Re: Home Automation Dealers in Chch?
Chris Hellyar commented: > Home automation systems are not attractive to home buyers unless they are > geeks, and lets face it, we're a minority. Even having comprehensive > structured cabling in a house can be seen as a negative by realestate agents > and a fair percentage of 'Average' buyers. That depends on how it is presented. *Any* alteration that looks amateurish/DIYish will detract from the value. This applies to geeky wiring, lean-to sunrooms, DIY carports/sheds, whatever. The advantage of getting the sparky to install it when the house is being built is that it will look like it belongs there and not tacked on as an afterthought. It also depends on how it is marketed. When you describe the features of a house you are selling, don't use terms that make non-geeks' eyes glaze over. Instead market it in terms of useful things you can do, eg turn on heaters half an hour before you get up. The simplest form of automation is a bunch of timers in the 2nd switchboard (you can get DIN mounted timers the width of 2 MCBs that are easy to set). The set-up I outlined in my previous email can start with something as simple as timers, and be expanded to relays controlled by computer, or the relay outputs on a security alarm, or anything you like. Note on safety: Most DIN mounted relays provide 400V insulation between the extra-low-voltage coils and the mains terminals, so it is safe to connect the outputs of any Arduino-type device to the relay coils. Just make sure any wires from your device going into the switchboard are rated for mains voltage, even though you are using extra-low-voltage (eg double insulated conduit wire). Yuri
Re: Home Automation Dealers in Chch?
Hi Yuri, You missed another important advantage of having the automation gear in a separate switchboard.. When you come to sell the house, if you do, you can rip it all out and get a sparky to put standard bus-bars into the automation cabinet to take it back to a normal house. Home automation systems are not attractive to home buyers unless they are geeks, and lets face it, we're a minority. Even having comprehensive structured cabling in a house can be seen as a negative by realestate agents and a fair percentage of 'Average' buyers. Cheers, Me. On Sun, 2009-05-03 at 17:30 +1200, yuri wrote: > Also, you can rip out whatever is in the control switchboard and > replace it with something else.
Re: Home Automation Dealers in Chch?
Brett Davidson re-opened this thread with the words: > I am building a new house at present and am looking at what control systems > are out there worth considering implementing as this will help me what and > where I should pre-wire and where I can use IR or bluetooth, etc. I want to > do it all - switch audio/video along with control of appliances and > monitoring of energy usage, etc. As far as turning lights and certain power outlets on and off automagically: Install a separate 45 or 60 way switchboard which will house relays/contactors/timers/PLCs/whatever. >From each light switch that you want control, get Sparky to run a three-core[1] electrical cable from the light switch to the control switchboard. For each power socket that you want to control, get Sparky to run a four-core[2] (3C+E) from the power socket to the control switchboard. The controlled power sockets can have an extra switch[3] to select between manual and auto, hence the extra cores to carry the "always on" (manual) feed and the "controlled" (auto) feed. The advantage of the above set-up is that if you automation system fails, everything has manual override wired in so lights and controlled power sockets can operate as normal lights and power sockets. Also, you can rip out whatever is in the control switchboard and replace it with something else. Relays can have 12V coils that are controlled by your linux box, with the proper isolation if required. Yuri [1] Three core has the same number of conductors as twin & earth, but the colours are different. 3C has red/white/blue while T&E has red/black/green. The reason this matters is that the green can't be used for anything other than protective earth. [2] 3C+Earth has red/white/blue/green. Blue & Green can be used for neutral & earth, while red and white can be used for "Always On" and "Controlled" feeds. [3] eg PDL 691X is a socket outlet with room for an extra switch.
Re: Home Automation Dealers in Chch?
