Burned up! Smarthome PowerLinc

[ginigma]

I'll say this, yes all electronics are at risk of failure but can you remember the last time you saw your blender, mixer, coffee maker, stereo, alarm clock, answering machine, TV, VCR, computer, doorbell, etc etc MELT DOWN.

-Karen

I can't tell you how many computer power supplies I have seen that have smoked. Where I used to work, we got a bad bunch of PCs once and one day someone from the front office called me and said they smelled smoke and asked if I could come check it out. As I was running up the hall, I grabbed a fire extinguisher off the wall and started looking around. Sure enough, I saw flames coming out the back of a computer where the power supply is. Another one smoked a few days later, and I made the purchasing dept return them to the vendor for replacements.

Good luck.

-charles

 

[SmartLabsMike]

Hi Karen,

I sent you a private message with my contact information. Please call me, as our team would like to investigate.

For my clarification you had a 1132B with a V572A All housecode RF transceiver plugged into the bottom of the 1132B via the interface cable.

Karen - It has been a few days and I have not heard from you. Have you contacted anyone at SmartLabs regarding this issue?

I sent you a PM with my contact infomation.

 

[SmartLabsMike]

Karen - I still have not heard from you?

 

[Gemini]

I woke up this morning to a very bad burning smell (electrical burning smell). It was very frightening running around the house looking for the source. I could not find the source and being I could not see smoke or see fire I left for work. when I returned I noticed my X10 RF remote would not work. My 1132 PowerLinc failed in July of 06' so I thought it may have went bad again...IT SURE DID! It's case is completely melted and deformed. It also reeks of the burnt electronics smell.
I am so afraid of one of these devices causing a fire in my house.

Karen,
What was the outcome of this?..............

 

[SmartLabsMike]

I never received a response, phone call or email.

 

[ldavis]

As an electrical and software engineer, I've designed many, many, devices like this. As a matter if fact, I designed/built an interface to talk to X10 modules to run on a TRS-80 cassette port in the late 80s (The X10 data is transmitted on the 120VAC line using 4 pulses (4 waves of 100 khz) bits over 20 zero crossings). After upgrading from the TRS-80 to run my house to a PC in the early 90s, I've purchased 2 of these units (10/13/2006 and 02/04/2009). Both units are identical, there were NO design changes over the 2 1/2 years (in packaging or PC board). You CAN open the unit by removing the 4 screws using a #1 Philips screwdriver then pulling the case apart. There are NO plastic tabs to break and no warranty seals. Inside you'll find a 7 watt transformer (115VAC primary, 24 VAC center-tapped secondary). The board looks real simple, but theres a PGA surface mounted and a lot of parts on the bottom of the board.

The two units I have failed in EXACTLY the same way...

It appears the internal fuse is on the SECONDARY side of the transformer to the PC RS-232 connector to protect the user from shorting the supply externally (seems odd to me that the rs-232 connector would have module supplied power on it anyway). In both my units, the transformer overheated probably due to an internal short in 1 winding of the primary, then heated more as more turns shorted in the crappy, UNFUSED Chinese transformer until the plastic melted and the foils on the PC board from the 115 VAC inlet (those unbelievably heavy white/black wires from the plug pins) flashed off the board and splattered the case internally (black flash marks). After the foils flashed, all was cold with the units and my living room light failed to come on at night like my wife likes. I guess I have to buy another one or build my own unit again. Perhaps theres another design out there other than the SmartHome stuff.

I tried to fix the 1st unit by replacing the transformer but, when a primary winding shorts, the secondary volts climbs and I think the PGA fried. No sense trying to fix the other one.

I guess a year or two is all you can expect out of these units. Chances of the fire are pretty remote. Plastic melts long before it catches fire, and the units have that designed in PC board foil fuses.

 

[ldavis]

Hey smartlabsMike
Feel free to contact me at [email protected]

 

[BLH]

Not sure if Smartlabs Mike is still around. Last post was four years ago.

I have not had any power supply problems with mine.
I have had a 1132B and 1132CU both have flaky Zero Crossing Circuits and a 2414U stop processing X10 signals correctly.

 

[Digger]

Not sure if Smartlabs Mike is still around. Last post was four years ago.

I have not had any power supply problems with mine.
I have had a 1132B and 1132CU both have flaky Zero Crossing Circuits and a 2414U stop processing X10 signals correctly.

He posted not to long ago under a different name so he may see it. I cant remember the new name but I would not want to say it anyway because he probably changed if for a reason.

 

[BLH]

Thanks for the information Digger.
There have been so many changes with Smarthome and Smartlabs in four years. It is difficult to keep track of everything.

 

[Digger]

Thanks for the information Digger.
There have been so many changes with Smarthome and Smartlabs in four years. It is difficult to keep track of everything.

I love it when you call Smarthome for warranty and they say that you have to take it up with Smartlabs. They are both in the same building and share the same staff but they play that name game.

To be honest where I work their are 4 company names under one roof from aquiring companies over the years but I dont see where we give a customer the run around and hide behind names etc.