Dont know what its called... - Electrician Talk - Professional Electrical Contractors Forum

InControl · 03-25-2007, 09:21 PM

A few months ago I got a call from Grandma that some of her lights werent working. Years ago (probably @20 years) my Grandfather has this lighting system installed that has a "control box" that plugs into a recptacle and controls these relays that also plug into recptacles. The remote relays have dials to set an "address" so to speak (A,B,C on one dial and numbers on the other). Obviously, the communication is done over the house wiring.

I fixed Grandma up (we found some relays that havent been used in years) and was wondering what this system is called and do they still make them? I have some ideas that I would like to explore and if I could know the protocol behind it.

MDShunk · 03-25-2007, 09:25 PM

Today's equivalent would be called an X-10 system. The one you're describing doesn't really exist anymore, but I remember it was sold at RadioShack stores back in the day.

InControl · 03-25-2007, 09:38 PM

Does X-10 have relays that are controlled over house wiring?

frenchelectrican · 03-25-2007, 09:38 PM

i used to rember those devices but i am not sure but i really doubt that the Raido shack do make them at all they updated and somehow they dissapair for some reason,

Merci , Marc

MDShunk · 03-25-2007, 09:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by InControl

Does X-10 have relays that are controlled over house wiring?

Yes.

Quote:

X10 is an international and open industry standard for communication among devices used for home automation and domotics. It primarily uses power line wiring for signalling and control, where the signals involve brief radio frequency bursts representing digital information. A radio based transport is also defined.

X10 was developed in 1975 by Pico Electronics of Glenrothes, Scotland, in order to allow remote control of home devices and appliances. It was the first domotic technology and remains the most widely available.

Although a number of higher bandwidth alternatives exist including KNX, INSTEON, BACnet, and LonWorks, X10 remains popular in the home environment with millions of units in use worldwide.

I think this article even has a picture of the actual units you're asking about:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X10_(industry_standard)

InControl · 03-25-2007, 09:48 PM

Awesome, thanks MD.

Louieb · 03-25-2007, 10:19 PM

Smarthome.com is another site to check If you hook up with them, you can get dealer pricing about 20% off their list. i use them allot with Leviton products,really sell that system for Landscape lighting controls, The big sell is when you get to bed and realize the lights are on, or if something goes bump in the night outside you can hit all on and light the place up from your bed. Uses a carrier signal that is read when the voltage sine wave is at zero.

InControl · 03-25-2007, 10:37 PM

So far from what i've read, X-10 wont work. What I was thinking was being able to control thoes relays (cheaply) from a PLC. It seems X-10 has a protocol that I wouldnt be able to bridge. It was just a thought...

BIGRED · 03-27-2007, 03:42 PM

How about Leviton, Power Line Carrier Controls