FYI
- Thread starter mikefamig
- Start date
That is pretty interesting and really part of a trend that home automation people need to be watching. It seems because of the "mess" in the home automation world, many companies are just bypassing it all and creating systems that just support their stuff. This is a bit of the same concept behind the Wink and Smarthings hubs.
I have moved so don't yet have my full home automation system going, but for now, I have a UPB timer controlling all the lights, and I have this other box with simple timers controlling the blinds. Its not a perfect arrangement, but it does 90% of what I need until I can get everything else running.
I have moved so don't yet have my full home automation system going, but for now, I have a UPB timer controlling all the lights, and I have this other box with simple timers controlling the blinds. Its not a perfect arrangement, but it does 90% of what I need until I can get everything else running.
pete_c
Guru
It is a great idea.
It is also a bit retro as the simpliest functioning X-10 lighting automation I had in the late 70's was just a timer and a remote control tabletop keypad for the lighting.
I rented a home at the time in a far away place and used X10 to provide a lived in look whilst I only used the home maybe 8 months out of the year.
In to the 80's I made it a bit more resilent by creating a schedule on a computer then uploading it to the timer.
Then with just a plan old pots line I could remote the functions (well but not see them).
Never broke and it had a little battery to save the scheduling and only one cable to power it.
It is also a bit retro as the simpliest functioning X-10 lighting automation I had in the late 70's was just a timer and a remote control tabletop keypad for the lighting.
I rented a home at the time in a far away place and used X10 to provide a lived in look whilst I only used the home maybe 8 months out of the year.
In to the 80's I made it a bit more resilent by creating a schedule on a computer then uploading it to the timer.
Then with just a plan old pots line I could remote the functions (well but not see them).
Never broke and it had a little battery to save the scheduling and only one cable to power it.
pete_c said:
Yes I have six UPB switches in the garage and two in the house. It's pretty cool to be able to control outside lights based on the sun light. It also allows me to light the place up in an alarm and following door openings and closing. The power line is over 200' from the house and I have no problems at all with UPB signals. I just thought that it might be good insurance of future performance if I install the repeater in place of an existing phase coupler which is located in a sub panel very near the main load center in the house.
Mike.
EDIT
and yes the PIM sees all devices. I have the UPB controler connected to the Elk and a PIM that I connect to my notebook pc and both can see all devices. All devices also report their status back to the Elk accurately.
pete_c
Guru
Good news Mike!
Here only tested UPB signal using property perferal berms with electricity which worked fine.
The original intent was to use the electricity for the Christmas lighting of a few everygreen trees.
Only thing is now that the everygreen trees are too tall at 20 plus feet each such that I stopped a few years back.
So do you have a subpanel for just the garage electricity?
Is the sub panel in the house for the electricity in the garage?
pete_c said:
I installed a nice Square D QO breaker box in the garage with a 100 amp main and 20 circuits. The 100 amp is overkill and I am considering reducing the breaker to 60 amps or so. In the house I was short of open circuits in the main panel to attach the garage and pool so I installed a small sub-panel about twenty feet from the the main load center to service outside and for future expansion.
EDIT
The phase coupler is located in the small sub-panel in the house.
The entire system has been running great for quite a while now. The problems that I struggled with in the beginning were mostly related to poor connections on the Elk data bus and now I solder everything and no more problems. I originally used a lot of crimp type connectors that gave me intermittent problems and I learned a lesson from that experience. That's what I call the school of hard knox.
I had a couple of small problems with the UPB system at first but that is all straightened out. At first the system was not reporting switch status correctly back to the Elk and it turned out to be caused by an Elk m1pscpim serial port/CIM combo. I replaced it with an Elk serial port expander and SA CIM and all is well. Then I had a noise problem that I traced to a coffee pot and had to add a noise filter. Now no noise and upstart reports that my signals run between 50 and 75.
Recently I added surge protection to two cables that run between the buildings after a lightning strike took out a television set top box and ethernet switch. I added them at the garage but still have to do the same on the house end when I get ambitious.
I have ;learned the Elk data bus seems to be very very sensitive to signal loss and you have to take great care with all splices. When I added the surge protector the Elk went back to having errant audio alerts. The system was reporting zone violations for no reason at all again. I had a spare surge protector on hand that was intended to go on the other end of the cable so I used it to replace the one that I just installed and the problem disappeared. Being that the device has all screw down terminals I doubt that I had a bad connection and I think that it was a bad device. At any rate, the replacement part is working fine,
Mike.
I had a couple of small problems with the UPB system at first but that is all straightened out. At first the system was not reporting switch status correctly back to the Elk and it turned out to be caused by an Elk m1pscpim serial port/CIM combo. I replaced it with an Elk serial port expander and SA CIM and all is well. Then I had a noise problem that I traced to a coffee pot and had to add a noise filter. Now no noise and upstart reports that my signals run between 50 and 75.
Recently I added surge protection to two cables that run between the buildings after a lightning strike took out a television set top box and ethernet switch. I added them at the garage but still have to do the same on the house end when I get ambitious.
I have ;learned the Elk data bus seems to be very very sensitive to signal loss and you have to take great care with all splices. When I added the surge protector the Elk went back to having errant audio alerts. The system was reporting zone violations for no reason at all again. I had a spare surge protector on hand that was intended to go on the other end of the cable so I used it to replace the one that I just installed and the problem disappeared. Being that the device has all screw down terminals I doubt that I had a bad connection and I think that it was a bad device. At any rate, the replacement part is working fine,
Mike.
