Four 2443 modules, would the new 2992 Range Extender have anything to offer?

[mvgossman]

6000 sf home with dozens of switches, have always been played by intermittent sluggish response, multiple attempts required to add a new Insteon device, and other reliability issues. I limp along. I have four 2443 Range Extenders, all v. 1.0, guess I was an early adopter and filters where it seems likely noise could be a problem such as computer etc. power strips.

 

Would the new 2992 Range Extenders have anything to offer? I use no RF devices currently.

 

Mitch

[stusviews]

There is not much that newer Range Extenders offer over the early devices. A filter on something that has not been shown to cause difficulty is a waste of money while the actual culprit goes unfiltered. Have you ensure that the range e

xtenders are communicating and are actually bridging the opposite legs of the split, single-phase electric supply?

[mvgossman]

Very difficult to find that culprit! Yes definitely they are on opposite phases.

[Teken]

6000 sf home with dozens of switches, have always been played by intermittent sluggish response, multiple attempts required to add a new Insteon device, and other reliability issues. I limp along. I have four 2443 Range Extenders, all v. 1.0, guess I was an early adopter and filters where it seems likely noise could be a problem such as computer etc. power strips.

 

Would the new 2992 Range Extenders have anything to offer? I use no RF devices currently.

 

Mitch

 

Hello Mitch,

 

The older 2443 AP (Access Point) at that time offered the strongest RF coupling - bridging of any Insteon device for that period. The stated RF range was 150 feet, with 1.46 watt power consumption, along with a 150 volt surge rating.

 

The latest 2992 RE (Range Extender) indicates 200 feet of direct line of sight RF, 0.8 watts power consumption, and the same 150 volt surge rating.

 

Besides a smaller and much pleasing form factor that extra 50 feet may make a difference on a Insteon network that is teetering on poor coupling / bridging.

 

It should be noted that all the coupling / bridging in the world will not supersede the need to identify, remove, filter noise makers / signal suckers.

[mvgossman]

How does one find those signal suckers? I've tried to find the most troublesome Insteon link, unplug likely offenders, and one by one plug them in to no avail. Big job to turn off every electronic device in a home. Maybe try again sometime. I did stumble upon mention of CFLs being a problem, I have six in the home, but they came after the issues which have occurred since day one.

[stusviews]

Troubleshooting is rarely easy. Turn off all circuit breakers except the one powering the ISY and PLM. Unplug, disconnect of filter all electronics on that circuit. Just turning something off is not adequate, It must be unplugged, disconnected or filtered. Then turn on one other breaker and test all Insteon devices on that circuit. Repeat until you run into communication problems. Turn that breaker and continue, each time noting which circuit causes a problem.

 

Unplug, disconnect of filter all electronics on on a problem circuit. If communication is OK, then connect or plug in one item at a time until the problem recurs. That device needs to be filtered. Continue...

[Teken]

As Stu indicated there are two basic methods to help determine noise makers / signal suckers in the home. The most direct approach is of course to unplug all devices in the home that are accessible. The secondary choice is to turn off all the breakers and see if communications return back to normal.

 

In my personal experience and travels I use the breaker method as a secondary choice.

 

The reason I do so is that it allows me to keep proper bridging / coupling in place. Anything that is hard to unplug like a fridge, freezers, stove, microwave, etc are of course turned off (temporarily) via the breaker method.

 

Key things are trying to determine if there is a frequency of communication issues. Are they more common during morning, noon, evening, etc.

 

Does the comm issue persists only during peak periods of occupancy? 

 

ie. Every night you're sitting back in that big aszz recliner. Watching the news at 5:30 PM.

 

What is on during those periods and what other appliances are over lapping during that time? It should be noted that often times as electronics age they start to spew noise on to the line. This is why even if a device was fine last month, year, it may not be anymore.

 

Also keeping in mind given the vast amounts of dual band hardware now in the market and in the homes today. This dual band technology has literally made homes which before using single band tech operate fine. But, only so far as being *teetering* on operating with in the 3 hop maximum that Insteon allows.

 

In closing I can assure you if you invest the time over the week end to unplug every device you can and turn off the breakers you can't unplug. You will find something that is causing noise / or sucking the signal from the network.

 

It goes with out saying remove the CFL bulbs and go from there first . . .

 

NOTE: Smartlabs recommends XX dual band devices per every 1000 square feet. In my installs we always try to have a plugin dual band device at every corner of the home on all levels. At 6000 square feet and if your PLM is single band and the other gear is single band.

 

Coupling - bridging is extremely important to insure consistent comms in the Insteon network.

[mvgossman]

Was thinking about getting rid of those anyway with their lack of dimmability and gradual warm up time to full brightness. Any evidence LED bulbs are a problem?

[Teken]

Was thinking about getting rid of those anyway with their lack of dimmability and gradual warm up time to full brightness. Any evidence LED bulbs are a problem?

 

Well, that is kind of a loaded question, no?

 

Ha . . .

 

There are lots of LED bulbs on the market today and many are not dimmable. Others do not play well with Insteon so it comes down to trial and error for the most part.

 

Many people have had excellent results with the HD Cree style bulbs only to to find out later on others had negative results with the same. Mostly in part to variability of the hardware etc.

 

I've personally had great success to date with Lighting Science, Sylvania, Luminus, and Phillips. My recommendation is to purchase an entire box of any flavor of LED bulb you like. Doing so insures the same production run and hardware with in.

 

Install them and see if the Insteon devices operate as expected and if so continue installing until each room is complete. If you find that you have too many simply return them to the store for a refund. Going this route saves time, travel, fuel, and your time because you got the box at one time.

[stusviews]

Some LEDs are a problem, others are not. The only way to tell is to try them. Even the same brand , identical LED can vary, depending on where and when you purchase them.