Homeowner Forum / Home Automation / November 2005

I am trying to control an X10 installation from a Programmable logic
controller (PLC S7-200) via a CM11A.
For test purposes there are only A2 (AM12) and A5(LM15) installed.
The following work without any problem:

Just go a couple of the DS10A Door/Window Sensors and the W800RF32 Receiver.
Apparently these DS10A's don't transmit very far. It appears to be only
about 20 feet. Are they any mods that I can do to increase transmit
distances?

Throughout my house I have 4 pair Cat5e wire running; the builder used
it for the phone system.  I've tapped off two pairs at each wall plate
into a cat5e RJ45 keystone jack, and put a hub at the wiring closet,
thus giving me a poor man's throughout-the-house network (works

I'm planning to build an x10 [120kHz] filter that I've modelled in PSpice.
One design I found on the internet, and the other I derived by playing
around with available L\C values out of my Mouser catalog.
The design I derived has a wider notch bandwidth than the Inet design (at

Tried other groups. No replies...
  I wouldn't mind making my own if someone has ideas of where
to get the stuff?
Thanks

With an increasing supply of old 15-19" CRT-type VGA monitors, I'd
rather use them for video monitors (for fixed-output DVD/VCR/CCTV
viewing) vs give them away.  Are there any chips, schematics, kits, or
retail units that do a good job of converting video signals (NTSC,

I have a homeplug ethernet powerline network
(http://www.gigafast.com/products/product_detail/PE902-EBx.htm) linking
my computers together that has always been reliable. It operates at a
different frequency than X10 signals. I just installed a Keypadlinc

Hello Helpers!
I would like to install an outdoor Motion Detect Floodlight (120V,
150W) with a Timer control such that the floodlight would function only
in the night according to the timer settings.

I'm seeing a nearly continuous 2Vpp 120kHz signal on one 'phase'. The other
'phase' is clear. There are what resemble triac noise bursts approximately
1.6ms after each zero crossing and the 120kHz seems to be in sync with them.
I say nearly continuous because the signal is absent on ...

Guys,
My X10 system works fine up to I install a fluorescent light. It makes the
other lights don't respond to remote commands.

As a newbie to the world of home automation, I have what may be a basic
question.
In back of my home I have three dual floodlights (with two 75w lamps in
each) which are switched on and off at a switch inside the house.

My IBM laptop AC adapter kills the X10 signal in the room it's connected.
As soon as I unplug it, the X10 remote+transceiver link can send its  
command to all my modules.
Can I had a filter in series with the power pack (it's a switch power  

I have a lot of X-10 stuff, never used.  Lots of modules and
controllers and a few other things.  X-10 used to practically give this
stuff away when you bought anything, and my brother left me some stuff
when he moved.

How can I use a ActiveHome Pro CM15A on a Mac? I have ThinkingHome but
it does not recognize the unit and the unit does not show up in my OSX
Network PrefPane. I'm running 10.3.3.
Norm

The X-10 commandline (ahcmd.exe) function has been un-reliable.  About 1
time out of 10 it will puke out the following message and lock up:
"X10 ActiveHome Scripting Commandline has encountered a problem and needs to
close.  We are sorry for the inconvenience."