Newbie questions

[odavila]

I just purchased a Omni II controller and would like to hear from the experienced about dimmers and switches.

Is X10 pretty reliable? If so, which ones are the best value for my buck?

I would like to know the status of the switches. Can this be only done with switches that support two way communication?

Anyone using homeseer and HAI successfully?

Any help, tricks, advise would be appreciated.

[cadillackid]

I have good luck with the smarthome switchlinc 2 way dimmers and the keypadlinc 2 way keypads as well, the smarthome line of X-10 switches and dimmers seems to cost a little more but I really like the quality and the fact they fade the light up to desired brightness from 0 instead of going full bright then dimming down as the original x-10 modules did
-christopher

[Rupp]

odavila,
If you want a good quality switch that is more reliable and costs a lost less than a 2-way X10 switch (~$70) have a look at the new Z-Wave switches (~$40). They ramp up and down as well and can be polled to check their status. You can get see them here.
http://www.automatedoutlet.com/produ...8&cat=6&page=1