On Fri, 2009-04-24 at 14:19 +1200, Brett Davidson wrote: > This approach interests me. I gather then that you run the Arduinos > locally in each room/area with sensors attached to these and then use > Zigbee and/or ethernet to connect the Arduinos back to your Linux > server. That's correct. A Zigbee USB adapter on the host and nodes scattered around. > What software are you running on the Linux server? No official software yet, just dumping data into PostgreSQL and bunches of Python scripts currently. > For that matter, what software are you running on the Arduinos? :-) So far just things hacked together from examples around the 'net. It's serial communication so basically just broadcasting "Temperature is 20 degrees", "Switch Pushed", "Motion detected" etc. to the server and then "Turn light on", "Send SMS" etc. back. > Running wires etc is all old hat. Wires are handy if you already have them, annoying if you don't. That's why I'm using some Zigbee. > Unfortunately, WAF needs to be factored in. She's not really into > tinkering as much as I. :-) And I to no longer have as much free time > for this as I used to. :-( Indeed. The thing about having Arduinos/controllers around the place is that you can do local processing at the same time as remote. For example, switch pushed = turn on light and/or notify server. You can be completely self contained, completely reliant on the server, or a bit of both. This approach lends itself to progressive enhancement without breaking normal expected functionality. At this stage it's very much hacked up bits and pieces, we recently shifted so amongst that and others things I haven't had a lot of time to do anything with it. When I get some time I'll be doing something more with it and sharing more etc. hads
Re: Home Automation Dealers in Chch?
This approach interests me. I gather then that you run the Arduinos locally in each room/area with sensors attached to these and then use Zigbee and/or ethernet to connect the Arduinos back to your Linux server. What software are you running on the Linux server? For that matter, what software are you running on the Arduinos? :-) Running wires etc is all old hat. I had not thought about electrically isolating various areas and to be honest, I'm not even sure what that means. To do true isolation I would need to run 1:1 transformers or equivalent devices. I'm sure the comments here do not espouse that even if that would truly isolate areas from each other. Unfortunately, WAF needs to be factored in. She's not really into tinkering as much as I. :-) And I to no longer have as much free time for this as I used to. :-( I can't see why I can't run a commercial protocol and/or my own protocols alongside each other. It all appears to be Ethernet-based these days. Hadley Rich wrote: On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 11:25:40 Brett Davidson wrote: Tie in to Linux - I would prefer that this be Linux (via embedded or not) control as I want as little proprietary content as possible. As of late I've been playing with sensors and control here. I've been using Arduino boards for input/output and Zigbee wireless or ethernet as communication back to a Linux server for smarts. Using various devices such as PIR/temperature/current/switches as sensors and this morning I've received some solid state relays to do some switching of mains devices. Still very much in the tinkering phase. I also looked at CBUS, KNX and the ELK M1 briefly but like you wanted something more open and also like to do things myself. hads -- Regards, Brett Davidson Systems Engineer RHCE, CCNA, MCSE, SCSA, NZCE, TC(Electronics) -- Net24 Limited Phone: 0800 5000 24 | DDI: +64 3 962 9518 | Web: www.net24.co.nz -- // web hosting / email hosting / data backup / VPS This transmission is for the intended addressee only and is confidential information. If you have received this transmission in error, please delete it and notify the sender.
Re: Home Automation Dealers in Chch?
On Thursday 23 April 2009 15:05:51 Andrew Sands wrote: > With thanks to the other contributors, I;ll suggest the following; Some good advice has been given in this thread but I will give some opposite thoughts. I am a sparky by trade so I know how to run cables and conduits and draw wires/strings. I have built 4 houses (for ourselves) and in each one "wired it for the future". Worked well in each case for me but if you have a wife who thinks you should make money on the exercise and sell up and do it all over again you may find that the new owners (or prospective buyers) couldn't care less which meant that we had not added any market value. The same applied on the first house we built (15 years ago) with ceramic taps - even the land agents at that time didn't know of the benefits. If you are planning to stay in the house for a while go for the best or at least add the conduits and/or draw strings. That my 2 cents worth. Rob
Re: Home Automation Dealers in Chch?
