Re: CM11A lockup

Back when I was beta testing the CM11A, whenever anything bizarre went on in
X10 land, a quick power cycle on the CM11A was always the fix.

This was very good info. Just checking for a repeated command (stuck
button) would not catch something like this. Also, there was no fixed
housecode to help identify the offending device.

FYI, when testing the XTB, I plug my ESM1 into a X10 filter (XPPF) to get
usable readings.

Jeff

"Robert Green" <ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:raqdndogDYfEFS_bnZ2dnUVZ_jKdnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxx
Once again, an X-10 "broadcast storm" detector would have been a very
useful
device to have. I was sitting in my office, surfing and I began hearing
random appliance modules going on and off. Every ControlLinc Maxi I
checked
showed monitor LEDs flashing but this was something different than the
typical stuck button lockup. The LEDs were not on constantly as they are
when there's a stuck button. Also, legit wireless and PLC command
*occasionally* managed to get through.

I got the Monterey analyzer and it showed something incredibly weird. The
rogue transmitter was issuing about a command each second, and it was
incrementing both the house code and the unit code a time. I'd see a
general pattern of A's, then B's then C's. Stuck buttons generally appear
on the Monterey as a string of "BSC" messages and fill the unit's memory
of
190 commands within seconds. This data stream was much slower than that,
and was the first time I had seen such a huge variation of house/unit
codes
in the PLC data stream. In addition, unlike the stuck button case, nearly
all of the commands were legit X-10.

Unfortunately, the XTB's powerful signal means I can no longer guess the
general distance from the outlet-under-test to the transmitter by the
voltage reading. The Monterey just reports 4+ volts for nearly every
transmission. The ESM-1 could be modified to cope, but the LED bars
aren't
precise enough to estimate transmitter-to-meter distances with any
accuracy.

This time, though, my memory was good enough to recall that I had been
working in the PC room and had disconnected the CM11A's serial cable from
the PC and left it hanging. What I don't understand is why it took nearly
12 hours for the CM11A (which got wicked hot!) to begin its bizarre
broadcast?

--
Bobby G.


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