I installed an Insteon controller to control a bunch of X10 relays I put in for lighting. The problem is that every now and then, I get interference from another light that causes the X10 commands to fail to certain relays.

The Insteon controller is the INSTEON KeypadLinc V2 Dimmer (http://www.smarthome.com/2486d.html).

The X10 relays are four of the Homepro Fixture Relay Module 20A w/AGC (http://www.smarthome.com/2250aw.html) and one X10 Split Receptacle Module (http://www.smarthome.com/2040.html).

Everything works fine most of the time, but there is a problem when the dining room light is turned on. The dining room light is on a simple 3-way switch. One switch is a toggle switch and the other is a knob dimmer. If the dining room light is on, then the Relay Modules do not get the X10 signal, but the Split Receptacle does get the signal. But when the dining room light is off, all the relays get the signal most of the time. Sometimes you have to turn the dining room light on and off again for the X10 relays to work. The dining room light is a chandelier with a bunch of the little candle light bulbs.

All three sets of items are on different breakers. You might say it's the distance from the panel, right? I don't believe it is. The Insteon controller is in the middle of the house, the Fixture Relays (that only work sometimes) are next to the panel and on the same phase as the Insteon controller, and the X10 switched plug is the farthest from the panel on the opposite end of the house and it works all the time. I have no clue which phase the plug is on.

So anyone know a possible fix for this? Do I need to put in an Insteon product somewhere to relay an insteon signal that will resend the X10 signal or something? Do I need to convert the dining room lighting control to a different type of dimmer? It gets annoying having to flip the dining room light off to control the X10 lights.

You may want to try updating the rotary dimmer to a higher quality version. Like a Lutron. Rotary dimmers can introduce a lot of noise into the powerline. This can interfere with the X10 signals. You can buy filters to reduce noise from devices like computers but these are plug in models. Of course you could always replace the rotary dimmer with an Insteon dimmer and cure the noise problem and be able to dim the light remotely or as part of a scene.

Thanks for the reply. Looks like changing out the other light switches is what I will have to do. I don't need them as part of a X10 or Insteon scene cause it's just the dining room. Only thing I might do is an 'ALL ON' command but I'm not spending that much cash just for that. I'll just find some plain Lutron dimmers and see if that solves the situation. I thought maybe I could install an insteon lamp plug module or another Insteon product so that it could repeat the signal on a different circuit and get it to work.

Keep in mind that Insteon products only repeat Insteon signals. They will not repeat X10 commands to your X10 Lamp Module.

If you want the best reliability, I would replace the lamp modules with Insteon modules and install one or two of the Insteon Powerline/RF repeaters. That will definately add to the cost. Another option is X10 repeaters, like Smarthome's Boosterlinc, but those are also $80 each and they don't always work well alone...many times, you need several to really increase reliability.

Shan

I would have done all Insteon stuff. But Insteon doesn't make 20A relays so I had to go with X10 relays. So replacing the lamp modules isn't an option.

Ya, there are still quite a few gaps in the Insteon product line compared to X10. It is getting better tho. Hopefully someone will make one of them in Insteon form sometime soon.

Best of luck getting it all going.

Shan