Re: Survey: Home Control Software

[nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx (Dave Houston)]

I'm familiar with "wall wart" for power adapters but your inclusion of
"dimmer" confused me. I wanted to make sure you weren't talking about some
rare, esoteric gizmo.

I've got sample VB code for the CM11A somewhere - it used to be on my web
page but I removed it some time ago. As I recall it was in two versions -
one using direct communications and one using the communications bridge
documented in X-10's help file for their CM11A software. My examples were
just for fundamental stuff, not for downloading timers and macros.

You might want to consider Smarthome's 1132B. It has a simple ASCII
protocol.

     http://www.smarthome.com/1132b.html

Scroll to the bottom and there's a link to a Programming Manual.

"John J. Bengii" <nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>Wall wart is a term commonly used for AC/DC adapter/battery
>eliminators. I may have used it incorrectly but yes. the plug in lamp
>dimmers/switches or appliance units that plug into the wall
>receptical.
>
>
>I have no interst in writing code for DOS. I want to get the system
>off DOS.
>
>I figured if I could get decent drivers for the various units I could
>write my own code using Visual Basic and write my logic using same.
>once the subroutines are written it can't be any more cumbersome than
>the current HC2000 language I am using now and would give me any
>option I could think of instead of being formalized into a fixed
>language coommand structure. I have also maxed out the capabilties of
>the programme in subroutine calls. Quite an idea with only pulldown
>verb,  unit and subroutine names but not my style. Saves on typos
>though.
>
>
>"Dave Houston" <nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>news:4774265f.40636281@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>I forgot the smiley after my remark about all the time you'll have.
>>;)
>>
>> Take a look at PureBasic. It's cross-platform (Windows, Linux, Mac)
>> and only
>> costs $99 (you get all three platforms). It won't do DOS but it will
>> do
>> console apps. It's easy to learn and use but does take a lot of
>> coding since
>> you need to handle all the things that mose of the "visual"
>> languages handle
>> for you.
>>
>>     http://www.purebasic.com/
>>
>> If you want to stick with DOS, PowerBasic (was TurboBasic when
>> Borland
>> marketed it) still sells a DOS version.
>>
>>     http://powerbasic.com/
>>
>> Insteon has an SDK but it costs $200 and you don't get much beyond a
>> bit of
>> hardware and docs. I do not recommend it to anyone other than
>> commercial
>> operations and even they should buy an even more expensive package
>> that
>> offers more hand-holding.
>>
>> There's an oft reported problem that I named "endless dim syndrome"
>> but it
>> only occurs with RF transceivers. It's most prevalent with TM751s
>> but can
>> occur with RR501s. It's caused by the powerline radiating the 120kHz
>> bursts
>> which inductively couples back into the superregenerative RF
>> receiver in the
>> transceivers.
>>
>> Some phase couplers are know to create and/or feed "powerline
>> storms" where
>> the line is flooded with continuous commands. However, I don't
>> recall
>> Dim/Bright being one of the codes reported. The storms do however
>> monopolize
>> the powerline, blocking all other commands.
>>
>> The meaning of the term "wall wart dimmer" eludes me. Do you mean a
>> plug-in
>> lamp module?
>>
>> "John J. Bengii" <nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>
>>>LOL. I doubt I will have lots of time to troubleshoot. I am building
>>>the home, mostly myself. This wasn't intentional but it is hard to
>>>find decent labout at a realistic price around that area.
>>>
>>>The worst problem I have is my sunrise halogen that I progressively
>>>briighten on work mornings. Some days the wall wart dimmer will not
>>>shut off and I have to unplug it. I have tried different units with
>>>the same success. I suspected I was pushing the unit's heat rating
>>>(300W) and got a 200Watt bulb with the same result. Basically there
>>>is
>>>nothing else on the circuit and it appears to work fine in the
>>>another
>>>circuit. I have checked all the electrical connections and suspect
>>>some kind of resonant tuned circuit in the cable length. My TW523 is
>>>at the service panel for centralization with a 100' RS-232
>>>connection
>>>to the computer.
>>>
>>>Basically I would also like to get something that will run on a
>>>Windoze machine with network access to the beast. Currently I can
>>>only
>>>run in DOS and I cannot for the life of me remember how to get all
>>>the
>>>NIC drivers working. Win 3.11 used to set them all up for you and
>>>then
>>>you just dropped the GUI. I wrote my own code for the CM-11 but
>>>can't
>>>get through some of the protocol spec published. AFAIC it just
>>>doesn't
>>>work in spots. On a power blink it needs to be accessed and relaod
>>>macros or something (been a long time now) and haven't been able to
>>>make it talk that part of it. I am sure there is all kinds of code
>>>and
>>>drivers out there that are good for an old hack like me to boost his
>>>starting point.
>>>
>>>Is code writing for hacks supported with the Insteon i/f also?
>>>
>>>
>>>"Dave Houston" <nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>>>news:4773e7e2.24639250@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>> There's a "gotcha" with the gradual replacement scenario. Each
>>>> Insteon
>>>> device is two-way and the transmitters attenuate X-10 signals in
>>>> the
>>>> same
>>>> manner as two-way X-10 devices do. The more Insteon devices, the
>>>> better the
>>>> Insteon reliability but the bigger the hit on X-10 reliability. It
>>>> depends
>>>> on how many total devices you have but at some point you'll
>>>> probably
>>>> find
>>>> you need to convert all remaining X-10 devices.
>>>>
>>>> All that said, most of the people using Insteon report good
