DIN Rail Dimmer Problems :-(

["Mark McCall" <mark@xxxxxxx>]

Hi all

I just thought I'd pass on some info to any of you considering fitting DIN
Rail Dimmers (LD10s) especially in a "new build".

The electrician's finally got the lights on in our new house yesterday (we
move in this Friday).  However, soon the hall lights started to dim and
brighten themselves as if someone was holding there finger on the switch!

Apparently in long cable runs (and to X10 that seems to mean anything over
just 10m) cables that are side by side can induce a current across one
another, fooling the LD10 into thinking someone is holding the switch
down!!

I spoke to various people yesterday (thanks to Keith, Mike, Kwong and
George).  The main outcome of this was that this is a problem that X10 know
of but have yet to address or publicise!  I also received some advice for
installing the dimmers.  I post it below for everyone's info.  I will be
adding this to the reviews of these modules soon. Just a pity X10 didn't
have this in their documentation then I could have taken it on board.  As
my
walls are now plastered and the upstairs floors down it makes correcting
these problems very difficult!


A.Leave some space between the DIN rail dimmers. Two against one another is
OK, but it's better not to
have three together. At one of its sides, a DIN rail dimmers needs about
one
centimetre of space in order to avoid side-effects due to heating.

B.When wires run too close to one another, some weird behaviour can occur.
It seems it does not happen if the
length of the wiring is less than about 10 meters. Above that, X-10
recommends separating the wires.

C.Where it is impossible to separate the wires a mains relay at module
level
should fix the problem.


Regards

Mark McCall
http://come.to/homeautomation




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