only one at 95% (wireless is another story though).