Posted on Tuesday, 15th March 2011 by Bob
So one of the things that I have been doing has been installing a new dispatch and news system at my firehouse. The system consists of a web-based application that lets the drivers know who is on the way (IAmResponding.com) and the other system is a call-data system that is a news and announcement system, but also posts call information on a 32″ TV when a call comes in.
For all the details, check this out.
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Posted on Wednesday, 12th January 2011 by Bob
Well, back from the holidays and now that the craziness has settled, I can give some more examples of getting things done around the house,
Amy will tell you I did a piss-poor job on the outside lights this year and she is right… But the inside lights came out good I think. Once thing I have always hated about holiday lights in the house is turning them on and off is a pain – walk from room to room to device to Devore turning them on and off. Irritating. This year was different – I was able to get the lights all automated with the X10 system I put in, and it was all nice and easy. I installed some extra plug-in lap modules to go with the little window figurines and whatnot, plugged lighted garland, etc into enabled wall outlets. Then I wrote a fast macro in ActiveHome Pro, and the next thing you know, one flick of a button or a remote, or a timer, and they go on and off 
Additionally, the lights in the driveway are a personal source of aggravation (albeit minor I must admin). After Amy had a whoops in the driveway backing out, I was able to set everything up so at night, she opens the door, the driveway lights come on .
Using standard contacts, I can also check the status the garage doors or any exterior door as well with the push of a button. From my bed, I can check on all the external entryways, garage doors, etc. I am liking this – especially since with a little work on the front end, it is making things better in the long run. I have some more plans for the future, and will be checking the power bill to see how much, if anything, has been saved
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Tags: automation, home automation, How To, power, technology, x10
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Posted on Tuesday, 23rd November 2010 by Bob
Been a few days, and so far things seem to be in pretty decent shape – clearly needing some tweaks, but definitely making progress. The first experiment with motion sensors is in place… Walk into the laundry room, and the lights turn on. If it sees no motion for 2 mins, it shuts the light off. If Amy or I are in the laundry room, it will say on until we leave the room. If yo come in from the garage, when you open the door, the motion sensor picks that up too and turns the light on for you – so you are not walking into a dark house. Since I can see the garage door opening, the next step will be if the garage doors open after dark, automatically turn the light on in advance
I also set up a motion sensor in Amy’s closet – I know that’s sorta weird, but here’s why. Amy leaves very early in the morning for work, and in doing so frequently struggles to keep her closet light from waking me. It is pretty much the only place for her to get dressed in the morning without waking me, and even then she has to go through hoops. So I put a motion sensor in her closet, and will be setting it up that if her closet door opens before 7am, turn the lights on but dim them to 50%, so she doesn’t have to worry about getting me up. Any other time, turn them on 100%.
More to come, will be doing wattage testing on outlets to start measuring how much stuff is really using a Kill-A-Watt meter – let start seeing how the system will start paying for itself!
Bob
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Tags: automation, cm15a, DS10A, gadgets, green, home automation, How To, power, technology, x10
Posted in How To, X10 | Comments (0)
Posted on Monday, 22nd November 2010 by Bob
I have three kids, and I am pretty sure they must have been raised in a barn in a previous life, because most of my home automation project arose from cutting the costs associated with the kids leaving lights on, etc. With the winter coming, now I need to worry about doors open, and more specifically the garage doors, since they not only allow people and the cold in, but they also allow critters like mice, etc into the house. I am not someone who is afraid of mice, but hell, if they are gonna live under my roof and eat my food, they damn well better be paying rent
In all seriousness, this is something that is an issue for me, I HATE that, and on top of all that, since we are in the middle of several home improvement projects, my car is in the driveway at night (my garage is full of building materials). This concerns me.
So there is a way to be notified when your garage door is open, with a few things from the X10 software pile. They offer a MyGarage package that allows you to see if your door is open or closed on a mobile phone web app, then trigger it to open or close, and I have that now, but it only works with one garage, and it doesn’t do all the things I want it to do. Think about it – should your garage door be open for more than 10 mins after say 9pm? In my case, hell no So using a DS10A contact sensor, the iAlert software, and a UM506 Universal module, a SS13 remote switch, and a lamp module, I can control everything all from one place, and check on things all at once
The plan is simple – use the DS10A to tell me is the garage is open or closed. Put a thread-in lamp module into one of the bulbs in the ceiling fan in the master bedroom, assign the SS13 remote to trigger two macros. Macro # 1 says check the status of the door, and if it is open, blink the overhead light in the master bedroom 3 times. Then I know if the garage door is open or not. Then, if I want to close it without heading downstairs, I can hit the other macro that will trip the UM506, which has been wired into the garage door buttons, to close the garage door. I can do this safely for 2 reasons: #1 I can see my driveway from the bedroom, so I will know if there is a car not backed in (like unloading groceries, etc) and #2 my garage door has photo sensors witch will not allow the garage to close if something is blocking it.
