Elk M1 & W800RF32 response time.

[electron]

So I have had my W800RF32 connected to my M1 for several years now, and one thing that always bothered me was the 'delay' before anything happens. I have a simple remote which executes a rule when a button is pushed, but it seems to take up to 2-3 seconds before the rule is executed. I use UPB to control my lights, and responds pretty quick when turning on the light through my Elk TS-07 touch screen. Without using a rule (i.e., set the remote button to the same house and unit code as the light I am trying to control), the response time seems to be faster.

Does the M1 poll the XSP connected to the W800RF32 every x milliseconds, or is it event based? I am also wondering if the X-10 RF->PLC rebroadcast feature is partially to blame for this delay, especially since I don't have an X-10 interface hooked up.

Is anyone else seeing this behavior?

Any 'input' would be appreciated

 

[TeleFragger]

sorry i cant help with the elk m1 delay and w800...
but I had the same delay with my motion sensors to turn lights on.. when I went in rooms...

so now I have ds10a trip since I have to open the door first... then the light comes on.... motion turns it off later..... or if you stay in there.. lights stay on via motion...

my post is just saying that i too have a delay with a different setup..... unfortunately I do not know why...

 

[electron]

But you are using X-10, and a PC, right?

 

[dtreyes]

I have this same issue which I posted here couple of months ago but did not get anywhere. You are not alone. I wish we can figure out how to improve this response time.

 

[TeleFragger]

this isnt a perfect solution... but has anyone tried the rfxcom products vs the w800?

also how do you configure the w800?

I know I use homeseer.. and the plugin allows me to change the response time..... which didnt seem to work for me

 

[electron]

I must have missed that post, sorry. If anyone else with an M1 and W800RF32 is experiencing this issue, please post here.

TeleFragger: The W800RF32 is hooked up to a serial port on the Elk M1, so no configuration is needed.

 

[tmbrown97]

Wow - I just started buying the stuff to do this exact setup - like DS10's, X10 keyfobs, and UPB switches... I hope you guys make some progress! At this point, the only thing I'm missing is an extra serial expander and the W800, so I may take the plunge and troubleshoot with you guys... My hope was to use the little X10 keyfobs to bridge the gap to give me wireless remotes for my X10 devices, but I need it to be reasonably responsive for dimming lights.

 

[electron]

Even with the delay, it is worth investing in this, you can't beat the price/performance. I did learn to live with it, but sometimes, it makes you wonder why, and this morning was one of those moments, so I decided to post about it.

 

[jwilson56]

Even with the delay, it is worth investing in this, you can't beat the price/performance. I did learn to live with it, but sometimes, it makes you wonder why, and this morning was one of those moments, so I decided to post about it.

Any word from Spanky on this?

 

[electron]

I haven't e-mailed him yet, was hoping he would catch this thread.

 

[tmbrown97]

Which UPB CIM are you guys using with your M1? I need to order that at the same time - I haven't put my lighting on it yet, so I'll do it all at the same time. I'm dyin' to play with it.

Thx!

 

[Madcodger]

Dan,

I have a W800RF connected via M1XSP to my Elk, and the delay from the time I see the red LED on an X10 motion sensor fire, until the lights come on (Elk connected to an ISY99 for Insteon) seems to be perhaps 1 second or less. 2 - 3 would seem very long to me, so I think you may want to explore other causes. Most of my lighting rules even have a step "in between", as I have the received X10 turn on an Elk output, and then a rule that turns on the light when the output turns on. That allows me to roughly mimic the occupancy sensor functions found in some software-based systems, by having multiple sensors all triggering the same output.

I also use the system to detect custom text strings from some DS10A's, and they seem to respond just as quickly, if not quicker (hard to tell, so they're very close). Hope that helps,

Joe

 

[electron]

Now that you mention it, my DS10A's do seem to respond faster. I am going to have to take some video and time this correctly. I do remember not having this delay back in the days when I used a PC to interface my W800RF32.

 

[Spanky]

I asked the W800RF32 Guru if he had seen any delays in receiving the X10RF signals. He was not aware of any delays.

The system works like this:

X10RF signal is transmitted -> W800RF32 receives the signal and sends it to the M1XSP Serial Port Expander -> M1XSP receives the signal and translates it into a generic lighting command -> M1XSP breaks the RS485 data bus so that the M1 will query it.

The M1 starts the query for the device that broke the line by quering keypads, input expanders, output expanders, and then M1XSP Serial port expanders in that order. If the number of devices on the data bus is a large number, this could slightly slow the response time. Normally the response time will be within 1 second.

If multiple X10 signals are triggered at the same time, then there will be a 2 second delay between signals because each signal is echoed out the power line and the port 0 serial port.

If you have multiple M1XSP's on the data bus. The lower the address of the M1XSP, the quicker the response time.

If I get additional info, I will post it.

 

[electron]

That's very interesting. When you say "the number of devices on the data bus", do you mean ALL devices, or just XSP's? My W800RF32-XSP is the 4th XSP in line, but not sure where on the databus it is. I'll have to experiment with that.

Would it be possible to remove the 'echo to powerline' feature, since it looks like it might speed things up?

Thanks for taking the time to respond Spanky!