Daniel,

One thing that can help you with the placement of the IR543. Remember that Pronto's range is very wide (it'll reach the equipment even if you have a sofa blocking in between)? Well, one thing I plan to try out (and I'll let you know) this weekend is see if I can place the IR543 in a not-so-visible place and use the Pronto to control it. :-)

Daniel,

I put my IR543 facing the left wall behind a Statue out of view making it accessible for others to operate as they enter and leave the room(because no one touches my pronto) :) and I can operate it with my Pronto with no problems. And my pronto is always facing the ceiling or toward the back wall.

Daniel,

I'll have to get back to you about my results....I installed the dimmer switch and it's working as a switch. But the IR543 controller cannot control the dimmer switch. The only clue I have so far is that I read in the FAQ that it sometimes doesn't work if the lights and power outlets are on different phases. So I'll have to investigate that further... :-(
By the way, anyone have any ideas what could cause the controller not able to control the switch? The house code/unit code are correctly set.

Bevan:

I had the problem of split phases as well. I found that if I plugged the IR543 into a different outlet, I could get it to work (on the other phase). Luckily, the other outlet was also accessible from behind my equipment cabinet. Try moving the IR543 to a few different outlets in your house. Sooner or later, if it is a phasing issue, you will find an outlet that will work. Even if it isn't practical to leave the IR543 in this location, you will have isolated that the problem is related to phasing. Then you will need to find an "X10 signal bridge" to solve your problem.

Bevan:

Please see my previous post on this thread regarding (5/30/99) regarding the use of a signal bridge. If you want reliable X-10 signal transmission buy an *amplified* signal bridge. I always recommend this approach but unfortunatly many people choose to use an non-amplified signal bridge and find that they still have X-10 transmission problems. The difference in price between an amplified bridge and the non-amplified bridge is about $150 but there is a big difference in performance. If you buy the non-amplified version it won't do anything to help with potential AC line noise generated by TVs, printers, surge supressors, etc. You then would have to buy individual noise blockers for those "noisy" devices at about $30 a piece. But first you have to find those "noisy" devices and without test equipment it is a trial and error procedure. In the end, it is usually less expensive to install an amplified signal bridge and a lot less hassle. It installs the same way as the non-amplified version. BTW, we offer all of these products.

Robert
RCI Automation
[Link: ourworld.compuserve.com]

Robert - Does an amplified signal bridge also amplify codes that may come in from the transformer (i.e. from another house) or does it act as a "shield"?

Thanks for all your good advice!

Bill:

If the amplified signal bridge hears an X-10 signal on one electrical phase, it amplifies it and sends it on to the other phase at a much greater signal strength (can also send to a third phase if you have 3 phase electrical).

It is not a signal block however. To block incoming X-10 signals we also offer another product that is designed for that purpose. It is installed in front of the amplified signal bridge and requires that that the main electrical service be disconnected while it is being installed (electrician recommended). Normally, I don't recommend this type of product unless the customer is pretty sure that a very close neighbor is an X-10 user, and changing your own house codes doesn't solve the problem. To receive an X-10 signal in your home from outside of your home, your neighbor would have to be on the same side of the utility electrical transformer and would also have to be in close proximity to your home (X-10 signals degrade over longer distances as is evidenced by the need for a signal bridge in your own home). This really doesn't happen too often but is most likely to happen in apartments and condominiums.

Robert
RCI Automation

I tried out Daryl's suggestion and face the IR543 towards the wall, on a small table half blocked by the sofa and couch...It works! :-)

Well, the electrician finally came and gone, and I have a phase coupler installed. And it still doesn't work!

I have isolated the problem down to a phase problem before, where if I plug the controller into certain powerpoints around the house, it can control the lights I want to control. So, adding the phase coupler seems to be the solution.

Obviously, the phase coupler I got is a non-amplified one...assuming that the electrician installed it correctly.

Unfortunately, with the very limited variation of X-10 products in Australia, I don't have much of a choice when ordering to get a amplified or non-amplified one.

Robert, do you stock amplified phase couplers (3-phase) that works on 220V 50Hz installation?

The phase coupler I installed seems to be the PZZ01 on the X-10 Pro site: [Link: x10pro.com]

Does anyone know if this is the amplified or non-amplified version?

Thanks.

I had coupler (bridge) installed and started to get erratic performance and an had an amplified on installed which did solve my problem.

My understanding of how it works is that a X10 xmitter sends the binary code twice over the power line and the amplifier sees the first signal and puts its own signal with higher voltage on top of the second signal.

Too bad the whole world can't standardize on things like voltage and frequency -- that reminds me, when I was a kid (a long time ago) we had a summer cottage in the mountains where the current was 110V 50Hz - everything worked okay except the electric clocks.

Good luck, Jim.

Bevan:

The X-10 Pro coupler is a passive coupler, meaning that it doesn't amplify the signal. You should see some improvement if it was installed correctly across the 2 or 3 phases.

We use the Leviton 6201 in our installations. It will work across electrical phases of 120v each. I will e-mail you a wiring diagram for this product.

Robert
RCI Automation

Robert,

How can I tell if the X-10 Pro coupler is installed properly but signals are being interfered, or if it's not installed properly?

The dealer who sold me the coupler told me to try switching off a few things like the fridge to see if it improves. Do you have any other suggestions for me to confirm before I pour more money into more solutions to find that it wasn't the cause in the first place?

Thanks.

Another good source of X10, and other automation products, is Jim Wilson at Mountain Vista Supply. They have some of the best prices around and Jim gives excellent support answering emails quickly and with good detail. He'll also spend considerable time with you on the phone discussing problems and options.

Jim Wilson
Mountain Vista
4108 La Linda Way
Sierra Vista AZ 856
(520) 459-0002
[email protected]

Bevan:

The wires on a phase coupler must be connected to each electrical phase (i.e. leg) on your system, and one wire is connected to the neutral bar.

There really isn't an easy way (without test equipment) to determine if your electrician actually connected your passive coupler to all phases (I think you said you had 3 phases). But, this is something that the electrician should definitely know. If he was aware that the passive coupler needed to be connected to each phase, he probably connected it correctly.

Robert
RCI Automation
[Link: ourworld.compuserve.com]