Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!watserv1!watmath!att!icus!limbic!gil
From: gil@limbic.UUCP (Gil Kloepfer Jr.)
Newsgroups: sci.electronics
Subject: Re: X-10 PC Controller Source/Voice-Mail Cards?
Summary: Controller on serial port
Message-ID: <585@limbic.UUCP>
Date: 11 Dec 89 05:53:57 GMT
References: <1540@gwusun.gwu.edu>
Reply-To: gil@limbic.UUCP (Gil Kloepfer Jr.)
Organization: ICUS Software Systems, Islip, NY
Lines: 73

In article <1540@gwusun.gwu.edu> jeff@seas.gwu.edu (Jeff Schilling) writes:
>I am designing a Home control system based around a modified PC clone.
>I would like to use the X-10 system to control lighting, etc.  I have
>seen the plug-in control modules and remote controls advertised in
>various sources, but I have not been able to locate a source for
>a PC bus controller card.

There is a controller that runs off a serial port (called the X-10 Home
Control Interface) which does what you want.  It costs about $40, and
the model number is CP290.

I've done lots of programming with it and developed a C function library
which takes advantage of about 75% of the features of the unit.  Those
interested can contact me by e-mail, and if there's enough interest, I'll
make it available for anonymous UUCP.

Once commands are sent to the control module, it can run by itself without
being connected to a computer.  It uses an 8051 microcontroller (I believe)
to handle all the communications with a host computer and to generate
the X-10 signals.

> I would appreciate any information on this
>interface card, the X-10 system in general, or any ideas/warnings/discussion
>on Home control systems.

I kind of fell into the home control stuff by accident (a friend started
buying the stuff and decided he didn't need it).  I thought I'd see what
kind of stuff I could do.

In the living room, the main lamp is turned at the time when it gets dark
around here...but I run the bulb at 70% brightness during early and
late evening, and 90% brightness otherwise.  During the night (after 1AM),
I dim the light to 25% and use it as a nightlight.  Saves energy and
keeps the house safe to walk around in at night.

My Christmas lights are programmed to go on and off at specified times,
so I can enjoy the lights as I pull into the driveway on the way home
from work.

When I'm away, I have lights set to just go on and off as though I were
walking around the house.

The truth of the matter is that the home control stuff is something you
CAN live without, but for those of us who just love making our computers
do real-world kind of control, it's a great (and somewhat useful) toy.

The only warnings I can pass along is that you need to be careful that
someone nearby isn't on your housecode (this is really only a big problem
in an apartment building I would imagine), and that for lights such as
the one in my living room, you should have a controller to turn it on
manually (unless it's a wall switch, which has that function built-in).

I'm considering making a X-10 transceiver for my 3B1...this way it can
monitor the control signals from other controllers and keep a constant
status of the X-10 modules on-line.  Has anyone else done this?  I'm
trying to work from some old magazine articles in Byte (a-la Steve
Ciarcia) and in Radio Electronics.

>Another question:  Does anyone have any experience with any of the PC
>voice-mail cards?  I am thinking about interfacing a voice-mail card into
>the home control system, to allow remote status reports and remote control
>of various system functions.

The AT&T Voice Power card for the 3B1 allows voice response, voice synthesis,
voice recording, and can obtain and act on DTMF (touch-tone(tm)) commands
from a remote phone.  Voice cards for PCs can do similar things.

Gil.

-------
| Gil Kloepfer, Jr.
| ICUS Software Systems/Bowne Management Systems (depending on where I am)
| ...ames!limbic!gil