Re: New to home automation - can you help me too, please?

["adrianpaulmcdermott" <ADRIAN@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

A good summary of what you think you want, at the moment. I'm just
about to move house but as I'm new to this lark myself and  cant
answer many (any)  of these questions ;-)so wait with interest in
feedback and I'll throw some more in.

More newbie Queries: what telephone system ; 1 or 2 lines (business
from home too) and a number of extensions perhaps. I;d like to ring
from extension to extension and implement IVR ... press 1 for a, 2
for e, 3 for the garage etc and seperate voicemail boxes.

Is there a Linux equivalent of Microsoft Media Centre (sorry have to
spell it properly) - or do I need to code it up,,,, perhaps the
effort makes it worth shelling out for a MCE PC. =-) talking of
which can we still download MCE Beta ?

How do I achieve whole house audio/tv effectively (new house, money
an obvious object!)

Loads more to come as I think of them

Ad



--- In ukha_d@xxxxxxx, "martinpalmer8" <martinpalmer8@y...>
wrote:
>
>
> Since my house is being totally rewired for power, I'm taking the
> opportunity to cable up for as much home automation as I feel I
might
> require in the future.
>
> A first floor cupboard (6ft height x 2ft x 3ft) in the centre of
the
> house with front and rear access doors will act as the central
> distribution point for all cables except mains power and central
> heating controls. I'll refer to this cupboard as "Node
Zero".
>
> As a total newcomer to home automation, I've done my best to read
up
> on the subject and have drafted an outline spec (see below). My
> personal preference is to avoid wireless and X-10 technology. I
would
> very much appreciate any comments by you experts out there on any
> omissions or errors in the spec but, in particular, I wonder if you
> could help me answer the following questions:
>
> (a) Is it better to have fixed IP security cameras transmitting
> pictures to a central server, or CCTV cameras connected back to a
UHF
> distributor?
>
> (b) The distance from the TV aerial to the UHF distributor in the
> "Node Zero" cupboard is 30ft. If I put the distributor in
the attic
> instead, the distance would be only 15ft. Would this make any
> meaningful difference to the signal quality? Is there any reason to
> keep the TV "loftbox" away from the Node Zero LAN equipment?
>
> (c) What hardware and cable-type is required to enable me to have
an
> IR remote handset to select the video signal source (i.e. select
> terrestrial TV or CCTV cam 1 or CCTV cam 2 or CCTV cam 3) in any
room?
>
> (d) Can anyone recommend a digital audio server compatible with a
> networked music player and a Windows XP p.c. network?
>
> Here's the spec:
>
> PC Network and Telephone...
>
> Each room (except the bathrooms and utility room) will have a
minimum
> of two RJ45 sockets which will be connected back to a patch panel
at
> Node Zero by Cat 6 UTP cable. The longest Cat 6 cable run will be
> 200ft from the garage at the bottom of the garden.
>
> The two incoming telephone lines, one of which has ADSL, will also
be
> run to the patch panel so that any of the RJ45 sockets can be
patched
> as a telephone outlet. Next to the patch panel will be a router/hub
> which can create a 10/100 Base-T network between any computers
with an
> ethernet connection to the house's RJ45 sockets. It will also
enable
> internet access to any of these computers.
>
> Security/Intercoms...
>
> The house will have 6 PIR sensors and 3 door contacts. The alarm
code
> will be set on either of two keypads (front door and back door
> locations). Any alarm condition should cause a siren to sound and
(up
> to) 3 telephone numbers to be automatically dialled for
> acknowledgement. The sensors and keypads should be wired back to a
> central controller (maybe in the Node Zero cupboard, maybe
elsewhere).
>
> Ideally the top floor of the house should have a "panic
alarm"
switch
> to set off the siren even if the alarm is not armed.
>
> A wireless keyfob should operate the door strike at the back garden
> gate (next to the garage). If it is night, this keyfob should also
> operate the path lights from the gate to the house. The gate should
> also have an intercom linked to the house to facilitate access for
> non-keyfob holders.
>
> The garage forecourt should be surveilled by a security camera.
When
> activity is detected by the forecourt PIR sensor, the camera should
> record the activity either to a hard disk or video recorder in the
> Node Zero cupboard.
>
> An additional two security cameras will monitor activity at the
front
> door and in the garden. Pictures from any of the cameras should be
> accessible on one TV in the house (or one p.c., not sure which
yet).
> It might also be useful (but not essential) to access the camera
> pictures over the internet.
>
> There should be 4 master intercoms around the house (1 on ground
> floor, 2 on first floor, 1 in attic) to allow communication between
> four distant areas.
>
> Lighting...
>
> Downstairs lights will be digitally controlled (Mode Lighting's
> Evolution). Upstairs lights will have normal (make/break) mains
switches.
>
> Smoke alarms...
>
> 6 mains-powered loop-connected smoke alarms (Kidde or similar) will
> have a local control button to silence the alarms. There will be no
> connection to Node Zero.
>
> Television...
>
> A digital television aerial will be connected by CT100 cable to the
> input of a Node Zero UHF distribution amplifier (LoftBox?). The
> outputs of this distribution amplifier will be connected by CT100
to a
> maximum of 8 TV sockets in various rooms thoughout the house. Each
> outlet point should be able to receive normal terrestrial TV, FM,
and
> DAB. Each outlet point will require a separate Freeview digi box
(e.g.
> Sony VTX-D800U).
>
> At the moment, I don't have cable or satellite TV, nor do I have
any
> plans to add these.
>
> Ideally, the three security cameras mentioned above should also be
> input into the distribution amplifier so that their pictures are
> viewable on any TV. This will require some sort of IR switching
> control to select the source signal. Alternatively, I could use
> cameras with an IP address so that I can view their pictures on a
p.c.
> connected to the LAN.
>
> Being able to watch the output of any DVD or VCR player in the
house
> on any TV in the house ("whole house video"?) is not a
requirement.
>
> Audio...
>
> Any p.c. or networked music player (e.g. Slim Devices' SliMP3) on
the
> LAN should be able to access a single standalone LAN-connected MP3
> storage device. For this I suppose that I require a digital audio
> server. The digital audio server should be designed for multi-zone
> installations so that users can simultaneously select and listen to
> different music in different rooms.
>
> The bedrooms, bathroom and reception rooms will have their own
local
> speaker connections. I do not intend to wire each set of speakers
to
> Node Zero as I cannot see the advantage.
>
> If I want to switch the speakers from say p.c. sound card output
to TV
> output, I'll have to do this manually.
>
> ---
>
> Thanks for reading this, guys.