MisterHouse: Home Automation with Perl

Scott C. Kennedy wrote:
> Has anyone else seen this issue.
> 
> Having replaced almost all my old incandescent flood lights in my house
> with the Phillips dimmable Marathon Classic PAR38 bulbs, I am now having
> random sporadic lights turning on and off...

Before we get too far, I, with all my 'experience' and a book (HA! No
that's not Home Automation :-), am having the same type of problems.
Mine are a little worse in that I can't send to devices on the same
phase but can on another (???).

> So, either....
> 
> 1) A poltergiest is really having fun with my kitchen.

Poltergeist have better things to do than play with X10.
;-)

> 2) A neighbor is now sending RF signals to freak my wife out.

Possible, can't rule this out. Easy way to find out is to
remove any RF receivers. This won't eliminate the neighbor
but will rule out RF signals.

> 3) CFLs are producing RF noise to trigger the switch.

In my opinion doubtful but don't take it off the list completely.

> 4) CFLs are producing line noise to cause random X10 signalling.

Least likely but it may be possible that a X10 device is spewing
trash X10 commands. You would see this with X10 debugging on.

> 5) The X10 Decora switches I have don't like the dimmable CFLs

Possible but I have no experience with the Decora line.

First is your CM11A's serial cable connected between the CM11A
and the PC (never let the PC end just 'hang in the breeze). That
can cause lots of problems.

Next do you have any new electrical devices in your home?
Is there an electrical device that seems to perform poorly
lately?
Is your PC plugged into the CM11A? Probably not a good idea.

You may have to start unplugging devices to see if you can
isolate the problem. I'd recommend either another X10 interface
to use for debugging or an ESM1.

To work on my problems I'm afraid I'm left with turning off
breakers after I try pulling devices, one by one, from my
computer room. I'm pretty sure the problem is in my computer
room. I have more gizmo's than your average geek.

-- 
Linux Home Automation         Neil Cherry       ncherry@...
http://www.linuxha.com/                         Main site
http://linuxha.blogspot.com/                    My HA Blog
Author of:    	Linux Smart Homes For Dummies

In a word ... YES.

Whats happening...
CF lamps do not have a consistant resistance that the X10 dimmers expect to
see. In other words as the CF bulb shuts down(cools) the resistance across the
 bulb changes, and the lamp modules see this as a local control request to
turn on the lamp.
Solution, (sorry its a hack) disable local control on the module. OR for
testing purposes, add an incandescent nightlight to the circut in question.
This will prove wether the hack will be applicable.
Side note this will disable local control totally. There are a number of other
hacks that may work instead ... Just Google for X10 HACKS

-Pete Flaherty


On Tue, 20 Feb 2007 13:10:17 -0500 (EST), Scott C. Kennedy wrote
> Has anyone else seen this issue.
> 
> Having replaced almost all my old incandescent flood lights in my house
> with the Phillips dimmable Marathon Classic PAR38 bulbs, I am now having
> random sporadic lights turning on and off...
> 
> So, either....
> 
> 1) A poltergiest is really having fun with my kitchen.
> 2) A neighbor is now sending RF signals to freak my wife out.
> 3) CFLs are producing RF noise to trigger the switch.
> 4) CFLs are producing line noise to cause random X10 signalling.
> 5) The X10 Decora switches I have don't like the dimmable CFLs
> 
> I've changed the house codes on some of the switches doing this, but
> haven't noticed a difference.
> 
> So any thoughts?
> 
> Scott
> 
> PS> Link to the bulbs is ...
>  http://www.nam.lighting.philips.com/us/consumer/marathon/display.php?mode=3
> 
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Hmmm, I hadn't thought about the issue of the dimmable CFLs vs the X-10
WS12A "Decorator Remote Control Dimmer Switch".

Now that you mention it... The lights I'm having issues with (I think) are
all have the X10 WS14A "Decorator Style Remote Control Dimmer Switch
(Companion)".

So, does anyone have dimmabel CFLs with the INSTEON SwitchLinc V2 Dimmer
switch? Plus, anyone know if there's a bulk discount available on them? :)

