New member

[lpott6]

Hi to all,

Just joined the forum, but have been reading for a few weeks. The wealth of knowledge and willingness to share it is very helpful for a newcomer.

I am in the process of starting a company to install HA systems and am putting together a test/demo environment. At this point I have an HTPC running the MainLobby suite with a Sony 777ES changer and a 2nd pc running HomeSeer. I have UPB devices for lighting control and am working on the MainLobby/HomeSeer interface. Once that is running, I will add distributed A/V, a security panel (ELK), HVAC control and, when the weather improves, sprinkler system control.

I am going to EHX in Florida to see and learn as much as possible.

I look forward to meeting many of you there at the Friday night diner.

Larry in Denver

 

[pkoslow]

Hi Larry,

Welcome... there is a "Professionals" forum here at Cocoontech where you may wish to post an introduction as well.

Cheers,
Paul

 

[jlehnert]

Welcome to the forum!

You'll get lots of info from EHX (along with lots of goodies and TONS of paperwork). I've been disappointed with the boot camps at EHX, but you'll pick up good info at some of the manufacturer dog-and-pony shows.

 

[lpott6]

Hi Larry,

Welcome... there is a "Professionals" forum here at Cocoontech where you may wish to post an introduction as well.

Cheers,
Paul

Thanks paul,

I will post on that forum as well.


Larry in Denver

 

[lpott6]

Welcome to the forum!

You'll get lots of info from EHX (along with lots of goodies and TONS of paperwork). I've been disappointed with the boot camps at EHX, but you'll pick up good info at some of the manufacturer dog-and-pony shows.

jlehnert,

I have not been to an EHX show before so I am interested in yours and anyone else's input as to where my time will be best spent.

I was planning on attending the "Techhome Basic Training Boot Camp", but now i'm not sure if it would be worth the money. I also plan to attend a number of conferences and Mfg sesssions.

I think a big part of the show will be meeting Mfg reps and other installers and developing a network of contacts.

Again, any suggestions are welcome.

Thanks,

Larry in Demver

 

[jlehnert]

Larry in Demver

Where is Demver? Anywhere near Denver?

As for EHX. It may be me, but I found the manufacturer presentations and floor show much more informative and useful than some of the conference sessions.

The usefullness of the "Techhome Basic Training Boot Camp" will depend on your knowledge level. It was originally created by Rich Scholl of Worthington Distribution. I don't know if Rich is teaching the bootcamp at EHX this year. From your earlier comments, it looks like you are heavy on the PC and programming end. The bootcamp (and the integration industry) is more hardware driven, so it might be useful for you. As a side note, Worthington took the bootcamp course and used it as the basis for their 4-day Worthington University (which I've attended).

I signed up for the Flat Panel and Home Theatre Installation bootcamps last year, but ended up skipping the flat panel one because it conflicted with too many of the manufacturer courses that I wanted.

The Home Theatre boot camp was a major disappointment. IIRC, the course was broken up into 4 segments. One was general BS (1 hour), the second was some guy from Crestron (and I don't remember what he talked about)(also 1 hour). The third segment was around 3 hours, and dealt with the sound portion of HT. Excellent quality. Lot's of information on types of setups (5.1, 6.1, etc), THX, speaker placement, etc. The guy was an engineer emeritus from one of the big speaker companies, and really knew his stuff

The last 3 hours was about the video, and was the part the got me P.O. The guy talked about how to tune the colors, and why, the different technologies, etc. However, he was going through a slide overy other second, and the handouts where only outlines. No details. No way anyone could take notes fast enough, and often the information on the slides was not in the verbal presentation and visa versa. At the end, I asked the guy if he could email copies of the presentation, since he was going to fast for note taking. The answer was "Absolutely not! If you want to learn the stuff I talked about, you have to take MY class next month for $$$$." In other words, his entire presentation was designed as a sales come-on for the classes he taught. Having a free manufacturer presentation as a sales come-on is one thing, but paying money for a class that turns out to be a come-on is another. :angry: :lol:

 

[lpott6]

Larry in Demver

Where is Demver? Anywhere near Denver? :angry:

Yea, Demver is the next key, er, town over to the east :lol:

Thanks for the input, it sounds like the "Techhome Basic Training Boot Camp" would be worth while. I am very new to HA but have many years with PCs and networks.

