Can X10 Dimmers be used as dimmers?

[ddpalumbo]

I have X10 Dimmers defined in my MobiLinc HD as Dimmers. They turn On and Off just fine but won't dim. Is that possible or a future possibility? I have tried creating Insteon Scenes inside the 2412N using the X10 0263 command strings but have been unable to make that work either. I can't bear to give up my X10 gear.

[AdminWes]

Hi ddpalumbo,

If the X10 dimmers are added as an X10 dimmer in MobiLinc, then if you tap the gear icon (MobiLinc HD on the iPad) you should be presented with ON, OFF, DIM, BRIGHT options. If on the iPhone tap the your device's row under My Devices to see the same dimming options.

The main switch graphic will only do ON/OFF due to the lack of direct percent Dim commands that one finds with INSTEON. For example, in INSTEON you can tell the dimming device to go to 43% on. in X10 you can't explicitly command a device to come on or to a specific ON level. All you can do is issue Bright/Dim commands over and over again until the device it at the level you'd like it to be.

Wes

[ddpalumbo]

That works, thank you!

[DannoDapter]

This was my question as well.
I originally added all my X10 devices to my isy setup and they all show up in mobilinc and work great (thank You) I noticed there was no dim slide bar as my Insteon devices have. Later I found the add feature within the Mobilinc app and tried it but it did not work. Could this be a conflict since the device is also defined in my isy setup?
Thank You

[AdminWes]

Hi DannoDapter,

You won't get a slider for X10 modules either through the ISY or if added directly to MobiLinc. If added to MobiLinc as a dimmer X10 you'll gain DIM/BRIGHT buttons on the device details page. The reason for the lack of a slider is that X10 does not support setting an explicit percentage ON level like INSTEON or Z-Wave supports.

You can add the same X10 device to MobiLinc in the app and via the ISY. They'll show up as two different devices.

Wes

[DannoDapter]

Thanks Wes, I understand the slider difference and successfully added the device. I was pleased to see the dimmer option when selecting the type of module. I found the dim and bright buttons but they did not work for my lamp. That was why I thought it might be a conflict as the lamp showed up in the list of devices generated by the isy and also the device I added directly through the Mobilinc app. The lamp turns on and off from either just fine but will not dim.
The lamp dims correctly from a keypad controller.
I am still happy with the functionality but the dimming ability would be nice so if anyone has any suggestions on what might have gone wrong I would love to try anything.
I did read one post on this forum or Universal Devices that said dimming will not work for X10 devices because of a limitation of the Insteon PLM. I have no idea if that is true. My insteon keypads all dim my X10 modules perfectly.
Thanks

[AdminWes]

When you added the X10 device to MobiLinc, did you select "X10 Dimmer" for the device type?

Wes