Scott

On Tue, February 20, 2007 3:06 pm, Pete Flaherty wrote:
> In a word ... YES.
>
> Whats happening...
> CF lamps do not have a consistant resistance that the X10 dimmers expect
> to
> see. In other words as the CF bulb shuts down(cools) the resistance across
> the
>  bulb changes, and the lamp modules see this as a local control request to
> turn on the lamp.
> Solution, (sorry its a hack) disable local control on the module. OR for
> testing purposes, add an incandescent nightlight to the circut in
> question.
> This will prove wether the hack will be applicable.
> Side note this will disable local control totally. There are a number of
> other
> hacks that may work instead ... Just Google for X10 HACKS
>
> -Pete Flaherty
>
>
> On Tue, 20 Feb 2007 13:10:17 -0500 (EST), Scott C. Kennedy wrote
>> Has anyone else seen this issue.
>>
>> Having replaced almost all my old incandescent flood lights in my house
>> with the Phillips dimmable Marathon Classic PAR38 bulbs, I am now having
>> random sporadic lights turning on and off...
>>
>> So, either....
>>
>> 1) A poltergiest is really having fun with my kitchen.
>> 2) A neighbor is now sending RF signals to freak my wife out.
>> 3) CFLs are producing RF noise to trigger the switch.
>> 4) CFLs are producing line noise to cause random X10 signalling.
>> 5) The X10 Decora switches I have don't like the dimmable CFLs
>>
>> I've changed the house codes on some of the switches doing this, but
>> haven't noticed a difference.
>>
>> So any thoughts?
>>
>> Scott
>>
>> PS> Link to the bulbs is ...
>>  http://www.nam.lighting.philips.com/us/consumer/marathon/display.php?mode=3
>>
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> Take Surveys. Earn Cash. Influence the Future of IT
>> Join SourceForge.net's Techsay panel and you'll get the chance to
>> share your opinions on IT & business topics through brief surveys-
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>
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
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> Join SourceForge.net's Techsay panel and you'll get the chance to share
> your
> opinions on IT & business topics through brief surveys-and earn cash
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>
>

From: "Scott C. Kennedy" <sck@...>
> So, does anyone have dimmabel CFLs with the INSTEON SwitchLinc V2 Dimmer
> switch? Plus, anyone know if there's a bulk discount available on them? :)

I would be interested in this as well.  I was about to buy some compact 
fluorescent bulbs for some recessed fixtures until I saw this thread.  My 
switches are Insteon ICONs.

Alternatively, anyone have a source for LED bulbs that match the color of 
incandesant?  I bought some that had a blue tint.  Yuck.

David

> On Tue, 20 Feb 2007 13:10:17 -0500 (EST), Scott C. Kennedy wrote
>   
>> Has anyone else seen this issue.
>>
>> Having replaced almost all my old incandescent flood lights in my house
>> with the Phillips dimmable Marathon Classic PAR38 bulbs, I am now having
>> random sporadic lights turning on and off...
>>
>> So, either....
>>
>> 1) A poltergiest is really having fun with my kitchen.
>> 2) A neighbor is now sending RF signals to freak my wife out.
>> 3) CFLs are producing RF noise to trigger the switch.
>> 4) CFLs are producing line noise to cause random X10 signalling.
>> 5) The X10 Decora switches I have don't like the dimmable CFLs
>>
>> I've changed the house codes on some of the switches doing this, but
>> haven't noticed a difference.
>>
>>     
So what happens when we are forced to all use CFL's like everyone is 
talking about in the news (laws to abandon incandescent lights)? MH is 
all I can think about when I read those.

- James

On Wed, 21 Feb 2007, James Armstrong wrote:

>
>> On Tue, 20 Feb 2007 13:10:17 -0500 (EST), Scott C. Kennedy wrote
>>
>>> Has anyone else seen this issue.
>>>
>>> Having replaced almost all my old incandescent flood lights in my house
>>> with the Phillips dimmable Marathon Classic PAR38 bulbs, I am now having
>>> random sporadic lights turning on and off...
>>>
>>> So, either....
>>>
>>> 1) A poltergiest is really having fun with my kitchen.
>>> 2) A neighbor is now sending RF signals to freak my wife out.
>>> 3) CFLs are producing RF noise to trigger the switch.
>>> 4) CFLs are producing line noise to cause random X10 signalling.
>>> 5) The X10 Decora switches I have don't like the dimmable CFLs
>>>
>>> I've changed the house codes on some of the switches doing this, but
>>> haven't noticed a difference.
>>>
>>>
> So what happens when we are forced to all use CFL's like everyone is
> talking about in the news (laws to abandon incandescent lights)? MH is
> all I can think about when I read those.
>

There is always these:  LED bulbs   (Even better energy usage)

http://www.thinkgeek.com/clearance/7aa8/  etc.

----------------------------

Back on topic.  I always had various phantom CFL lights turning on, which 
is why the intrinsic Light_Item object in MH has a X10_Sync property 
which fires X10 off commands randomly to the lights when they should be 
off.   I have since switched to UPB and in almost a year never saw a 
missed or phantom command since.

I have been through about 8 of these bulbs. For some reason, using the X-10 
appliance modules burns them out within weeks. Using lamp modules is not any 
better. I am now sticking with CF bulbs.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jason Sharpee" <jason@...>
To: "The main list for the MisterHouse home automation program" 
<misterhouse-users@...>
Sent: Wednesday, February 21, 2007 11:21 PM
Subject: Re: [mh] Lights turning on by themselves after installing dimmable 
CFLs?


