UPB between houses

Has anyone had any problems with UPB signals from one house activating devices in another?

I have 3 houses on a cul-de-sac with UPB installed. 2 of them have ID numbers only 1 digit apart while the 3rd is very different. The two that are only one ddgit apart can turn lights on and off from across the street. NOT GOOD!

According to the UPstart manual, there are supposed to be 250 discrete ID numbers available to prevent this type of interference.

With a theoretical range of 2 miles for the UPB signals, I really need to be sure that there is no interference between customers. Can you imagin trying to troubleshoot signal problems with a 2 mile radius.

Is the Network Password part of the isolation requirement? The two that have the problem share the same password. Again, the manual says the password is only to give you permission to write to the devices.

Is anyone from SAI on this forum?
 
acdcelectric said:
Is anyone from SAI on this forum?
Yes, Brad and others do monitor or drop in, but I would second the opinion to call them and/or PCS, rather than wait on a hot issue for customers.
 
I'm 99% sure that the network password is only used for programming, not for operation. I have the Simply Automated Timer device, and it can control any light in the house but doesn't require that the password be entered, only the network ID. So knowing the network ID is really the only security that UPB offers.
 
The password is only used for programming as Wayne suggested. You wll not have cross talk between adjacent Network IDs. UPB is a digital signal. Unless something is getting corrupted there should be no problem. Here in the office we use adjacent Network IDs and only have issues when someone is attemtping to annoy antoher intentionally... which never happens...

Changing a Network ID is not difficult. Using UPStart go the top menu named: Network... Properties... Change the Network ID. Click OK. Now, back to Network... Program All. You might want to do a Read All first so that any dimming levels the homeowners have programmed into devices that are different from the original set up will be preserved. Read All will change the UPStart program to what is stored in the devices.

Brad
 
Brad,

Is it necessary to enter the ID's as 3 digit numbers 001, 002 etc? I entered the ID as 1 and 2 (in the order I installed them).

Both of the homes are unsold "spec" homes without owners for now, so the programming is as I left it. They do have the same password but are ID'd 1 and 2.

I will try it again tomorrow, but I was working in one house and tested the US2-40 "ALL ON" link and noticed the lights on across the street. I just left that house 5 minutes before, so unless someone ran in and only turned on the UPB switches and not the other half dozen dumb swithches, I do have cross talk.

I will check it again tomorrow and if it does happen again, I will send you a video tape and the program files. If not, chaclk it up to Gremlins and aliens...lol
 
Well, Cross talk is occuring but not in the way I thought.

To recap, there are now 3 houses involved. House A, has a single digit ID of 1, house B has a single didgit ID of 2, and House C has a two digit ID of 12.

I was working in house A on the TV cableing when all of the UPB lights in the house ramped up to full brightness. I immediatly went across the street to house B to find all the light on but no one was inside.

I turned the lights off in house B and they came back on about 30 seconds later. i walked outside kinda puzzled an saw another contrqactor leaving house C. I qasked him if he had been puching any of the lighting buttons and he said "only in the master bedrooom, but I couldn't figure out how they worked so I just kept pressing them"

The ocntractor only had a couple of minutes to spare, so all I only had time for a couople of quick tests. The "
 
Whoops, hit the wrong button.

Anyway, The "ALL ON" and "ENTERTAINMENT" links in the house with ID number "12" are activating the same links in houses with ID;s "1" and "2".

House A with the ID of "1" can also send its "ALL ON" link to house C (ID 12) and activate its lights.

House A has no effect on house B (ID 2) nor does house B effect either A or C.

So my basic conclusion is that since the digit 1 is encoded in both house A and C they can cross talk via links. And the second digit (a 2) in house ID "C" cross talks wioth the single digit ID (# 2) in house B.

None of the off links such as "ALL OFF" crosstalk from any house, only some of the on links.

Weird to be sure, and I will do a more exhaustive test as soon as I can arrange access to building C with the developer.
 
PROBLEM SOLVED!

After working with Brad over at SAI for about a week, we finally managed to track down the problem with UPB CROSSTALK between neighboring buildings. It was a weird combination of "half done" installs in multiple buildings under construction that caused the problem.

So the recommended procedure is to NEVER just throw some of the UPB programming on an ACTIVE controller and plan on finishing it in stages. And for goodnes sakes, IF YOU DO, don't be stupid enough to plug in the CIMs.
 
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