Washer/Dryer Breaks Insteon Plugin? - Fixed!

[DanWheeler]

also just tried upgrading to the latest FTDI drivers (November 16 2010) and plugged in a USB hub but still no luck. It fails as soon as the washer motor kicks in.

[mnsandler]

what about an old low end ups

[DanWheeler]

woo! I ran an extension cord from my PLM over to an outlet closer to the breaker panel and a littl further away from the washing machine and after doing a load of laundry, my lights still seem to work. Crossing my fingers.

I thought I had tried this already but maybe not. 2 things are different now. 1) I have a filter on my washer/dryer. 2) I turned off my Leviton X10 coupler/repeater. I dont seem to need it anymore with the insteon devices.

i'll give it a week or so and report back here.

thanks for the help, guys.

[mnsandler]

Well that is good news Dan. Keep us posted.

i have a tv and fios box that i have on a ups and x10 noise filter to eliminate the noise they generate. both ups and noise filter are required; one by itself doesn't fix the problem.

sometimes its a combination of things.

[DanWheeler]

Do you know if Smarthome knows about this issue? Or is it not really their problem and has more to do with FTDI?

I really dont understand why these USB PLM and PLC devices need to be converted into a virtual serial port to work. Seems like its just adding a layer of complexity that can fail.

[mnsandler]

Do you know if Smarthome knows about this issue? Or is it not really their problem and has more to do with FTDI?

I really dont understand why these USB PLM and PLC devices need to be converted into a virtual serial port to work. Seems like its just adding a layer of complexity that can fail.

Dan,

i did check in with SH on this issue and they have had a few reports; but no solutions. Keep in mind they design their products in a lab (probably without a washing machine running) and then rely on beta testers to find issues using the products in the real world. Its probably hit or miss.

I believe the PLC is a different animal and doesn't use the FTDI chip that the PLMs do. Hense the SDM layer which is slow and has its own problems.

SH would have had to create a custom usb plm driver if they didn't use the FTDI chip which is $$ trade-off. And then there would be two different interfaces/protocols for people like me to deal with.

There is another PLM solution avail; its called an RF INSTEON USB Interface. It acts just like a plm but uses RF instead of the powerline and no x10 support. I beta tested it and support it in the plugin.

check it out
http://www.smarthome.com/2448A7/INST...Adapter/p.aspx

hope this helps

i would probably stick with what you have if you think you can install a permanent solution and ditch the extension cord.