>
> On Wed, 21 Feb 2007, James Armstrong wrote:
>
>>
>>> On Tue, 20 Feb 2007 13:10:17 -0500 (EST), Scott C. Kennedy wrote
>>>
>>>> Has anyone else seen this issue.
>>>>
>>>> Having replaced almost all my old incandescent flood lights in my house
>>>> with the Phillips dimmable Marathon Classic PAR38 bulbs, I am now 
>>>> having
>>>> random sporadic lights turning on and off...
>>>>
>>>> So, either....
>>>>
>>>> 1) A poltergiest is really having fun with my kitchen.
>>>> 2) A neighbor is now sending RF signals to freak my wife out.
>>>> 3) CFLs are producing RF noise to trigger the switch.
>>>> 4) CFLs are producing line noise to cause random X10 signalling.
>>>> 5) The X10 Decora switches I have don't like the dimmable CFLs
>>>>
>>>> I've changed the house codes on some of the switches doing this, but
>>>> haven't noticed a difference.
>>>>
>>>>
>> So what happens when we are forced to all use CFL's like everyone is
>> talking about in the news (laws to abandon incandescent lights)? MH is
>> all I can think about when I read those.
>>
>
> There is always these:  LED bulbs   (Even better energy usage)
>
> http://www.thinkgeek.com/clearance/7aa8/  etc.
>
> ----------------------------
>
> Back on topic.  I always had various phantom CFL lights turning on, which
> is why the intrinsic Light_Item object in MH has a X10_Sync property
> which fires X10 off commands randomly to the lights when they should be
> off.   I have since switched to UPB and in almost a year never saw a
> missed or phantom command since.
>
>
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Take Surveys. Earn Cash. Influence the Future of IT
> Join SourceForge.net's Techsay panel and you'll get the chance to share 
> your
> opinions on IT & business topics through brief surveys-and earn cash
> http://www.techsay.com/default.php?page=join.php&p=sourceforge&CID=DEVDEV
> ________________________________________________________
> To unsubscribe from this list, go to: 
> http://sourceforge.net/mail/?group_id=1365
>

James Armstrong wrote:
>> On Tue, 20 Feb 2007 13:10:17 -0500 (EST), Scott C. Kennedy wrote

>>> I've changed the house codes on some of the switches doing this, but
>>> haven't noticed a difference.
>>>
>>>     
> So what happens when we are forced to all use CFL's like everyone is 
> talking about in the news (laws to abandon incandescent lights)? MH is 
> all I can think about when I read those.

We'll either perform the 'local control' hack or we'll be using
something other than X10 . :-)

-- 
Linux Home Automation         Neil Cherry       ncherry@...
http://www.linuxha.com/                         Main site
http://linuxha.blogspot.com/                    My HA Blog
Author of:    	Linux Smart Homes For Dummies

Thomas Harding wrote:
> I have been through about 8 of these bulbs. For some reason, using the X-10 
> appliance modules burns them out within weeks. Using lamp modules is not any 
> better. I am now sticking with CF bulbs.

I'm pretty sure this is a case of the local control's leakage current
is burning out the bulb. I've also noticed that my incandescent lights
burn out faster with the wall switch. To disable the local control
take a look at Ido's page:

http://www.geocities.com/ido_bartana/

This will take you to the exact page you need:

http://www.geocities.com/ido_bartana/Modifying_Appliance_module.htm#Defeating%20local%20current%20sensing

-- 
Linux Home Automation         Neil Cherry       ncherry@...
http://www.linuxha.com/                         Main site
http://linuxha.blogspot.com/                    My HA Blog
Author of:    	Linux Smart Homes For Dummies

Lets hope X10 realizes this and makes improvements :)

-Pete

On Thu, 2007-02-22 at 17:35 -0500, Neil Cherry wrote:

> Thomas Harding wrote:
> > I have been through about 8 of these bulbs. For some reason, using the X-10 
> > appliance modules burns them out within weeks. Using lamp modules is not any 
> > better. I am now sticking with CF bulbs.
> 
> I'm pretty sure this is a case of the local control's leakage current
> is burning out the bulb. I've also noticed that my incandescent lights
> burn out faster with the wall switch. To disable the local control
> take a look at Ido's page:
> 
> http://www.geocities.com/ido_bartana/
> 
> This will take you to the exact page you need:
> 
> http://www.geocities.com/ido_bartana/Modifying_Appliance_module.htm#Defeating%20local%20current%20sensing
>

Hi All,

    I contributed my CruiseControl.NET monitor class.   This is essentially 
a simple screen scrape plugin for Misterhouse to know what the project 
status is and allow it to alarm when a build is broken.

    The code is very rudimentary and could use improvement, but it works 
for now.   If you are a software developer using a continuous integration 
platform, please have a look and contribute anything you would like.  I 
would make it more MH like (Object that has a real state, etc - simple to 
add) but dont have the time to think about it now.

CruiseControl.NET:
http://ccnet.thoughtworks.com/

-J