Re: Just to whet your xAPpetite ;)

[James Derrick <james@xxxxxxx>]

On Tue, 17 Sep 2002 18:31:29 +0100, you wrote:

>I have a small circuit on my desk here, which is based on a PIC16
processor.
>It has a *tiny* number of components, but can talk serial to a PC at
9600
>baud.

Crikey- you lot can read minds! 

Kudos that your project works- mine got as far as the parts order to
RS ;-)

>It's a proof of concept, but when you consider that this circuit costs
about
>8, the bright future of xAP should be obvious.

Indeed it is- I had a similar idea a few years ago, defined a
protocol, looked at RS423, S.N.A.P., etc and bought a PIC programmer
with the intention of doing just what you've achieved. 

Unfortunately, I accidentally started large lottery bid for my sailing
club (don't ask!) and my hardware hacking time evaporated.

For the sake of history and in the off chance you may find it
interesting, my pre-XML attempt at a HA 'esperanto' is at:
http://www.amarok.demon.co.uk/dl/dl_protocol.html

These days I run MisterHouse and need to build more sensor hardware
than a Dallas 1-wire bus.

>The first version of the protocl has now been finalised, and we
need
>developers to assist, and if you have a personal HA itch that needs
>scratched, now is the time to do something about it.

Please count me in- the 16F84 is in the programmer gathering dust, and
this is just the hardware project I want to see work.

For what they are worth, here's my sketches for a few specific modules
that I'd be interesting in developing:

* A replacement room thermostat for simple integration with central
heating. Nothing too fancy needing lots of rewiring-  2x 7 seg
display, 3 buttons (- Mode +), a Dallas temp sensor and a serial
connection to monitor the temp, and alter the set points remotely. An
2x16 LCD is likely to be overkill, and reduce the chances of working
standalone on batteries without the PC.

* A home alarm monitor board. Instead of implementing a full alarm in
software and spooking the insurance company, I simply used a level
shifter to monitor all the zone inputs and bell outputs and trigger HA
events from the standard PIRs in the last house. A module to do this
via a serial bus that can fit into the alarm panel makes things easy
without having to reverse engineer a proprietary keypad protocol.

* A control panel- 2x16 LCD, a couple of menu buttons, all fitting
into a patress box. This could be the panel next to the door that you
use to set home/ away modes or perhaps even control the central MP3
player via an IR remote. This is a bit like LCDproc and LIRC.

* A multi-room audio switch both for HA announcements (I use Festival
for text to speech) and non-audiophile sound (rest easy Keith!) fed
>from
* A radio converter/ gateway for 418 and 433MHz modules- useful to
link to garage door openers and X-10 RF kit. There's a PIC based
project out there that does this, but the name escapes me- HTH24?

* A multi-camera video switcher. Using a CMOS rotary switch, select a
camera or trigger via a PIR input.

>If you want to make it happen, you can.

I'm a Linux/ Unix/ C/ IP hacker with a background in hardware with
lots of ideas, unfinished projects and never enough time at the
workbench soldering.

Please count me in as a hardware and software developer. xAP looks
very useful- great stuff!



James
---
James Derrick    james@xxxxxxx, Cramlington, Near Newcastle,
England
                
Beyond the Horizon of the place we lived when we were young,
                
In a World of Magnets and Miracles. Pink Floyd.

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