On Thu, 23 Apr 2009, Craig Falconer wrote: >Stuff about inatalling networking in new dwelling. Does the PDL LexCom home networking solution appeal? I understand that it a relatively expensive, but it does provide an intergrated data, telphone, TV solution. Go to; http://www.pdl.co.nz/functions-nav.aspx?id=80 You need to download the PDF brochure (warning, 2.8Mb file) to get a good overview of this product. Another thing that is worthy of consideration is whether to install ducts from your boundary to the house. This gives you a future proof means of upgrading over a plain services trench. It is not a cheap solution so you would probably need to get the go ahead from your wallet before proceding. I have been reliably informed that a bloke desiring domestic harmony would be well advised to place stuff such as patch panels UPS's switches, servers etc in an out of the way place such as the garage, rather than scattered around the house. Cheers Ross Drummond
Re: Home Automation Dealers in Chch?
Andrew Sands wrote, On 23/04/09 15:06: As the electrician has a legal (and moral) responsibility for the installation... Get an electrician who knows something about comms cabling too. Just because J Random Muppet can weild dikes doesn't mean they have a clue about data. (having just returned from a renovation site where the electrician didn't know what a hardwired ADSL splitter was.) Or get somewhere like Cablecraft involved. -- Craig Falconer
Re: Home Automation Dealers in Chch?
On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 11:25:40 Brett Davidson wrote: > > Tie in to Linux - I would prefer that this be Linux (via embedded or > not) control as I want as little proprietary content as possible. > And here in lies yours biggest problem, there would be no off of the shelf control device available in New Zealand that fulfils your criteria. Secondly, do you ultimately want to possibly on sell your property. If the answer is to this question is yes, then stop now! With thanks to the other contributors, I;ll suggest the following; How far through with the build are you. just planning, builder, sub-contractors and architect selected? Have any of the people you are planning on utilising had any experience with "building control" systems? Ensure that the electrician you select is open to your input and not completed close minded. I trust you understand that anything you try to implement that deviates from a normal building contract will add to your costs. From the previous posters, they have given some good advice including; Install plenty of Cat6 to everywhere. (Should all be dual runs but the only recommendation for Cat 6 would be to have it professional terminated and not by your electrician. Get it tested properly at time of install.) Put in draw wires for future use. I'd agree with this only in partially filled cable conduits, dragging in additional cables after the fact mostly causes more problems than it solves. Run some 100 mm conduit to every building on the property. If this is done properly, ensure easy access to this infrastructure where it exits the building, to allow expansion of additional items. Remember that mains voltage cables and extra low voltage cables need to be segregated. See note above about Electrician. And plenty of power points and power capacity. Actually power capacity affects power points so be careful with your planning, I speak from experience as I discovered after the fact that my mains cable connection to my house was not 16 millimetre squared as I had 'presumed" but the imperial equivalent to ten millimetre squared. A separate circuit for each room is handy too. This is a given as the purpose of any automation must be the control of electrical loads. ie (loud stereos, televisions, and hair straighteners.) Electrically isolate the kitchen/laundry/AC/heatpump/HWC/bathroom from all the other rooms. Again this is the best planning but you need to ensure your electrician understands why and provides you with real reasons as to why it's not a good idea. I have some war stories about real world situations where the electrician made changes to a professional lighting design because it had too many lights and would use a lot of cable. Documentation, documentation. This idea is pretty good to. And photograph all the rooms to see where the cable runs are, before putting up the gib boards. Keep a printout of these photos handy whenever you call in a builder/workman for anything in the future. Did I say lots of documentation. There was also a comment raised about the size of your switchboard. Again, you have plenty of design options and decisions to make here and the working relationship you have with your electrical contractor will make or break the entire project. As the electrician has a legal (and moral) responsibility for the installation the design and fabrication of the switchboard to easily allow for the purpose of 'automation' (control) will require his/her buy in to your ideas. Shout out if you'd like any further discussion. If so we could take it off list and on down to a drinking establishment. Andrew
Re: Home Automation Dealers in Chch?
