Re: X-10 AV switcher

[shb*NO*SPAM*@comporium.net (Si Ballenger)]

On Sun, 20 May 2007 08:31:30 -0400, "Robert Green"
<ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>Anyone know of a COTS (or easy to construct) X-10 based 4, 6 or 8 channel AV
>switcher capable of taking the typical yellow-red-white RCA type AV
>connectors?  Those are the kind found on VCRs and such and I want to switch
>them, cascade style via a "pulse" from X-10 controller.  I want to be able
>to remotely switch a DVD player, the front door cam, the doggie cam and the
>VCR into a NEC AV monitor.
>
>I'm using a 4 input autosense box from RatShack that occasionally goes
>senseless and selects the wrong source and has no provision for a remote.  I
>have two different IR remote switchers that my learning remote has been
>unable to learn.  I could get by with a unit that could "learn" an IR code
>the way my remote drape control works.  Put it in "learn mode" and then
>press an infrequently used key your TV remote and the controller would cycle
>each time it saw that single learned command.  Cycling through the inputs
>would be all I would need.
>
>The key requirement is that this can't generate the need for another remote
>or even learning another remote IR command - my learning remote is very much
>maxed out.  I still have two free "devices" CABLE and SAT I don't use in my
>setup (no cable box, no satellite!) that I could use to control a lot of
>gear if I could translate those codes quickly into something an IR
>controlled device like a switchbox, a fan, or even my AC window unit can
>read
>
>I've been looking at the Global Cache units
>
>http://www.globalcache.com/products/ir-index.html
>
>that appears to be able to easily translate IR codes from one device to
>another and it sounds like I might be able to hack something together with
>relays and such, but I probably could do that with a multiple pole 6 or 8
>position stepper relay.  I'd much rather find the two contact points to
>short on the Radio Shack or the Emerson or TargMart switchers and connect
>them to a universal module.  I have a whole "bank" of IR codes available on
>the SAT memory and I'd like to put them to use.  The video switcher is one
>use, and I'd like to make every remote capable of activating a house-wide
>speaker phone and maybe even arm the alarm.
>
>The ability to make the remote independent of the device would be nice.
>What I don't want is excessive latency.  More than a fraction of a second
>become noticeable.  Anything close to a second is unworkable.  If it takes
>too long for a translator to respond, the user begins pressing other keys
>and pandemonium results.

If you want to make a cheap switcher for yourself, you can make
one from a $6.50 LED "chaser" kit and some treasistors/resistors.
Below is a setup similar to the chaser I made for internet video
switching. The below link shows the setup. The bottom link is
where you can see switching audio and video between three video
feeds using the transistors controlled via the parallel port.

http://www.geocities.com/zoomkat/RSswitcher.htm
http://www.geocities.com/zoomkat/ppswitcher-demo.htm