XTBR
Mode Programmable Options
11-15-09
Initial
Release
The XTBR is the
enhanced repeater version of the XTB.
Both units will boost the output of a X10 transmitter plugged into its
X10 Input receptacle. The XTBR adds the
ability to repeat commands received over the powerline. It has evolved from its big brother, the
XTB-IIR, and it includes many of the mode options available on that unit. While the default configuration should work
fine for most people, the mode options allow the XTBR to be customized as necessary
for best performance in each installation.
Programming the Mode
Options in the XTBR requires a sequence of X10 commands to be sent using a Maxi
Controller plugged into its X10 Input receptacle. Each key should be pressed for about a second, and the gap
between each key press must be less than 4 seconds. Mode commands should be sent on the P housecode. 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
are transmitted over the powerline 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 XTBR into a mode where it will not recognize mode commands in a high
noise environment. Should this ever
happen to you, the XTBR can be reset to the default configuration by pressing
the ALL OFF key on a Mini or Maxi Controller connected to the X10 Input
receptacle while the XTBR is plugged in after being unplugged for at least 5
seconds. The ALL OFF key should be held
for about 1 second after the LED illuminates.
The LED will flash again after the key is released if the default reset
is accepted.
Normally the XTBR
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) Real-Time Boost Enable
14 (off) 3-Phase Transmit Enable
13 (off) Delay Transmit Burst to
prevent dimmer flicker
12 (Not used)
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 40/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)
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 (Not used)
1 (Not used)
16 ON: Repeater
Enable This option enables the XTBR repeater function. Like other repeaters, this outputs a
high-power transmission in bit-sync with the second half of a received command.
15 ON: Real
Time Boost This option enables the XTBR to boost each bit as it is
received without any error checking. In
a low noise environment, this will allow the XTBR to repeat both halves of a
command. This option should not be used
if there is significant powerline noise as it can cause erroneous data patterns
to be transmitted.
14 ON: 3-Phase
Transmit This option enables 3-phase transmit. The XTBR 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. (NOTE: The source must also be set for 3-phase
transmission for this to have an effect.)
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. Several people reported the
strong signal produced by the larger XTB-IIR could induce flicker in nearby
dimmers during transmissions. Delaying
the transmit burst appears to reduce or eliminate this effect. While dimmer flicker may not be observed
with the XTBR due to its slightly lower output power, this option is included
just in case. It should only be used if
dimmer flicker becomes a problem.
12: Not used at this time.
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 XTBR 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 XTBR 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 XTBR 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 XTBR 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 XTBR will automatically shut off its
transmitter when it detects continuous X10 traffic on the powerline. The XTBR will normally pass a burst of about
120 X10 commands, or 20 per minute continuous.
Choosing High Threshold increases this to a burst of over 200 commands,
or 40 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 XTBR to
dynamically adjust its sensitivity for best performance in a given
installation. When disabled, the XTBR
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)
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: Not used at this time.
1: Not
used at this time.