I wish ! I could control ToggleLinc switches !!

[joe s.]

I don't know the answer - but I saw the
same question about "ARC-fault breakers" in
a different forum.  I wonder if we
shouldn't encourage some electricians out
there to share their insight on the topic?
How are they designed - and more
importantly - will their presence impact X-
10 signal propagation?

[roger1818]

Randy and Joe:  I don’t really know much
about ARC-fault breakers, but I did read
that they have a filter inside them.  This
filter could be either attenuating or
blocking your X10 signals.  I will put this
question in the General forum since it is a
better forum for this question.

[chad]

I am also having problems with the
togglelinc 23895W.  I have a new 4100 square
foot house with X10 devices throughout that
all work great.  I also have X10 devices on
the same circuit as the togglelinc that also
work just fine.  The switch itself works,
but it will not accept any on/off commands
directly from activehome pro.  I have not
tried the all lights on or all lights off
command to see if they will work yet.  I
need the 23895W to control a fluorescent
fixture and all of my switches are toggle
style, so this is really the only switch out
there that I have found.  Please let me know
if you get your 23895W to work or if you
have found an alternative.

[roger1818]

Chad:  I suspect your problem is you have
the module setup as a Lamp Module.  I
gather the 23895 does not respond to bright
and dim commands since it is not dimmable
(X10 appliance modules will turn on if they
receive a bright or dim command BTW).  I
would recommend setting it up as a “WS13A-S
Decorator Wall Switch” instead.

[chad]

Roger: Thanks for your help.  I am not sure
if I tried that module yet or not.  I will
give it a try, and let you know how it goes.

[roger1818]

Chad:  You could also try setting it as an
appliance module, but I am thinking that
setting it as a WS13A-S might make it
respond to a “room all-lights-on” command.

[chad]

Roger: Thanks for all of your help, but I
couldn't get the switch to respond to any
x10 signals at all.  It has a green LED that
should blink when any x10 command is being
transmitted, and it doesn't seem to detect
any x10 signals.  I refuse to invest in a
phase coupler or coupler/repeater just for
this one switch.  I am not having any
reliability issues at all with the rest of
my switches or modules.  I am having a
friend test the switch in his X10 setup so
we can determine if the switch is just
faulty.  I wish that there were more choices
in the non-dimmable toggle style switches,
but this is the only one that I could find.
Unless I find that the switch is faulty I
will definately stay away from the Smarthome
branded products.  It seems like it is
nicely designed and I like the fact that you
can program the x10 address without having
to remove the switchplate cover, but
functionality is more important than
features.

[roger1818]

Chad:  You are right.  As far as I know,
this is the only toggle style switch
available that will work with florescent
lights.  I wouldn’t be too quick to blame
the fact that it is a SmartHome brand of
switch.  They may not be quite as good as
the Levitons, but they should be much
better than the X10 brand switches.

Assuming the switch isn’t faulty, there
only two likely causes of your problem: a
weak signal or too much electrical noise.
A phase coupler would be the most obvious
first step, but if you don’t want to invest
in one then the only other thing I can
suggest is to use a capacitor.  It isn’t
quite as good as using a proper phase
coupler, but it does work well.  For more
information see:
http://www.x10.com/support/x10trou.htm#pha