On Mon 20 Apr 2009 11:49:04 NZST +1200, Craig Falconer wrote: > Lots of Cat6 to everywhere. > Put in draw wires for future use. > Run some 100 mm conduit to every building on the property. > > And plenty of power points and power capacity. > A separate circuit for each room is handy too. > Electrically isolate the kitchen/laundry/AC/heatpump/HWC/bathroom from all > the other rooms. All extremely good advice! Every single point of it. Make sure your switchboard is big enough, I suspect you'll find a 30-way too small (I do). Kick the electrician(s) early, otherwise you get el-cheapo. Keep in mind that the conduits for data cables must be different to the conduits for power cables. Only solution is to double up. There are 4-way wall outlets available from PDL which fit a standard flushbox and the space of a double outlet. Easy way to get more outlets in a tidy manner. Personally I'd make sure to be able to run everything I want to run without any wireless. For a lot of home automation you'll need actual wires too. Treat wireless as optional, but don't depend on it. You can always go wireless, but not the other way round. Volker -- Volker Kuhlmann is list0570 with the domain in header http://volker.dnsalias.net/ Please do not CC list postings to me.
Re: Home Automation Dealers in Chch?
2009/4/20 Hadley Rich : >> equipment directly onto 802.11*. > > Except if you want to take advantage of PoE :) Two words - "Nikola Tesla" Stand well back ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEG-1iYpgKU&feature=PlayList&p=8CA8FCF8FF240590&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=16 -jim
Re: Home Automation Dealers in Chch?
Brett Davidson wrote: A long long time ago (in a galaxy near us however) Andrew Errington and John Carter corresponded about Home Automation in Christchurch. Andrew appeared to use dedicated microcontroller chips and John was pondering about X10 at that time (July 2007). I am building a new house at present and am looking at what control systems are out there worth considering implementing as this will help me what and where I should pre-wire and where I can use IR or bluetooth, etc. I want to do it all - switch audio/video along with control of appliances and monitoring of energy usage, etc. There's CBus, Qnet, Emax, and a whole host of others with wildly optimistic promises hence I wondered what (if any) experience people on this list had in the real word. Tie in to Linux - I would prefer that this be Linux (via embedded or not) control as I want as little proprietary content as possible. Cheers, Brett. There is an article on home automation in this month's Linux journal.. : )
Re: Home Automation Dealers in Chch?
On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:10:17 Jim Cheetham wrote: > Otherwise you'll always have multi-socket bars hanging > around. However only one cat6 for data per room should be sufficient, > as wireless gets more reliable and commonplace you can operate most > equipment directly onto 802.11*. Except if you want to take advantage of PoE :) hads -- http://nicegear.co.nz New Zealands Open Source Hardware Supplier
Re: Home Automation Dealers in Chch?
2009/4/20 Craig Falconer : > Lots of Cat6 to everywhere. > Put in draw wires for future use. > Run some 100 mm conduit to every building on the property. And photograph all the rooms to see where the cable runs are, before putting up the gib boards. Keep a printout of these photos handy whenever you call in a builder/workman for anything in the future. > And plenty of power points and power capacity. Yes -- a builder will give you around 4 power points per room. Up that to at least 10! Otherwise you'll always have multi-socket bars hanging around. However only one cat6 for data per room should be sufficient, as wireless gets more reliable and commonplace you can operate most equipment directly onto 802.11*. > A separate circuit for each room is handy too. Ideal if you need to show a teenager who is in control of the house *cough* no electricity in your room after 11pm!! > As for actual automation stuff... I have no idea. Mmm. Ditto :-) -jim
Re: Home Automation Dealers in Chch?
