HouseBot

Hello guys, this is my first post and I'm new at this automation. I'm just trying to see how every thing works. I have my server in the bonus room upstairs with a cm11a to the serial port. I can control the lamp upstairs but if i take the lamp module downstairs and plug it into a lamp it will not work. Is it something with the wiring or is it an easy fix.
Thanks for your time, Joey

Probably static on the line or different elektric groups. I had that all the time and it was one of the reasons I left X10 for good.

It is probably in a different electrical circuit so you will probably need an x10 bridge to pass the signal from one line to the other.

Victor

The cheapest way around it is to get 2 RF tranceivers, put them on the same housecode as the stuff you want to controll downstairs, and then put 1 of them downstairs, and the other one near your pc.
the signal will then go wireless between the 2 floors, just watch out for signal echo's in areas where the signal is received from both ways.

LostDreamer

Makes a lot of sense, what you are saying, I wil have to keep this is mind.

Thanks for sharing.

Dom

Not only different "circuit" (i.e. branches or circuit breakers/fuses) but as likely or more so, different sides of the 220 service to your house. The X10 signal needs to travel all the way out to the transformer (pole or in-ground) outside your house, then back into the house on the other 120V side that the lamp is on. You can but a "bridge" that connects inside your breaker box across the two 120V branches so that the X10 signals can pass more easily between branches.
Another possibility, as Richard points out, is noise on one or the other circuits - CM11 or lamp. I ran into that with a blower motor in my furnace. UPS, surge protectors and even PC power supplies can act as X10 signal black holes. Bottom line: unless your wedded to X10 you should plan to migrate to an alternate method of control: Insteon, zwave...
If you want to try the X10 bridge and/or filter solution, PM me.