Re: Re: Recommendations for newbie?

["Paul Gordon" <paul_gordon@xxxxxxx>]

>
>Thanks for the reply. It's good to hear from someone who's already
>automated.
>

No probs, - there are one or two of us around here... ;-)


> > X10 is "ok" for communication purposes, but far from
ideal,
> > - there is a
> > noticable lag caused by the propogation delay of the X10
signals
>
>I've noticed a 1/2 second lag from the few X10 modules I have, and
up
>to 3 seconds lag when using a PC to respond to X10 triggers.
>

Yup, - it doesn't sound much, but you _really_ notice it if you try to use
it for motion based lighting, - it's very annoying to walk into a room in
the dark, and have to wait several seconds for the lights to come on. 
Negates the whole thing really if it's quicker just to use the lightswitch
by the door...


> > If you were to use Comfort, you could (should) install
> > a type 1 UCM, and
>
>That's a serial interface card, right? Does that mean I can program
>Comfort using a nice interface instead of complicated command
codes?
>The Comfort site says the software only works with Win98, not
Win2k.
>Do you know if that's true?
>

Yup, the UCM's are standard RS232 serial ports. There are a whole range of
them, - at least 10 different ones so far I believe! (type 10 comes with a
Comfigurator license). Most of them are specialised ones to talk to
specific 
interfaces, like Honeywell Smartfit, C-Bus or Clipsal, or whatever. Other
types are just a standard type 1 with various software licenses bundled
(Comfort Web InterfACE, Comfigurator, etc.)

For programming you want a basic type 1 UCM (or a type 10 which _is_ a type
1 with a Comfigurator license as far as I can tell). You can use either
CS-Xpress (free) which is most definately *not* a nice interface! or you
can 
use the new Comfigurator program which looks loads better, but some have
said is not quite ready for prime-time yet. (There were some problems with
it highlighted at the London meet a few weeks ago), however a new release
was posted yesterday, so no doubt things are improving on that front. Once
it's settled in, Comfigurator looks to be far easier to use and would 
definately be my preference, so no doubt I *will* be paying the license fee
in the near future...

Incidentally, I have run BOTH CS-Xpress and Comfigurator on XP Pro without
any obvious problems... nearly all my PC's run XP Pro, including my HA PC,
my day-to-day workstation, and my laptop that I do a lot of tinkering with
various software on (when I get bored at work!!), so I'd take that 
compatability claim with a pinch of salt...


> > imagine that a qualified installer might be a requirement for
> > is if you want
> > to have DEOL resitors fitted, (which I couldn't have done
myself)
>
>DEOL resistors? What are they for? [Tsk! Newbie questions! ;-)] Is
it
>possible to fit myself if I have guidance from members of this
group?
>I don't want a fitter to do everything otherwise I'd never
understand
>how Comfort works.
>

LOL! - that's what I said! - apparently it is "better" to use
DEOL (Double 
End of Line) resistors, - it allows a tamper circuit to operate more 
effectively or something.. (I still don't pretend to fully understand it!).
But if you use it, you have to set some jumpers on the Comfort motherboard.
I'm not sure if it's an all-or-nothing option though, - dunno if it's 
possible to mix DEOL and non-DEOL sensors on the same panel... Steve Gordon
would be a good man to ask about this kind of stuff, as would Andy Roberts
at CHC.. DEOL is not specific to Comfort, I believe it's common practice in
the security industry, so any competent alarm fitter should be able to
brief 
you a bit better than I've just tried to!...  Having seen it
implemented in 
my setup, I have no doubt that you could do it youself very easily... Like
many things, it's easy when you know how...


> > However, TBH, I'm less than impressed with the
knowledge/expertise
> > of the comfort installers
>
>That also is a concern. If they're anything like the electricians
>I've had round...!
>

I don't know where you are, but it seems to be a bit of a postcode lottery.
There _are_ good Comfort installers out there. If you use one, be sure to
ask them how many installs they've done before... My installer wasn't
"bad", 
he just hadn't done many Comfort jobs before (mine was his 2nd I believe),
so we had various problems (although to be fair, we did have some DOA 
hardware as well). Also, check in here for recommendations... but to be
honest, I suspect the recommendation you'll probably get from the group
will 
be to do it yourself...


> > Oh, and one final thing, - Home automaters aren't *too* hard
> > to find
>
>I hope they don't mind talking to me too then. :-) Thanks for your
>help.
>

Not at all, you'll get all the answers you need in here... :-)

Regards.

Paul G.

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