AC2 made my neighbor's house a hunted house????

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dgasmd

Fragologist Magnus
Joined
Nov 30, 2003
Messages
473
Location
Florida
Hunted house from aquacontroller???

I recently set up the AC2 in my system. Was having tons of problems with the unit and programming, but I think those are done now. Still can't tell you why nor can Curt from what we discussed ont he phone yesterday. HOwever, I am still not able to use the unit because it has turned my next door neighbor's house into a hunted house

Yesterday I finally finished the programing again for the 6th time. I connected the unit and it seemed not working right. 1 hour later, my neighbor comes over and asks me if I know anything about electricity because their lights are going nuts in their house. I go over to see what it is to find tha tthe lights all over the house are turning on and off at random and on their own. They said it started the night before last and it has never happened before. I asked them if they had any x-10 or automation equipment in the house and they said no. I looked and some of the light switches are on dimmers, but some are not. I thought maybe it had something to do with the AC2, as unlikely as that was, so I went home and disconnected it. It comepltely stopped the light problem. I still thought that could not be the problem. I went home and got on the phone with Curt who says he has never heard of such a thing or can't possibly think of how it may be happening unless the signals are going out the house and coming back to the pole or source that supplies energy to my neighbor's house. In which case, it may be doing it to the entire neighborhood. I had to redo my entire programming once again after that for other reasons, but as soon as I was done and re-connected the unit to the x-10 stuff, I could see through my windows that my neighbor's lights were doing their hunted house effect again. For the sake or time and not having to get into a machete fight with them, I temporarily disconnected the unit.

ANY IDEAS WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON HERE? Any suggestions on how to fix it? I want to use the unit as I ahve over $500 invested in it, but I don't want to gain an enemy that will cost me more than that by making my neighbors crazy with lights coming on and off. DC-8 and such are not an option!!
 
I dont know man, I would definitley call the company and hopefully they will replace it with a new unit. If something on a fish tank has the ability to a effect a house next door there is a real problem with it.
 
Alberto - way to go....turn the neighborhood into a haunted one.....they're going to be at your door telling you to get lost!

I asked the hubby about it, and is thinking along the same lines as Curt, but he has a couple of questions. Is it only their lights that are effected? Are they definately plug in the wall type lights....or are they on remotes? (i.e. my ceiling fans/lights have remotes to work them within the room). Also, is the controller plugged into a GFCI outlet (wondering is something is going on with the ground). He says it sounds like noise, but it seems awfully far to travel.....are you having anything weird with your house?
 
Your neighbor has to be using some sort of PLC technology. It may be their alarm system or a high end lighting controller (leviton dimensions, core access) that has their own propriatory line signal. Try using a higher house code like "H". If not you can get a filter that will trap all PLC signals in your house. Go to www.worthdist.com or give them a call 800-282-8864. They may not sell to you (no retail) but will tell you what to buy.

Don

Don
 
DonW said:
Your neighbor has to be using some sort of PLC technology. It may be their alarm system or a high end lighting controller (leviton dimensions, core access) that has their own propriatory line signal. Try using a higher house code like "H". If not you can get a filter that will trap all PLC signals in your house. Go to www.worthdist.com or give them a call 800-282-8864. They may not sell to you (no retail) but will tell you what to buy.

Don

Don

My other half agrees with this, too. Good thought Don!
 
More food for thought. Your homes have to be tied together in some way. Does your house have community gate controls? Structured cable/internet service?


Don
 
Yes, there is a community cable, the gate access actually dials to the house's phone, and there is the same company's alarm/monitoring system in the entire community. Upon further talking to them, they tell me all those lights having the funky action are on dimers that have a little remote to control them. They were isntalled by some electrician later on and not with the original house builder. Amazing how after asking them about automation and such yesterday they so adamantly said NO.

I'll try the link above and see what they say.

Thanks.
 
Cool! Before you spend more. They probably dont know where their receiver is, so see if they will let you pull a switch cover plate. You should find the house code knob. Set yours at least 4 house codes away from theirs and pray you dont get it the same as your other neighbors.

Don
 
Actually, If you could find the house code to Acrobug's house, (the guy who was being such a tool on your 750 SPS system thread), I would suggest you set his lights to flicker on and off randomly.
Just my thoughts....

Nick
 
DonW said:
Smarthome has really become a haven for knock-off junk lately. I'd stay away.

Don

Ya know, I did kind of notice that. Not the cheapest place either. It used to be pretty good.
 
I am a Smarthome dealer - And they are carrying a bunch of TOYS lately.

And do not try the INSTEON system - Way too Beta.

However, They do have the Filterlinc - Which is a much cheaper way to use electronic ballasts than the Aqualink DC-4 - Which is a crap item IMO.


If you look at a couple of Smarthome products- The Filterlinc, Appliance Linc and the smart home manager (software) it allowed me to program the control of my tank alot better than the AC2.

And I got the Keypad Lincs - Which I use as Tank Status Indicators. The Keypad linc shows the status of X10 devices. So it basically monitors the AC2 X10 output for pH, ORP, and Temp - So around my house I have a couple of these, so with a glance I can see what the tank status is.... Kind of cool.

Dave B
 
Thanks to everyone for all the replies. I was disappointed to see that even though I posted this same thread in RC at the sponsor's forum, the Neptune people did not even bother to reply to it.

Turns out that wha was happening was the following. My neighbor turned out to have all his lights on dimers that were x-10 controlled via a little remote control. All the lights had the same address as my lights, so everytime my AC2 would send a signal they would turn on too. I went to their house and changed all the addresses int heir system, but could not get it to work, which I suspect it was because of a fried controller. I then came home and finally uploaded aquanotes to my old laptop and re-programmed it so the lights would have a different address. Turned the AC on and it worked without affecting the neighbor's lights.

It is still bothersome to me to find out our houses are connected via the community cable and the alarm system. That has the potential for a lot of problems.

Thanks again for all the suggestions.

Alberto :D
 
With all the electronics we use these days funny things like this doesn't happen more frequently LOL! TV, stereo, garage door, cable, computers, wireless phones, scanners man the list goes on.
 
The X10 signals that the AC2 sends out are only sent on the electrical wire. The irony is that for most of us x10 signals can't even make it all around our properties... Let alone the neighbors.

However your house electrical is AC (alternating current) so any signals you add to it go in an out of your house.

So it's no surprise what happenend. Tedinator had an issue with his X10 where his neighbors X10 was turning off his tank lights randomly.

As for Neptune Customer support - Neptune is a small company - There is Kurt and thats about it. If you get him on the phone he is usually quite helpful.

Dave B
 
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