UPB Repeaters

[unplugged]

Another Newbie here. I played with X10 in the past and I have a OmniProII installed thought not doing much.

I have had reliability issues with x10 signal propogation so I started moving to UPB.

I am now seeing a simliar issue with UPB

Checking my wiring this morning I see that I have the following installed as couplers/repeaters

1. CP000-1:1 Passive Coupler I think this was a X10 phase coupler
2. Leviton HCA02. IT says it is for Decora but I believe that it is a phaes coupler/repeater for X10
3. HAI 39A00-1 UPB Phase Coupler

I am trying to see if maybe I need a UPB repeater.

I have a i/o input module wired to a motion sensor so it sends a UPB Link on contact closure. When the OMP2 sees the link it then sends out some X10 to control some lights not yet converted to UPB.

I have UPStart setup in my kitchen (centrally located but maybe not on same phase) and I have it logging. Testing from the central location I can send the Links and all works fine for Link being activated/deactivated.

In the logs I can see that most of the time when the motion sensor trips it sends out the activate link. When the sensor stops seeing motion it should send a deactivate link and I am NOT seeing this in the logs.

So I light gets turned on but never off.

I think I there are 2 possible causes.

1. I/O module is not sending the deactivate link
2. It is sending but it is not strong enough to make it through to either the OMP2 or even the centrally installed PIM

I will try to eliminate #1 by moving my PIM closer to the device and monitor it from there to confirm it is sending the link properly.

Re: #2
Is it necessary to have a X10 phase coupler and a UPB coupler?
Would the x10 repeater cause any issues with the stength of the UPB signal?
Does the repeater repeat all PLC signals or would I possible need a UPB repeater as well?


Any other thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Steve]

Just a few quick thoughts.

1. If you are sending a link for every time the PIR opens and closes you may be flooding the powerline with to much and possibly just dropping links.If you need to do that I would maybe think about some sort of timers and only send a link every 3-5 seconds max.
2. Not sure of the x10 stuff but you should use UpStart to do comm tests and signal strength to various locations in the house on both phases. That will give you some indication of the health and if there are problems due to low signal or noise.
3. The PCS SPR works well but you have to use it with Gen2 switches. If you use SAI equipment it will not work.

 

[pete_c]

I'm still utilizing X10 with the HAI OPII panel. I have the PIM plugged into an XTB. Its been like this now for a few years.

I have no signal propagation issues.

That said I also have a UPB PIM installed and around XX% done with my X10/Insteon wall switch replacement.

I also have three UPB PIMs on line. One connected to the HAI panel, one to HS via a serial connection and the other one is a "floater" that I utilized with Upstart to test mostly, update and configure the UPB switches.

With initial installation of UPB I installed a UPB phase coupler a few years back.

For whatever reason a couple of years ago I started to benchmark the UPB signals around the house. I would notice a decrease in the signal strength on one phase at odd times during the day and night. The decrease in UPB signal strength did not prevent the UPB light switches from working. It really just bugged me.

I installed an HAI UPB repeater and the signal strength went up on the the phase where it was going down at certain times of the day.

I never did figure out what was causing the UPB signals to go low other than speculating that it was the neighbors newly installed pool pump.

Using Upstart on the "floating" UPB PIM with my laptop around the house worked very well and as above I would recommend giving it a try.

 

[tmbrown97]

I think Steve nailed it - if it's a normal motion sensor tripping constantly, that's just too much activity; weird you aren't seeing any deactivates; but you might just not have the IO module set correctly or the events are happening too close together.

I accomplish similar using motions, but instead use an WGL800RF32 to bridge X10 to UPB so I can use the cheap X10 motion sensors; they have a built in programmable timer for turning lights back off.

 

[unplugged]

The MS has a delay that you can set for how long the contact is tripped after it detects motion. This is set to 4 min or so. Which means that MS sends a link activation upon sensing motions and then 4 min after the motion is no longer detected send a deactivation link. Looking at the logs it seems that sometimes the activate link is not detected and sometimes the deactivate link is not detected and a few times it works correctly. I am going to try and see what happens after I install a repeater. I also ordered a USB PIM so I can use my laptop and move it around the house to see how signal strength may vary in different parts.

Thanks for the feed back.