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[paul warshawsky]

I haven't posted in quite some time because
things finally stabilized!  The latest
update (3.186) seems to have screwed things
up again, though.

I have gotten into the habit of leaving my
CM15a disconnected from my computer - I
simple unplug the USB cable when I'm not
using AHP.  This related to trouble I was
having when my computer went into standby
mode.

Anyhow, I have now needed to update my
CM15a 3 times in the past week because it
has lost track of time.  It seems to gain
an hour (possibly exactly) every day or so
(my lights go off one hour too early -
today they went of 3 hours too early.)  I
can't check the interface time because it
is reset to the computer time as soon as I
load the software.

I'm going to try leaving the unit connected
for now, but please look into this!

Paul

(Win XP pro)

[roger1818]

Paul:  The most probable cause of your
problem is powerline noise.  X10 Pro has
admitted that this can in some
circumstances cause the CM15a to gain
time.  Despite the fact that I have shown
exactly where on the schematic the problem
is, he claims that this is not a design
flaw.  I figure it must have been one of
their design requirements for it to NOT
keep time accurately.

To fix your problem your best bet is
probably to figure out what is generating
this noise (think about what has changed in
your house) and connect it up to a noise
filter (optimally an X10 compatible one).
I hope this helps.

[paul warshawsky]

I doubt this is the problem in my case as
nothing has changed in my home, and the
module hasn't had this problem before.  It
also seems to be one hour increments, not a
slow time gain.

Paul

[carmine pacifico]

Paul Warshawsky

The CM15a has known hardware design flaws,
including clock circuit, noise in the power
line and in some cases software glitches
can cause the clock to go off. Usually if
it gains time with power line noise.
Do not expect X10 to admit of any design
flaws, most company dealing with consumer
will never admit of any problem with their
products; in march I purchased a notebook
from HP, I have noticed several strange
problems with standby mode and battery
charging, a call to tech support revealed
that there was absolutely nothing wrong
with the product; well to make a long story
short, the computer works fine now but HP
released 3 bios upgrade from the time I
purchased the computer; probably if I
question HP tech support they will blame
it  on Microsoft.

[wyterrill]

OK, I had the exact same problem of the Activehome Pro losing 1 hour. The upgrade to version 3.203 earlier this year seemed to solve that. For the last 3 months there has been absolutely no problems -- I didn't have to touch the CM15A unit at all.

On Sunday night that changed -- the timer lost 1 hour and turned everything off early. So I took it to my computer and plugged it in only to get the old message that this USB device was not recognized. Exactly the same thing that had been happening before. So, I unplugged the batteries and disconnected the unit from the power. This reset the unit and it was recognized by the PC.

I reset all of the hardware configuration, battery life, and downloaded all of the timers.

The following morning the lights turned on correctly but, that night everything turned off one hour early again.

I repeated this procedure again. Same problem every night since then.

Nothing has changed in the house electrical setup. Nothing has been added or removed. Same light modules same controller same locations. And, given that this had finally begun to work correctly (after close to two years of trying to get a resolution) I was satisfied. I've been using X10 home controllers for over 20 years and this is the first unit that I've had from them that not only doesn't work well but also which they don't seem to be interesed in fixing.

I suspect that this current issue is a software bug and might be related to the time/date in the unit (the year 2000 problem in 2006?). I also tried changing the dawn/dusk settings since that had helped before. Didn't do anything useful this time.

So, I've just reset the unit one last time and if this fails I'll go back to the CM11A Active Home unit. That never failed and I've had that for years -- it just didn't have the capability to set more than one unit for dawn/dusk timings.

Ah well. Chapter 7 seems more reasonable than Chapter 11 at this point.

 Bill t.

[JB3238]

I have been having the same problem where every once in a while the commands issued from the CM15A are exactly 1 hour early. When I plug it into the USB - it isn't recognized. So I put new batteries in it & then the software sees it.  DA - maybe the batteries aren't dead - just removing them & reinserting them - like almost everything else in this world - "reboots" it. OK I'll try that next time. Thanks for that clue.

I also don't have the CM15A plugged into the USB all the time - actually I have it plugged into a wall outlet away from my computer area - seemed to have more luck there.

I also don't believe I've added anything new in the house to effect it.

Does anyone else make an alternative to the CM15A if it might be truly flawed, that is compatible with the software?

I do have a bridge unit connected to both sides of the circuit panel for command transfers.

Now that I've seen this thread - I'll monitor it in case someone has some solutions.

Thx in advance.

  "JB"

[TakeTheActive]

...if this fails I'll go back to the CM11A Active Home unit. That never failed and I've had that for years -- it just didn't have the capability to set more than one unit for dawn/dusk timings.

I've also been "tinkering" with X-10 for years (~25-30? When did they sell the brown BSR Lamp and Appliance Modules and the Wall Switches with the Paddle? Or the Sears Ultrasonic Console with Remote??)

I use the photocell in the PR511 to detect dawn/dusk. If you have the need to activate modules BEFORE dawn or dusk, you have to play around with the sensitivity. I have a macro that starts off with beeping a Universal Module so that I know when the photocell 'tripped'. First, the hall light comes on at 80% (before dusk); 15 minutes later the living room bay window stained glass light comes on (CFL in a 'modified' Appliance Module)(at dusk - approximately, according to published sunrise/sunset times).

I put off buying the CM15A for years now, but when they included *ALL* the optional software for *FREE* a few weeks ago, I succumbed. I *KNOW* it doesn't work well, but, I just wanted to play with it and see the differences / 'improvements'.