On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 11:25:40 Brett Davidson wrote: > Tie in to Linux - I would prefer that this be Linux (via embedded or > not) control as I want as little proprietary content as possible. As of late I've been playing with sensors and control here. I've been using Arduino boards for input/output and Zigbee wireless or ethernet as communication back to a Linux server for smarts. Using various devices such as PIR/temperature/current/switches as sensors and this morning I've received some solid state relays to do some switching of mains devices. Still very much in the tinkering phase. I also looked at CBUS, KNX and the ELK M1 briefly but like you wanted something more open and also like to do things myself. hads -- http://nicegear.co.nz New Zealands Open Source Hardware Supplier
Re: Home Automation Dealers in Chch?
Brett Davidson wrote, On 20/04/09 11:29: I am building a new house at present and am looking at what control systems are out there worth considering implementing as this will help me what and where I should pre-wire and where I can use IR or bluetooth, etc. I want to do it all - switch audio/video along with control of appliances and monitoring of energy usage, etc. There's CBus, Qnet, Emax, and a whole host of others with wildly optimistic promises hence I wondered what (if any) experience people on this list had in the real word. Lots of Cat6 to everywhere. Put in draw wires for future use. Run some 100 mm conduit to every building on the property. And plenty of power points and power capacity. A separate circuit for each room is handy too. Electrically isolate the kitchen/laundry/AC/heatpump/HWC/bathroom from all the other rooms. As for actual automation stuff... I have no idea. -- Craig Falconer
Re: Home Automation Dealers in Chch?
A long long time ago (in a galaxy near us however) Andrew Errington and John Carter corresponded about Home Automation in Christchurch. Andrew appeared to use dedicated microcontroller chips and John was pondering about X10 at that time (July 2007). I am building a new house at present and am looking at what control systems are out there worth considering implementing as this will help me what and where I should pre-wire and where I can use IR or bluetooth, etc. I want to do it all - switch audio/video along with control of appliances and monitoring of energy usage, etc. There's CBus, Qnet, Emax, and a whole host of others with wildly optimistic promises hence I wondered what (if any) experience people on this list had in the real word. Tie in to Linux - I would prefer that this be Linux (via embedded or not) control as I want as little proprietary content as possible. Cheers, Brett.
Re: Home Automation Dealers in Chch?
On Tue, 17 Jul 2007 13:18, you wrote: > On Tue, 17 Jul 2007, Andrew Errington wrote: > > Ha ha. Good luck. > > Somehow I'm not feeling encouraged. > > > Perhaps what you really want is an ethernet enabled mains switch. > > A bank of those would be nice. Amongst other things I have a washing > machine where the clock is dying and the replacement will cost lots. > > > After all, you do have Cat5e everywhere in your house, don't you? > > The wife keeps whinging about tripping over it, the duct tape on the > floor and the holes. I installed mine under the floor, and put faceplates on the walls in the rooms where I wanted sockets. All wired back to a patch panel in the hot water cupboard. > > Another alternative is the Dallas one-wire bus. There are 'switch' > > nodes that you could connect (via optoisolators, natch) to a mains > > relay (or modified Arlec doodad). > > Sigh! The PHB's of the world keep saying how marvelous the hardware > types are with their reusable components...the hardware guys are so > way ahead of software etc. etc. > > They haven't actually gone to hardware catalogue on the web and tried > to find a component that will a) match an electrical & mechanical > spec, b) has a known price c) is in stock. I find that Maxim have a chip for pretty much anything you might want to do. Go to www.maxim-ic.com and have a look. You can get free samples there too- I suggest the one-wire thermometer DS18B20 or DS18S20, because it's interesting, and the one-wire switch, DS2413, because it's what you want. Build an interface (DS9097, buy or build, Google is your friend) and have a play. Actually, I've just noticed the DS28EA00, a combined temperature sensor and programmable I/O. Ooh, shiny! > It all just seems to be way harder than it should be. It's so like the Man. Here's some inspiration for you: http://www.bwired.nl/ http://www.awe.com/ha/ Have fun. Andrew
Re: Home Automation Dealers in Chch?
