I controlled an X10 siren from my ISY for years. Sometime after I upgraded to an EISY it stopped working. I don't know if that was related to the upgrade or if some change to my home's electrical system caused an issue.

Anybody know the status of X10 support from EISY? Is there something I have to enable? If there's an A10/X10 module that needs to be added, I don't see how to do that - can't find any way to purchase modules. Help/Manage Modules just tells me all my modules are up to date.

On the ISY, I had a program which issued the following:

Send X10 "H6/Bright (7_)

This caused the X10 siren to chime.

I've also attempted to verify X10 functionality without using an EISY program by opening an ssh shell into the EISY and trying:

send_x10 bright H6

but the shell reports that the send_x10 program is not present.

I could not find out how to install the send_x10 program.

It may be relevant that I had to switch the cable to the PLM when I upgraded to EISY.

Any pointers on the above would be greatly appreciated.

---

A bit more info after reading these forums:

I triggered the EISY program to make the X10 siren chime. I can see in the Event Viewer that the PLM sent the X10 commands, and also received an X10 response. But the X10 device made no noise. I've tried two different X10 sirens and neither one worked.

Sun 04/05/2026 23:49:39 : [ X10] H6

Sun 04/05/2026 23:49:39 : [ X10] H6/Bright (7)

Sun 04/05/2026 23:49:39 : [ X10] H6

Sun 04/05/2026 23:49:39 : [ X10] H6/Dim (15)

Sun 04/05/2026 23:49:39 : [X10-RSP ] 02 63 D9 00 06

Sun 04/05/2026 23:49:40 : [X10-RSP ] 02 63 D5 80 06

Sun 04/05/2026 23:49:41 : [X10-RSP ] 02 63 D9 00 06

Sun 04/05/2026 23:49:42 : [X10-RSP ] 02 63 D4 80 06

Edited Monday at 06:55 AM2 days by hspindel

How hard is it to move the chime module closer to the PLM?

I saw your question on the X10 forum and I agreed. In my post there.

Try moving the module to different places to see if you have a power line signal issue.

6 hours ago, hspindel said:

I triggered the EISY program to make the X10 siren chime. I can see in the Event Viewer that the PLM sent the X10 commands, and also received an X10 response. But the X10 device made no noise. I've tried two different X10 sirens and neither one worked.

Sun 04/05/2026 23:49:39 : [ X10] H6

Sun 04/05/2026 23:49:39 : [ X10] H6/Bright (7)

Sun 04/05/2026 23:49:39 : [ X10] H6

Sun 04/05/2026 23:49:39 : [ X10] H6/Dim (15)

Sun 04/05/2026 23:49:39 : [X10-RSP ] 02 63 D9 00 06

Sun 04/05/2026 23:49:40 : [X10-RSP ] 02 63 D5 80 06

Sun 04/05/2026 23:49:41 : [X10-RSP ] 02 63 D9 00 06

Sun 04/05/2026 23:49:42 : [X10-RSP ] 02 63 D4 80 06

@hspindel ,

The EISY and plm appear to be doing their jobs.

The Top 4 entries in the viewer (green) are the EISY sending the X10 commands to the PLM.

The Bottom 4 entries (blue) are the PLM echoing the commands back to the EISY. Presumably the PLM put the commands on the powerline.

As @Brian H and @oberkc have indicated, try moving the Siren closer to the PLM to rule out signal absorption.

Not sure if you need a delay between the bright and dim commands.

10 hours ago, oberkc said:

How hard is it to move the chime module closer to the PLM?

It's trivial, but it doesn't help.

10 hours ago, Brian H said:

I saw your question on the X10 forum and I agreed. In my post there.

Try moving the module to different places to see if you have a power line signal issue.

Moving the X10 siren doesn't help.

7 hours ago, IndyMike said:

@hspindel ,

Not sure if you need a delay between the bright and dim commands.

Perhaps that's true, but it's not the solution here. If I send only the bright command it still doesn't work.

7 hours ago, IndyMike said:

@hspindel ,

As @Brian H and @oberkc have indicated, try moving the Siren closer to the PLM to rule out signal absorption.

I've tried the siren in an outlet on the same wall as the PLM. No help.

The small siren. Need the X10 address sent and then the bright or dim command. Did you send the address than a small pause to the dim or bright?

Do you have any other X10 devices that are still OK? If others also stopped working then I would suspect something changed power line problems.

25 minutes ago, Brian H said:

The small siren. Need the X10 address sent and then the bright or dim command. Did you send the address than a small pause to the dim or bright?

Do you have any other X10 devices that are still OK? If others also stopped working then I would suspect something changed power line problems.

I am sending the commands from a program running on my EISY. I have no idea what it's doing under the hood other than the log entry I posted. There's no way to add a pause between address and bright. If I don't send the dim at all, it still doesn't work.

I have no other X10 devices.

The X10 commands require a short delay between commands. Like the address has to be sent and then a short (not much but don't have exactly known) time the bright or dim command. I am not a programing type so if the slight delay maybe needed. I can't say how to do it.

