SPGDCM@CMSA.BERKELEY.EDU (11/17/88)
MSG:FROM: SPGDCM --UCBCMSA TO: NETWORK --NETWORK 11/16/88 18:33:11 To: NETWORK --NETWORK Network Address From: Doug Mosher Subject: many more X-10 controller facts To: misc-consumers-house@ucbvax sci-electronics@ucbvax petel@teksce.SCE.TEK.COM (Pete Lancashire) writes: >I just found out that there are two versions of the Rip Shack minicontroller. >The one that I gave the layout of is the older version. The newer version has >a newer chip and can not do the additional codes. > >The older version is Rip Shack Cat. No. 61-2677A and has 12 buttons. (actually 10; two fat ones on the ends and 4 pairs in the middle) >The newer version is Cat. No. 61-2677B and has 6 'rocker' buttons. Yes. The newer version seems to me to be easier to use, particularly for new users and visitors. I intend to replace my older ones over time. The newer one was recently shown in RS ads as on sale for $4.95 (a SUPER price) but stores here (SF CA) only had the old ones available (though they were sold for the cheap price during the sale). smadi@rlgvax.UUCP (Smadi Paradise) adds: *In article <10981@cup.portal.com> ts@cup.portal.com (Tim W Smith) writes: *> If I turn the light back on, it comes on at *>full brightness rather than the last dimmer setting. * *It is a real pity, because lamps should be turned on slowly (0.5 sec.): *Most of the stress on lamp fillaments is when they heat up; slow *turn-on results in much longer life for bulbs. This is easy to do with *dimmers, but impossible with X10 modules. * *Otherwise, they're great. Well, actually, I've found that X-10 controllers DO turn lamps on "slowly"; or rather "carefully". It seems to be instantaneous, but it's really a cushioned rise. Possibly 1/10 or 1/20 second. The observable result for me is that all my bulbs/lamps controlled entirely by X10 have MUCH longer lives. Another random fact: if a lamp controller has a lamp "off", then a "dim" signal to that lamp results in full on, followed by dimming. That's a shame because you might want to turn a bedroom lamp on dimly when going to bed after one's partner. An impractical "solution": if the lamp was dimmed all the way to off, rather than shut off, it may then be brightened back from 0 to something dim without going full bright. BUT if it is dimmed all the way down, an "ON" command won't work (it's already "on", just very dim).... This complexity I have found to be a pain in the X-10 design. MORE: Reliability of units. In the earliest days, all of the X-10 units had a terribl e record for out-of-box and early failures. BSR gave a 1-year warranty to help some. The units would either die completely or become unreliable; sometimes the y developed switch-bounce or lost part of their functions. From what I read on the net now, and my own experience, more recent models have better reliability. A separate problem is how far the signals reach. I've found that my house (with some knob-and-tube wiring) provides some pairs of locations that can't reach each other well. The strength of the controlling signal matters; the earliest model of the Radio-Shack Color Computer controller sends a signal weaker than hand controllers. The R. S. Homeminder (nee General Electric) sends a nice strong signal. But you may need to move things around or avoid certain combinations. ( ) ( Doug Mosher <SPGDCM@CMSA.Berkeley.edu> ) ( ...!ucbvax!cmsa!spgdcm ) ( 257 Evans, Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA, 415/642-5823 ) T &many more X-10 controller facts
michael@taniwha.UUCP (Michael Hamel) (11/19/88)
Hmmm. Has anyone ever done a 240V version of the BSR system for countries that use it? Michael