Now, if I want, I can also have it check the status of the garage on a regular basis (hourly, etc) and have it let me know via email or text message, 0r send me a text/email every time it opens/closes, etc. I can have it blink the basement lights when someone comes home, think of the possibilities.
I will get some more information up as testing progresses, but it is just one more example of how insanely flexible this platform is!
Bob
Tags: automation, cm15a, DS10A, home automation, How To, iAlert, relay, technology, UM506, x10
Posted in Security, Tranceivers, X10, X10 Hardware | Comments (0)
Posted on Monday, 22nd November 2010 by Bob
Since I started running more and more goodies farther and farther from the central controller, it was inevitable that range would become an issue. You can address this easily using additional transceivers (TM751 or RR501 as examples) to extend coverage, but if you are using security modules, like door contacts, then these won’t work since the transceivers don’t relay security device messages.
So how can you fix this? You could monkey around with moving the CM15A, or modifying the antenna with some fancy-schmantzy antenna rewiring, or you can do what I did – and it has (so far) worked like a charm.
I cut a piece of copper wire (14-2 house wiring to be exact – and I used the bare groundwire) about 18″ long, and TAPED IT TO THE SIDE OF THE CM15A antenna. An yes, that was all I needed to do – the door contact switches I was fighting with in the garage were now able to report in – sweet!
Just thought I would share… And all credit goes to the folks over at the X10 forums for their help and guidance!
Bob
Tags: automation, cm15a, gadgets, green, home automation, How To, x10
Posted in Technology, Trainceivers, X10, X10 Hack, X10 Hardware | Comments (0)
Posted on Monday, 22nd November 2010 by Bob
So in the quest for automation, I have hit a limitation of the system as it works right out of the box – the controller i have (the CM15a) has a limited RF range, so it was inevitable that I would hit this limitation quickly, since my unit is in the basement. Read the rest of this entry…
Tags: automation, gadgets, green, home automation, How To, relay, technology, tm751, x10
Posted in Technology, Tranceivers, X10, X10 Hack, X10 Hardware | Comments (0)
Posted on Monday, 1st November 2010 by Bob
Ever since I was a little kid, my mother was always telling me to turn the lights out when I leave a room so I don’t waste electricity, and even at 36, I still don’t have this down yet Now that I have kids of my own, it is clear that this is an inherited trait!
I have been looking into ways to cut power costs and increase the convenience of my home power and finally decided to pull the trigger and just do it already! That being said, I went out and bought a setup from X10 that will allow me to control different aspects of my home power to increase convenience as well as hopefully cut my power usage. Read the rest of this entry…
Tags: automation, green, home automation, power, technology, x10
Posted in Family, Technology | Comments (0)
Posted on Monday, 12th July 2010 by Bob
Well, the time has come to continue to simplify my life to focus more on family things and eliminate the deadwood in my life. So, unfortunately, the Mustang project has been sold and the garage has been cleaned out. Hell, I even installed a garage door opener on that side of the garage, and for the first time in 8 years (since I bought this house) I parked MY car in MY side of MY garage… I think i can get used to this!
I will continue to use my R/C hobby as my mechanical outlet, its a HELL of a lot less expensive and I can have my workbench in the basement where it is warm in the winter and cool in the summer – and is something Alex and I can do together!
Posted in Family, Mustang Project | Comments (0)
Posted on Monday, 28th June 2010 by Bob
Alex (my son) placed 5th in the No Limit RC World Finals at Digger’s Dungeon in Poplar Branch NC – here’s my video tribute – way to go Alex!
Posted in Family, Racing, Radio Controlled, Savage | Comments (0)
Posted on Monday, 28th June 2010 by Bob
Since the Savage has a particularly tall stance, if you are in any way interested in racing it, you need to bring its head down from the clouds. There was a bunch of chatter on the HPI Savage Forums on how this could be done, so I decided to try it out. All in all, it worked out pretty good!
Read the rest of this entry…
Tags: hellfire, How To, hpi, rc, savage, upgrade
Posted in How To, Radio Controlled, Savage | Comments (0)