# Anyone used X10 products?



## charlie (Jul 9, 2007)

I came across a company that makes home automation products http://www.x10.com

It looks like their PC interface is fairly sophisticated and allows recordable timing of event triggers that can then be repeated. I was curious if anyone has dealt with any of their products and what their thoughts were.

charlie


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## austenandrews (Aug 22, 2010)

We just recently unearthed a big box of them we had bought years ago but never used. I haven't played with them yet, but I'm definitely planning to use them if I can. They're fairly old though, so I don't hold a lot of hope they're going to work well with current software.

I'll post when I start experimenting.


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## HomeyDaClown (Oct 3, 2009)

They work fine for simple on/off prop controls or for fading between lights like for a magic mirror or pepper's ghost effect.

Even the old modules speak the same codes. Just get a wireless transceiver unit and a handheld transmitter (dirt cheap on ebay) and you can make all those modules wireless.

I set them up in my haunt to act as a secondary trigger for props, that way I can make a prop fire on command with my remote.


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## hedg12 (Jul 6, 2008)

The old Light-o-rama software used to be able to control it - I'm not sure if the current version will or not. I used it for a few years to control lighting but stopped when I moved to VSA. There's a huge lag in response, but that can be overcome with planning. Reliability can be an issue, but if everything is on the same circuit you should be fine.


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## Jacksonville Haunter (Apr 21, 2011)

*X10*

I bought several X10 products a few months ago and am not very happy with the purchase. First off you have to go thru a transceiver to give an on/off comand and it slows down the process by a few seconds. I have to re-enter comands serveral times. It is bad choice for a haunter setting off a prop at just the right time. I tried the same type of remote power control from GE and found it works as advertised and with out delay. A started kit with 1 controlable outlet and 1 remote cost $20 at Wal-Mart. It is the same price as the X10 and there is no trasnscevier in the GE system. Check Amazon for a full line of products.

Stay Scary


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## corey872 (Jan 10, 2010)

I have a couple of rooms set up with it. The system works "OK" if you play with it a bit. After a fair amount of tweaking, I can usually get it to work - except when someone else is watching. It might be a bit more simple for prop control on a single circuit, but trying to transmit to different circuits through the whole house, or across the phases requires some tweaking, possibly a coupler / signal booster.

Once you get it working, you press a button, or set a trigger and 1/2 to 1 second later, the first light will respond, a second later another light will respond, second later a third and so on. IIRC, the info is transmitted over 20-30 power line cycles, so you are looking at 1/2 second just to transmit info for one switch, then it has to react, then a second switch, etc.

Bottom line, it can work and can work pretty well, but it works best for simple switching...ie dimming room lights on command, turning a prop on for the start of an evening, or triggering a relatively slow sequence of events (can theoretically be triggered from X10 motion sensors, etc). But don't plan on doing a bunch of fast switching, flickering lights, or DMX style control. It's just not that type of protocol.

As an example, I tried to set up some lights for Halloween to 'flicker' or fade in/out, but even trying to change the brightness once every 2-3 seconds was too fast for the system to keep up.


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## paulcav151 (Nov 15, 2009)

I used x10 last year to run two props that were inside the house in the upstairs windows. I had an FCG in one room, and 2 tv's running Big Scream TV terror eyes or scary eyes in another room. I had them alternate on and off every 10 minutes so one was on and the other off. I used Light-o-Rama for everything else, and when the main show started, I had the x10 leave the FCG and BSTV off during the show. I couldn't get LOR to control them, although they did recognize the CM11 (different story for a different day). x10 definately can have a place in the home haunt. It sounds like you discovered their shortcomings, now you just need to exploit their strengths...ON...OFF...ON...OFF...


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## Mr_Chicken (Nov 26, 2008)

the old Wolfstone site has a few articles on using X10 in a haunt: http://usersites.horrorfind.com/home/halloween/wolfstone/HalloweenTech/x10hnt_X10Haunting.html


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## hpropman (Jul 27, 2008)

I have used X10 here and there, I have some information on my website on how to use them. I also used them to manually control my electric chair when I place someone in there. Here are a few of my victims.

Halloween 2010 :: SDV_0134.mp4 video by jmalt31 - Photobucket

Halloween 2010 :: SDV_0133.mp4 video by jmalt31 - Photobucket

Halloween 2010 :: SDV_0135.mp4 video by jmalt31 - Photobucket


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## corey872 (Jan 10, 2010)

That reminds me - if you have true arcy-sparky things, X10 might blank out for a while. I was doing a little TIG welding this weekend and when I came in, the family room wouldn't respond for a few minutes. I also have one old fluorescent blacklight fixture which starts with a 'B-Z-Z-Z-Z-T-T' Every time I would turn it on/off, half the units in the rec-room would stop responding for a while.

Don't know exactly what it is. I was able to put a line noise filter on the fluorescent lamp and get it to play nice. But sometimes if there is something running which puts out a little electrical noise, certain units can quit working for a few minutes. There is no error checking in this protocol. The code is simply sent for an on, off, dim, etc. If the unit can't hear it or doesn't respond correctly, you're stuck until another command comes along.


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