XTB-IIR
Mode Programmable Options
01-03-08 Revised Modes 13&14 for
firmware version 1.03
The XTB-IIR is the
enhanced repeater version of the XTB-II.
Both units will boost the output of a X10 transmitter and also provide
TW523 emulation. The XTB-IIR has
expanded on the basic repeater capability included in the XTB-II, and there are
many more mode options available to customize this unit for each
installation. Because of the larger
number of options available in the XTB-IIR, most mode numbers have been
reassigned for this unit.
Programming the Mode
Options in the XTB-IIR requires a sequence of X10 commands to be sent using a
maxicontroller plugged into its X10 Input receptacle. Mode commands can also be sent via the digital port. Each key should be pressed for about a
second, and the gap between each key press must be less than 4 seconds. The XTB-II accepted mode programming on any
housecode, but the XTB-IIR only accepts them on the selected housecode (default
is P). All programming begins with the key
sequence 9-8-2 on the selected housecode, followed by the single key for
the parameter to change, and then either ON or OFF. For example, the key sequence 9-8-2-14-ON enables transmit on all
3-phases. The LED will flash for about
a second after the last key is released if the command is accepted. The mode number, and its status ON or OFF is
transmitted over the powerline and digital port so the entry can be
logged. The LED will flash 5 times if
an incorrect key sequence is entered or too much time elapsed between key
presses.
It may be possible
to get the XTB-IIR into a mode where it will not recognize mode commands in a
high noise environment. Should this
ever happen to you, the XTB-IIR can be reset to the default configuration by
pressing the ALL OFF key on a minicontroller or maxicontroller plugged into the
X10 receptacle while power is applied after being off at least 5 seconds. The ALL OFF key should be held for about 1
second after the LED illuminates. That
normally happens almost immediately, but it can take several seconds if the PIC
internal oscillator is slow to start.
If the oscillator does not start quickly, just cycling power again will
get it going. The LED will flash again
after the key is released if the default reset is accepted.
Normally the XTB-II
transmits P Status ON when power is applied, and the LED will flash briefly.
The user
programmable options are as follows (default settings are in parentheses):
16 (on) Repeater Enable
15 (off) not used at this time
(enabled TW523 mode in XTB-II)
14 (off) 3-Phase Transmit (was only for Boost from X10 IN or digital port)
13 (off) Delay Transmit Burst at
firmware V1.03 (was 3-Phase Repeat)
12 (off) Reduced Transmit Power
11 (off) Auto Retransmit of
repeat following collision
10 (off) Abort Transmission on
Collision
9 (on) Smart Bright/Dim Repeat for sequential
commands
8 (off) Only One Repeat for each command to prevent
repeater ping-pong
7 (off) High Command Storm Threshold 60/min. (OFF allows 20/min)
6 (on) AGC Enable
(OFF for low gain fixed threshold)
5 (on) High AGC threshold or MSB of fixed threshold
4 (off) Alternate AGC window or LSB of fixed
threshold
fixed threshold: 5-OFF
4-OFF 150 mV (min) use AGC
for max sensitivity
5-OFF
4-ON 300 mV
5-ON 4-OFF
450 mV
5-ON 4-ON
600 mV (max)
3 (off) Variable Decode enable
2 (P) Housecode Select for
Mode Programming after ALL OFF reset (9-8-2-2-ON)
1 (off) Return All Bits to the digital port with no
error checking
16 ON:
Repeater Enable This option enables the XTB-IIR repeater
function. Like other repeaters, this
outputs a high-power transmission in bit-sync with the second half of a
received command while those bits are sent out the digital port to the
automation controller.
15 ON:
Not used at this time. This mode
option enabled TW523 emulation in the XTB-II, but that is automatic in the
XTB-IIR.
14 ON:
3-Phase Transmit, Boost or Repeat This option enables 3-phase
transmit, regardless of the source of the signal. The XTB-IIR normally masks the superfluous 3-phase bursts to
concentrate its energy into the essential zero-crossing burst. This option has
been included because 3-phase transmission may still be necessary in some
installations. Output power is also
reduced when this mode is enabled.
(This mode enabled the 3-phase transmission for only X10 Boost &
digital inputs before firmware V1.03)
13 ON:
Delay Transmit Burst (reduces the potential for dimmer flicker)
This option delays the zero-crossing transmit burst until just before the X10
reception window. It has been reported
that the strong XTB-IIR signal can induce flicker in some dimmers during
transmissions. Delaying the transmit
burst appears to reduce or eliminate this effect. This option generates a shorter signal burst, and it should only
be used if dimmer flicker becomes a problem.
(This mode enabled 3-Phase Repeat before firmware V1.03.)
12 ON:
Reduced Transmit Power The XTB-IIR may actually deliver too
much signal for some applications, and this option allows the transmit power to
be reduced about 40%. Depending on the
load, the actual transmitted voltage may not decrease that much. This option is automatically enabled when
3-phase transmission is enabled to prevent excessive drain on the power supply.
