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[rufunky]

So I have been using x10 for simple control of my home lights for about 5 years ( all hard start dimmable light switches). Slowly switching over to LED With the addition of Google home and a Broadlink RM Pro recently,  Its worked rather well for me.

I have recently been refinishing my basement into a studio apartment/home theater. I decided to try to stay with the x10 for light automation as my wifi can get a bit flaky sometimes. I recently purchased a new plw02 as I have these upstairs and they worked well. The new one is the soft-start and when dimmed is noticeably louder than the old hard start! As this is a home theater studio atmosphere the lights will be dimmed quite often so I do not think this is going to work.

I am wondering if someone can recommend a quieter dimmable x10 light switch that will play well with my dimmable LED can lights. I'm also wondering if going to a 3 wire switch ( with neutral)  will solve my issue?

[Brian H]

What is louder?
Switch physically buzzes, it makes more interference in things like radios and HiFi equipment, bulbs buzz?

[rufunky]

Hi Brian. I'm sorry, I should have been more clear. The new switch its self is louder, there is no noise coming from the LED bulbs. The buzz is made noticeably louder than the old switch when dimming.

[dave w]

$0.02
Pretty weird. Not much in a dimmer switch can buzz except maybe a loosely wound choke. But even then it usually is caused by a large, high wattage, incandescent load, not LEDs. I would contact Authinx and ask for an exchange.

[Brian H]

Thanks for the added information.
It could be the choke Dave mentioned.

I know when they went to Soft Start LM465 modules. They where a new design. Controller chip, power supply and the choke was moved from feeding the neutral output pin to the output of the triac feeding the line output pin.  I suspect the new Soft Start and Preset Dim wall switches may have also been redesigned.

[BackAgain]

The new switch its self is louder, there is no noise coming from the LED bulbs. The buzz is made noticeably louder than the old switch when dimming.

You should not be (or have been) hearing any audible buzz from any switch, dimmer or otherwise, old or new.  If you were hearing something from a previous switch/dimmer, that tells me you have other issues in your wiring somewhere.

[JeffVolp]

You should not be (or have been) hearing any audible buzz from any switch, dimmer or otherwise, old or new.  If you were hearing something from a previous switch/dimmer, that tells me you have other issues in your wiring somewhere.

That is not true.  All the dimmer switches I have opened up included an inductor in series with the load to soften the rise time when the triac switches on each half cycle.  That brief current spike sets up a rather intense magnetic field in the inductor, causing a faint 120Hz buzz.  How loud it is depends on the sample-to-sample variance of the inductor.

I just checked our own XTB-F10, and even its large toroid inductors emitted a faint buzz while driving a 100W incandescent load at half brightness.  (I had to put my ear right up against it to hear the buzz.)

Jeff

[rufunky]

Thanks for all the help guys. I have always had a buzz or hum from all of my switches just not as loud as this one. I have attached a picture of the switch opened up to show you where the buz is coming from as I am not familiar with the internal names. I could not locate a schematic. Looks to be some kind of coil pack? Maybe this is what was referred to as the choke?

EDIT: Picture/link is not showing. Maybe a mod can fix this for me as I may be to new to post links/files/pictures

https:// postimg.cc/image/46z2ntdln/ (---------------- just take the space out between "https://" and "postimg.cc/image/46z2ntdln/"

[Brian H]

I have also heard faint buzzing from a dimmers coil and it is perfectly normal. Some are louder than others.

The coil in the photo. Looks like the one used by X10 in their dimmers. Maybe the way it is mounted could be enhancing the buzz.

I have not seen a schematic of the soft start version of the dimmer. The before soft start one can be found on a few sights. The photo also has a daughter board on it. Maybe it is a AGC board some of the X10Pro models used.

You are correct. Until your Newbie status is removed. Some feature here are not enabled.

[JeffVolp]

Looks to be some kind of coil pack? Maybe this is what was referred to as the choke?

Yes, that is the inductor that emits the buzz.  The sample-to-sample variation depends on how tightly the inductor is wound, and whether there is any damping material to absorb the microscopic vibration.

Jeff

[rufunky]

Brian, the way it was mounted did affect it for sure. Originally, the wires from the coil were crossing over each other and therefore, causing more vibration. Still, the unit is way too loud for my liking. I have considered changing out the coil with a that of an older version I have laying around with a blown resistor. It's probably easier to just buy a better switch and be done with it.

Wattage shouldn't be an issue as the two sets of lights that I am controlling are 10 can lights at 9 watts each (90 watts) and 5 can lights at 9 watts each (45 watts).

Can anyone recommend another QUIETER 3 way x10 dimmer switch that will work with my dimmable LED lights?

[bkenobi]

Is 45W enough for X10 to work?  I thought there used to be a minimum load required of 40W+.  I'd assume 45 is sufficient just asking what the minimum is.

[rufunky]

Is 45W enough for X10 to work?  I thought there used to be a minimum load required of 40W+.  I'd assume 45 is sufficient just asking what the minimum is.

I'm pretty sure I read they require one 40 watt bulb minimum. I have tested with two x10 dimmers the plw02 (hard start) and its non-3way variant and they both worked great.

[x10wizard]

Best X10 capable dimmer switch on the market is the Insteon 2477D.  It is a true rocker switch, with a light bar indicator, and should work great with your 45W LED light circuit.  Being a decora style, however, you will need to change your switch plate.

The latest owner's manual for the 2477D, on both the smarthome.com and insteon.com websites, is incorrect, in that references to X10 capability were removed from the manual.  The current version of the 2477D still supports X10.  Insteon has said they eventually plan to remove the X10 capability, but they have been saying that for years now, and they have only done so to the plug-in lamp and appliance modules and (maybe?) the on/off outlet.

Here is a link to the previous 2477D owner's manual (V7.0 and newer)
http://www.manualsdir.com/manuals/333187/insteon-switchlinc-dimmer-dual-band-2477d-manual-version-70-and-newer.html   

[rufunky]

Best X10 capable dimmer switch on the market is the Insteon 2477D.  It is a true rocker switch, with a light bar indicator, and should work great with your 45W LED light circuit.  Being a decora style, however, you will need to change your switch plate.

The latest owner's manual for the 2477D, on both the smarthome.com and insteon.com websites, is incorrect, in that references to X10 capability were removed from the manual.  The current version of the 2477D still supports X10.  Insteon has said they eventually plan to remove the X10 capability, but they have been saying that for years now, and they have only done so to the plug-in lamp and appliance modules and (maybe?) the on/off outlet.

Here is a link to the previous 2477D owner's manual (V7.0 and newer)
http://www.manualsdir.com/manuals/333187/insteon-switchlinc-dimmer-dual-band-2477d-manual-version-70-and-newer.html

Great! the 2477D are what I was just looking at! One thing I couldn't figure out is if they had a cheaper switch to be used along with the 2477D for 3way application or if I have to buy 2 x 2477D.