Re: A mentor / Advisor ?

["Chris Hackett" <chackett@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Thanks for the suggestion.

Are there any on-line retailers that you know of for the CharmedQuark
products and services?

The CharmedQuark website seems to have two products, one is a software
solution and the other looks like component / chassis type hardware device.
Reminiscent of a linux appliance or something.  Is this the solution you are
encouraging me to look at further?

Thanks Dave,
Chris Hackett


"Dave Houston" <nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:454e0472.73910687@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> "Chris Hackett" <chackett@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>>Yeah, so far the recommendations have been either Zwave or Insteon.  I
>>have
>>no idea which way I'll go.  I'm probablhy leaning toward Insteon, but I
>>don't really know why.  One thing I'm not excited about is bulky adapters
>>and stuff.  I don't know what they're called, but I think I saw them on
>>some
>>sort of "starter kit" from Insteon.  I really want the sytem to be
>>transparent or invisible...
>
> I would investigate ZWave intensively before spending any money on it. IMO
> it has fundamental flaws which cannot be overcome. Those touting it are
> unqualified to judge (and usually have a financial stake in it). It may
> suffice for a very small residence but does not scale up well for larger
> residences. It needs a rather dense concentration of modules as it has to
> repeat signals sequentially from module to module to traverse the network.
> Unless something has changed recently, there is a rather small max_hops
> limit which curtails the size of any network. The time required for
> several
> hops to and fro, makes two-way communications too slow to be very useful.
> Multiple controllers don't make nice with each other. Removing dead
> modules
> from the routing table(s) involves starting with a clean slate.
>
> The underlying Insteon technolgy is well designed but the company has a
> history of not quite getting things right as well as a history of poor
> quality control. You've seen some of the complaints on the Insteon forum.
> Still, at this time, it would be my choice for a new PLC based
> installation.
>
>
> Since it's too late to hardwire, your only choices are PLC (Insteon, X-10,
> UPB), wireless (ZWave, several ZigBee based systems are in the works,
> several very simple RF systems exist) or HomePlugCC (still mostly vapor).
> Anything beyond a basic alarm panel is unlikely to add to resale value.
>
> There are also higher-end wireless systems like LutronRA but I think they
> are mostly outside your stated price range.
>
> Since AV is important to you, you should look at CharmedQuark which is
> heavily oriented that way. Dean Roddey, who wrote it, posts here and also
> has hands on ZWave experience in his (small) apartment. I don't know how
> it
> fits in with a panel like the ELK you're looking at but there are several
> knowledgeable end-users of the ELK panel lurking about who might chime in.
>
> Ignore all advice from Borat, who seems to be masquerading as
> "accidental_plumber". Do they even have electricity (or houses) in
> Kazakhstan?
>
>
> http://davehouston.net
> http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/roZetta/
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