Re: Where Do YOU Go For Your (Daily?) X-10 "Fix"?

[nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx (Dave Houston)]

Unfortunately, the combination of ill health and increased spam forced me to
stop publishing my email address and even take steps to eliminate the
archived copies of my previous web page as they also included my email
address. That plus better filtering by my ISP and the forced shutdown of a
few wholesale spammers reduced my received emails from several hundred per
day to less than a dozen. I have noticed an uptick lately but am not sure
why. For awhile I published an email address on onwe web page that used Java
Script so the actual address only existed once the page was d/l. That evaded
the bots but I've seen a couple of recent spams that used that address so
they've either gotten more sophisticated or someone republished it in
uncloaked form.

I do have a slimmed down web page at http://www.mbx-usa.com.

I was merely curious about the Ultrasonic Console. Are we likely to see it
on "Antiques Roadshow"?

These days you can get an embedded PC on a single, credit card sized board
that is equivalent to a 186 and includes 10BaseT for under $100. It would
handle your GWBasic app. Embedded DOS is quite stable and requires much less
memory than Linux. I think it makes sense for DIY tinkerers.

taketheactive@xxxxxxxxx wrote:

>I was really SURPRISED, and DISAPPOINTED, at the ABYSMAL response to my
>identical post on ALL SIX sites listed in my OP. The era of one
>hobbyist helping another is fading; the era of the lazy,
>can't-take-the-time-to-look-it-up-myself whiners going to a few
>"specialized" sites is taking hold. Vendors full of incorrect advice
>seem to find EVERY AVAILABLE Home Automation site and SURPRISINGLY they
>aren't that often challenged/corrected. So sad...
>
>Is this REALLY the *ONLY* site that the "pioneers" still visit?
>
>I routinely use GROUP:comp.home.automation as a X-10 Encyclopedia. With
>~10+ years of ARCHIVES, *almost* any question I come up with has
>already been answered. Sometimes, coming up with the "right" SEARCH
>parameters is "challenging" - too vague = too much; too specific = too
>little. [I'd like to be able to PRIVATELY ask YOU a question every now
>and then, but alas, you no longer list your current E-Mail address.]
>
>In the same relationship as movie/television actors to fans, I've known
>your reputation for YEARS, but you haven't a clue as to who I am.
>Regardless, THANKS for all the wonderful, informative posts and the
>multiple web sites packed with info that you've provided over the
>years. [VERY SORRY to keep reading about your poor health. Mine too has
>gone downhill MUCH TOO QUICKLY since I passed the half-century mark.]
>
>YES, I *still* have the Ultrasonic Console, *with* the Remote, in
>pristine condition, along with a handful of BSR Lamp, Appliance and
>Wall (Toggle!) Switch modules. Why do you ask?
>
>I also "had" a GE HomeMinder and a Radio Shack HomeMinder (one at a
>time) "way back when". They were REALLY NICE (for their time) with the
>cute graphics, etc..., but the video modulators were just TRASH. Both
>overheated (according to posts I read at that time) and thus "went
>blind". Repair didn't appear "cost-efficient".
>
>They were replaced with a TW-523 and a Votrax Speech Synthesizer,
>running under GW BASIC on an IBM PC XT. Except for being a DEDICATED
>DOS APPLICATION, I think I enjoyed that setup the most.  At that time,
>I found the "specs" online for a software product that was no longer
>being sold, where the author accurately described EACH subroutine that
>he wrote. Being a Programmer/Analyst, I used that as my "design specs"
>and wrote each subroutine myself! [The closest "similar" application
>that I've found recently appears to be the MisterHouse FREEWARE,
>written in PERL.] I think I'm going to revive an old 486 and start
>playing with *BOTH* of those two applications again "soon" (need some
>"round tuits", you know?).
>
>Dave Houston wrote:
