Does anyone know if the older Radio Shack equipment is compatible with the X10 stuff?
I have a controller and a few plug in modules that I used to use to operate all my Christmas lights.
Yes it is. Most of my stuff is from Radio Shack. Actually X10 (or whoever makes the stuff for X10) made/makes the stuff for Radio Shack. And for what it is worth so is the RCA stuff. I've bought some of it from X10 but I think Lowes also sells it.
Yep. The radio shack stuff is a little higher priced, but is locally available when needed. X10.com seems to have really good prices. You almost have to check daily, because they have really good sales.
I started with the Active home kit that is usually $49.00. It came with the CM11A computer interface and software, a radio transciever for the remote and keychain remote and a lamp module. The radio module also had a 3pin appliance module built in.
Then I added the "overstock" gift pack in their "overstock" section [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img] They have a pretty good package that contains 3 lamp modules, 3 two pin appliance modules, 3 wall switches and 3 key chain remotes(which I now have about 9 of). These are the cheaper one-way modules and switches, which always force lights on at full blast, then can be dimmed down, but they are great for basements, garages, christmas lights, etc. Works out to 9 useful items and 3 toys(keychain remotes) for about 50 bucks.
So, for a total of about a hundred bucks, I got a good start on automating the lights in the house and outbuildings.
Now that I've played with this stuff for a few years, I'm looking into purchasing the "smarter" modules and switches for our next house. They are about 3 time the price, but have nicer features, like bringing the light up slowly instead of full power and turning lights on at the level you set them at when you power them off and then back on.
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