X10 PR511 Motion/Floor light

[Art Todesco]

As there seems to be no chit-chat here, other than a few spams, I though
I might try to start something. I have 2 PR511 Motion Detector units,
with the floodlight sockets removed. One is on a lamp post outside the
house. It's relay (base code C11) turns on said lamp (CFL) in post
fixture. It operates pretty much as an independent appliance module,
as the "Thus Unit" switch is set to Dusk with the dusk/dawn setting set
all the way to 'light' (for day and night operation). C12 is enabled on
the unit. A Smarthome 1132CU decides what to do with the C12 ON or OFF
... turns on floods at proper times, ding-dongs most of the time (except
during sleepy time), etc. I would like to make better use of the
PR511. I would like the motion to activate +1 to +4 with the switches.
Also the +5 to +8 should also be able to be used for dusk/dawn. I
want the motion to work 24/7. And I want the internal module (C11 in my
case) to be independent of the motion detector or dusk/dawn detector.
I'm not against modifying the PR511, but I don't want to re-invent the
wheel, if it's been done already. Has anyone tried anything like this?
Also, does anyone know where I can buy a PR511 today? They are out of
production.
Thanks, and let the 100's of posts come through : )

[Josepi]

The 511 did not work well. It screwed up big time. Wind would activate it
regularly with it's single sensor motion design. This style of motion
detection went out of style 3 months after they were invented due to
non-reliability.

--

"Art Todesco" wrote in message news:kf8o3e$b6k$1...@dont-email.me...

[Art Todesco]

Yes, I have had wind problems here (western NC mountains), but in my
previous location, flatland Chicago area, it worked pretty well, even
though Chicago is the Windy City! Two days ago we had a very warm day
and living about 1/2 way up the mountain, you can get breezes of
different temperatures coming down from the top ... I did get 2 false
triggers in the daytime. When you say "This style of motion detection"
what do you mean? It looks like every other PIR detector I've seen,
although I didn't get into the inner circuitry. BTW, I do plan on using
a different unit to detect motion on the driveway, once I have it paved
this spring ... oops, it's spring now, I'd better get some estimates.
Anyway, I will be putting in a 2 piece unit where a beam has to be
broken. It should eliminate trip by wind, small animals, etc. but
should trip for people, cars and larger animals. Deer and bears are in
the area, however, if I mount the beam high enough it should miss them.
Our deer in this area are relatively short and bears usually don't
stand up. I still plan on using the PR511, mostly for dusk detection.
It might also be nice to detect when a car is moving out of the garage
and then block the inside signal from going off, when the car cuts
across the new cross beam. Can you say, nerd!

[sawa...@gmail.com]

Here's a link. The price has gone up..
http://www.x10-store.com/duflmodeph.html

I have used 10 of these around the house for years. Have had to replace them often, very often. The quality of design and construction does not lend them to be reliable. But, there is nothing else that I can purchase that does what it does. Three of mine are now not working as I have stopped replacing them with the price increase..
Guess it is about time I come up with a work around. Good luck.

[Art Todesco]

Well, as I started this thread almost a year ago, I'll keep going. I
have replace my motion detector with a 2 unit, across the driveway,
detector, an Optex AX-70 unit. The output, which is a closed circuit,
feeds a 555 timer, which is set for about 5 minutes. When the beam is
interrupted, the 555 output changes and operates an x10 powerflash
module, which in turn, sends out an x10 signal. This signal is then
interpreted by an 1132CU. Depending on time of day, etc., it will turn
on the house floods and/or operate an x10 chime (not when I'm sleeping).
BTW, the 555 time prevents multiple triggers when we are just working
in the area and passing through the beam multiple times. But the good
thing is that I never get triggers from cool breezes from up the
mountain. I have never gotten false triggers from animals, although I
know a deer or a bear might be tall enough to interrupt the beam. One
of the original PR511s is still mounted on a lamp post and is now only
being used as an appliance module for the lamp. I will be changing it
to wall switch module or something similar. The other PR511 is set up
for portable use and is used at Halloween and Christmas for decorations.
At Christmas, it turns on a bunch of red and green flood lights along
the driveway and saves a bunch of electricity not having them on all the
time.