x10 problem

[Dan Lott]

setting up my house with x10 and i put in a x 10 3 way dimmer switch for my front porch's lights. I put in the master switch by front door and the second switch by the garage door. Manually it works great. i put the commands into my sequence were i need to house lights to dim up and then stay on for 1:30 and them down slowly When i start the sequence the house lights go 100% on and then turn off and then back on and stay on then they fade down like they are supposed to when the sequence is over. I have tried changing the face rate time and all. I did have one time it turned on and then faded down when it was supposed to be fading up. When i go into the lor hardware and select that x10 channel it fades up like it is supposed to and then fades down good. So it works in the hardware section but not the lor sequence. Any ideas.

[Steven]

X10 has always had trouble fading up.

That's because depending on who made it and when it was made, if an X10 lamp module is off, sending it a "fade up" command will not turn it on, so it won't fade up. The only way to get it to fade to a particular value is first to send it an "on" command, which makes it turn on at 100%, and then send it fade down commands until it gets to the level you want.

Newer X10 modules, like probably your 3-way dimmer, may respond to a "fade up" command even when off, but there's no way to tell your sequence the capability of your X10 module.

As mentioned here before, the X10 system was developed in 1975!!! That's older than some of the members of this forum. It only has a few commands that are mandatory for controllers, which are basically, on, off, dim, bright (dim and bright only for dimmers). In order to control all X10 controllers, LOR must send only these X10 commands, and must send them only in an order than is guaranteed to make the device behave.

The hardware utility can send dim and bright commands without sending an on command. But when the sequence has an X10 channel fade up from 0%, it first sends an on, then a bunch of dim commands to get it turned off, then bright commands at a slower rate. That's why you get the on/off/on behavior your describe.

The only way LOR could fix this is to have a channel option for an X10 channel to not send an on before a fade up, with the caveat that this may not work on cheaper X10 controllers.

To find out if your device would actually work if LOR enhances their X10 support in this way, use the hardware utility to send an off, then a bunch of bright commands. If your lights don't come on when you do this, then it's probably a hardware problem that can't be fixed.

I don't have any X10 dimmers (lamp modules) in my sequences. My porch light is a motion sensor anyway, so it probably wouldn't like a dimmer. I have an X10 on/off (appliance) switch for it.

[Dan Lott]

Steven all my x10 stuff i just got and it is used. On the 5 appliance module's that i got when they turn on and off they make a loud click. Wich is no problem at all just wondering if they are an older version and new ones dont do that or if they all do it.

[iresq]

They are supposed to click. That's what make them appliance modules, they use a mechanical relay. This makes them good for inflatables, cfl's, animated deer, etc.

If fade up/down is a requirement for your application (can't be done with an appliance module), you might want to consider modules that at are scene capable. These allow you to program a certain scene, say 80%. When you send the command, the module will go to 80% regardless of it's current state.

My use of X10 for Christmas is just normal timer duty for interior and exterior elements. It is not controlled via LOR.

[Dan Lott]

Good to know. The fading i am trying to get is with a 3 way dimming switch that is from x10 in the wall and dimming works but with lor only works dimming down has worked a couple times dimming up just not when i want it to. It has a life of its own when the fade up comand is on but fade down works great. Most of what i want the x10 to do is spot lights that only need to go on once or twice in some voiceovers and be a timmer for tune into lights sing and turning on the inflatable.

[PaulXmas]

I use X10 to

• Turn on/off my blow ups
• Power on at 5:00 and off at 10:00 all my lawn ornaments
• Turn off my flood light while show is on.

I tried to use them to flash my lights a couple years ago but found them to slow.

I am using a relay and one LOR channel to "flash" the lawn ornaments.