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JBorder Newbie
Joined: September 17 2020 Location: United States
Online Status: Offline Posts: 3
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Posted: September 17 2020 at 16:54 | IP Logged
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Hello. I've been using X10 devices for over 20 years but
I am relatively new to PH.
I have 5 ceiling can lights that have the XPDF unit
inside them to control the lights rather than a standard
wall switch. Using an X10 remote, or switch such as an
XPT, turning all 5 on/off at a time works great.
I'd like to use PH to include them in a macro, however
when using PH, even just to turn the lights on, only a
single one responds. Multiple ON commands from PH in a
row don't seem to have any effect.
Has anyone seen something like this before and if so, is
there a workaround?
Thanks,
Jason
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dhoward Admin Group
Joined: June 29 2001 Location: United States
Online Status: Offline Posts: 4447
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Posted: September 18 2020 at 23:24 | IP Logged
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Jason,
I had to do some research as I wasnt familiar with an XPDF unit. Appears to just be an inline module from X10 Pro that responds to on/off,
bright/dim, all lights on, and all units off. Shouldnt be a problem controlling from PowerHome.
Give me a few details about your setup. What X10 controller you're using for PowerHome and what are the house/unit codes for your 5 lights. I
might be able to provide a little more insight into what is going on.
Thanks,
Dave.
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JBorder Newbie
Joined: September 17 2020 Location: United States
Online Status: Offline Posts: 3
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Posted: September 19 2020 at 09:38 | IP Logged
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Hi Dave,
Thank you for your reply. I am using an old 1132CU PLC.
House code A and unit code for all 5 is 5.
This is being done because there are 6 lights in this
room all on a single switch but I want one to operate
independent of the others so I abandoned the switch and
am using individual XPDT units to control each light. I
chose XPDT because they support dimming.
I've recently confirmed the issue is the PLC -- I guess
it just doesn't work well with the XPDF modules. Any
recommendation on another controller to try that
interfaces to a PC? I have a really old serial
controller somewhere (don't remember the model#) but
don't have a serial port so I'd need to find a USB
adapter to try that.
While I have you, I'm also going to start using some z-
wave devices and would want to get those setup in PH as
well. Any particular recommendations or guidance on a
raspberry pi setup?
Thanks again, Dave. I appreciate your help.
Jason
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dhoward Admin Group
Joined: June 29 2001 Location: United States
Online Status: Offline Posts: 4447
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Posted: September 20 2020 at 19:51 | IP Logged
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Jason,
I never really cared much for the 1132CU but not sure why it wouldnt work. If you have 1 light coming on and they're all set to the same House/Unit
then it should work. One thing you can try is sending multiple times. If all of your lights are on C6, and assuming the ID for your X10 controller
is "X10", then try a formula like this:
ph_x10("X10","C",6,0) + ph_x10("X10","C",6,0) + ph_x10("X10","C",102,0) + ph_x10("X10","C",102,0)
This sends the address twice followed by sending the On command twice.
My favorite X10 controller was always the CM11A. You can still find them new on ebay relatively cheap (last I checked).
My Razberry ZWave setup is running on a first generation Raspberry Pi. I have an older version of the Razberry daughter card as well. I cant
remember the exact process I used to set it up but just followed whatever was on the Razberry site. I have found though that my Raspberry Pi has to
be powered off and back on about once a week. Not my idea of a robust system. Not sure if it's my old Pi, the old Razberry, a combination, or what.
I would suspect the Razberry or its software as it just stops responding to requests. I have a newer daughtercard and newer Pi's so sometime in the
future I'll upgrade the system and see if it does any better.
Ive given up on Insteon. It just isnt any good (at least in Florida). Ive got so many dead devices Ive lost control of half my house. I was going to
migrate to Z-wave but the reliability (of control) hasnt been quite what I was hoping for. Im looking at now replacing the Insteon with the low cost
Tuya devices flashed with Tasmota. In my testing so far, they've been very reliable.
Dave.
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JBorder Newbie
Joined: September 17 2020 Location: United States
Online Status: Offline Posts: 3
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Posted: September 22 2020 at 11:56 | IP Logged
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Hi Dave,
Thanks again for your reply. I'll try the formula when I
have more time, but I did order a serial to usb converter
that arrived today and I'm not experiencing the issue
with the CM11A.
What I previously liked about the 1132CU was that I could
download some timers to it from SH. I used it that way
for about 10 years and just now started using it again
only because of the USB interface.
I'll do some more reading on z-wave and I'll also look
into Tuya devices as you mentioned.
Thank you for your help and advice.
Jason
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