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[MikeyLV]

Somewhat odd. The TM751A has been plugged into the same outlet for 3 years, working fine. It controls a wall on/off paddle switch for ceiling lights. Worked fine yesterday, today nothing (tried both remotes). However, when I plug it into a different outlet (on a different breaker and a few feet closer to the actual switch) it does work. The original outlet has power.

I am wondering if this is a symptom of the transmitter from the TM751 to the wall switch getting faulty and not transmitting with enough power, and that eventually it will not work from its new location.

Should I replace? Are used ones on ebay any good, or can I expect the same issue to re-appear? Just spend the money and buy new?

Thanks for your help.

[Brian H]

Anything new or moved in the home, around the time the problem started?
It could be something is causing power line noise or absorbing some of the power line signals.
Computers, TVs, Cell Phone Chargers to name a few can cause issues.
We have also see working systems start having problems when nothing is new or moved. Being caused bay an existing electronic device deteriorating.
Do you have a phase coupler between the two Lines of the split single phase power?

Here is a link to some great trouble shooting tips.
http://jvde.us/x10_troubleshooting.htm

There used ones on Ebay may depend on how honest the seller is. There are a few Ebay X10 dealers that sell brand new, fresh from the factory devices.

[MikeyLV]

Nothing has changed at all. No phase coupler. I guess I'll see if this lasts in the new location and then buy a new one when it fails. Thanks.

[Noam]

Sorry for the late response on this one (I didn't have time to check the forums for the past 2 weeks).
If you're still having this problem - did you recently replace any non-incandescent light bulbs in the house? Are there any older CFL bulbs that are on when this problem is happening? I've had CFL bulbs start to fail and flood my house with noise. I didn't find the problem right away because they were still lighting up - but they had a very audible buzzing sound. Replacing (or just removing actually) the bulbs solved the problem in those cases.

[MikeyLV]

No CFL replacements and current CFLs do not make any noise. Situation also exists with all CFLs off. I moved the receiver to another outlet and all is well...for now.

[dhouston]

Any chance you have 220v central AC?

[MikeyLV]

I do, but at this time of the year, it is off.

[dhouston]

I do, but at this time of the year, it is off.

Exactly. 

[bkenobi]

I think dhouston is suggesting there may be a phase coupling issue.  The 220VAC A/C will couple the two phases when running.  If it worked in summer but not now, it could be that the two phases need some other path to connect when the A/C isn't running.  One other possibility is that your furnace could cause issues when it's running.  The logic board of my furnace causes noise on my wiring, but it was a bit complicated to filter.  As a result, I fixed everything else in the house and that one source was no longer enough to cause significant issues.

[dhouston]

In days of yore before the death of Usenet, there were several posts annually to comp.home.automation where either the loss of incidental coupling through the A/C or noise from furnace blower motors caused X10 problems in the fall. That predated the proliferation of noisy power supplies on furnace control circuit boards like bkenobi experienced.

Also, it's unlikely that your transceiver is gradually deteriorating. There's really no history of that - they usually function quite well until some component failure kills them completely.