Who is still using X10 and what are your plans?

[sparkman]

[QUOTE=FlymIfYouGotm;n1372060]

"Not correct, the developer that supports the X10 plugin is actively supporting it and he's working with HST to make sure it works under HS4".

I hope you are correct on that one because the last thing I saw online was that the X10 Plugins will no longer work with HS4. I have also seen info on HS sites that the X10 HS Plugin developer support into the future was limited and seemed to be fading fast. The application I have uses 5V logic level control. Currently I feed 4 opto isolators mounted inside of the "PowerFlash Interface" box with a 5 logic level signal. Basically, I set a fixed "House Code" on the "PowerFlash Interface" and the isolators switch the 4 logic lines on the unit selector switch to select 1 of 16 unit codes. The unit code, through HS software, latches "On" one of up to 16 dummy appliance modules to indicate reception of an alarm. The user manually resets the alarm after it is attended to by turning off the dummy appliance module. I use this to remotely monitor my mailbox, 3 doorbells and a remote shed door using a wireless Honeywell Doorbell System. https://www.honeywellhome.com/en/pro...nes-led-strobe I have written an entire, "How To" article if there is any interest. What are some of the possible alternative input modules you mentioned that would be useful for this application?

Mark, the dev supporting the plugin, replied after I did.

Non X10 based options would include an Arduino or ESP8266 based system.

[FlymIfYouGotm]

sparkman Thanks for fielding this!

Yes, the X10 plugins are being actively supported by mfisher - not by HST!

Please see these 2 threads:
https://forums.homeseer.com/forum/li...gins-under-hs4
https://forums.homeseer.com/forum/li...eases?t=185551

Mark, Thanks for the info. You have no idea how much better it makes me feel to know that my X10 stuff will still work when HS4 hits the street! I know it's old tech but hey, I have a boat load of it and for the most part, it works.

[Pete]

I continue to utilize X10 here today. Current version .48 is working fine for me with HS4.

Mark has done an excellent job (pro bono) of supporting X10. Personally here have used it since 1978. (I am old).

Still utilize Black and Decker Free wire modules outside for my Christmas decorations and currently for my outdoor landscaping lighting (which is all LED).

[Uncle Michael]

[QUOTE=FlymIfYouGotm;n1372060]

What are some of the possible alternative input modules you mentioned that would be useful for this application?

Have you considered using a security panel as the input device?

[FlymIfYouGotm]

[QUOTE=Uncle Michael;n1372105]

Have you considered using a security panel as the input device?

I hadn't been thinking along that line and don't know of any really inexpensive ones that would be Z-Wave or even Insteon. Pete; I too started using X10 back in 1978. As soon as I got them I took them apart and found that the modules were not internally fused and had no MOV surge protection. I modified all of mine by cutting a trace and used a thin wire jumper for a fuse and installed a MOV across the incoming line. I called an engineer with BSR and ask him if they had considered the fire risk with no internal fuse and no MOV to protect the electronics. About 2 years later I bought more X10 modules and took them apart to modify. Surprise! They had installed both of my mods to the new production run.

[upstatemike]

[QUOTE=FlymIfYouGotm;n1372203]

I hadn't been thinking along that line and don't know of any really inexpensive ones that would be Z-Wave or even Insteon. Pete; I too started using X10 back in 1978. As soon as I got them I took them apart and found that the modules were not internally fused and had no MOV surge protection. I modified all of mine by cutting a trace and used a thin wire jumper for a fuse and installed a MOV across the incoming line. I called an engineer with BSR and ask him if they had considered the fire risk with no internal fuse and no MOV to protect the electronics. About 2 years later I bought more X10 modules and took them apart to modify. Surprise! They had installed both of my mods to the new production run.

I use a Elk M1 in conjunction with a Universal Devices ISY. The two systems integrate directly so it works the same as having X10 or Insteon input modules and both have Homeseer plugins available. Starting from scratch the initial cost is high but you need to calculate it from the perspective of total cost per input. If you are going to scale beyond a few dozen inputs it is definitely cheaper than any other option. I can't imagine ditching my Elk panel and trying to cover 80 or 90 contact inputs using input modules from a lighting technology like X10 or Insteon or Zigbee or Z-Wave.

[Pete]

Surprise! They had installed both of my mods to the new production run.

Very impressive. Always tinkered here with electronics (1960's mostly - built a few Knight Kits and got involved a bit in Amateur Radio and stereos).

Used the Commodore 64 to manage X10 in the early 1980's. Then later purchased a combo alarm panel called Excalibur that did TTS and X10 in around 1987.