That maybe but not for sure your problem. The ISY controller that worked maybe running slower than the eisy that doesn't work. With the short delay long enough with the ISY controller.

@hspindel , You can add a delay by executing the House Code and Dim commands separately. By sending only the "H6" command you can insert a delay and then then the "H/Bright" command as shown below.

I have no clue if this is related to your issue. Difficult to troubleshoot without a Siren to test.

X10 Dim - [ID 0019][Parent 0003][Not Enabled]

If
   - No Conditions - (To add one, press 'Schedule' or 'Condition')
 
Then
        Send X10 'H6/Bright (7)'  (Normal Bright Method)
        Wait  5 seconds
        Send X10 'H6'  (Housecode address)
        Wait  2 seconds
        Send X10 'H/Bright (7)' (Bright command)

Tue 04/07/2026 09:44:22 AM : [        Time] 09:44:51 3(0)
Tue 04/07/2026 09:44:22 AM : [         X10]       H6
Tue 04/07/2026 09:44:22 AM : [X10-RSP     ] 02 63 D9 00 06 
Tue 04/07/2026 09:44:22 AM : [         X10]       H6/Bright (7)
Tue 04/07/2026 09:44:23 AM : [X10-RSP     ] 02 63 D5 80 06 
Tue 04/07/2026 09:44:27 AM : [         X10]       H6
Tue 04/07/2026 09:44:27 AM : [X10-RSP     ] 02 63 D9 00 06 
Tue 04/07/2026 09:44:29 AM : [         X10]       H6/Bright (7)
Tue 04/07/2026 09:44:29 AM : [X10-RSP     ] 02 63 D5 80 06 

10 hours ago, IndyMike said:

@hspindel , You can add a delay by executing the House Code and Dim commands separately. By sending only the "H6" command you can insert a delay and then then the "H/Bright" command as shown below.

I am sending the commands from an EISY program. I am limited to what the programming allowed for.

My current program was a single line:

Send X10 'H6/Bright (7)'

I changed that to:

Send X10 'H6' <no command>

Wait 1 second

Send X10 'H6/Bright (7)'

---

This still does not work. On the last line of the program, there is no way to separate the H6 command from the Bright command.

10 hours ago, IndyMike said:

@hspindel , You can add a delay by executing the House Code and Dim commands separately. By sending only the "H6" command you can insert a delay and then then the "H/Bright" command as shown below.

X10 Dim - [ID 0019][Parent 0003][Not Enabled]

If
   - No Conditions - (To add one, press 'Schedule' or 'Condition')
 
Then
        Send X10 'H6/Bright (7)'  (Normal Bright Method)
        Wait  5 seconds
        Send X10 'H6'  (Housecode address)
        Wait  2 seconds
        Send X10 'H/Bright (7)' (Bright command)

I entered the commands exactly as you suggested, but it still does not work (I did figure for the last 'H/Bright (7)' line you intended 'H6/Bright (7)' as there is no way to send an X10 command without a unit code).

Apparently the EISY is sending the commands. Here's the log (with timings showing the delays):

Tue 04/07/2026 17:57:16 : [ X10] H6

Tue 04/07/2026 17:57:16 : [ X10] H6/Bright (7)

Tue 04/07/2026 17:57:16 : [X10-RSP ] 02 63 D9 00 06

Tue 04/07/2026 17:57:17 : [X10-RSP ] 02 63 D5 80 06

Tue 04/07/2026 17:57:21 : [ X10] H6

Tue 04/07/2026 17:57:21 : [X10-RSP ] 02 63 D9 00 06

Tue 04/07/2026 17:57:23 : [ X10] H6

Tue 04/07/2026 17:57:23 : [ X10] H6/Bright (7)

Tue 04/07/2026 17:57:23 : [X10-RSP ] 02 63 D9 00 06

Tue 04/07/2026 17:57:24 : [X10-RSP ] 02 63 D5 80 06

But the siren never chirps. To recap:

1. This used to work. Possibly that was when I had an ISY instead of an EISY.

2. Have tried multiple X10 siren units.

3. Have tried multiple electrical outlets for the siren, including one about 8 feet away from the PLM.

Thank you for your suggestions.

10 hours ago, IndyMike said:

@hspindel , You can add a delay by executing the House Code and Dim commands separately. By sending only the "H6" command you can insert a delay and then then the "H/Bright" command as shown below.

• Plaintext

  editor_tool--codelanguage

X10 Dim - [ID 0019][Parent 0003][Not Enabled] If - No Conditions - (To add one, press 'Schedule' or 'Condition') Then Send X10 'H6/Bright (7)' (Normal Bright Method) Wait 5 seconds Send X10 'H6' (Housecode address) Wait 2 seconds Send X10 'H/Bright (7)' (Bright command)

I entered the commands exactly as you suggested, but it still does not work (I did figure for the last 'H/Bright (7)' line you intended 'H6/Bright (7)' as there is no way to send an X10 command without a unit code).