On Tue, 17 Jul 2007, Andrew Errington wrote: Ha ha. Good luck. Somehow I'm not feeling encouraged. Perhaps what you really want is an ethernet enabled mains switch. A bank of those would be nice. Amongst other things I have a washing machine where the clock is dying and the replacement will cost lots. After all, you do have Cat5e everywhere in your house, don't you? The wife keeps whinging about tripping over it, the duct tape on the floor and the holes. Another alternative is the Dallas one-wire bus. There are 'switch' nodes that you could connect (via optoisolators, natch) to a mains relay (or modified Arlec doodad). Sigh! The PHB's of the world keep saying how marvelous the hardware types are with their reusable components...the hardware guys are so way ahead of software etc. etc. They haven't actually gone to hardware catalogue on the web and tried to find a component that will a) match an electrical & mechanical spec, b) has a known price c) is in stock. It all just seems to be way harder than it should be. John Carter Phone : (64)(3) 358 6639 Tait ElectronicsFax : (64)(3) 359 4632 PO Box 1645 ChristchurchEmail : [EMAIL PROTECTED] New Zealand
Re: Home Automation Dealers in Chch?
On Mon, 16 Jul 2007, Mike Pearce wrote: What type of home automation are you wanting to do?? There will be a range of Zigbee devices available in NZ soon, and I hope to release a cheaper range of MiWi products in the New Year - basic Lighting control, Motor control (Curtians), Power on/off etc. All of the above... but controlled from Linux PC. John Carter Phone : (64)(3) 358 6639 Tait ElectronicsFax : (64)(3) 359 4632 PO Box 1645 ChristchurchEmail : [EMAIL PROTECTED] New Zealand
Re: Home Automation Dealers in Chch?
What type of home automation are you wanting to do?? There will be a range of Zigbee devices available in NZ soon, and I hope to release a cheaper range of MiWi products in the New Year - basic Lighting control, Motor control (Curtians), Power on/off etc. Mike On Monday 16 July 2007 20:12, John Carter wrote: > I feel like I've stepped out of the Dilbert animation and > I half expect Dogbert to appear and use my ego as a punch > bag... > > I'm looking at home automation gadgets something in the > line of X10. > > (No...not the sleazy wireless cams of the universally > hated pop-under ads. > > Yes, I also have been ignoring everything with the > characters X10 for too long now. I mean the home > automation signalling over powerline protocol called > X10.) > > http://www.x10.co.nz/ > http://www.homecontrol.co.nz/ > > Some questions for the group: > > 1) Any (recommended)? dealers in Chch? > > 2) X10 seems to have the attitude you will control things > from a remote or from a CM12 > http://www.homecontrol.co.nz/CM12.htm > I want all that stuff out of my way and just control > these devices directly (and cheaply) from my linux box. > What's the cheapest PC to X10 interface? > > 3) Is X10 the way to go? Or is there something cheaper / > better? Given that microcontrollers with all the > interfaces + ram + flash you require are under a dollar a > piece, X10 seems unreasonably expensive. > > Thanks, > > > John Carter Phone : (64)(3) > 358 6639 Tait ElectronicsFax : > (64)(3) 359 4632 PO Box 1645 Christchurch > Email : [EMAIL PROTECTED] New Zealand
Re: Home Automation Dealers in Chch?
