carealtor Posted June 21, 2017 Posted June 21, 2017 I have my ISY programmed to turn off the LEDs on the switches in my bedroom at night. 2 of them (a keypad and an on/off switch side by side in the same box and circuit) often fail to turn off when they are supposed to. I tracked down that a nearby TV (a few feet away, but on a different circuit) when unplugged solved the problem. So I purchased a filter for that TV. The problem went away for awhile, but is now occuring again more and more often. I confirmed again that unplugging the TV makes the problem go away. I don't know what else I can do as I already have the filter on it. Shouldn't the dual band capability kept this from happening? Any help appreciated.
stusviews Posted June 21, 2017 Posted June 21, 2017 Does the problem contunue if the TV is plugged in, but not turned on?
paulbates Posted June 21, 2017 Posted June 21, 2017 I've experienced that enough line noise can overwhelm insteon devices even if they are dualband. It could be that the communications from the ISY to the switches is marginal: How far away is the ISY from the switches? Do you otherwise have solid communications from your ISY to other devices? Are you using a scene or direct commands to turn the backlight off? Try direct commands if you're not as they acknowledge / retry. If this works, there are definitely insteon comm problems. Paul
carealtor Posted June 21, 2017 Author Posted June 21, 2017 Does the problem contunue if the TV is plugged in, but not turned on? Yes, it does.
carealtor Posted June 21, 2017 Author Posted June 21, 2017 I've experienced that enough line noise can overwhelm insteon devices even if they are dualband. It could be that the communications from the ISY to the switches is marginal: How far away is the ISY from the switches? Do you otherwise have solid communications from your ISY to other devices? Are you using a scene or direct commands to turn the backlight off? Try direct commands if you're not as they acknowledge / retry. If this works, there are definitely insteon comm problems. Paul As the crow flies, about 15ft. Yes, all other devices (about 20) work fine, including others in the same room. Using direct commands. I didn't realize the backlight could put in a scene. Hmm. I should also note that other commands to these 2 switches work correctly consistantly since using the filter. It's just the backlight that I'm still having a problem.
paulbates Posted June 21, 2017 Posted June 21, 2017 Using direct commands. I didn't realize the backlight could put in a scene. Hmm. You're right about it being a direct command, my bad. Paul
mwester Posted June 21, 2017 Posted June 21, 2017 The filterlinc, like most filters, merely attenuates the noise and decreases the amount of "signal suckage" -- it is by no means perfect. And given Smartlab's quality issues, it may even have failed altogether! So, as awful as it sounds, try plugging a filterlinc into your filterlinc so that you've doubled up the filtering on the TV. It's cheaper than replacing the TV. And the extra ugly filterlincs hanging from the wall outlet will remind you to look into Z-Wave to replace your insteon devices as they fail... (works for me - my walls are littered with filterlincs, just to remind me how stupid I was to keep buying Insteon devices even after I'd encountered so much noise trouble with them... I'm switching to z-wave as they fail, something that's happening faster than I had thought.)
stusviews Posted June 21, 2017 Posted June 21, 2017 Does the problem contunue if the TV is plugged in, but not turned on? Yes, it does. Try powering the TV using a long extension cord. If the problem continues, then it's probably RF interference from the TV. alternatively, move the TV to a different room (temporarily). Is the original switch OK? are devices near the new TV location also OK?
carealtor Posted June 23, 2017 Author Posted June 23, 2017 Try powering the TV using a long extension cord. If the problem continues, then it's probably RF interference from the TV. alternatively, move the TV to a different room (temporarily). Is the original switch OK? are devices near the new TV location also OK? I took stusviews suggestion and spent quite a bit of time using a long extension cord and trying many different plugs and rooms, both with and without the filter in place. The results were consistantly inconsistant, if that makes sense. It finally occured to me that maybe it wasn't the TV at all (I'm a bit slow/stubborn sometimes). Maybe my initial good results from installing the filter were just part of the ebb and flow of getting good and bad results. For the final confirmation of this theory, I unplugged the TV and ran my tests again. Consistanty inconsistant still. So not the TV... at least not ONLY the TV. More unplugging of things (in addition to the TV) and found that the cable box was also causing the problem. With both the TV AND the cable box unplugged, I was getting consistently good results. So now I have both the TV and cable box plugged into the filter and so far so good. Time will tell. Thanks to all who helped.
larryllix Posted June 24, 2017 Posted June 24, 2017 I took stusviews suggestion and spent quite a bit of time using a long extension cord and trying many different plugs and rooms, both with and without the filter in place. The results were consistantly inconsistant, if that makes sense. It finally occured to me that maybe it wasn't the TV at all (I'm a bit slow/stubborn sometimes). Maybe my initial good results from installing the filter were just part of the ebb and flow of getting good and bad results. For the final confirmation of this theory, I unplugged the TV and ran my tests again. Consistanty inconsistant still. So not the TV... at least not ONLY the TV. More unplugging of things (in addition to the TV) and found that the cable box was also causing the problem. With both the TV AND the cable box unplugged, I was getting consistently good results. So now I have both the TV and cable box plugged into the filter and so far so good. Time will tell. Thanks to all who helped. Sounds like your cable (ground?) and electrical system (ground) are trying to find each other. This can happen if your house ground isn't good, and finding ground via the cable TV ground. Careful getting your body across different grounds if that is happenning. This would usually be acompanied with flickering or dimming light symptoms.
Techman Posted June 24, 2017 Posted June 24, 2017 I took stusviews suggestion and spent quite a bit of time using a long extension cord and trying many different plugs and rooms, both with and without the filter in place. The results were consistantly inconsistant, if that makes sense. It finally occured to me that maybe it wasn't the TV at all (I'm a bit slow/stubborn sometimes). Maybe my initial good results from installing the filter were just part of the ebb and flow of getting good and bad results. For the final confirmation of this theory, I unplugged the TV and ran my tests again. Consistanty inconsistant still. So not the TV... at least not ONLY the TV. More unplugging of things (in addition to the TV) and found that the cable box was also causing the problem. With both the TV AND the cable box unplugged, I was getting consistently good results. So now I have both the TV and cable box plugged into the filter and so far so good. Time will tell. Thanks to all who helped. Take a look at the following two troubleshooting links, you might find them helpful if your problem crops up again http://wiki.universal-devices.com/index.php?title=INSTEON_Signal_/_Noise_Troubleshooting http://wiki.universal-devices.com/index.php?title=INSTEON:_Troubleshooting_Communications_Errors
carealtor Posted June 24, 2017 Author Posted June 24, 2017 Sounds like your cable (ground?) and electrical system (ground) are trying to find each other. This can happen if your house ground isn't good, and finding ground via the cable TV ground. Careful getting your body across different grounds if that is happenning. This would usually be acompanied with flickering or dimming light symptoms. Sorry. I was using a generic term and maybe I shouldn't have. It's not actually a cable TV box. It's an IPTV box. U-verse to be specific.
Brian H Posted June 24, 2017 Posted June 24, 2017 The power supply in the Cable TV Box and be as noisy or signal sucking as the TV itself. I have both my LED TV and Cable Box on the filtered outlet of a FilterLinc. Even Off almost all electronic devices. Have their power supplies always running. Even in power down standby. So turning a device Off may not find the issue. Unplugging so the power supply is not on the power line. Frequently finds issues. Some Surge Strips can also be signal suckers. I have a few strips. With an AC Rated .1uF/250VAC capacitor across the Line and Neutral AC Input. Acts like a great power line signal sucker. I was lucky and it had a PCB in it. That I could unsolder the capacitors and keep the surge absorbing components..
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