Distance from 99i/IR to PLM?

[Kalid43]

I've had my 99i for a couple weeks now and I've got question about placement. My home theater is at one end of my house, and I've noticed that the some of my devices on the other side of the house have a successful communication rate of about 80%. Prior to getting the ISY, I was using a Houselinc & PLC setup located in the center of the house and never had comm issues.

 

I'd love to keep the ISY in the home theater to get the most out of the IR control, but I think the location and interferrence (close to my equipment closet) is creating a few issues.

 

Since the 99i/IR uses the PLM for power via RJ45, is there an issue with using a longer piece of cat5e to relocate the ISY more to the center of the house away from all my equipment while still keeping the ISY in the theater?? I'm particularly intersted in if this is a safe option (as I'd be running the cable through the ceiling with a drop into a stud cavity 3 rooms away) and if this would impact performance at all.

 

Thanks for your help.

Scott

[Mark Sanctuary]

Good question; what is the max cable length for ISY-99i?

[MikeB]

It's not any kind of safety issue. Low voltage, no worse than POE. I'm not sure at what distance the voltage drop would be too much. If someone knows the power output of the PLM and the power requirements of the ISY-99, this page should help figure it out:

 

http://www.demarctech.com/techsupport/poecalculate.htm

 

Keep in mind you could always get an RF IR extender as well, and relocate your ISY to a more reliable location. I just saw one at my local Best Buy for $45.

 

Or, if you're going to run a Cat5 anyway, you could use a hardwired IR repeater.

[Mark Sanctuary]

But don't forget the ISY-99i has a power jack too. So I bet the cable can be long if you use a wall-wart power supply.

[MikeB]

But don't forget the ISY-99i has a power jack too. So I bet the cable can be long if you use a wall-wart power supply.

 

That's right.... with a separate AC adapter, I bet you could go quite a distance.

[Brian H]

The PLM sheet says unregulated +12 Volts 300Ma. So that is 1/2 of the equasion as I don't know the ISY-99i requirements.

I do know the PLM Daughter Card has a fuse on it if you overload it.

Serial signals may depend on the quality of the cable and the interface chips used in the devices.

[Sub-Routine]

The power supply I have from the ISY-26 is labeled +5V @ 1.0 Amp.

 

Rand

[sfhutchi]

...

Keep in mind you could always get an RF IR extender as well, and relocate your ISY to a more reliable location. I just saw one at my local Best Buy for $45.

 

Thanks to Jim... here is a place that sells a good IR extender. I recently bought one through an Amazon.com merchant for $44.48 including shipping. I have my ISY located in a closet with my other electronics and use this to transfer the IR from the entertainment center in another room.

 

The link in the attached seems to sell this for $37.99 with shipping.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/X10-POWERMID-Remote ... dZViewItem

[Brian H]

Rand; I believe mine is also. So using one of them in the external power jack and not using the PLMs maybe a good option.