I did a presentation on X10 and Linux a year or so ago to GNHLUG at DWC
in Nashua. Unfortunately, it only backed up my assertion that X10 is not
to be relied upon. (I couldn't get the CM11A I brought to work - typical
for a demo :-).
That's my first caveat. My second one is that the software is really
poor, and I've ended up coding a lot on my own. What I've done is:
a web interface (via an independent web server)
responding to X10 events on the wire
Networked X10 server (actually, I heavily
modified Dan Lanciani's x10d program
for this).
written a "power" command to turn devices on/off/dim
via a crontab entry.
Written a "powermonitor" deamon to extensibly respond
to X10 events coming across the wire.
You'll need a CM11A or a TW523 if you want 2-way communication with X10
devices. But not all X10 modules support the 2-way protocols (for
instance, so you can see if a light is on or not). If you're only
interested in telling a device what to do (rather than sniffing X10
commands coming across the wire), then you can get by with an old CP-290
or the newer "firecracker" devices. The CM11A has a 2-way serial
interface. The TW-523 is a 2-way parallel interface. I recommend the
former (CM-11A) because you don't have to worry about timing of signals.
The TW-523 requires millisecond timers - not good for a Linux box.
Applications I've done (mostly in my previous house):
Motion detector based alarm system (with pager/email notifications,
automatic arming, ...)
Monitoring fuel consumption of my furnace.
Traffic pattern monitoring and learning (never
completed).
I'd be happy to help you through any difficulties you might have. Just
keep in mind that most of the X10 devices are inconsistenly unreliable -
and chasing down the unreliable module can consume a lot of time. (Even
the test sets don't always help).
Good luck - don't go too insane!
--Bruce
"Tilly, Lawrence" wrote:
>
> My wife and I are doing some self-education on modest home automation (basic
> lighting, A/V control & security combined). Although there are several
> companies that sell "brain" units, I would prefer to use a PC based control
> system, but this is a new area to me. From some web searches, I have
> already found some Linux based software (some open source, some $$ ) and am
> trying to learn the ropes of X10 and similar systems.
>
> My question for the group would be if anyone out there has any personal
> experience in this area that they would not mind sharing (via email or, even
> better, face to face). We are planning to build a home this spring / summer
> and I would like to incorporate the home automation into the process. I'm a
> competent C / C++ programmer and *nix scripter, and am learning Java at this
> time, so I'm open to learn about any Linux based software out there, gui or
> no gui.
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