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Author Topic: PHANTOM LAMP  (Read 16476 times)

JimC

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PHANTOM LAMP
« on: December 02, 2004, 07:44:07 PM »

Thought you might find this interesting. I
did. The other night my desk lamp turned
on. I shut it off and a minute or two later
it turned back on. This continued every
couple of minutes over the next hour. I
could not figure out what was causing this.
I went around the house unplugging all of
the keypads and still had the problem. I
then removed the batteries from all my
remotes to no avail. The only thing left
was the motion sensors. I checked each ones
house code and found one that was set to A1
(the same as the lamp). The odd thing is, I
had all of the motion sensors set to house
code F and they have been set this way for
months. I replaced the batteries and all
was again fine. It appears that as the
batteries got weak the motion sensor
reverted back to the default A1 code. I
tested the batteries and they were in fact
dead.
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steven r

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Re: PHANTOM LAMP
« Reply #1 on: December 03, 2004, 09:13:09 AM »

This is one of the reasons I don't use
house code "A".
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Tuicemen

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Re: PHANTOM LAMP
« Reply #2 on: December 03, 2004, 09:58:59 AM »

Interesting I don't use a1, maybe it could
be used to let one know when motion sensor
batteries need replacing.have a phantom
module in Activehome Pro (A1-Check Batteries)
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steven r

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Re: PHANTOM LAMP
« Reply #3 on: December 03, 2004, 10:49:05 AM »

"...maybe it could be used to let one know
when motion sensor batteries need
replacing. Have a phantom  module in
Activehome Pro (A1-Check Batteries)"

Great idea! I'm off to AHP to add "A1-Check
Batteries" sensor and macro. I think I'll
have it flash the same light. Off course we
we may be using a small window of time
between the code reseting to "A1" and it
not transmitting at all.
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:) Murphy is my beta testing pal. He helps me find problems whether I like it or not. :)

phil

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Re: PHANTOM LAMP
« Reply #4 on: December 03, 2004, 11:23:45 AM »

 I had the same thing happen just this past
week and it was the first in years of using
X10 .
I started getting a strings Of A1's all day
long .  I use several PR511's and a couple
of ActiveEye motion sensors , but not none
set for A1's .  I think I finally figured
what caused it .  Yes , it was the
batteries and they had been in the
ActiveEye for quite some time. The previous
night was near freezing and I think the
batteries finally lost enough energy that
the ActiveEye lost it's house/unit codes
and the night only settng . It reverted to
A1 and also to the default of 24 hr
operation .  When the sun came up and the
warmer air warmed the batteries then
provided enough juice for the ActiveEye to
operate again . Took me awhile to figure
that one out.
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steven r

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Re: PHANTOM LAMP
« Reply #5 on: December 03, 2004, 01:14:43 PM »

In response an "A1 ON" RF command, I've set
both my living room lights to flash 3 times
with a 2 second delay between the ONs and
the OFFs. It then turns the overhead light
back ON.
I also set the lights to go off with an "A1
OFF" command.

Anyone know what the default time is that
the sensor waits before sending an off
signal?
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bebop

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Re: PHANTOM LAMP
« Reply #6 on: December 03, 2004, 01:37:42 PM »

"This is one of the reasons I don't use
house code "A"."

Good point - I too have had some issues with
overlap codes inadvertantly getting into
conflict with each other. It was a motion
sensor that had reverted back to A and was
sending commands to A13 which was a lamp
module. Think I'll take your suggestion and
avoid the A code for anything other than
motion sensors etc.
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steven r

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Re: PHANTOM LAMP
« Reply #7 on: December 03, 2004, 03:18:01 PM »

"Think I'll take your suggestion and avoid
the A code for anything other than motion
sensors etc."

I don't even use them for motion sensors.
When I first started using X10 controllers,
I decided not to use "A" in case someone
else was using it. Of course back then (I
won't say when but it was before
internet.), it was even less likely for a
neighborer to have an X10 product. I didn't
want to take any chances, however.
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BVC let's me tell my camera where to go!
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JimC

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Re: PHANTOM LAMP
« Reply #8 on: December 03, 2004, 08:27:55 PM »

Anyone know what the default time is that
the sensor waits before sending an off
signal?

The instructions that come with the MS14
states that the default off time is 1
minute.
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donald mcmow

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Re: PHANTOM LAMP
« Reply #9 on: December 05, 2004, 10:11:02 AM »

Hey Guys - I think you have discovered a
way to detect a power outage - modify an
unused motion sensor to accept a wall wart
(plug-in transformer) when the power is
disrupted the module reverts to the A1 code.
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Tuicemen

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Re: PHANTOM LAMP
« Reply #10 on: December 05, 2004, 04:24:39 PM »

Jim the default time for the ms13a is 1 min
as well before it sends a off comand.

Donald McMow
good Idea but I think if the power goes off
then on you won't get a send signal until
motion is detected and you'd need a
condition to check. Worth playing with!
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