On Tue, Mar 16, 2010 at 10:04 AM, Dave Smith <[email protected]> wrote: > Levi Pearson wrote: >> That doesn't look wireless to me. > > I'm pretty sure it's wireless. Besides the fact that X10 devices are > (all?) wireless, the users manual[1] seems to hint that it's wireless. I > imagine that's how you "control your sprinklers from your couch". :) > > I guess that means I would also need a transmitter -- more cost. >
Ah, I thought you were talking about the relay board, not the X10 stuff. >> And, if you're using a >> microcontroller instead of a regular CPU, you've probably got a bunch >> of I/O pins you can drive relay circuits with so you don't have to use >> a silly USB-to-Serial interface and another microcontroller to decode >> the serial commands. > > Yes, that's a big decision. Do I take the simple but slightly more > expensive route using a microcontroller, or do I get a pre-made board > with USB and Linux. I'm not at all familiar with how I would program a > microcontroller. Would I need special tools (physical or soft)? I also > worry that getting WiFi to work with a microcontroller would be (very) > difficult, relative to a Linux board. An Arduino would probably be cheaper than a Linux board, especially if you custom-built something. The big draw of Arduino is that it's got an easy development platform put together, so you don't have to learn all the low-level details. There are also several hobbyist-level books about building projects with Arduino, and there's a local group called 'The Transistor' (http://thetransistor.com/) that holds free Arduino days every Saturday in Provo. They even sell a 'minimalist Arduino' set of chips for $7.50, but it's probably not the best choice for a first-timer. > I think this would be super fun. What would you recommend I buy to get > started? I'm an electronics noob. All I've done is solder R/C stuff > together to wire up motors, speed controllers, servos, and the like, but > that stuff was all pretty much plug-and-play. I'm thinking I'd need a > board to wire it all up, some reference material to prevent magic smoke > escaping, and some software tools to write the code. There's a ton of information at http://arduino.cc/ and you could probably drop by and chat with the Transistor people on Arduino days for more help, and I'm sure there are a bunch of online forums/IRC/whatnot for support as well. --Levi /* PLUG: http://plug.org, #utah on irc.freenode.net Unsubscribe: http://plug.org/mailman/options/plug Don't fear the penguin. */
