Adding an X10 device - do I need an EZX10RF and/or do I need to purchase the A10/X10 Module from UD

[raymondjiii]

I thought with the Insteon/Smarthome PLM X10 devices could be added reasonably easy (that was just a guess.)

I see if I try to add an X10 device though the UD console it gives a warning message about the EZX10RF will be reset. Are these EZX10RF devices available on the used market?

 

On the UD Portal - it says:
Support for A10/X10 devices incorporated into the tree and managed through the Admin Console' Main tab rather than the Programs tab. $9.00

I don't see anything listed on the Programs tab about X10 - unless that's because I do not have any X10 devices yet.

[MrBill]

On a 994, you can send X10 commands from programs without the $9 module.  What the $9 module adds is the ability to add X10 devices as nodes to the Device Tree.

I know X10 didn't work on IoP in early versions, I don't recall if that was a bug, or if X10 support was deprecated in IoP.

[raymondjiii]

Thanks MrBill. Do you know what this EZX10RF device is?

[raymondjiii]

Ah, I see, it translates to Insteon from X10. I guess that's another device that is very hard to come by these days.

[MrBill]

21 minutes ago, raymondjiii said:

Thanks MrBill. Do you know what this EZX10RF device is?

It looks like a https://smartenit.com/ model number (starts with EZ...), however it's not a current product of theirs.

a PLM has X10 capabilities, an ISY994 will use them, not sure about IoP.  Also not sure what you're doing that gives you that message.

[raymondjiii]

I was selecting the Link Management --> Add X10 Device to EZX10RF:

 

But now I see there is an option at the bottom of the "Link Management" to specify the X10 address (and nothing to do with EZXRF10).

Edited May 17, 2022 by raymondjiii

[MrBill]

Yea you're not supposed to be adding an EZXRF10...   I see the links you're using now...  

39 minutes ago, raymondjiii said:

at the bottom of the "Link Management" to specify the X10 address

I think that appeared when you bought the $9 module.

[raymondjiii]

7 minutes ago, MrBill said:

Yea you're not supposed to be adding an EZXRF10...   I see the links you're using now...  

I think that appeared when you bought the $9 module.

No, I never bought the $9 module.

[MrBill]

interesting, I don't have an entry for X10 only:

[raymondjiii]

Hmmm, so I have:

 

So I wonder if that is the $9 module? I never paid for it but I'm not sure if that purchase stays with the user account or with the device. (I.e. maybe the previous owner bought that option).

[MrBill]

I believe that is the $9 module.  
 

Help -> About - will show your active modules.  

[Brian H]

The EZX10RF is built on a 2412 base PLM board with their custom daughter board. It acts like an all address X10 receiver and can map up to 20 X10 address to a Insteon Address Scene I believe.

If you have the $9.00 module. It will show up in the Administrative Consoles.  Help, About Tab. Should show up as an A10/X10 For INSTEON (21060). You should also see in the Add A New Device Tab. Entrees for an A10/X10 address. A10 was an enhanced protocol built on the X10 signaling.

Edited May 17, 2022 by Brian H

[LarryCRetired]

About 6 weeks ago, I asked Michel if x10 was supported in Polisy IoP. His answer was Yes.  

I have a few x10 devices which I still need/use and I wanted to be sure x10 was still available prior to migrating.

Mr Bill may have answered this in his posts above but I thought it might be useful to indicate what Michel told me.  Although I have not migrated to IoP at this time. 

[MrBill]

1 minute ago, LarryCRetired said:

Mr Bill may have answered this in his posts above but I thought it might be useful to indicate what Michel told me.  Although I have not migrated to IoP at this time. 

I"m glad you posted.  All I've been able to post was that I knew X10 wasn't working in early versions of IoP and that I didn't know if that was a bug that had been corrected or it was deprecated.   glad you had the answer to this, for some unknown reason last week X10 kept being brought up.

