X10's (neptune aquacontrollers)

[DMBillies]

I've heard that X10's can sometimes be fickle with certain light set-ups and other equipment. I'd like to hear some peoples experience with these. Reason I ask is that I'm looking into getting one, but the guy has X10's with it (not the direct connect). Having to buy the direct connect would pretty much destroy the value of getting this thing used as opposed to just buying a package deal with the DC8 already included.

Assuming the X10's aren't all that bad, I have another related question. Is it possible to use them to control the lights/pumps on tanks other than the one it is set-up for? I have about 4 tanks and I would just love to get rid of lighting timers for a couple of my other set-ups (they're big, make my wires look like a tangled bird's nest, and they get bumped all of the time). I'm imagining that the distance the signal has to travel would make it more likely to not work properly (more "noise" in the signal) and/or that in order to work they might need to be on the same circuit. Just curious if anyone knows. I could contact Neptune, but being the weekend, they won't get to it until Monday.

TIA

 

[crumbletop]

Yes, X10 can be used to control things remote from your main tank. They are prone to acting up due to interference -- eballasts can do this, as well as other household stuff. A key consideration may be that Neptune Systems no longer recommends them and only sells them to people who either explicitly want them, or are already using them. They try to steer new customers away (which likely means they are a technical support nightmare).

So the plus for you would be that you can control things more remotely than the direct connect would allow. The downside is you may have an unreliable setup for heaters and pumps that are connected, which for me far outweighs the possible upside of X10.

 

[DMBillies]

You mean we can send men to the moon, but we can't get a decent system for controlling things over the power lines?