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 MSG:FROM: SPGDCM  --UCBCMSA  TO: NETWORK --NETWORK           11/16/88 18:33:11
 To: NETWORK --NETWORK  Network Address

 From: Doug Mosher
 Subject: many more X-10 controller facts

 To: misc-consumers-house@ucbvax sci-electronics@ucbvax

 petel@teksce.SCE.TEK.COM (Pete Lancashire) writes:
 >I just found out that there are two versions of the Rip Shack minicontroller.
 >The one that I gave the layout of is the older version. The newer version has
 >a newer chip and can not do the additional codes.
 >
 >The older version is Rip Shack Cat. No. 61-2677A and has 12 buttons.

 (actually 10; two fat ones on the ends and 4 pairs in the middle)

 >The newer version is Cat. No. 61-2677B and has 6 'rocker' buttons.

 Yes. The newer version seems to me to be easier to use, particularly
 for new users and visitors. I intend to replace my older ones over time.

 The newer one was recently shown in RS ads as on sale for $4.95 (a
 SUPER price) but stores here (SF CA) only had the old ones available
 (though they were sold for the cheap price during the sale).

 smadi@rlgvax.UUCP (Smadi Paradise) adds:

 *In article <10981@cup.portal.com> ts@cup.portal.com (Tim W Smith) writes:
 *>                          If I turn the light back on, it comes on at
 *>full brightness rather than the last dimmer setting.
 *
 *It is a real pity, because lamps should be turned on slowly (0.5 sec.):
 *Most of the stress on lamp fillaments is when they heat up; slow
 *turn-on results in much longer life for bulbs. This is easy to do with
 *dimmers, but impossible with X10 modules.
 *
 *Otherwise, they're great.

 Well, actually, I've found that X-10 controllers DO turn lamps on
 "slowly"; or rather "carefully". It seems to be instantaneous, but it's
 really a cushioned rise. Possibly 1/10 or 1/20 second. The observable
 result for me is that all my bulbs/lamps controlled entirely by
 X10 have MUCH longer lives.

 Another random fact: if a lamp controller has a lamp "off", then a "dim"
 signal to that lamp results in full on, followed by dimming. That's
 a shame because you might want to turn a bedroom lamp on dimly when
 going to bed after one's partner.

 An impractical "solution": if the lamp was dimmed all the way to off, rather
 than shut off, it may then be brightened back from 0 to something dim without
 going full bright. BUT if it is dimmed all the way down, an "ON" command
 won't work (it's already "on", just very dim)....

 This complexity I have found to be a pain in the X-10 design.

 MORE:

 Reliability of units. In the earliest days, all of the X-10 units had a terribl
 e record for out-of-box and early failures. BSR gave a 1-year warranty to help
 some. The units would either die completely or become unreliable; sometimes the
 y developed switch-bounce or lost part of their functions.

 From what I read on the net now, and my own experience, more recent models have
 better reliability.

 A separate problem is how far the signals reach. I've found that my house
 (with some knob-and-tube wiring) provides some pairs of locations that can't
 reach each other well. The strength of the controlling signal matters;
 the earliest model of the Radio-Shack Color Computer controller sends a signal
 weaker than hand controllers. The R. S. Homeminder (nee General Electric) sends
  a nice strong signal. But you may need to move things around or avoid certain
 combinations.

 (                                                            )
 (          Doug Mosher <SPGDCM@CMSA.Berkeley.edu>            )
 (                      ...!ucbvax!cmsa!spgdcm                )
 ( 257 Evans, Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA, 415/642-5823 )
   T &many more X-10 controller facts