Re: translator question

["Robert Green" <ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx>]

"Dave Houston" <nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:43d60b84.370730562@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> I may have participated in that ADI forum thread. I sent ADI a prototype
of
> an RF module for use with the IR input about two years ago. They lost it
> internally and never tested it.

Well, that's unfortunate considering they badly need some sort of RF
capability!

> I didn't follow up as it wasn't that big of
> a deal to me - I was merely offering them a free design they could use if
> they wanted to do the necessary FCC tests.

Too bad it fell through the cracks at ADI.

> ADI has an 8 character ASCII protocol for controlling the Ocelot via the
DB9
> RS232 port. It's on their website somewhere. It allows for X10 & IR
control
> as well as a few other things. I really haven't worked with it for a few
> years so details are fuzzy. The BX24-AHT used it when interfacing with a
> Ocelot. I used their binary protocol with Commander-X. John M. Jones who
> mentioned the BX24-AHT in that other recent thread found and corrected an
> error in the documentation for the ASCII protocol. I can email you a
> corrected copy if you cannot find it on the ADI website.

Now that I know it exists I'll look a lot harder for it.  Stuff seems to be
pretty well scattered all over the site.

> Some examples...
>
>      send B 11 once  +X011001
>      send B ON once  +X011801
>      send B DIM 5 times +X012005
>
> But C-Max is the only way to do more complex logic. You really should read
> Guy Lavoie's ladder logic tutorial for C-Max.

It's on the reading list.  I'm currently slogging through the C-MAX
overview.  I've got Guy's document as well, although the version I have
seems to have lost its embedded screen shots.  What I find unsettling is
that some things just don't seem to be explained.  What happens to the
currently executing C-MAX program when you hook up to the PC to change a
variable from the computer.  Is it still running?  Is it paused?  Does it
need to be reloaded?  I suppose the only way to learn this stuff is to keep
hammering at it, day in and out.

> If someone releases a Zigbee based system that has a serial controller and
> it looks like it will become popular and someone will loan me the
controller
> (and/or do the testing in case it's a simple ASCII protocol) I or users
can
> implement it. I suspect there will be a myriad of Zigbee systems, each
with
> its own high level protocol. As I said upfront I'm not willing to buy one
of
> every controller in order to add support to Rosetta. This is a DIY
> non-profit project. The key to Rosetta is that it's really simple to do as
> long as you don't have to write dedicated code for dozens or hundreds of
> protocols. The memory in the ZX-24 is extremely limited.
>
> The same goes for Z-Wave although I don't expect Z-Wave to be around for
> much longer. In 2-3 years about all we've seen here are posts from
dealers,
> one of whom is so clueless that he thinks Intel incorporating it in their
> proprietary version of uPnP (along with a few million other devices) is a
> big deal. There has been a dearth of posts from Z-Wave users. I think its
an
> IPO play. Any day now I'm expecting to read that it's a big success in
> Korea. ;)

There's a interesting article in today's NYT Science section about how the
advent of digital photography has really been a boon to fakers.
Microphotographs aren't quite right?  Bring them into Photoshop to clean
them up!  As for ZigBee and Z-Wave I am really surprised that they've made
so little penetration of the market compared to something like Insteon and
even UPB.

> Anything with an ASCII protocol that uses RS232 at 9600 bps or less and
> doesn't require handshaking is already supported by Rosetta. In other
words,
> if you can control the device just by sending an ASCII string and there's
no
> need for ACK/NAK, etc. Rosetta can handle that without having any native
> knowledge of the protocol. Examples are the ADI ASCII protocol and HAI's
> ASCII protocol. Since I expect there will be some ADI users who will be
> interested in Rosetta I will build in knowledge of the CPU-XA, Ocelot and
> Leopard for X-10. Users will still need to use the ASCII protocol for
> anything beyond basic X-10.

That's great!  I've posted just a little info about Rosetta in the ADI forum
in response to someone there who wants to work with X-10 security RF
devices.  What concerns me the most about serial comms with the ADI devices
are comments that I have read implying there's no command buffering and that
if serial data comes in too quickly, it will be lost.

> Think of Rosetta as a switchboard operator with a little less intelligence
> than Ernestine.

I'll bet there's a whole generation of young whippersnappers who have no
idea who Lily Tomlin is!  I haven't seen her on the tube in ages.

> You may need to find a neighborhood kid who can solder. Rather than add
cost
> to Rosetta, I'll provide instructions on how to replace the RS-232 cable
on
> an MR26 to bypass its voltage regulator and supply it with +5V *regulated*
> from Rosetta. The cable has to be changed anyway to mate with Rosetta's
RJ11
> connectors for the four serial ports.

If push comes to shove, I'll get the kits parts and beg someone in newsgroup
to solder it for a fee.  It would still be cheaper than ruining the first
one myself!  :-)   I live in an "old growth" neighborhood that's
surprisingly free of teenage kids except for the crackhead kid who lives
down the block and breaks into neighborhood cars and houses when he needs a
fix.  Fortunately, since I installed some very obvious CCTV cameras he's hit
every house on the block *except* mine.  The last time he (or someone like
him) hit our block my neighbors came over asking for my surveillance video!

Thanks again for all the info, Dave!  Very helpful, as always!

--
Bobby G.