Ha ha. Good luck. X10 is not bad, but it has its problems, mostly that you cannot query the state of a node. I am also not sure as to its availability here. It was very cheap in the US, but of course, only suited to the US power supply. I keep toying with the idea of Home Automation but there are two things that stop me: 1) The Man is keeping me down with his legislation preventing me from doing my own home electrical work. (and yes, I know what I am legally permitted to do, but it's not sufficient). 2) There is no hardware to be had in NZ (apart from the expensive systems from Clipsal et. al.) So, my last idea involved the Arlec remote controlled outlet kit that I got in Bunnings for $30. I have mentioned it on-list before, but basically it comprises three plug-in modules with an electrical socket (much like a plug-in timer) and a handheld remote with 6 buttons in three groups of two. Each pair of buttons turns the corresponding module on or off. Because it is wireless, it works all around the house- no need for line-of-sight (cf. IR). Anyway, my plan was to dismantle the outlet modules, install a PIC, and hard-code the unit address (so I can have more than three) and hack the transmitter so it can be controlled by a PC. It still lacks the important function of querying the device to ascertain its state however. Perhaps what you really want is an ethernet enabled mains switch. After all, you do have Cat5e everywhere in your house, don't you? This will allow two-way communication to the node, which can turn outlets on or off, and report their state. It could have a new protocol using UDP for raw control/query, and an embedded web server in the node for casual interrogation. Another alternative is the Dallas one-wire bus. There are 'switch' nodes that you could connect (via optoisolators, natch) to a mains relay (or modified Arlec doodad). This is simpler than ethernet, with the added advantage that you don't need a local power supply (nodes are powered by the bus). The PC interface is easy to build, and you string the sensors off a multi-drop twisted pair (Cat5e is great for this). There are also several home automation projects on the Intarweb- but no one stands out as the ideal. HTH, Andrew On Tue, 17 Jul 2007 12:12, you wrote: > I feel like I've stepped out of the Dilbert animation and I half expect > Dogbert to appear and use my ego as a punch bag... > > I'm looking at home automation gadgets something in the line of X10. > > (No...not the sleazy wireless cams of the universally hated pop-under > ads. > > Yes, I also have been ignoring everything with the characters X10 for > too long now. I mean the home automation signalling over powerline > protocol called X10.) > > http://www.x10.co.nz/ > http://www.homecontrol.co.nz/ > > Some questions for the group: > > 1) Any (recommended)? dealers in Chch? > > 2) X10 seems to have the attitude you will control things from a remote > or from a CM12 http://www.homecontrol.co.nz/CM12.htm > I want all that stuff out of my way and just control these devices > directly (and cheaply) from my linux box. What's the cheapest PC to X10 > interface? > > 3) Is X10 the way to go? Or is there something cheaper / better? Given > that microcontrollers with all the interfaces + ram + flash you > require are under a dollar a piece, X10 seems unreasonably expensive. > > Thanks, > > > John Carter Phone : (64)(3) 358 6639 > Tait ElectronicsFax : (64)(3) 359 4632 > PO Box 1645 ChristchurchEmail : [EMAIL PROTECTED] > New Zealand
Home Automation Dealers in Chch?
I feel like I've stepped out of the Dilbert animation and I half expect Dogbert to appear and use my ego as a punch bag... I'm looking at home automation gadgets something in the line of X10. (No...not the sleazy wireless cams of the universally hated pop-under ads. Yes, I also have been ignoring everything with the characters X10 for too long now. I mean the home automation signalling over powerline protocol called X10.) http://www.x10.co.nz/ http://www.homecontrol.co.nz/ Some questions for the group: 1) Any (recommended)? dealers in Chch? 2) X10 seems to have the attitude you will control things from a remote or from a CM12 http://www.homecontrol.co.nz/CM12.htm I want all that stuff out of my way and just control these devices directly (and cheaply) from my linux box. What's the cheapest PC to X10 interface? 3) Is X10 the way to go? Or is there something cheaper / better? Given that microcontrollers with all the interfaces + ram + flash you require are under a dollar a piece, X10 seems unreasonably expensive. Thanks, John Carter Phone : (64)(3) 358 6639 Tait ElectronicsFax : (64)(3) 359 4632 PO Box 1645 ChristchurchEmail : [EMAIL PROTECTED] New Zealand
