[mh] Solution for X10 Lamp Modules and LED flicker when on.

Short version: I have a solution for LED flicker X10 Lamp Modules when on and I’m wondering if this is a common enough to put the effort into a tutorial on how to fix or if everyone has moved on already.

 

Question: Do you have this problem and do you feel it worth fixing the old tech?

 

Longer version:

 

I’ve got a house with more than a dozen X10 lamp modules (ok some would say a museum) that have served me well and generally meet my needs along with UPB, and HAI alarm and control. In total around 150 points of automation, monitoring and sensing of lighting, HVAC, Pool, Alarm, Irrigation, motorized awnings, etc. Misterhouse has been part of this setup throughout. 

 

So I’m not inclined to discard and replace the X10 Lamp Modules yet I’ve started to have more and more lamps with intermittent flicker during the ON state as I end up replacing incandescent bulbs with dimmable LED’s. 

 

I put together a test setup including a digital storage scope and determined the problem is that the LED bulb current sometimes (~ 5% of the time) drops below the TRIAC (in the lamp module) latching current and thus turns off:

 



 

Persistent trace scope image of an LED Bulb on X10 Lamp Dimmer running 50% dim – dropout in Quadrant II 

 

The 6W LED Bulb current averages around 50 mA and the BTA10-400C has a typical IL spec of 35mA (and no maximum in the specs). I replaced the TRIAC with one with a IL MAX of 15 mA and the problem went away.

 

The solution is to do a straight forward component replacement in the X10 Lamp Module. The BTA10-400C TRIAC in at least some brands of the modules can carry up to 10A (1200 watts) yet the module states 300W max. Replacement Triacs with the lower latching current are readily available up to 8 A of load (960 watts) that still exceed the 300W max for the module and cost < $2 each – it takes about 30 minutes to do a module (the first time).

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