Re: Receiving security RF codes from DS10A

[nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx (Dave Houston)]

At this point I'm not planning any big changes to the basic BX24-AHT
firmware so it will not handle escape codes. Once I can port it to the ZX-24
it will have more free EEPROM for user data and will have full-duplex serial
ports for those who want to build it using the ZX-24. As of now, only the
existing BasicX firmware is available. Once I finish Rosetta I'll look at
improving the BX24-AHT version by adding a piggyback daughterboard with
additional EEPROM for user data. But that may prove too ambitious for the
state of my health.

The ZX-24 uses a later Atmel processor which has more features and it also
does more with it, leaving more EEPROM free. It also has more external
interrupt pins but that's not a factor here since I only used one for the
AHT and won't use any for Rosetta.

Rosetta will allow you to use an escape code with MR26 codes. You can select
any NEC format code. Rosetta will also understand the ADI ASCII commands for
sending X-10. You will need to connect the Ocelot to one of Rosetta's serial
ports but you will be able to tell Rosetta to route data to/from the PC port
(or xPort) and to/from the Ocelot.

Using the MR26 eliminates FCC issues but it will still be DIY because the
major costs are the ZX-24 and xPort. Letting the end user buy them keeps the
total cost down. This might prove optimistic but I think it will cost about
$150 including xPort and a Polycase enclosure.

The circuit board will have a space for a Lantronix xPort. Buy it from
Mouser (~$50), solder it to the board (10 points), and set three jumpers. I
considered the Digi Me and Digi Wi Me but cannot find a retailer for them.

As for the name, I've always been a Ray Charles fan.

"Robert Green" <ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>"Dave Houston" <nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>
>> jmj1492@xxxxxxx wrote:
>>
>> >The only device I know of that could receive and act on RF codes from
>> >the X10 security devices was Dave Houston's BX24-AHT (all house codes
>> >transceiver).
>> >
>> >This was a DIY project and preceeded the WGL - and was 100x more
>> >powerful.
>> >
>> >You might Google on BX24-AHT, or perhaps Dave will chime in here.
>
>Thanks for the info, JMJ.  I'll relay it to the Adicon forum.  As you
>predicted, Dave did indeed add his comments:
>
>> Some circuit boards for the BX24-AHT will soon be available again along
>with
>> the firmware for the BX-24 and the Windows interface software. I've given
>> the inventory of boards, the firmware, software and docs to someone who
>> plans to make them available.
>
>Great.  Is the BX24-AHT going to be able to perform tricks such as using ALL
>OFF for an escape code or will the more powerful Rosetta be required to do
>that?  The WGL transceiver looked attractive until I discovered that the
>Ocelot can't do anything with the serial output of the device.  As JMJ
>noted, it's really not in the same league as your device(s) - it doesn't
>seem to offer much in the way of configurability.
>
>> I am going to try to port the firmware to the ZX-24 which will improve it
>> significantly since the ZX-24 has full duplex software UARTs, more speed
>> (10x) and a more efficient compiler (more EEPROM available for user data).
>I
>> will try to release the ZX-24 source code as an App Note on the ZBasic
>> website. The ZX-24 eliminates most of the "gotchas" I ran into with the
>> BX-24.
>
>What were some of the limitations of the older unit?   It sounds like the ZX
>is faster, more capable and has more memory.
>
>> Rosetta,
>
>Nice name choice!
>
>> which is the universal translator device I'm working on, will be
>> able to receive standard X-10 RF using an MR26 and both receive from and
>> send to anything that currently uses a TW523, a CM11A, 2414S, UPB PIM,
>> CPU-XA, Ocelot, Leopard, or any 9600 bps or less serial device which uses
>> ASCII.
>
>Once again, pardon my utter stupidity, but I just read a post by Guy Lavoie
>in the ADI forum that said: "The serial bobcat can only transmit data.
>Currently, there is no ADI module capable of receiving and matching an
>arbitrary format ASCII string or binary data."  How will Rosetta tell the
>Ocelot about what RF it is seeing?
>
>>Rosetta will also have an optional Ethernet interface and hardware
>> RTC. I developed a replacement PIC for the MR26 which allows it to also
>> handle security RF a couple of years ago - I'll try to find a way to make
>> this available again as well for use with Rosetta. Rosetta will also use a
>> ZX-24. See the "translator question" thread for more on Rosetta.
>
>OK.  Ethernet would be nice to have.  How much extra cost do you think it
>will add to the project?