I was asked if I wished to try out one of these and figured worse case it may be usable while testing X10 with my programing.
I never had a good experience with the old KR22a. In fact I don't believe anyone could get a decent range of operation with them.
So when I was asked if I wanted to try one out I was a little leery, my old unit wasn't even good enough for testing as I had to be right beside the transceiver (1-2 feet was the max range I ever got).
When this new unit arrived (March 1st) I was a little excited X10 had promised extended range which this does have.(that's not hard to improve on from my old unit)
I had hoped to do some side by side comparisons but alas my old unit died not even new batteries could revive it although the led does light up when I push any of the buttons.
Opening the box that the new unit arrived in I noticed right away it was a little thicker in size and also a little heavier.
looking at the instruction manual I noticed this uses 2 batteries verses the one my old unit used.
Other then the backing this unit looks exactly the same from the out side.
The internals have been changed as you can see from the pic:
The range test:
On first press this unit tripped my light on and off very quickly.
I was concerned that maybe the battery may have been drained with the extremely cold days it was in transit and the hours sitting in my mail box.
This was indeed the case but it clearly out performs how my old unit did.
I walked to exit the room And thought I'd do a quick button test it worked 6 feet from my cm15
Not getting to excited I walked out into the hall I pressed the button again and again it worked. 12 feet from my cm15 and threw 2 thick lathe and plaster walls.
I was getting excited now went to the front of the house same floor (30 feet 4 walls between the Cm15 and myself) press a button and nothing
I mentioned my poor results to the owner of Authinx and he was a little disappointed as he had better results at his house. He wished to hear more about my testing as he used a TM751 and had poor results with the older RR501/PAT01.
I tested mine with a CM15A.
This you may say is the reason I had poor range results. However I get extremely good coverage with my setup and all other RF devices.
I mentioned the KR22a may get a range boost with a passive antenna similar to the mods posted on the X10 forums.
This got me to thinking (smell the smoke?) I'll try this.
If I got an additional 10 feet I'd be happy.
I'm not sure the gauge wire I used(maybe 22 gauge) had a small piece left over from when my daughter had to create a motor for school.
In my tests I found the remote worked best if I pointed it at the Cm15a so I wrapped the wire in the case leaving the front of the remote free of the wire.
the case will still close however not as secure, a small bump will jar it open so a smaller gauge wire may work better. However it may not have the reflective power.
While out shopping I noticed some batteries this takes hanging on the end of the check out Ile so I picked them up to try.
I prided apart the case and replaced the batteries doing so my passive antenna fell between the seat cushions.
Testing without the extra wire gave me the same range 45-50 feet so the batteries did get damaged by the cold during transit or were slightly discharged to begin with.
I forwarded my results of this mode (with bad batteries) to X10 so newer versions may see something similar included! :0~
I also mentioned to Authinx that new batteries did improve the range to a acceptable distance.
I was informed that all remotes will get the newer internals even the slimeline switches (SS13A &SS15A)something I also never had good results with.
I believe the new SS13A switches are now in stock however I haven't test one of these as yet.
If I do get a chance I'll review and compare to a old version I have packed away.
