Marmitek X10 Home Automation - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: luiHS
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 04, 2024, 11:43:16 pm
content: Hello.I installed an X10 home automation system with Marmitek modules in my house 18 years ago. Today I wanted to make some changes and I found that it seems that these products are no longer manufactured, I even have doubts about whether the X10 protocol is still used and whether there may be modules manufactured by other companies.Does anyone know what happened to X10, is it still manufactured?Specifically, I need Marmitek AD10 modules to turn on and off LED lamps and a KR22 remote control to control motorized blinds and curtains.

author: themadhippy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 05, 2024, 12:05:47 am
content: Does anyone know what happened to X10, is it still manufactured?https://www.x10.com/

author: luiHS
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 05, 2024, 01:13:49 am
content: Quote from: themadhippy on September 05, 2024, 12:05:47 amThanks, but that doesn't work for me.I'm in Spain and the voltage here is 220V 50Hz, those are modules for the USA at 120V 60Hz AC, and they only ship to the USA and Canada, and I also prefer to buy in Europe to save on customs fees.

author: Stray Electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 05, 2024, 01:18:42 am
content: I don't know if the X10 stuff is still manufactured but Radio Shack and some mail order catalog that I can't remember the name of, (maybe BSR?) used to sell it in the US about 30 years ago and I still find a lot of it around garage sales. Oh and Levitron or Leviton (not sure of the spelling) also used to sell it. Most of the Radio Shack stuff was absolute crap and nearly all it failed within the first few days.I still have a few pieces installed and those have been working for over 30 years at this point.I would suggest looking for pieces of it on E-bay but I won't waste my money of any of it that's marked Radio Shack. I don't know how common it was in your country but in the US, I would look for it in thrift stores, hamfests, garage sales and the like. And if you have a local sales paper like Craigslist, you might put a want ad in it.

author: CaptDon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 05, 2024, 02:13:06 am
content: I had a horse farm and had the 120 volt modules of all sorts all over the farm. All bought from Radio Shack. Never had one fail and we survived a lot of nasty surges being at the end of a power line and in a high lightning strike area.

author: themadhippy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 05, 2024, 02:53:07 am
content: doesn't google work in spain? the first hit for x10 europe is even in spanishhttps://www.eurox10.comand coming in at number 2 although no longer in europehttps://www.uk-automation.co.uk/

author: SteveThackery
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 05, 2024, 01:14:35 pm
content: A few decades ago I used X10 to implement a basic home automation system.Basically it was terrible, even by the standards of the day. The signal was not "compelled" (ie there was no 'ACK' back from the receiving module). To get around this and improve reliability, a transmitter would simply send the same signal twice in the hope that one, at least, will get through.X10 was simple to the point of crude; it's range was limited and it's noise immunity very poor.HAVING SAID THAT, I was still able to set up a reasonably sophisticated system with pretty good reliability.Since then I have not followed X10. It seems possible that the signalling system has been improved - checksums, ACKs, at the very least. Hopefully it has gone much further than that and can now compete with other mains-borne systems like Homeplug.It's probably worth spending some time getting yourself up to speed on where X10 currently is.

author: luiHS
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 05, 2024, 01:35:24 pm
content: Quote from: SteveThackery on September 05, 2024, 01:14:35 pmThanks, I'll have to get up to date with this X10 thing, which I think is totally obsolete.I've been looking at current technologies like Zigbee or Z-Wave, although the truth is that I don't really use this home automation thing very much. The dimmer-type modules I put in to adjust the brightness of the lamps are quite annoying to use, and turning the lights on and off with the remote control has never seemed useful to me in practice.In the end, the only thing I find interesting is being able to control the motorized blinds and curtains with the remote control. Maybe add some flood, fire and gas leak sensors that alert me on my cell phone.

author: ch_scr
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 05, 2024, 01:59:22 pm
content: Quote from: luiHS on September 05, 2024, 01:35:24 pmIf you want to see where things are in home automation today, look atHomeAssitant,Zigbee2MQTT. For the central mounted relays,something like thiscan be used. Zigbee is "just" the protocol, and manufacturers (e.g. Philips Hue) like to lock-in users to their zigbee devices with their base stations. Zigbee2MQTT is the solution for that, look at the insane list of supported devices

author: themadhippy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 05, 2024, 02:04:29 pm
content: Quoteand have bottomless pocketshttps://www.control4.com/

author: Stray Electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 05, 2024, 07:10:48 pm
content: Quote from: luiHS on September 05, 2024, 01:35:24 pmPerhaps, but I think that it's only annoying since you're probably trying to control it via your phone. I used the X-10 controllers and I never had any difficulty. IIRC the main controller that I used used had buttons for up to ten devices and I just had to press one button to select the device and then press the dimmer button to increase or decrease the brightness of that lamp. That controller also had an All On and an All Off buttons and I set up a simple system for my mother with four lamp modules and one controller so that she could turn on four lamps that were scattered around her house with the All On button when she came in after dark. I put a 2nd smaller controller on the table beside her bed so that she could turn off and on the overhead light in her bedroom.I never had any trouble with the X-10 stuff being unreliable but the thing that you have to realize is that the X-10 communicates over the home's AC power system. And in the US, the AC power coming into your home is coming from a center tapped 240VAC transformer so you basically have two 120 VAC phases that are 180 degrees out of phase but with a common neutral. If you put the controller on one phase and the modules on the other phase then it often wouldn't work. But also long as they were on the same phase it would work fine.

author: Hawkeye
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: January 31, 2025, 03:48:56 pm
content: Good Afternoon,I understand this question may have come up before, but I installed X10 modules in my home about 20 years ago, and some of them are now starting to fail.One module in particular, the AD10 DIN rail switch module, has been difficult to find. I’ve searched extensively without success and would appreciate any information on whether this module is still being manufactured, if there is an equivalent replacement, or what alternative solution I could use to keep my lights operational?I appreciate your time and assistance and look forward to your reply.Thanks