Re: Laying out a new house - looking for Wiring and controller advise

["BruceR" <br@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

While the JDS Technologies Stargate (www.jdstechnologies.com) is getting
a bit long in the tooth, it is still the most sophisticated in terms of
programming options - from what I've read from those who've used both,
the ELK unit is far more limited. Their recent decision to discontinue
the IVR board though does impose limits that I would not be happy about.
There is a HomeSeer plug-in for the Stargate that is quite popular too.

 Stargate has been well supported over the years with all F/W & S/W
upgrades provided free and reasonable charges for new hardware - the
most notable being the addition of internet access and control and the
use of any Windows based wireless PDA for control (with customizable
graphics).

  Jeff Stein, the owner of JDS Technolgies usually answers the phone
himself to provide technical assistance and support and treats his
customers like long lost friends. He's a major part of the package you
get when you buy a Stargate!  In fact, when he and his wife came to
Hawaii last year they spent a night at our house - he and I were up till
3:30am wiring up and programming some new things! Now THAT'S support.

 Some of the things Stargate does for me in addition to the usual
lighting control is automatically forward my landline to my cellphone
when I leave the house and unforward it when I return, call me and/or
send an email when certain events occur like mail or package delivery or
the gardner arrives, control all pool and spa functions, control HVAC
t-stats and dampers, control motorized shades and even makes sure the
gas tot he BBQ is turned off.

 Stargate integrates tightly with the Caddx alarm system and, of course,
the RCS line of t-stats and RS-485 controlled relays, control pads and
screens.  I know Jeff is very interested in integrating Dave's RoZetta
device as it will mean that the IVR board will not have to be removed to
add UPB or Insteon integration.

 Back to the Insteon topic, to answer your question first about how well
the Insteons would function as X10 replacements, perhaps Jeff Volp's XTB
will solve that concern.  However, for someone who has a significant
investment in X10 stuff already, I would try the XTB before switching
horses (I didn't know about it when I started, DOH!).  Between the four
new major competing technologies it's going to be a bit of a crapshoot
for the next couple of years as things shake out.  While there's a few
other Insteon products I'd like to see (and expect to soon), what I have
will still work for many years (provided I stock some spares) even if
Smarthome were to dry up and blow away.  My installation remains fairly
static over time so I don't a lot of support. That said, Insteon support
has been excellent and I expect it will continue to be.

 For those faced with the choice for a new installation, this is
probably the worst time to have to choose as there's no guarantee as to
how the industry will shake out.  However, the investment that's at risk
is still fairly modest at most levels.  For those who own a 10,000sf
home even $5000 is not likely to break the bank and for those in a more
modest 1000sf home a few hundred dollars is probably not out of line.
In any case, the investment in any of these technologies should never be
a total loss as the products should function for their normal life
(whatever that is) before needing replacement even if support is gone.
Some of my X10 stuff still works after 22 years of daily use while
others (notably the SuperSocket) crap out after a year.  Given the
turnover rate of most consumer electronics, I think a 5 year life
expectancy is reasonable (and note that Insteon offers an industry
unique optional 7 year warranty).


>> I'm not too concerned with the fact that only Smarthome
>> currently builds product as they are making the chips available
>> to all takers so new products should be forthcoming...
>
> Does Smarthome claim that new products will be forthcoming or have
> other manufacturers actually stated that they are developing
> products?  I'm not entirely convinced of Smarthome's veracity.
>
>> Worst case - it dies off - I can still use what I have and
>> even reprogram them to work as standard X10 devices.
>
> With what effect on other X10 devices?
>
>> If I had to scrap the whole investment - as I've done with
>> the X10 stuff I've removed - the cost to date has "only"
>> been about $1000 (for approx 50 devices) due to some
>> very special pricing offered for a very short time to those
>> who signed up as developers (best $99 I ever spent!).
>
> For you and I that's not a lot of money to lose.  For some it would
> be a significant loss.  Also, since those prices are no longer
> available, new opters face a considerably higher risk.
>
>> Key to my decision was the ability to translate X10
>> commands to Insteon (as can now be done with UPB
>> too) to protect the investment and hours of programming
>> in the Stargate.
>
> That brings up another area of interest.  I havn't invested much time
> studying Stargate because the dealer margins aren't worth my while.
> However, you seem to have had good success with the system.  Would
> you mind going over some of Stargate's strengths and weaknesses?  I'm
> particularly interested in the kind of support you've had from the
> manufacturer, as well as its ability to integrate with various
> sub-systems from other manufacturers.  Presumably this will be of
> interest to others as well.