I have a list of Mfg talks and conferences that I want to attend and I will spend a lot of time on the show floor talking to the people in the booths. I hope I can carry all the goodies home.

See you at the show.

 

[Squintz]

lpott6,

Hi how is going. I am right there with you. I just passed my electrical license and filed and article of organization here in Maryland yesterday. I have also been working hard on a website to support the business. What type of background do you have?

I noticed that you mentioned you are using HomeSeer for home automation. Would you happen to be using the Pro-100 version? You may want to have a chat with Dean Roddey from www.charmedquark.com. He is in the process of putting together a very nice custom installer system and you may want to see what it has to offer. I use CQC (Charmed Quark Controller) but not the hardware version as its not available yet. I see you said you are using main lobby and HomeSeer together. Well with CQC you can avoid using 2 expensive pieces of software and only have to deal with one person for support. Shoot dean an e-mail and he can go into details for you.

Do you plan on doing Theater installs also? This is something I am interested in but am not sure if i have the man power and resources for it yet.

 

[BraveSirRobbin]

lpott6,

Hi how is going. I am right there with you. I just passed my electrical license and filed and article of organization here in Maryland yesterday. I have also been working hard on a website to support the business. What type of background do you have?

I noticed that you mentioned you are using HomeSeer for home automation. Would you happen to be using the Pro-100 version? You may want to have a chat with Dean Roddey from www.charmedquark.com. He is in the process of putting together a very nice custom installer system and you may want to see what it has to offer. I use CQC (Charmed Quark Controller) but not the hardware version as its not available yet. I see you said you are using main lobby and HomeSeer together. Well with CQC you can avoid using 2 expensive pieces of software and only have to deal with one person for support. Shoot dean an e-mail and he can go into details for you.

Do you plan on doing Theater installs also? This is something I am interested in but am not sure if i have the man power and resources for it yet.

Curious Squintz:

Did part of that certification exam include CQC qualification?

 

[lpott6]

lpott6,

Hi how is going. I am right there with you. I just passed my electrical license and filed and article of organization here in Maryland yesterday. I have also been working hard on a website to support the business. What type of background do you have?

I noticed that you mentioned you are using HomeSeer for home automation. Would you happen to be using the Pro-100 version? You may want to have a chat with Dean Roddey from www.charmedquark.com. He is in the process of putting together a very nice custom installer system and you may want to see what it has to offer. I use CQC (Charmed Quark Controller) but not the hardware version as its not available yet. I see you said you are using main lobby and HomeSeer together. Well with CQC you can avoid using 2 expensive pieces of software and only have to deal with one person for support. Shoot dean an e-mail and he can go into details for you.

Do you plan on doing Theater installs also? This is something I am interested in but am not sure if i have the man power and resources for it yet.

Thanks for the input.

Most of my experience is in PC networks. I have been building HTPCs for a few months but have not gotten into the whole Home Theater setups. I think the big concern with HTPCs in home theaters is how to manage the DVD and CD libraries. I picked up MainLobby to control my Sony 777ES Changer and music library. So far it is doing a nice job. All the music is ripped to the HD and managed by J River Media Center. The MainLobby suite puts a very nice and customizable front end on everything.

I just got HomeSeer last week and have started installing some UPB devices. I do not have a Pro-100. I picked HomeSeer because it has a controlling plugin from MainLobby. I haven't looked much at CQC, but am always looking for a better mousetrap. I will check it out.

I am not a licsened electrician. I am working with one and also a low voltage specialist. I am more of a system designer, programmer and PC builder. So far we are investigating what software and hardware we want to sell and install and have not yet registered the business. We do have a name in mind, but I want to get it registered before putting it out to much.

Are you planning to attend EHX?

Larry in Denver

 

[electron]

I haven't looked much at CQC, but am always looking for a better mousetrap.

Mousetrap eh? Boy, did you come to the right place Keep in mind that HAL has a mainlobby plugin as well, so I would definitely give HAL a try as well.