Re: xPL/xAP an alternative to C-Bu$ ?

["David Buckley" <db@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

--- In ukha_d@xxxxxxx, "Kenneth Watt" <kwatt@f...> wrote:

> Agreed, but that means all new products, with licences
> and development costs you'd probably be more expensive than X10
> is especially on low volume production.

I was musing last night that X10 wasnt the first real power line
control system, there have been predecessors.

When I was a kid growing up in New Zealand in years measured with a
single digit, I was always interested in this black box thing that
every house had fitted to their distribution board.  it was magic;
it controlled your immersion heater.  Or more accurately, it
deprived the immersion of power at some times during the day.  This
thing clicked, and facinated me.

These days, all houses in NZ have one of these (picture on right of
page), as part of what I now know is called the ripple control
system.

http://www.enermet.com/receivers.htm

Not only do these remotely control power for immersions, but also
your night storage power.

They also control streetlights this way.  Some bod clicks a mouse in
an office somewhere, and thousands of streetlights all come on
together.

Its power line control, Jim, but not as we know it.  Ripple control
signals are injected into the power system at either the 33kv or
11kv distribution centres, and it passes through all the
transformers down to mains.  Its a low frequency system (in range of
100-300Hz) and has a very low bit rate, but it is very reliable.