X10 Do Not Plug an Appliance into a Lamp Module – Part 4

This is part 4 of my X10 blog series.

This is an immediate follow up to my previous post about getting my first X10 up and running: X10 Installing My First Device – Part 3

My Radio as a Lamp

At the end of that post, I proudly declared success in getting a device wired up via X10 so that I could do home automation. I plugged an old radio of mine into a Lamp Module (LM465) and was happy to see it work. Not that I am not planning to actually automate my old radio, I just needed a device that could be used for testing.

And it is probably fortunate that I did, because I learned a very important lesson.

On the bottom of the Lamp Module, it says clearly:

• Lamps Only! No Appliances!!!

Like all engineers, I tend to ignore those types of warnings if I think I understand the core issue behind it and feel like it does not apply. I thought it was worried about power draw. I figured it was making sure someone wouldn’t plug in a 1500W heater into this small 300W relay.

My 12W radio, no problem.

The Radio is dead. I repeat, the Radio is Dead.

I don’t think its just about the power. About 10 minutes after plugging in my 15 year old trusty radio and hearing it play music, it made a quick dying gasp and then went silent. I can’t revive it by any means, even now an hour after the event. Its dead, dead. Trash bin dead.

OK, maybe that warning is something I should have paid attention to. Perhaps its not JUST about the power. After playing with the Lamp Module some more with actual lamps (genius!) I think there may be something else behind that warning.

The Lamp Module LM 465 has a dimmer function on it. I wonder if something in that circuitry caused the radio to freak out. I don’t know why it would after 10 minutes (on startup, ok), but what else could it be? It could be just some crazy coincidence that the radio died now, but after 15 years of solid service its hard to believe.

Cheap Lesson Learned

The old radio was worth about $2 if I tried to sell at garage sale. Not a loss. But now I think I will adhere to the Lamps Only warning sticker before I try plugging in something of more value. I will stick to the Appliance Modules AM466 for now on.