>> I usually check comp.home.automation daily. It is the most complete
>and the
>> most comprehensive, covering topics other than X-10, and having
>enough
>> posters with real expertise that incorrect info is usually debunked
>rather
>> quickly while even esoteric questions usually elicit responsive
>responses.
>>
>> A couple of the groups you mentioned are too heavily influenced by
>vendors
>> and/or people who don't let their lack of expertise get in the way of
>> offering advice. ;) Groups dedicated to particular products also have
>tended
>> to reduce the activity here. I suspect that dilution will continue as
>such
>> groups proliferate (e.g. X-10 has started their own support forums)
>and that
>> your quest for a single source will go unfulfilled.
>>
>> Do you still have the ultrasonic console?
>>
>> taketheactive@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
>>
>> >I've been a X-10 User for *MANY* (20? 25??) years. My first "kit",
>that
>> >I bought at SEARS, included a BSR Ultrasonic Command Console. [Whoa!
>:D
>> >]
>> >
>> >[Mr Rogers {bless his heart (as now done by Robin Williams)}: 'Can
>you
>> >say "BSR"?' ;) ]
>> >
>> >>From time-to-time, I get "spurts" when I enjoy checking on "X-10
>> >Activity" daily. But, to-date, I have not found any ONE PLACE where
>I
>> >can get my (complete) "Daily Fix".
>> >
>> >I've been running a CM11A with ActiveHome v1.32 successfully for a
>few
>> >years (I started out in my "computer-controlled phase" with a TW-523
>> >along with a RS-232 Votrax Speech Synthesizer running under GW BASIC
>on
>> >an IBM PC! :p ).  I "WANTED" to upgrade to a USB CM15A when it first
>> >came out a few months ago, but after following the messages on
>various
>> >sites for a few weeks, I (wisely it seems) decided against it.
>> >
>> >Where I do check (somewhat) regularly is as follows:
>> >
>> >DAILY (or almost):
>> >==================
>> >
>> > - <http://groups-beta.google.com/group/comp.home.automation>
>> >GROUP:comp.home.automation - this has got to be the MOST COMPLETE
>place
>> >for X-10 information on the Internet! If you have *ANY* X-10 type of
>> >question, you can most certainly find the answer here. *BUT*, you
>have
>> >to SEARCH for it - it's not a Forum; there aren't any "logical
>> >groupings"; it's ONE BIG LUMP of information and you have to DIG
>> >THROUGH IT...
>> >
>> > - <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/x10> X-10 Yahoo! Group - this is
>the
>> >"next oldest" X-10 Information Source that I'm aware of. Created on
>Sep
>> >8, 1999, it currently has 2427 messages available for research.
>But,
>> >"activity" comes and goes, especially for 2005...
>> >
>> > - <http://www.remotecentral.com/cgi-bin/mboard/rc-x10/list.cgi?0>
>X-10
>> >Automation Chat Forum at Remote Central - Created on Mar 29, 1999
>(or
>> >Dec 18, 1972 if you go to the LAST Message?!?), this is an active
>X-10
>> >Forum, but also lacks any "logical grouping". Thus all information
>> >retrival must be done via SEARCHES...
>> >
>> > - <http://forums.accessx10.com> AccessX10 Forums - Created ~Nov 24,
>> >2004, this is an active X-10 Forum that currently appears to be an
>> >"ActiveHome Pro" niche. It has good forum software and can possibly
>> >grow to become an "all-encompassing" X-10 site given time (and user
>> >interest...)
>> >
>> >SPORADICALLY:
>> >=============
>> >
>> > - <http://www.cocoontech.com/index.php?> CocoonTech.Com - Created
>~Dec
>> >22, 2003, this active VERY TECHNICAL Forum appears to be a
>"HomeSeer"
>> >niche.
>> >
>> > - <http://board.homeseer.com/forumdisplay.php?f=708> HomeSeer
>> >Technologies General Forums - OBVIOUSLY supported by HomeSeer, I
>> >sporadically visit their GENERAL Forums for ideas...
>> >
>> >What sites do *YOU* regularly visit?
>> >
>> >Why?
>> >
>> >--------------------------------------------------
>> >This message was originally created on Mar 14, 2005 and posted on
>> >several internet sites simultaneously, with the intention that it
>will
>> >be updated (if possible) "sporadically" as readers respond to it...