Apparently the EISY is sending the commands. Here's the log (with timings showing the delays):

Tue 04/07/2026 17:57:16 : [ X10] H6

Tue 04/07/2026 17:57:16 : [ X10] H6/Bright (7)

Tue 04/07/2026 17:57:16 : [X10-RSP ] 02 63 D9 00 06

Tue 04/07/2026 17:57:17 : [X10-RSP ] 02 63 D5 80 06

Tue 04/07/2026 17:57:21 : [ X10] H6

Tue 04/07/2026 17:57:21 : [X10-RSP ] 02 63 D9 00 06

Tue 04/07/2026 17:57:23 : [ X10] H6

Tue 04/07/2026 17:57:23 : [ X10] H6/Bright (7)

Tue 04/07/2026 17:57:23 : [X10-RSP ] 02 63 D9 00 06

Tue 04/07/2026 17:57:24 : [X10-RSP ] 02 63 D5 80 06

But the siren never chirps. To recap:

1. This used to work. Possibly that was when I had an ISY instead of an EISY.

2. Have tried multiple X10 siren units.

3. Have tried multiple electrical outlets for the siren, including one about 8 feet away from the PLM.

Thank you for your suggestions.

@hspindel ,

Let me start by saying that I'm using the ISY994. It does allow me to send the "Bright" with only a House code as shown below. The result is different and allows a delay between the two commands.

I can't say for certain that this option is still available on the EISY, but UD normally keeps items like this consistent across their platforms.

I also cannot say that it will help with your problem.

Which specific X10 siren are you using?

Wed 04/08/2026 07:58:45 AM : [        Time] 07:58:47 4(0)
Wed 04/08/2026 07:58:45 AM : [         X10]       H6
Wed 04/08/2026 07:58:45 AM : [X10-RSP     ] 02 63 D9 00 06 
Wed 04/08/2026 07:58:55 AM : [         X10]       H6/Bright (7)
Wed 04/08/2026 07:58:55 AM : [X10-RSP     ] 02 63 D5 80 06 

Edited 17 hours ago17 hr by IndyMike

@IndyMike Thank you for the reply.

The X10 siren is an X10 SH10A Powerhorn.

I had not noticed that I can send a house code without a unit code. That capability is available on the EISY as well. Thank you for pointing that out, and I modified the program to not send the unit code.

Sadly, the siren still does not make any noise despite seeing the X10 commands in the EISY log, and seeing X10 responses in the log as well.

The SH10A is receive only and will not send an acknowledge back. You probably are seeing the PLM acknowledging the command. Since the PLM sends the command back to verify it was valid and sent.

1 hour ago, Brian H said:

The SH10A is receive only and will not send an acknowledge back. You probably are seeing the PLM acknowledging the command. Since the PLM sends the command back to verify it was valid and sent.

Interesting - didn't know that. Thank you.

@hspindel ,

The instructions for the SH!)A are located here: http://www.authinx.com/manuals/X10/SH10A.pdf

The indicate that you can use the device as an annunciator by pressing Unit Code-On followed by Bright or Dim on an X10 controller. I read that as the following:

If
   - No Conditions - (To add one, press 'Schedule' or 'Condition')
 Then
        Send X10 'H6/On (3)'
        Wait  1 second
        Send X10 'H/Bright (7)'
 Else
   - No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action')

Not sure if the wait is necessary. Since you are trying to mimic and button controller some sort of delay may be required.

I don't know if this helps, but I use the SC546a Plug In Remote Chime with eisy, no problems. Bob

X10.COM

SC546a Plug In Remote Chime

Instantly Add A Doorbell or Warning Chime Anywhere in Your Home Just plug the module into any standard wall outlet, set the house and unit codes, and the modules "sings out" with a pleasant "Ding-Dong

27 minutes ago, IndyMike said:

42 minutes ago, IndyMike said:

@hspindel ,

The instructions for the SH!)A are located here: http://www.authinx.com/manuals/X10/SH10A.pdf

The indicate that you can use the device as an annunciator by pressing Unit Code-On followed by Bright or Dim on an X10 controller. I read that as the following:

If
   - No Conditions - (To add one, press 'Schedule' or 'Condition')
 Then
        Send X10 'H6/On (3)'
        Wait  1 second
        Send X10 'H/Bright (7)'
 Else
   - No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action')

Not sure if the wait is necessary. Since you are trying to mimic and button controller some sort of delay may be required.

Thank you. I read the manual you linked exactly as you did. I created an EISY program with exactly the commands you listed.

No sounds from the X10 siren.

Tried multiple outlets, tried multiple sirens.

15 minutes ago, BobM99 said:

I don't know if this helps, but I use the SC546a Plug In Remote Chime with eisy, no problems. Bob

X10.COM

SC546a Plug In Remote Chime

Instantly Add A Doorbell or Warning Chime Anywhere in Your Home Just plug the module into any standard wall outlet, set the house and unit codes, and the modules "sings out" with a pleasant "Ding-Dong

Thank you for the suggestion. I am hesitant to spend anything on another X10 device since they don't seem to be working for me.

My next step is to trial the Insteon siren and hope that meets my needs.