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I've spoken with a couple of people who are "full on" X10 people and asked them what they thought of it. They said it was good but sometimes it doesn't work - a result of X10's lack of acknowledgment on commands. One of the chaps suggested I look up Z-Wave, and glad I did.
It looks like we've got a company, based in the Netherlands, who are going into "Mass Production" October 2004.
Clicking on the Technology button names "Z-Wave" as their network protocol, and clicking on the "Network" link confirms all the typical Z-Wave behaviours (it also shows a very nice Backlit remote - which is what the HomePro seems to lack).
I've fired off an e-mail to them, asking all the questions we want answers to, watch this space, and I'll post the reply.
As promised here's the reply I received from the Managing Director of ICOM-Technology: -
Thanks for your interest in our ICOM product line. We are still in negotiation with several companies concerning partnership for the UK-market, but in the short run we expect to finalize. After that we will inform you about our UK-partnership(s).
Our product could be compatible with other Z-Wave partners, but it depends of the result of the negotiations and the wishes/requests of our future partners.
I'm still surprised that Zen-Sys didn't inject a lot of money, or kick off it's own manufacturing line to boot the Z-Wave stuff into the market place. Instead of this rumour and trickle approach.
It would be nice to see some X10 trade up options like, 30% discount if you send us your X10 equivalent modules. But this would need quite a large backer.
The whole marketing approach appears to be all a little botched - I've read of people opting for X10 purely on grounds of supply - and not reliability, build or functionality. It's all a bit disappointing... :cry:
Oops, looks like the page is lost. Start your website on the cheap.
Basically it seems when a light bulb (halogen or incandescent) burns out (i.e shorts), it blows a hardwired fuse in the lamp module which means the unit needs to go back for repair/replacement. This is a HUGE defect if it applies to all lamp modules manufactured. There is no confirmation if this has been observed in all lamp modules shipped. But it's worth looking out for. I guess I will find out soon enough when bulbs and units start blowing!!!
Oops, looks like the page is lost. Start your website on the cheap.
Basically it seems when a light bulb (halogen or incandescent) burns out (i.e shorts), it blows a hardwired fuse in the lamp module which means the unit needs to go back for repair/replacement. This is a HUGE defect if it applies to all lamp modules manufactured. There is no confirmation if this has been observed in all lamp modules shipped. But it's worth looking out for. I guess I will find out soon enough when bulbs and units start blowing!!!
I've only got the one lamp module and I do confess to doing a very silly thing.
I wanted to use my 1000W drill, and plugged it into the same 6 Way gang that had the lights on, that was in turn plugged into my Lamp Module - which was on.
Why did I do this? I was lazy.
If you've seen my review on Z-Wave, you would have a glimpse of my sockets in the garage and understand.
Anyway, what happened? It all stopped, that's what happened - lights went out and the drill didn't start, let alone stop.
I unplugged the drill, unplugged the lamp module, and plugged it back in again, and it all worked - I didn't have to reprogramme it either!
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