Need help using MEL command "Xout" with an X-10 PCS-05 bidir pwr-line interface

[ardhuru]

Bruce, Anand Dhuru and mackrackit can all advise you on the specifics.

Thanks for the reference, Dave.

I would like to add Darrel Taylor to that list. In a thread I'd started a few years back, http://www.picbasic.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=3057 he suggested a small edit to the pbppicxx.lib that modifies the XOUT to give pre-modulated X10 signals without using any extra modulating hardware or complex programming. Comes in very handy for TW523-less, direct-to-mains designs. ANYBODY TRYING THIS, PLEASE BE VERY CAREFUL OF THE MAINS VOLTAGES. Personally, I think this is worthy of being added permanently to the .lib as a canned command, say XMOut, along with the regular Xout.

Guglulenun, as has been pointed out, the pull-up is mandatory. Let us know if that works. Xin is a far more involved command from the hardware viewpoint, so if that works the zero crossing detection is indeed working. If the pullup doesnt help, I'd only suspect the transmission related circuit within the PSC05. OR, if you are in a 50hz country, take a look at post #9 at http://www.picbasic.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=1696 , although the mains in my country is 50hz too, and I have had no problems with the default.

Regards,

Anand

[dhouston]

I would avoid the 50Hz thread that Anand referenced - it's only likely to confuse things.

The ONLY time that the 50Hz vs 60Hz issue is a problem is when the electrical system is 3 phase and you need to control devices on phases other than the phase into which the PSC-05 is plugged. The first signal burst of 120kHz is at ZC, the second is at ZC+PERIOD/6 and the third is at ZC+PERIOD/3 where PERIOD=1/60 or 1/50 depending on the mains frequency.

The PCS-05 only sees the ZC of the phase into which it is plugged. Similarly, receiver devices only see the ZC of their specific phase. Whatever is controlling the PCS-05 must calculate the other two ZCs and control the timing according to the mains frequency.

If all of the devices to be controlled are on the same phase as the PSC-05, it is best to send only a single burst per half-cycle - sending to all three phases tends to sap the PSC-05 power supply.

EDIT: A final point. X-10 showing an inverter on the X-10 gate signal to the PCS-05 is probably to reduce the current load on the PIC (or other MCU) drive pin.

[guglulenun]

Thank you everyone, so much, for all your responses! It is wonderful to know that I am not all alone on the island of X-10 programming land. To answer some questions, I am using single-phase, 60Hz here in California. I have employed both 4.7K pull-up resistors to 5 volts, as specified in the MEL PBP manual, on the collectors outputs of the opto-isolators of the psc05. In the X-10pro diagram, they show an OEM box on the left and the psc05 on the right side of the rj-11 connection pins, but in the middle, they show the suggested interface circuitry, which includes a pnp transistor that serves as an inverter to the input of an opto-isolator in the psc05 (when base of pnp goes low, the transistor's collector pulls up to 5V, to source current wrt the led inside the opto-isolator). I am thinking that maybe everything is OK, electrically, but maybe I am just sending incorrect codes to activate anything in X-10 land. But, it did seem strange that psc05 led just seemed to dim and stay dimmed, rather than blinking off when valid X-10 codes were going across the link, as when I used a real X-10 remote to do that same job.

[dhouston]

Have you included MODEDEFS.BAS?

[guglulenun]

yes, I have used INCLUDE "modedefs.bas"

[ardhuru]

But, it did seem strange that psc05 led just seemed to dim and stay dimmed, rather than blinking off when valid X-10 codes were going across the link, as when I used a real X-10 remote to do that same job.

Not strange, really. It just reiterates what you have already observed. The fact that it is working well as a receiver. You are having a problem transmitting thru' the PSC05; when you use any other transmitter and find the LED blinking, the PSC05 is actually acknowledging the *receipt* of an X10 signal; the signal it sees on the mains created by another device, not itself. Which again suggests your problem to be related to its transmission circuit, either internal or external.

Could you send us a screen-grab of the actual signal Xout produces taken at the input of the PSC05?

Regards,

Anand

[guglulenun]

Hi Anand,

Here is an attached copy of my code from Notepad, FYI. I'm not sure how to attach files. I did a drag-and-drop as it instructed, but then the menu disappeared and was replaced by my file contents, so I hope it worked.

It won't be until tomorrow afternoon before I get a chance to do the waveform screenshot, but will as soon as I am again available. I'll take it on the send side of the psc05 input, as you said.

Thank you.

[mackrackit]

It did not attach.
Try again but not drag and drop.

[guglulenun]

Well, it seems strange how I had to do it, but it seems to have attached this time.

I just pulled my picoscope 3206 out of mothballs and tried to load the drivers for it, but my computer fails to recognize the usb port to which it is attached. I'll send pictures as soon as I get it going.

G

[guglulenun]

Very intriguing idea--the Darrel Taylor link to single-chip TW-523 idea--Thanks

Thanks for the reference, Dave.

I would like to add Darrel Taylor to that list. In a thread I'd started a few years back, http://www.picbasic.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=3057 he suggested a small edit to the pbppicxx.lib that modifies the XOUT to give pre-modulated X10 signals without using any extra modulating hardware or complex programming. Comes in very handy for TW523-less, direct-to-mains designs. ANYBODY TRYING THIS, PLEASE BE VERY CAREFUL OF THE MAINS VOLTAGES. Personally, I think this is worthy of being added permanently to the .lib as a canned command, say XMOut, along with the regular Xout.

Guglulenun, as has been pointed out, the pull-up is mandatory. Let us know if that works. Xin is a far more involved command from the hardware viewpoint, so if that works the zero crossing detection is indeed working. If the pullup doesnt help, I'd only suspect the transmission related circuit within the PSC05. OR, if you are in a 50hz country, take a look at post #9 at http://www.picbasic.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=1696 , although the mains in my country is 50hz too, and I have had no problems with the default.

Regards,

Anand