Re: Whole House IR.

[Keith Doxey <keith.doxey@xxxxxxx>]

Hi Chris,

As you and others noticed.....my designs are based on the best features
from the expensive kit available commercially. What I dont have at my
disposal are the research and development facilities that the likes of Linn
and Crestron have.

All my designs have been successfully prototyped on veroboard and are in
the process of being converted to printed circuit board designs. This will
speed up construction considerably as well as reducing the likelyhood of
construction errors. The KAT5 AV links that Mark has seen take
approximately 3 hours to build on veroboard but with a pre-etched and
drilled PCB can be built in under 15 minutes.

However, the manufacturing problems dont end there. Finding a suitable
enclosure for a project is the most difficult part of the operation. Taking
the example of the KAT5 AV links again, it is possible to buy commercial
units that perform this task but it will cost 100-200 pounds for a
transmitter receiver pair. My units are well below that cost for the actual
PCB & electronics but adding a case to the parts list can easily double
the
parts cost. I can find a low cost plastic enclosure of the right size quite
easily but it requires quite a bit of fiddley work to accomodate all the
connectors. I can also find more upmarket cases with easily removable
panels to allow easy machining of the required holes but they double the
cost of the parts.

I am very conscious of the fact that if people buy these units from me they
want them to look good as well as performing the required task. With
something like the AV links which will basically be a small black box
hidden at the back of your TV etc the appearance only needs to be
"tidy" as
it will not be seen. With things like Keypads, displays and IR receivers
which will be on open display the appearance needs to be highly
professional with an immaculate finish.

I am also aware that people have different standards for DIY and
professional work. If you go to MFI and buy some kitchen units and you put
the doors on slightly wonky you might be prepared to live with it, but if
you pay someone to fit a kitchen you definately wouldnt. With this in mind,
some of the items may only be available as a PCB for you to fit into an
enclosure of your choice. That way, if the finish isnt up to the standard
you require its down to you.

The prototype IR receiver on Mark's website was built on the kitchen
worktop with nothing more than basic hand tools and a glue gun. AND A LOT
OF TIME !!!

I may work on a 50/50 approach with some of the items whereby I will build
and supply the electronics and a blank box with finishing instructions. The
end user will supply the labour for the final assembly of the finished
unit. Some feedback from others on how much work they are prepared to do
themselves in return for a lower cost would be welcome. I know that some
people on the list have quite limited budgets (myself included) but have a
keen interest in doing as much as they can themselves.

I dont know how others on this list place a value on an item but personally
if I see something that costs 100UKP ready built but I can build if for
20UKP and a couple of hours work then it is worth doing, but if it is 30UKP
ready built then I will buy it and use the time saved for something else
:-))

So much to do....so little time ;-((

Keith

Keith Doxey
http://www.btinternet.com/~krazy.keith
Krazy Keith's World of DIY Home Automation

Subject:	[ukha_d] Re: Whole House IR.

Yes, the signals are sent from the local Room Control Unit to whichever
room
is currently active, e.g. local or main in the case of my simple setup -
from the Knekt controller board(s) the signal is sent to the kit via
Xantech
mini transmitters.  When the RCU is switched into standby mode the signals
are still transmitted to the location last active.  This room-context
system
means that if you have several CD players or video recorders in different
rooms only the one required actually gets the signal.

Keith - what's the latest
news regarding your prototypes please?

Cheers,
Chris.

> Interestingly, the mini-transmitter system is exactly what I've
> seen Knekt implementations use.


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