Signal reliability

As I have said in the past many times everyones help here has been great. Indigo is far better than any other program I have used. Now comes the reliability problem with the X-10 signals being sent.

Example. My outdoor lighting is triggered by a motion sensor. According to Indigos log the signal is received and commands are sent, but the lights do not come on. Reliability of this example is 40%. I have even run the clothes dryer to see if it was a electrical leg problem, but again 40% of the time all works.

I am finding other items that did work reasonably well are now starting to fault.

I do not have a lot invested in this, but I surely do not want to commit a lot more. The conveience is great when it works, but now it is gettting to be a PITA.

Where do I go now with respect to making the system more reliable. I am the only one in the house so no new electrical driven equipment has been added, but reliability has gone down.

I am willing to continue to try to make it better, but like I said it is getting to me.

Thanks all

I had the same problem. Originally I had a dryer coupler and life was good. Then slowly things got worse and worse. I have since put in a dryer coupler repeater and there hasn't any more signal issues.

[matt (support)]

I'll second Greg's suggestion. IMO, a repeater (not just a coupler) will give you the biggest boost in reliability.

You mentioned no new electrical equipment has been added and the reliability has gotten worse. It still might be an existing appliance / power strip that is causing the problem. X10 signal problems, in an unreliable system, can fluctuate for apparently no reason (I and others have seen it get worse with change in humidity and temperature). But once your system is in a reliable state, you won't have to worry about these issues. You still might have the occasional problem if a new noisy device is added, but this will be easy to recognize since you'll have just added it. The idea is to get your signal strength high enough that small amounts of additional noise (from, say, temp and humidity changes) don't impact the reliability.

For my house, once I installed a signal repeater and 2 FilterLincs, I had reliable X10 signals everywhere I've tried a module. I have 3 FilterLincs, but the 3rd one doesn't seem necessary for good signals.

Regards,
Matt

Could constant problems from the USB interface and constant success from mini-controlers be a signal problem fixableby a repeater/coupler?

[matt (support)]

Could constant problems from the USB interface and constant success from mini-controlers be a signal problem fixableby a repeater/coupler?

Yes, it could be. As an example, read Greg's response above which describes his experience with this. As stated in other forum posts, the X10 signal strength of the PowerLinc is slightly less than the CM11 (and maybe less than the mini-controller?) but more than the LynX-PLC interface. That small decrease in signal strength may be enough to cause someone's system to go from reliable to unreliable if their system barely has strong enough signals to propagate throughout the house.

Regards,
Matt

I'm starting to have the problem again. 1 of my mini controllers by the bed is no longer being seen by Indigo across the house. Looks like I'm going to have to get one of those signal boosters for that room.