Re: A mentor / Advisor ?

["Dean Roddey" <droddey@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"Dave Houston" <nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:455277da.365599437@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Chris Walker jumps in several times. It's unclear to me whether the $49.95
> SDK he refers to is the same SDK that Zensys wanted $10K for. I surely
> hope
> not! Can you enlighten us?
>

They have a .Net based class framework that is a much simplified interface
to the Z-Wave hardware. It is 'built over the SDK", but you have to realize
that all the SDK is (for non-hardware building folks like us) is just the
definition of the messages that you send over the serial/USB port. So it's
not that they are layering their software over some SDK software, since
there is no SDK software really for folks just wanting to talk to the Z-Wave
controller from a PC. They are just using the information documented in the
SDK of the message formats to create an easier to use framework that hides a
lot of the details.

Of course, if you don't use .Net, then it's not terribly useful to you. I
think that they should have used a lower level language so that it would
have wider applicability.


> Finally, can the devices from various manufacturers send instant level
> feedback and can the various controllers import the routing tables created
> by the latest controllers?
>

I'm not completely sure if the first generation modules can do this or not.
They using a trick that gets around the Lutron patent. I cannot imagine how
someone got awarded a patent for sending the status of a device over RF, and
I find it ludicrous, but they have it, and so no one can send direct status
feedback from a lighting module via RF without running into Lutron's patent.
Z-Wave uses some trick with links. I guess non-light switch devices can send
status directly without patent problems, but I don't know if any are or not.

I've just not been able to put in the time to keep up with the recent
developments. The SDK is not $10K for software only developers, but it still
multiple thousands. I think that this was a bonehead move myself, but it's
their company.

---------------------
Dean Roddey
Chairman/CTO, Charmed Quark Systems, Ltd
www.charmedquark.com