RE: Re: Local control of x10 modules

["Stuart Billinghurst" <stuart@xxxxxxx>]

Electrical wise.. I know what I am doing, I've worked on electrical
installations both single and 3 phase for a number of years, I have also
been working with electronics since I was young.. Safety First, Safety
First, Safety First! Is the same advice I would give to any other person
and
SHOULD be strongly advised..

And, Yes I have put LOTS of Cat5 cable in.

On the HA side, I have never been convince that every thing else needs to
know the status of another unit, Why would you want to know if a desk lamp
is on or off.. Surly in such case your interested in how it should be or
what you want it to be in the future, I.E. If you send an ON, then you know
what it is. Also for kit that you do need to know if it's on or off.. I
would discourage X10 as a method to do this as it is so susceptible to
interference. I for instance can switch my fly zapper on and off by switch
in the extractor fan.. (Only as they are in the same socket)..

Running cables to switch things on / off / dim defeats the purpose of X10
doesn't it. control cable free and all that..

When will we get mind control, then are computers can interpret the fact
that we think it's dark and turn on lights etc.. etc..

Looks like it's time to get out another minitimer and place it elsewhere
but
the bedroom..


-----Original Message-----
From: Keith Doxey [mailto:ukha@xxxxxxx]
Sent: 25 May 2003 14:21
To: ukha_d@xxxxxxx
Subject: [ukha_d] Re: Local control of x10 modules


Hi Stuart,

I can only echo what others have said.... the physical standard of
construction is exactly the same as cheap radios that I used to
dismember in the early 70's.

No legend on the board to identify components so even if you have a
circuit diagram you still need to follow PCB tracks to make sure you
have the right component.

Resistors mounted vertically so you only have to knock one slightly
and it will touch something else. Code Wheel switches assembled by
melting plastic pins to hold them together that will often break when
you so much as look at them.

OK. So we have done as much as possible to put you off from an
electrical point of view.... now consider it from a Home Automation
point of view. (After all, that is the purpose of this list).

Because of the total lack of status reporting any form of local
control is a BAD idea. Whatever form of controller you use in your
house will have no idea whatsoever that you have done anything to the
lamp/appliance connected to a module. This also applies to wall
switches and DIN modules as well.

If you really need to control the lamp from where you sit then use
some form of Mini Controller to send the commands, that way any HA
system trying to track what is happening will see the commands and
know it has been changed.

If you have HomeVision or similar then you can make your own low
voltage "controller". A couple of buttons in a small plastic box
connected via CAT5 to the digital inputs on HomeVision and create
some actions to do what you want. (You did install LOTS of CAT5 didnt
you :-))

Local control is fine provided that everything else knows about it
but sadly with X10 this isnt the case.

Keith


--- In ukha_d@xxxxxxx, "Stuart Billinghurst" <stuart@h...>
wrote:
> I was hopeing to also be able to dim them.
>     -----Original Message-----
>     From: Ian Lowe [mailto:ian@xxxxxxx...]
>     Sent: 25 May 2003 11:51
>     To: ukha_d@xxxxxxx
>     Subject: Re: [ukha_d] Local control of x10 modules
>
>
>     You already have local control with lamp modules: just turn the
lamp
> off,
>     then on again.
>
>     Ian.
>