[raymondjiii]

14 hours ago, MrBill said:

I believe that is the $9 module.  
 

Help -> About - will show your active modules.  

Yes. Sure enough there it is:

I guess the purchase stays with the device and not the account.

 

Looking at the other modules...The Network Module which is $49 but is now "Now included with ISY Portal Module"  Seems odd given that one is $49 and the other is like $12 or so.

This one also seems odd:

 

MobiLinc Connect Module

Remotely connect through MobiLinc portal. No port forwarding necessary.
Note:ISY Portal and MobiLinc Connect are not compatible. Only one can be activate at a time.

I think UD Mobile is great but it seems odd that you can have UD Mobile and ISY Portal just not MobiLinc and ISY Portal.

 

And the last one:

Smart Meter Activation Module for $1 - it's not clear to me what you need or where you need to be geographically to use this feature and if this is the same as "AutoDR"

[MrBill]

3 minutes ago, raymondjiii said:

Looking at the other modules...The Network Module which is $49 but is now "Now included with ISY Portal Module"  Seems odd given that one is $49 and the other is like $12 or so.

The network module existed before the portal.  At that time there was only one way to buy it. $49 one time fee.  The portal is a renewable subscription (not a one time fee) at about $1/month (there are different payment options).

6 minutes ago, raymondjiii said:

MobiLinc Connect Module

Remotely connect through MobiLinc portal. No port forwarding necessary.
Note:ISY Portal and MobiLinc Connect are not compatible. Only one can be activate at a time.

I think UD Mobile is great but it seems odd that you can have UD Mobile and ISY Portal just not MobiLinc and ISY Portal.

"Mobilinc Connect" and "ISY Portal" are two competing portal products.  "portal" allows connection from outside your local network without opening router ports.  It provides a cloud address as an entry point to your ISY, and your ISY is making an outgoing connection to let you in from the outside.  There can only be one portal connected to the ISY at a time.

Mobilinc Pro, Mobilinc HD, Mobilinc X and UD mobile are apps that run on your phone.

Mobilinc products, the apps and Connect, are produced by a 3rd party, not universal-devices.  Mobilinc Apps can be used with the ISY portal, however with Mobilinc X I believe there is a fee for doing it that way.

UD Mobile and ISY portal are both products of Universal-Devices.

15 minutes ago, raymondjiii said:

Smart Meter Activation Module for $1 - it's not clear to me what you need or where you need to be geographically to use this feature and if this is the same as "AutoDR"

likely California, maybe Texas.  Most of the grid doesn't share info from the electric meter to customers devices, but there are a few places.

[Brian H]

It stays with the module and its unique UUID.

I have the A10/X10, Networking Modules on my main ISY994i. May spare ISY99i shows none of the extra module added.

[lilyoyo1]

1 hour ago, raymondjiii said:

Yes. Sure enough there it is:

I guess the purchase stays with the device and not the account.

 

Looking at the other modules...The Network Module which is $49 but is now "Now included with ISY Portal Module"  Seems odd given that one is $49 and the other is like $12 or so.

This one also seems odd:

 

MobiLinc Connect Module

Remotely connect through MobiLinc portal. No port forwarding necessary.
Note:ISY Portal and MobiLinc Connect are not compatible. Only one can be activate at a time.

I think UD Mobile is great but it seems odd that you can have UD Mobile and ISY Portal just not MobiLinc and ISY Portal.

 

 

None are odd. In regards to the module, not everyone will sign up for the portal. Personally, I prefer to purchase the module separately as everything will still work even if I forget to renew my portal subscription. 

In regards to mobility vs UD Mobile, those are 2 separate apps. Having options never hurt anyone. Mobilinc is pretty much EOL while UD Mobile is constantly being worked on and upgraded. While there's Mobilinc X, it's missing a lot of things Mobilinc could do and updates has been slow. 

You can use isy portal with Mobilinc. You can't use both Mobilinc connect and Isy portal on the same account with Mobilinc.