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[nklght]

Home Automation should help me run my household and conserve energy.  Many costly systems exists to aid in home automation.   How about working on making the X-10 version of  Power Line Communication (PLC) Home Automation, more user friendlyand provide all the options people are promised by incorporating an home automation system.  Currently, X-10 (and even X-10 Pro) modules are unable to provide what people want, unless they want to get involved in complicated re-wiring and combining units from different manufactures, then they might achieve what they want.  Home automation is all about the house acting in manner which benifits the user.   X-10 is far from that unless one wishes to incorporate technologies from several manufacturers and create the code to force them to work with X-10.  I can buy blinds which will open or close automatically, depending on the time of day and amount of sunlight, windows which will close when it rains.  X-10 will not allow me to incorporate all the features available and in order to use these features I have to re-wire everything so it is compatible with X-10.  I could hire a company and have my house wired for home automation and it would operate with features not available in X-10.  X-10 needs to create more reliable and versitile modules which can be used for home automation, without having to go to another manufacturer for parts and then trying to adapt them to work with X-10.     

[Duck69]

X10 is generally DIY (Do it yourself) home automation / security. 
It's also reasonable inexpensive. 
You stated "I can buy blinds which will open or close automatically, depending on the time of day and amount of sunlight, windows which will close when it rains.". You also stated "I could hire a company and have my house wired for home automation and it would operate with features not available in X-10"  If you are not interested in DIY or cost doesn't matter, why not go ahead and have these things done ?  Personally, I can't afford to have someone come in and do this for me. Even if I could afford it, I still do it myself. Why ? Because, I enjoy learning new things, I get satisfaction from accomplishing a task and IT's FUN ! 

[nklght]

Otis69,
You missed my point,  all I was stating is that X-10 is not offering what consumers want.  I will agree that X-10 offers us an in-expensive mode to get home automation and that if we had money we could hire a company to do what we want from a home automation setup.  I would just like X-10 to produce some modules to perform jobs so I don't have to find a work around.  It is fun to create a personalized module to perform some functions, but I also consider that I am not the only person that wants this certain feature to work, or do not have the time to customize every module to get it work the way I want it to.  I also find it discouraging when I create or follow a schematic to do a function, and the procedure is so complicated that you almost have to a rocket scientest, or the final device is so bulky that it is a nuisance.  Especially, when other products from competitors and standards can deliver the module fo ra little more than time and money on creating a custom mod, and the device is the size of a 9-volt battery.  I would spend more money for modules that I didn't have to modify, if they did what I wanted them to do.  Consider the Thermostat set-back controller (TH2807),  this device works on a thermostat which I have only seen in use at my grandparents house built in the 1960's, my recently purchased new construction house came with a mercury switched thermostat, but is was rectangular in shape, and many new houses come with programmable thermostats.  The X-10 TH2807 would not work with newer construstion.  All I am saying is that X-10 needs to consider upgrading some of thier models.   

[Duck69]

  Sorry about missing your point.
I agree that there are a variety of things that  X10 could/should do.
Personally I'd like to see back-lit hand held controllers for security & automation.
Such as the Mini Controller - (MC460), Palm Pad Controller (HR12A-HA), Security Keychain Remote (KR10A-COM) etc.
I'd also like to see a keychain remote that could arm & disarm security & a seperate house code to control lights that are not set to the DS7000 for instance.

BTW.  This subject should probably be posted under wish list. Maybe a CO would move it there. 

[dave w]

I would just like X-10 to produce some modules to perform jobs so I don't have to find a work around. It is fun to create a personalized module to perform some functions, but I also consider that I am not the only person that wants this certain feature to work, or do not have the time to customize every module to get it work the way I want it to. I also find it discouraging when I create or follow a schematic to do a function, and the procedure is so complicated that you almost have to a rocket scientest, or the final device is so bulky that it is a nuisance. Especially, when other products from competitors and standards can deliver the module fo ra little more than time and money on creating a custom mod, and the device is the size of a 9-volt battery.

It is easy to miss your point because there is nothing specific. What are you talking about?

Consider the Thermostat set-back controller (TH2807), this device works on a thermostat which I have only seen in use at my grandparents house built in the 1960's, my recently purchased new construction house came with a mercury switched thermostat, but is was rectangular in shape, and many new houses come with programmable thermostats. The X-10 TH2807 would not work with newer construstion.

Thats pretty weird. Since the TH2708 is nothing more than a heat source mounted directly below your existing HVAC thermostat,  it should work universally.

Can you be more specific when you say:
 "create a personalized module to perform some functions"
In "X10 speak" a "module" usually means; appliance module, lamp module, etc.
Are you calling event programming in AHP a "module"?

"X-10 needs to create more reliable and versitile modules which can be used for home automation, without having to go to another manufacturer for parts and then trying to adapt them to work with X-10"

I dunno if I get your drift, but it sounds similar to asking Firestone to make one tire which will "fit" every car on the road.

Setting aside the "output" modules that are used to control lights and appliances, X10 interfaces "inputs" reasonably well with the outside world via the "Power Flash" module and can provide contact closure outputs with the Universal" module. Yes, if you wanted to monitor eight different outputs from a widget and interface to X10, you would need eight "Power Flashes" which would get pretty bulky. However other mmanufacturersmake multiple input and output X10 interfaces which can be used instead (and that may be your point).

Maybe X10 (not the company, but rather the system) CAN do what you want. If you can give some examples, I bet one of the brains frequenting this forum can help.

[Charles Sullivan]

Sorry about missing your point.
I agree that there are a variety of things that  X10 could/should do.
Personally I'd like to see back-lit hand held controllers for security & automation.
Such as the Mini Controller - (MC460), Palm Pad Controller (HR12A-HA), Security Keychain Remote (KR10A-COM) etc.
I'd also like to see a keychain remote that could arm & disarm security & a seperate house code to control lights that are not set to the DS7000 for instance.

BTW.  This subject should probably be posted under wish list. Maybe a CO would move it there. 

The RCA-branded remote which X-10 is shipping in the $10 kit with the RCA-branded CM11A (HC60CRX) has back-lit buttons.

[Charles Sullivan]

I have 2 back lit 8 in 1 remotes.

I was mainly referring to:
Quoting myself: "Such as the Mini Controller - (MC460), Palm Pad Controller (HR12A-HA), Security Keychain Remote (KR10A-COM) etc.


I posted about this same thing earlier here:
http://www.x10community.com/forums/index.php?topic=9980.msg58120#msg58120

The words "Such as" and "etc." generally imply "not only".

Quoting myself again: "to operate them in the dark to turn on a light YOU HAVE TO TURN ON A LIGHT to see the buttons to turn on the light."

Unless it had tritium glow-in-the-dark buttons, you'd still have to turn on a light to see the button to turn on the back-lit buttons. 

You're still thinking inside the box.  As alternatives, how about:

   Voice control - enter your house and yell out "FIAT LUX !" 

   An RFID keychain fob or lapel pin, plus sensors that turn on selected night lights as you step up to your front door and/or move from room to room in your house (and turn them off again as you move out of the area).

[-Bill- (of wgjohns.com)]

You're still thinking inside the box.  As alternatives, how about:

   Voice control - enter your house and yell out "FIAT LUX !" 

That's what I did with BXVC!