2477D Insteon Dual Band SwitchLinc Dimmer flickering

[richardl007]

i just installed a 2477d on 2 halogen pot lights and they flicker every 60 seconds or so. does anyone know why?

[LeeG]

Insteon dimmers are rated for incandescent loads only.

[oberkc]

I thought halogens would be considered part of the incandescent family for this purpose. They are a pure resistance load, I believe. I use them in various lights fixtures, including recessed, without problem. In certain circumstances, I like the light color better.

 

Unfortunately, I have no answer for why they would flicker. Do they both flicker simultaneously (would tend to indicate switch or connection problem) or independent of each other? Does it happen only to one (would tend to point to lamp as culprit)?

[LeeG]

richardl007

 

Are they low voltage halogen devices?

 

Lee

[oberkc]

Are they low voltage halogen devices?

 

I took his description of "pot lights" as the same as a recessed, or can, light. Perhaps I was wrong.

[richardl007]

They are not low voltage lights. they are halogen pot lights (MR16/GU10base)

[richardl007]

i just installed a second 2477d dual band and it flickers as well. This on is on a chandelier on normal incandescent lights.

[fitzpatri8]

How many watts is the load? Is this in ordinary use, or is one of your Insteon devices in linking mode when this happens?

[richardl007]

5 X 40W=200W

[LeeG]

Are the all incandescents also flickering every ~60 seconds.

Is the flickering happening at full bright or only when dimmed.

Are other Insteon dimmers working without the flickering.

Is there something else using the powerline that operates every ~60 seconds.

[richardl007]

i have around 65 insteon things in my house. all without issues. I have many dimmers that don't flicker, only the new dual band ones are doing it. I just installed one one a lamp and it flickers as well.

[LeeG]

This looks to be a device question to be resolved with Smarthome Support. Do not use the Smarthome forum as that is a user to user forum not monitored by the product owner as the UDI forum is.

 

It is likely they will want to know the frequency of the flicker, does it happen at full bright or only when dimmed, is there anything operating in the 900 MHz frequency range such as a cordless phone, and are there other devices besides Insteon/X10 devices using the powerline for communication.

[jtara92101]

A bit off-topic, but I wish Smarthome would (a) catch-up, it's 2010 and ( be more explicit and technical about just what can and can't be dimmed with their dimmers. "Only rated for incandescent loads" is a non-starter.

 

Incandescent lamps are very close to being BANNED, at least here in California!

 

As for halogens, they ARE incandescent. However, they are often low-voltage, and there are multiple technologies used to deliver the lower voltage. There are dimmer compatibility issues for the various technologies.

 

Now, there are some lamps that just can't be dimmed at all - for example most fluorescents. There is an older method of dimming them using a special ballast, but that requires dedicated controls. Newer ones can have circuitry built-in to allow them to be dimmed.

 

Low-voltage dimmable lamps might use a transformer or an "electronic transformer".

 

A transformer requires a "leading edge dimmer". That means that the "slice" taken out of the waveform to dim is taken out of the leading (rising) edge of the waveform, starting at the "zero-crossing" point. Some older dimmers took a RANDOM slice out of the waveform, and these aren't good with transformers.

 

An "electronic transformer" might require a leading edge dimmer or a trailing edge dimmer. Some newer ones now work with leading-edge. Some are pickier and need trailing edge, and that's a pretty hard dimmer to find, though they are available.

 

For example, all current W.A.C. track fixtures will work with a leading-edge dimmer. The Lightech electronic transformers I use for my under-counter Xenons (another type of incandescent lamp) require trailing-edge.

 

The type of LAMP is irrelevant as far as the dimmer is concerned, if the lamp is low-voltage. The dimmer doesn't see the lamp load. It sees the "transformer" as the load. It's the type of transformer that matters, NOT the type of lamp!

 

If they really are saying "incandescent load only", that means NO TRANSFORMERS, and that's impractical in 2010.

 

The ideal dimmer would determine the type of load, and adapt to leading or trailing edge accordingly. As well, "sine wave dimmers" are becoming more practical, and this would be the real ideal!

 

I *think* that the SmartHome dimmers are all leading-edge. But that's the kind of stuff they never actually tell us. We're too dumb to be able to use that information. At least that's the impression I get from Smarthome.

[Michel Kohanim]

Hello jtara92101

 

I totally concur! Would you be kind enough to post this post in our SmartHome Channel ( http://forum.universal-devices.com/viewforum.php?f=30 ). SmartHome reps are quite responsive on that forum and I am sure they would respond with technical details.

 

 

Thanks and with kind regards,

Michel

[richardl007]

It was my Ted5000 that was interfering with my lighting system.

[Brian H]

Thank you for passing on the information on the cause.

 

I have seen the TED5000 reported to kill X10 and possibly Insteon power line signals. If memory serves me it transmits at a one second interval over the power lines.

 

I just looked at the TED5000 Troubleshooting Guide. It says its power line signal frequency is 132KHz. Gee Insteon is 131.65KHz.