FWIW:
In any installation the best way to avoid intermittent operations is to trace down the
noise generators. I have found that CHEAP computer power supplies are at the top of the list.
The way they make these supplies to sell at under $20.00 is to leave out all the filter parts.
Since the computer motherboards have a lot of built in filtering they can get away with this.
Some large screen TV's have the same problem. If the device is noisy enough a filter will
not solve the problem.
The other problem is that the data transmitters don't transmit high enough voltage levels.
With a few cents worth of parts the transmit level could have been doubled and many of the
problems would have been overcome.
Second: is the so called CFL's. They fire the tube with a little switching power supply
to generate the hi voltage, again with no filtering.
Since Insteon is very similar to X10 noisy appliances will cause problems with both
systems.
It was unfortunate that the early Icons and Switchlinks had a bad run of switches.
These devices will work fine if the switches are replaced. It was also a HUGE blunder
of SH's part to try to stone wall the problem. I called them the person I talked to claimed
it was my fault the switches didn't work(I am an engineer with 30+ years experience) and
no way would they replace the Icons. I think the HS's management learned their lesson that you
don't try to cover up a problem. The Icons were basically a good product that were reasonably
priced and would have been a big seller. I would even like to obtain some more, but they are
gone now.
If the Insteons are controlled by a central controller they should be work fine. The
linking using internal control of each switch is intermittent at best. I have all the documentation
on the Insteon system and they are over hyped on what they the system actually will do.
Sales should not write the copy, let the engineers do it. They know how the system works.
Cliffs
In any installation the best way to avoid intermittent operations is to trace down the
noise generators. I have found that CHEAP computer power supplies are at the top of the list.
The way they make these supplies to sell at under $20.00 is to leave out all the filter parts.
Since the computer motherboards have a lot of built in filtering they can get away with this.
Some large screen TV's have the same problem. If the device is noisy enough a filter will
not solve the problem.
The other problem is that the data transmitters don't transmit high enough voltage levels.
With a few cents worth of parts the transmit level could have been doubled and many of the
problems would have been overcome.
Second: is the so called CFL's. They fire the tube with a little switching power supply
to generate the hi voltage, again with no filtering.
Since Insteon is very similar to X10 noisy appliances will cause problems with both
systems.
It was unfortunate that the early Icons and Switchlinks had a bad run of switches.
These devices will work fine if the switches are replaced. It was also a HUGE blunder
of SH's part to try to stone wall the problem. I called them the person I talked to claimed
it was my fault the switches didn't work(I am an engineer with 30+ years experience) and
no way would they replace the Icons. I think the HS's management learned their lesson that you
don't try to cover up a problem. The Icons were basically a good product that were reasonably
priced and would have been a big seller. I would even like to obtain some more, but they are
gone now.
If the Insteons are controlled by a central controller they should be work fine. The
linking using internal control of each switch is intermittent at best. I have all the documentation
on the Insteon system and they are over hyped on what they the system actually will do.
Sales should not write the copy, let the engineers do it. They know how the system works.
Cliffs