>>>> reliability
>>>> although some report problems. While Insteon is subject to the
>>>> same
>>>> signal
>>>> attenuators and noise sources as X-10, filters will fix most
>>>> problems as
>>>> they do for X-10. There are some persistent complainers on the
>>>> Insteon forum
>>>> but I suspect most are from people who really do not understand
>>>> it.
>>>>
>>>> I think an ESM1 signal meter is almost a necessity. It lets you
>>>> see
>>>> X-10 and
>>>> Insteon signals (although it cannot interpret Insteon) and measure
>>>> relative
>>>> amplitudes. It can eliminate most of the guesswork.
>>>> AutomatedOutlet.com will
>>>> even loan you one - knowing full well that 98% (my WAG) of the
>>>> loaners turn
>>>> into purchases.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> http://www.automatedoutlet.com/product.php?productid=463&cat=0&page=1
>>>>
>>>> Insteon prices have edged up plus they have apparently
>>>> discontinued
>>>> some of
>>>> their lower priced "value" lines but I think it is still the best
>>>> choice for
>>>> new installations where the user doesn't want to spend far more
>>>> for
>>>> hard-wired low voltage control. However, someone who has a large
>>>> X-10
>>>> investment and understands the ins and outs is probably better off
>>>> sticking
>>>> with it.
>>>>
>>>> Given that you've had X-10 problems, you may continue to have them
>>>> with
>>>> Insteon. You probably need to run the the problems down before
>>>> deciding.
>>>>
>>>> Whichever way you go, as you move into the new house, deploy
>>>> switches and
>>>> modules in sub-groups so you can find and fix problems before you
>>>> have a a
>>>> large number of devices. Troubleshooting a limited number of
>>>> devices
>>>> is
>>>> easier to manage. You'll have lots of time to troubleshoot.
>>>>
>>>> "John J. Bengii" <nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>I was not aware of the RF missing factor on these devices. You are
>>>>>correct on the overhype. They discuss this technique in depth and
>>>>>give
>>>>>the impression all Insteon devices are "fully equipped" but when
>>>>>examining their remote units, the RF is never mentioned.
>>>>>
>>>>>The units are quite pricey and the slow replacement of X10 devices
>>>>>seems attractive. Most of mine have been removed from service due
>>>>>to
>>>>>several reasons
>>>>>- I am building a new home and recovering units for the move.
>>>>>- many operated unreliabily or not at all despite two powerline
>>>>>signal
>>>>>bridges and neighbour blocking devices.
>>>>>- too may light left on for days is costing me energy money on my
>>>>>bill, despite software to shut them down a few times a day for
>>>>>"just
>>>>>in case" scenarios.
>>>>>- too many "all lights on" in the middle of the night from
>>>>>wireless
>>>>>receivers (I think)
>>>>>
>>>>>I short the three of four dozen units and 15 years of trying to
>>>>>perfect the system has resulted in a complete distrust for X10
>>>>>units
>>>>>and there is only a few spots where flakey can be useful. Soon I
>>>>>will
>>>>>retire and won't need my "sunrise" algorythm for a 300W halogen
>>>>>anymore either. I was hoping Inteon may be an answer for a
>>>>>technology
>>>>>hungry kid.
>>>>>
>>>>>"Dave Houston" <nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>>>>>news:4775911c.2425218@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>>>> Unless you're using something that receives RF directly, you
>>>>>> cannot
>>>>>> see the
>>>>>> RF messages. You only see powerline messages so the incorrect
>>>>>> command has
>>>>>> already made it to the powerline before your software is aware
>>>>>> of
>>>>>> it.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Even if your software does receive direct RF messages, there are
>>>>>> seldom
>>>>>> collisions between RF codes and when there are, the result is
>>>>>> garbage -
>>>>>> there's no possible way to sort out what the two colliding
>>>>>> messages
>>>>>> were.
>>>>>> The RF messages do contain data which allows a receiver to check
>>>>>> validity
>>>>>> but any corruption will merely cause an invalid message it will
>>>>>> not
>>>>>> cause
>>>>>> one message to be transformed into another. IOW, corrupt RF
>>>>>> messages
>>>>>> never
>>>>>> make it to the powerline from any X-10 transceiver.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Bream Rockmetteller <bream(dot)rockmetteller(at)mac(dot)com>
>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Regarding the software, the reason it knows it has received a
>>>>>>>"bad"
>>>>>>>message is because I told it so. When I have a light act in a
>>>>>>>strange
>>>>>>>manner, I look at the log that Indigo keeps.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>If I see that an RF switch somehow transmitted "turn on E10"
>>>>>>>instead
>>>>>>>of
>>>>>>>"turn on the kitchen lights" which are E1, I'll  add a script in
>>>>>>>the
>>>>>>>"Trigger Actions" sections that says something like "If you
>>>>>>>receive
>>>>>>>a
>>>>>>>message to turn on E10, send a message to turn on the kitchen
>>>>>>>lights."
>>>>>>>That way, even if the switch or the receiver or some random
>>>>>>>noise
>>>>>>>has
>>>>>>>caused the message to go bad, the software will re-transmit the
>>>>>>>correct
>>>>>>>message.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>I hope this helps...
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> http://davehouston.net  http://davehouston.org
>>>>>> http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/roZetta/
>>>>>> roZetta-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> http://davehouston.net  http://davehouston.org
>>>> http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/roZetta/
>>>> roZetta-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>
>>
>>
>> http://davehouston.net  http://davehouston.org
>> http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/roZetta/
>> roZetta-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>


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