UPB and electrical noise

[jasv]

I have various UPB switches and plug in modules from SA. I also have a coupler from SA (the kind that looks like it replaces cuircuit breakers).

I have one circuit where neither the switches nor the plugs work. The noise level is always high and signal strength is very weak. The interesting thing is that X10 works just fine.

I've tried shutting off all the obvious things such as TV's, Fans, lights, etc. Still the noise persits. I can't add the switches because UPBStart doesn't see it. I was able to see the noise and signal by adding a plugin module using another circuit and moving it to the bad cuircuit.

Any advice? This is in a new portion of my house. Could it be a wiring problem? (Wiring checks out fine as far as the electricity, neutra, hot, ground).

[Oman]

It seems unlikely to be the wiring, though not impossible. How many devices are there on this branch? Shutting things off often won't remove the noise source - you have to unplug the items. The fact that the noise is so strong on the branch but not travelling at all to other branches is odd.

If there are not too many devices try unplugging them.

I have run across a flourescent light fixture that completely mangled UPB signals. I think the ballast was going out as a new ballast fixed the problem.

Jon

I have various UPB switches and plug in modules from SA. I also have a coupler from SA (the kind that looks like it replaces cuircuit breakers).

I have one circuit where neither the switches nor the plugs work. The noise level is always high and signal strength is very weak. The interesting thing is that X10 works just fine.

I've tried shutting off all the obvious things such as TV's, Fans, lights, etc. Still the noise persits. I can't add the switches because UPBStart doesn't see it. I was able to see the noise and signal by adding a plugin module using another circuit and moving it to the bad cuircuit.

Any advice? This is in a new portion of my house. Could it be a wiring problem? (Wiring checks out fine as far as the electricity, neutra, hot, ground).

[UPBseer]

Can you locate the source of the noise? I recommend turning off breakers one at a time until the noise disappears. Once you determine the circuit the noise is on it is easier to find the culprit. From there we can determine what can be done about the noise.

We have not found a lot of noise makers that UPB can't get through so far. Some electronic ballasts for fluorescent and low voltage lighting make noise, some don't. The ones that do not have an FCC number on them. Variable frequency (speed) drives put out a ton but manufacturers usually can supply filters. Dimmers that are not quite off can put out a lot of noise. Switching power supplies running in the same frequency range that UPB is using can be a problem... as can inverters. Uninterruptable Power Supplies put a lot of attenuation on the powerline, they can lower signal levels significantly. I have also seen bad wire nut connections and noisy circuit breakers be factors.

[anogee]

> The interesting thing is that X10 works just fine.

From what I have seen so far, they are two very different beasts. X-10 seems to fail because some device sucks up/filters the signal away. UPB seems to fail because some device generates implulse noise that confuses UPB.

[jasv]

Found the noise culprit.

I found the noise. I have a split A/C heat pump system that was causing the noise. I took the advice from the experts on this board and shut off on circuit breaker at a time.

The confusing thing about this is that I already have a 20Amp lightolier filter on this unit right next to where it is plugged in. I added a second lightolier filter next to the breaker and everything is now working. These are X10 filters but it seems to me we need a UPB filter from some manufacturer. I am using exclusively SA units so maybe they can sell me one.

Regardless. Thanks to everyone who responded and helped me out here.

[Oman]

Two things to note: X10 filters can die pretty easily, sometimes becoming signal eaters. You might want to remove both filters and see what happens. The other thing is that UPB is pretty different in terms of signal position, strength, and frequency so not all X10 filters will have the desired effect on UPB.

Jon

I found the noise. I have a split A/C heat pump system that was causing the noise. I took the advice from the experts on this board and shut off on circuit breaker at a time.

The confusing thing about this is that I already have a 20Amp lightolier filter on this unit right next to where it is plugged in. I added a second lightolier filter next to the breaker and everything is now working. These are X10 filters but it seems to me we need a UPB filter from some manufacturer. I am using exclusively SA units so maybe they can sell me one.

Regardless. Thanks to everyone who responded and helped me out here.