X10- Assigning more than one module to a single house code, unit code

[petediscrete]

Is it possible to assign a number of different modules to a single house code, unit code.The reason I ask is, for example, as soon as I assign A1 to Hall Light, the A1 house code is no longer available in the drop down menu when I am adding a second module. Also, my MS13 x10 movement sensor has the same address, A, as my hall light and I need to pair them both together. What I am finding is that even though my other MS13 movement sensors have different house codes and unit codes they are all activating the hall light.

[Zen]

You don't need to add number of devices to the same X10 address. All devices configured as A1 will respond to the X10 A1 command. You could create one device (let's say switch) and anytime you will click "On" all A1 devices will turn on.

[petediscrete]

I understand all that. My problem here is that three different sensors with three different house codes/unit codes are triggering my Hall Light at address A1.

[Zen]

The only thing I can think of is you still have macro saved in your X10 interface that triggers the light. Or, may be, your neighbor has X10 and his system sends A1 command? Try to change house number to something else and monitor the log.

[bkenobi]

X10 is designed such that a motion sensor is set to a HC/UC that matches the module you want to turn on.  They later added capabilities with AH and AHP to use a motion sensor as a trigger for the code to do more things.  If you have your motion sensors set to the same HC/UC as your lights, then you are doing it correctly unless you want to do something more advanced.

That said, you will not be able to use HG to have both an X10 motion sensor and X10 light switch in the interface.  You would be best served to have HG configured with the light switch as you can then control the module directly.  If you choose to use the sensor as the visualization, you won't have any control over the light.

The alternative is to use one of the available APPs to control your lights with a separate motion sensor.  Gene included the Smart Lights APP that utilizes any motion sensor and a light level sensor to control a module (dimmer, light, etc).  I updated this code to use the jkUtils Solar Altitude APP instead and added some additional capabilities in the Advanced Smart Lights code.  Either should give you a little more control which it sounds like you are trying to attain.

[petediscrete]

Was experimenting using the sensor as an RF controller switch. I just activate the sensor , the module captures the raw data, and the sensor acts as a remote control.

I think the original problem arose when I used the Advanced a Smart Light and assigned the same switching control to all the sensors acting on the B1 address. I've disabled that program for the moment and all seems to be working fine.

I suppose you could say that a sensor acts like an RF switch among other things. The MS13 has a minimum switch off delay which seems to override the HG setting which is incremented in seconds.

One final question on this post, if I have three separate sensors with three different house code/unit code, how can I display them graphically on the Groups Menu. It appears that when I define a sensor the module graphic is displaying as a temperature sensor instead of an RF sensor.

[bkenobi]

I set mine as a sensor and it shows 1 when on and blank when off.  In the past (older versions of HG) when the sensor was off it displayed 0.  If you don't like the icon that is used, you can select it in the config menu and pick a different one.

[petediscrete]

If I wanted to add three seperate sensor modules with three different House Codes/module codes into Groups to monitor their status how do I achieve this. Am I missing something trying to configure this.

[Zen]

You can assign all of X10 motion sensors to its own house code number (just to keep them organized) then add them to new HomeGenie Group. If you choose this group instead of Dashboard then you will see all motion sensors. You can add them to the dashboard as well if you choose so.

To create a new group go to Configure/Groups and click on Add Group. Then click Action / Add Module.

You may want to use HomeGenie Programs instead of direct control. It allows you to have different actions based on different events. For instance, action may change based on time of day. At night it may sound a chime or flash some light so you know if someone is coming and turn on appropriate outside lights but during a day it just sounds a chime. Hope it helps.

[petediscrete]

I'll have a look at those options Bkenobi.Thanks.

[bkenobi]

I designed the Advanced Smart Lights code to do more or less what you are looking for I believe.  I have MS16A motion sensors as well as one hooked up to my RPi's GPIO.  These sensors control different outdoor lighting as well as a chime inside.  I have the code set up such that you can have lights turn on after jkUtils determined dusk until dawn.  I have it set up so a chime (siren in HG) can be used to alert of visitors.  If it's windy or whatnot, the chime has a timeout so it won't constantly be going off.  There's also a provision if you want to use a switch of some kind to work with your lights (I use a ToggleLinc but any model that transmits a command to HG will work).

The only down side to X10 in my opinion is the time it takes for a transmission to go out and be received on the other end.  Every X10 command is 2 messages sent twice and takes ~0.8 seconds.  If you use a PLC based motion sensor to trigger HG and it turns a light on, the total time will be roughly 2-3 seconds from the time motion starts in front of the motion sensor to when the light turns on.  If you use RF based motion sensors (MS13A/MS14A/MS16A/etc) the time will be cut as RF transmissions seem quicker (assuming your controller receives the RF and you are not using a transceiver).  If the module is a soft start type, then it won't be fully bright for up to another second (4 seconds maximum).  I find that with the most recent version of HG, this time is generally closer to 2 seconds for a RF controlled motion sensor which is acceptable for my needs.