Problems with Insteon PLC

[TheCodeMan]

I have been using Main Lobby and MLServer along with an Insteon PLC to send X-10 signals to X-10 devices. This has been working fine for about a month. Tonight, it just stopped working. According to the MLServer InsteonPLC logs, the PLC is online and working. When I send a command, it appears in the log so I know the PLC is getting the request. Still, none of my X-10 lights respond to commands. Also, the light on the side of the PLC is no longer bright like it used to be. IT is very dim. I have removed the PLC from the outlet, pressed and held the reset button while plugging in the PLC to reset it. Still no working lights. Any ideas?

 

[fitzpatri8]

Wow. You didn't mention this when you posted about an older KeypadLinc's x10 signals becoming unreliable.

The common denominator here is x10. Lots of things can interfere with an x10 signal, and some household devices have been known to degrade signals over time. (I've read about more than one TV and VCR that showed no sign of problems when checked with a signal strength meter one month, then started sucking down x10 signal strength or introducing powerline noise that totally killed household x10 signals the next.) When I used x10, I had an intermittent problem that was driving me nuts. Turned out that my girlfriend was plugging her laptop pc in to charge, and the power converter was eating all the x10 signal. An x10 signal strength meter is your best bet for figuring out what is interfering with your signals. Sometimes the source is even a power coupler/repeater going bad, or signal noise hitchhiking in from the neighbor's house on the AC line.

BTW, once you start linking other Insteon devices to that Insteon 2814 PLC, you won't want to be doing a casual factory reset on it. That process is a last resort, as it clears out the link table and requires all your linked devices to be re-linked.

Tom

 

[gregoryx]

BTW, once you start linking other Insteon devices to that Insteon 2814 PLC, you won't want to be doing a casual factory reset on it. That process is a last resort, as it clears out the link table and requires all your linked devices to be re-linked.

... unless you're using HouseLinc or PowerHome and can just re-send the table.