11 ON:
Auto Retransmit This option enables automatic retransmit of a
command that was aborted due to a collision.
Auto retransmit only works with repeated commands because a collision
during a normal transmission would result in that command being corrupted.
10 ON:
Abort Transmission on Collision A collision is identified by a
burst appearing in the timeslot when no burst is being transmitted. When this option is selected, the XTB-IIR
will immediately cease transmission of the existing command whenever a
collision is identified. This is true
regardless of the source of the signal.
When a command is being repeated there is an option to re-transmit that
command after the line has cleared.
9 ON:
Smart Bright/Dim Repeat Bright and Dim commands deviate from
normal X10 protocol because they can be strung together without gaps separating
the commands. Dimmer modules interpret
bright and dim commands differently, depending on how the commands are strung
together. Most repeaters only transmit
the second half of each bright or dim command, which can cause them to be
interpreted incorrectly. With this
option enabled, the XTB-IIR will repeat every bright or dim command in a
sequence after the first half of the first command. The transmission ends in sync with the last received bright or
dim command so that the XTB-IIR transmission will not conflict with another
command closely following that sequence.
8 ON:
Only One Repeat When a repeater is used in an installation that
has another repeater or certain two-way modules, it is possible for a command
to be echoed back and forth continuously.
This option prevents that ping-pong effect in those special
situations. For example when this
option is enabled, only A-1, A-ON will be repeated for the sequence A-1, A-ON,
A-ON, A-ON. However, A-1 A-ON, A-1,
A-ON will be repeated completely.
Because bright and dim commands are a special case, they will all
continue be repeated if the Smart Bright/Dim Repeat option is selected. Since the ping-pong effect with 2-way
modules does not involve bright or dim commands, this allows the XTB-IIR to
continue handling those commands properly while preventing the ping-pong effect
with 2-way modules. This option should
only be used if necessary.
7 ON:
High Command Storm Threshold The XTB-IIR will automatically
shut off its transmitter when it detects continuous X10 traffic on the
powerline. The XTB-IIR will normally
pass a burst of about 120 X10 commands, or 20 per minute continuous. Choosing High Threshold increases this to a
burst of about 400 commands, or 60 per minute continuous. The lower limit should be adequate for most
installations.
6 ON:
AGC Enable - This option turns on the Automatic Gain Control
(AGC) that adjusts the decode threshold above the background noise level. This option is allows the XTB-IIR to
dynamically adjust its sensitivity for best performance in a given
installation. When disabled, the XTB-II
decodes X10 line signals with a fixed, but adjustable threshold. For particularly noisy environments, there
are several fixed thresholds available.
5 ON:
Hi AGC Threshold - When AGC is enabled, this increases the
threshold another step. This is
recommended for noisy environments when incoming X10 signals are strong. When using fixed threshold, this bit
determines the most significant bit of the threshold voltage. See the table below. This option is on by default to provide the
best rejection against possible noise from compact fluorescent bulbs. This can be turned off if you have a
relatively noise-free environment.
4 ON:
Alternate AGC window - It was found that the X10 RR501 RF
transceiver occasionally does not transmit its third burst in the defined
slot. It falls into the beginning of
the Insteon window, which is where background noise is normally sampled to set
the AGC threshold level. This option
allows an alternate sampling slot to avoid this problem. The alternate slot may not be quite a good
sampling point, but should be tried when having difficulty receiving signals
from either a RR501 or TM751 transceiver.
Other units may also exhibit this phenomenon. While using fixed threshold, this bit determines the least significant
bit of the threshold voltage:
fixed threshold: 5-OFF 4-OFF
150 mV (min) use AGC for max sensitivity
5-OFF 4-ON 300 mV
5-ON 4-OFF 450 mV
5-ON 4-ON 600 mV (max)
Low gain is selected when using
fixed thresholds for maximum noise margin.
3 ON:
Variable Decode This option selects a variable decode rather
than the X10 standard 48-cycle fixed count to decode a logic one. The variable decode monitors the background
noise level for a logic zero, and decodes a logic one when there is a
significant increase in cycle count above the average. This option is particularly useful when
trying to recover low-level X10 signals just above the noise level.
2 ON:
Housecode Select A 9-8-2-2-ON sequence sent IMMEDIATELY after
an ALL OFF power-up default reset will set the selected house code to that used
for the 9-8-2-2-ON sequence. The window
to accept the housecode select is only open for 4 seconds after the default
reset. If the housecode is not changed
within that window, the XTB-IIR will only accept the default P housecode for
programming mode commands.
1 ON:
Return All Bits This option sends all data bits received over
the powerline to the digital port without any error checking. Data is only delayed ½ cycle of 60Hz from
real time. This option may be useful
for diagnostics or for an enhanced automation controller that does its own
error checking. However, since no error
checking is performed, noise can cause erroneous 1 bits. This option produces half-cycle length data
pulses rather than the standard narrow pulses, and may be useful to monitoring
equipment. This option should be left
off unless needed.