| Author |
Message |
motorcoach1
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, December 29, 2005 - 7:34 pm: | |
has any one tryed remote control lighting? i've been trying out 2 units for a year now and working good, havent had to change the batterys yet and use them 10 times a day if not more. one unit is by heath Zeanith 2 way i use in back and bath and have remote dimmers on them. the other is home smart by GE and is an 8 way remote so i can turn on and off any thing that it will power within the limits 1/3 motor or 1200w resistive or 600 tungston . i have holigens on this on and holegen on the back one as well.... whats your thoughts ......mikeemc |
David (Davidinwilmnc)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, December 29, 2005 - 10:43 pm: | |
I've used the X10 (Radio Shack PowerHouse are the same) units at home for 15+ years. I'm sure they work on a different frequency, but I've been pleased with them. I use the plug-in and hard wired modules. I control them with plug-in and wireless remote controls. I think they're great ... reliable and available anywhere there's a Lowe's, Home Depot, Radio Shack, etc. |
Stan
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, December 29, 2005 - 11:33 pm: | |
I had little success with the X10 system in the bus. When sitting in a campground or running on inverter they were prone to turning on at unwanted times when there were changes in voltage. Annoying to wake up in the middle of the night because the fridge started and the lights came on. |
Jack Gregg (Jackinkc)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, December 30, 2005 - 2:28 pm: | |
There is quite a bit of information in the archives on this site. Search for “x-10” or x10. You can search for both terms at the same time. The little guy who does the searching gets confused without the quote marks on x-10. I read one post that said x-10 does not work on an inverter but many who reported no problem.
I talked to smart home technical department. They have no experience with inverters but they say that x10 sends a sine wave signal in between the 60 cycle sign waves of the power; the signal is sent AT the zero cross in the power. I am guessing that x-10 will work on a “true sine wave” inverter but not a square waveform.
Smart home said that voltage fluctuations will not generate a false signal but a refrigerator definitely will. Putting a filter on the offending device can solve the problem. They get $30 for their part #4845ACF but I am sure other alternatives are cheaper.
The gold standard for bus automation appears to be PLC (Programmable Logic Controller). Apparently this is the architecture used for many factor automation applications. Implementation will involve learning the programming language and some buck$ for hardware.
I am currently experimenting with Insteon from smart home. Insteon is x-10 with confirmation, two-way communication, and re-sending. The product line is not complete yet so sometimes you have to use legacy x-10 products. I expect to try this sixteen channel relay to control low voltage loads.
The higher end home automation devices are available from Worthington Distribution. It appears they sell to the public but I don’t know if will give catalogs to individuals.
Jack In KC |
Jack Gregg (Jackinkc)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, December 30, 2005 - 4:24 pm: | |
Has anyone worked with Intellitec programmable keypads or RV Multiplex switching
Looks to be a good OEM product. I don’t know if they sell to individuals. |
Donald Lee Schwanke (Dontx)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, December 30, 2005 - 4:27 pm: | |
I used them all over the bus. Works to eliminate lots of wiring cause you can just stick the switch anywhere you want! I used the X10 type, and quickly found they would NOT work when on inverter mode, something about not hooking on the modified sine wave patterns. That actually turned out very nice,when the remotes stopped, you knew you were on batteries and the campground had lost power!
I went full tilt, had the "RoboDog" too. I could control any light or the dog from quite a distance from the bus. Really nice when coming home at night, turn on all the lights from the main road, no entering a dark bus. |
Rusty Thompson (Rusty)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, December 31, 2005 - 4:14 pm: | |
Does anyone know exactly why the x10 devices don't work with the inverter. I was actualy planning to use some x10 in my conversion.
I don't have any experiance with the problems described above. Is it that the inverter is sending faulse signals causing the x 10 equipment to go on and off or is it that the commands are simply not making it to the controlers. Has anyone tryed switching their house code to see if that helps. or Has anyone tryed a power cleaner inbetween their inverter and their x-10 system. If it was a problem of fluxuations in the power caused by the inverter This might help. |
John MC9
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, December 31, 2005 - 8:09 pm: | |
How 'bout that trucker's CB flippin' the lights all night?
(10-4 *blinkity-blinkity* "Good Buddy" *blink-blink*) |
motorcoach1
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, December 31, 2005 - 8:35 pm: | |
hahahaha simple things do amuse me |
Donald Lee Schwanke (Dontx)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, December 31, 2005 - 10:36 pm: | |
If I recall correctly, the problem is that the X10 rides like three waves of the sine wave to send its signal to the device. On a Heart inverter, which is called a "modified sine wave" and in my opinion should be called modified SQUARE wave, the X10 signal just cannot follow the squared off wave. I would assume that if you had a real true sine wave inverter, there would not be that problem. I am NOT an electrical guru, just repeating what X-10 told me at that time.
As I said, it really was not that big of a deal, you can shut off the appliance at its source when you are on inverter power, and was an advantage as it told you when you were on inverter power.
Another advantage of them is that you can put a dozen or so "switches" in the bus without a lot of wiring. I could turn the bedroom lights on from the front, then from the bed turn off all the lights in the entire bus! Man, that is luxury! |
Jack Gregg (Jackinkc)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, January 01, 2006 - 10:45 am: | |
I tested x-10 on my Trace SW4024. It does not work when inverting. I know Trace (xantrex) advertises as a “true” sine wave so I was hoping it would work.
It did work on shore power. My shore power goes THROUGH the inverter so I can use “power sharing” (drawing power from two sources at the same time). As I recall, Trace claims to “condition” the shore power to correct for voltage. Apparently Trace was passing the shore line wave form without modification.
I had planned to use x-10 for many purposes including switching 12 volt loads so this is a major disappointment for me. I will check with both xantrex and smart home technical departments to see if they have suggestions but I am not optimistic. Next I will look for other remote control technologies.
Jack In KC |
Donald Lee Schwanke (Dontx)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, January 01, 2006 - 12:04 pm: | |
In the plus and minus of it all, I believe that the X10 method makes it also NOT prone to being activated by strong CB signals or such. In the years I had mine, NEVER did anything ever switch on or off etc other than by my own remote control. |
Jack Gregg (Jackinkc)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, January 01, 2006 - 6:41 pm: | |
Correction: I got Insteon (x-10 on steroids) to work when inverting on the sw4024. Insteon includes two (or more) radio repeaters / amplifiers. Since the Insteon product line is not complete it would be necessary to use some legacy x-10 receivers with Insteon switches / transmitters. I do not know if this will work. |