UPB Noise Filters

[Deane Johnson]

Does anyone know if the Act X-10 noise filters will also work for UPB noise. I read somewhere that Uninterpretable Power Supplies can cause issues with UPB just as they can with X-10. I have 5 in use, and if I happen to go with UPB, I am wondering if I would need to buy new filters.

 

[oberkc]

Does anyone know if the Act X-10 noise filters will also work for UPB noise. I read somewhere that Uninterpretable Power Supplies can cause issues with UPB just as they can with X-10. I have 5 in use, and if I happen to go with UPB, I am wondering if I would need to buy new filters.

It is my understanding that they will not. I understand this to be the case because X-10 and UPB frequencies are quite different.

 

[Digger]

I only know of one situation where I saw an installation that needed a filter for UPB (my house I have no filters and tons of UPS's computers etc). In the one situation they have an old Computer Monitor that has a very noisey power supply. I had a ton of filters left over from the Insteon days and gave them one and it worked.

I think that there are no absolutes with the filters as it probably depends on the noise source (freq and strength) and location etc. I would guess that you will need less filters with UPB then you did with X-10 as the UPB signal is much stronger and can overcome noise on its own many times (UPB = 40 V and X-10 and Insteon is 5 V).

 

[Deane Johnson]

I've installed one Z-Wave dimmer (Vizia RF+) and one lamp module (Intermatic) and I'm a bit disappointed with Z-Wave. The lamp module is about 6 feet from the PIM (VRC0P) and the dimmer another 10 feet away. The dimmer misses a command from time to time.

But the most annoying thing is to discover that with HA software, the Z-Wave dimmer ramp rate can't be chosen on the fly, only the ramp rate selected in the dimmer is used. It's apparently part of the Z-Wave protocol.

I then noticed that the driver for UPB in the software allowed for all of the normal things you would expect, but also allows for the selection of ramp rate when turning a device on or off. I would have expected this with any of the new technologies.

So, I'm taking another look at UPB. I had wanted off the power line, and don't want to get into a bunch of filters, bridges, repeaters and other patches like X-10 requires.

I would love to hear from anyone who has physically compared Z-Wave to UPB and what their experiences are. We certainly don't need another "which is better thread", I'm mostly interested in hearing from someone who tried Z-Wave and found they like UPB better. That's the dilemma I'm in.

My house isn't large, maybe 1500 sq feet and I won't have more than a dozen or so devices. My software is Elve. My house is a direct feed off the transformer on the pole.

 

[JonW]

Depending on the size/type of UPS, you may not need any filtering. I have many smaller UPS's and they are fine with UPB, but I do have one APC 1500 UPS that I think could be putting out some noise, but it's not causing a real big problem, so I leave it alone.

Just an FYI - when I first installed my UPB PIM (PC serial interface) years ago, I mistakenly plugged it into a surge protector that was in turn plugged into a UPS. I was able to program nearly my whole house with all the communication running THROUGH the UPS. Only when I started have some comm issues with some distant modules did I realize what I had done. After moving it to a normal outlet all was fine, but it just goes to show you that the communication through a UPS is very strong.