[drpjack]

Color me tired! Just finished converting all X10 to Z-Wave. Love the HomeSeer dimmers and switches. But 160 of them? Oh, my! It seemed like a never ending conversion. As a result, however, I couldn't be more happy. Now everything just works! The first time! The old X10 mostly worked, but not all the time. Try a conversion. You'll dread the work, but you'll be so much happier with modern technology at the other end.
Stay healthy in these trying days,
Peter

[concordseer]

If it ain't broke don't fix it. X10 has and is more than capable in the field of lighting and switching.Unless they completely remove the ability to use power lines I won't be upgrading any time soon.Do bear in mind that Z Wave isn't without its problems and detractors either.As they say, whatever gets you through the night.

[FlymIfYouGotm]

I am new to Homeseer software etc., not sure if these questions have been answered before or even if this is the place but if it has I can't find it. (1.) I have been playing with a Hometroller Zee S2 and would like to know why it adds another *.HSD file every time it reboots. (2.) How can those files be deleted so that only the one with your active database remains? (3.) Is there a way to change from an X10 CM11A to a CM15A controller and back without completely deleting and reprogramming all of the X10 points/objects? The reason for this is that both of my CM11A controllers have issues and the only thing that I have that works 100% is a CM15A. My active X10 system uses an XTB-232, basically a high powered version of a CM11A and I really don't want to take that off line to use that XTB-232 for testing. I have a replacement for my CM11A's, (XTB-232) on order but I won't be able to get that for another 2 months or so. I would like to use the Hometroller to develop and test things before completely replacing my live X10 Active Home Vista system.

[Uncle Michael]

(1.) I have been playing with a Hometroller Zee S2 and would like to know why it adds another *.HSD file every time it reboots. (2.) How can those files be deleted so that only the one with your active database remains?

I assume the hsd files that are created when the box reboots have '_n' appended to their names. Those are backup files and they can be a huge help if the working database becomes corrupted. It's very likely that one day you will be very happy they are there. Just ignore them until you need them.

(3.) Is there a way to change from an X10 CM11A to a CM15A controller and back without completely deleting and reprogramming all of the X10 points/objects?

I'm betting this will not be easy, but Mark can answer authoritatively.

[Pete]

The HSD file is Homeseer's database and Homeseer is constanting RWing to said database and always saving a copy of it. You can proactively back up the HS database and restore from the database.

Homeseer HSD are SQLite files. Shut down Homeseer and copy one over to your SQL editor of choice to see their structure. I do not like playing with them but have done so in the past.

I have posted screen grabs of the SQLite database structure on the forum.

As Uncle Michael mentions it can be done but it will be a PITA and Mark will provide the best answer for you.

Running Homeseer 3 on Linux here just copy the entire Homeseer directory before changes to anything. Takes about 1-2 minutes here and it'll a 100% working copy of what you are running.

I am also using the Jeff Volp devices (dual phase) here (from years ago) and use CM11A's for testing.

What is nice about Mark's plug in is that you see much in the debug (well like noise for example). I do proactively monitor the X10 signals with a small Elk diagnostic meter sitting on the computer rack.

For the Homeseer Zee build I have moved from an ARM (RPi) to a multiple core ARM (with more RAM) and lately now to a micro Intel server. IE: more punch than the RPi.

[FlymIfYouGotm]

I assume the hsd files that are created when the box reboots have '_n' appended to their names. Those are backup files and they can be a huge help if the working database becomes corrupted. It's very likely that one day you will be very happy they are there. Just ignore them until you need them.

I'm betting this will not be easy, but Mark can answer authoritatively.

I was so hoping there was something I was missing. That is one thing I really liked about the Active Home Vista program. It only involved a few mouse clicks to change from a CM11, to a CM15, a CM17 or even to a network server. My concern about all of the, ".HST" files is that at this point, most of them are junk and what happens when they fill up the SD card? I do periodically use the backup function to save files off system. Thanks for the info Mike.

[Uncle Michael]

My concern about all of the, ".HST" files is that at this point, most of them are junk and what happens when they fill up the SD card?

The number of backup files retained is limited to 10- 20 by default. You can delete any of them that you know are useless at any time. You can also change the number of backups saved, but you may have to add a line to the Settings.ini file to do so. See the Notes/Additional information on this page:

https://help.homeseer.com/help/HS3/s...puter_backupdb

[mfisher]

(3.) Is there a way to change from an X10 CM11A to a CM15A controller and back without completely deleting and reprogramming all of the X10 points/objects?

There are 3 different "X10" plugins that were provided by HST for HS3: "X10" for the CM11a and Act Ti103 (and compatible devices), CM15A for Windows and CM15A for Linux. While I did not write these I have been supporting them for several years, and as of Feb2020 HST has officially transferred them to me. The code for all 3 of these plugins is quite different and each plugin stores device and event info differently in HS, which means that it is not currently possible to switch between the plugins without recreating each device and event.

Let me give this some thought, perhaps there's some way to make this possible...