jkraus Posted September 9, 2009 Posted September 9, 2009 If you see from my other post I had serious communication issue that have mostly been resolved. However, I still have the "X10 gut wrench" when sometimes my Insteons do not come on at specified times from the ISY (not a programming issue but a communication issue as one device in a scene may not come on). So, when they are so random how do you go about trying to track them down. I know there are some event tools, but again with random occurrences, is thee any tools or ideas to debug? BTW, in only a 2000 sqf house I have about 15 insteon devices and 5 or 6 APs. All of my plugs that either had computers or TVs plugged into them as well as my stereo have either filterlincs or X10 filters to isolate that equipment Any ideas? Joe
Brian H Posted September 9, 2009 Posted September 9, 2009 How about things you may not have thought of. In the X10 forums we constantly see things like cell phone chargers and even the more modern electronically controlled things like washer dryers and refrigerators. Make noise or suck up the X10 and most likely Insteon signals. I also found in my setup. One Access Point and a passive phase coupler work better than two Access Points. That could just be my setup.
jkraus Posted September 9, 2009 Author Posted September 9, 2009 I have my cell phone chargers isolated, but neither of my refrigerators, I can try that. But why is it every time I go to the "knowledge well" I get different answer (no disrespect to you as you were just giving me an opinion) Like: Need two Access point, but more is better (then someone will say more is worse) More insteon the better, and someone else will say no, you can have too many Gets very confusing....which was why I left the "Phantom world of X10" in the first place Anyway, thanks! Joe
TJF1960 Posted September 10, 2009 Posted September 10, 2009 Hi Joe, Everyone has an opion, usually based on what worked for them. Me, I have a 1500 sq.ft house with, I'm afraid to count how many, Insteon devices, lots of motion sensors and 1 triggerlinc now. I am using 2 access points mainly because I cannot centrally locate 1 and have it cover all the motion sensors. If I didnt have the motion sensors, or as many I could get away with just one along with the signal bridge in the power panel. In fact I have near 100% just with the signal bridge and about 6-8 noise blockers. I can tell you though that the biggest signal sucker I have in the house is the new dryer, just one leg of the 240vac is affected and drops the signal nearly in 1/2. If I could figure out a way to isolate that 30 amp circuit I would have 100% without the access points. Anyway, keep working at it, you'll get it. Good luck, Tim
MikeB Posted September 10, 2009 Posted September 10, 2009 I think there is no exact science to troubleshooting powerline communication issues. Like TJF1960 said, people will suggest what helped in their home. While he had issues with his dryer, I've had none. I've had issues with a surge strip, but other people using different brands and models might not have had any issues. What has worked for me is identifying the troublesome module, then testing through the Admin Console. Send 20 commands to the scene, and see how reliable/unreliable it is. Look at what is on its circuit. Remove anything suspect from the powerline on that circuit, then try your scene again. If it's 100% reliable, you know one of the things you've unplugged is the culprit and you can narrow it down further. If the issue is still there, you know your problem lies elsewhere so look for more things on that circuit to isolate. If your problem is all over the house, on various circuits, then your problem may lie on the circuit that the PLM is plugged into so do your troubleshooting there. Don't assume that because a device is on a FilterLinc that it is completely isolated - I have seen bad FilterLincs and devices that still cause issues behind FilterLincs. For example - I wouldn't plug a PLM next to a rack full of electronic equipment, whether or not that equipment is behind a FilterLinc. Good luck.
jkraus Posted September 10, 2009 Author Posted September 10, 2009 Send 20 commands to the scene, and see how reliable/unreliable it is. By looking at the event tool can you tell how reliable it is? I mean is it not just works or not works? Maybe I need a little lesson on how to use it...what to look for? Thx Joe
MikeB Posted September 10, 2009 Posted September 10, 2009 In my opinion, sending ON/OFF commands 20 times or more and taking note of how reliably the devices respond is the best approach - it works for me. Pause a second or 2 between commands to avoid powerline collisions. Your goal should be 100% success. The Event Viewer will tell you remaining hop counts on commands, which COULD be an indication of how reliably the devices will be overall, but I wouldn't count on it.
bbuzzone Posted September 19, 2009 Posted September 19, 2009 Through my own ignorance I found myself in a position of either confessing to my wife that I was a wiring ingnoramous or asking for help from a friend who is a professional COMMERCIAL electircian. My friend was willing to "trouble shoot" why the new 3 way switches I installed did not work. In less than 10 minutes he identified why the SMARTHOME wiring diagram was not applicable to my wiring and modified the intallaton so that my 3 way circuit worked. He then procedded to share that most of the residential electircians he hired (please do not intrerperet this as ALL residential electricians) did not last in his company. What was most interesting to me was his comments about the wiring in my brand new custom house being substandard in ways that he would have fired his employees over. While none of his "tips" were identified by the county as "substandard" last year and everything has safely worked, it was extremely enlightening to have had him go into several switch boxes and simply use a pair of lineman's pliers to securly twist both neutral and line wires together. What has been regestering in my ISY as "unable to communciate" is suddenly available.
markens Posted September 19, 2009 Posted September 19, 2009 While none of his "tips" were identified by the county as "substandard" last year and everything has safely worked, it was extremely enlightening to have had him go into several switch boxes and simply use a pair of lineman's pliers to securly twist both neutral and line wires together. What has been regestering in my ISY as "unable to communciate" is suddenly available. Loose connections in wirenuts are a common source of noise in X10/Insteon systems. Really hard to find them, too.
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