Re: coin operated TeeVee

[J Wynia <jwynia@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Craniac wrote:
> Thanks very much.  We have an existing pc that stays on all the time,
> mostly because after upgrading to XP it won't turn off from within
> windows.  I will check out retrobox, this all sounds very do-able!
>

There's not much that can't be done with off the shelf hardware and a
bit of elbow grease. Particularly with free/open source stuff like
MisterHouse. I've looked at HomeSeer as well and, while it's got some
realy nice features, ~$160 as the price tag just for the software is a
little steep given what that will buy in hardware.

My home automation PC setup:

Computer - Celeron 800, 256MB and 20GB hard drive: $65 from Retrobox.com
OS - Unused Win2K license (MH also runs on Linux which is free)
Monitor - Unneeded after initial setup using UltraVNC (www.ultravnc.com)
to remote control the PC.
Serial connector to X10 wiring (CM11A) - Included as part of the $50
"ActiveHome" kit from Automated Outlet
(http://www.automatedoutlet.com/product.php?productid=34&cat=18&page=1)
A W800 RF antenna/reciever for grabbing security remote, keychain
remote, etc. RF transmissions straight to the PC. This was $75, but
would have been $60 if I'd opted to go without the larger antenna.
http://www.wgldesigns.com/w800.html

All of the above adds up to about $190 and, short of the actual sensors,
outlet modules, keychain remotes, lamp modules, etc. is everything you
need to take complete control of X10 on a dedicated PC.

This machine sits tucked into my office closet happily monitoring
activity in the house through the motion sensors and door sensors,
controlling lighting, sending me reminders (to shut the windows when
rain is forecast, etc.) and doing other routine tasks.

Putting the PC in the middle means that even though I just hit the
switch to kill the lights in my theater and that switch just sends an
"A2 OFF" X10 signal, the lights actually ramp slowly down over 3
minutes, signaling the start of the movie (while still giving me time to
see the remotes for subtitle setup, etc). Hitting it twice in succession
kills them immediately. This whole setup lets the X10 devices be
simple/dumb and putting the intelligence into a machine built to do the
complicated decisions.


J Wynia
Myriad Intellect, Inc.
"Web technology that earns its keep."
www.myriadintellect.com