What computer x10 hardware/software do you use?
- Thread starter metomeya
- Start date
Hello BSR,
I agree that the new ELK M1 Gold Panel is feature packed and available at a very reasonable cost. Unfortunatly I installed a Caddx system about 8 months ago so that pretty much put the kybosh on getting an M1 panel for myself. As soon as HAL adds support for the M1 I will make it my Alarm system of choice for customers installs though. But it will be hard to leave the ocelot and family behind as they have been extremely sturdy, and in the world of HA that is PRICELESS!
Mahalo,
Shawn Walsh
I agree that the new ELK M1 Gold Panel is feature packed and available at a very reasonable cost. Unfortunatly I installed a Caddx system about 8 months ago so that pretty much put the kybosh on getting an M1 panel for myself. As soon as HAL adds support for the M1 I will make it my Alarm system of choice for customers installs though. But it will be hard to leave the ocelot and family behind as they have been extremely sturdy, and in the world of HA that is PRICELESS!
Mahalo,
Shawn Walsh
BraveSirRobbin
Moderator
Shawn:
Sounds like we are in the EXACT same boat. I also installed an Ocelot with SECU16I and RELAY8 modules plus a Caddx NX8E with 16 port zone expander and eight relay expander cards.
I have the Caddx and Ocelot "communicating" together so I can get more complex logic needed for certain scenarios (have the relay output of the Caddx going to a few SECU16I inputs and one RELAY8 output going to a zone input of the Caddx).
I can't afford to change my system right now (long story), and I finally have everything working correctly. I also have all of this backed up by batteries (Caddx internal power battery and Elk 12 Volt Battery/Charger supply for the Ocelot and its modules).
I also have Homeseer talking to the Ocelot and Caddx systems as well.
BUT, I find it very attractive that the Elk M1 could have made my life a LOT easier by combining the functions of the Ocelot and Caddx together in one package. Programming would have been easier as I wouldn't have had to figure out the DL900 software for the Caddx and CMax ladder logic for the Ocelot, AND time all of this so everything talks the way I want. The Elk was not available though at the time I purchased all of this equipment.
This is Elk's strength where it combines the home security as well as everyday I/O needs all in one package. Plus (from what I hear) it is a lot easier to program as well. The only thing it can't do is IR.
Just wanted to get your take on it as well.
Regards,
BSR
Sounds like we are in the EXACT same boat. I also installed an Ocelot with SECU16I and RELAY8 modules plus a Caddx NX8E with 16 port zone expander and eight relay expander cards.
I have the Caddx and Ocelot "communicating" together so I can get more complex logic needed for certain scenarios (have the relay output of the Caddx going to a few SECU16I inputs and one RELAY8 output going to a zone input of the Caddx).
I can't afford to change my system right now (long story), and I finally have everything working correctly. I also have all of this backed up by batteries (Caddx internal power battery and Elk 12 Volt Battery/Charger supply for the Ocelot and its modules).
I also have Homeseer talking to the Ocelot and Caddx systems as well.
BUT, I find it very attractive that the Elk M1 could have made my life a LOT easier by combining the functions of the Ocelot and Caddx together in one package. Programming would have been easier as I wouldn't have had to figure out the DL900 software for the Caddx and CMax ladder logic for the Ocelot, AND time all of this so everything talks the way I want. The Elk was not available though at the time I purchased all of this equipment.
This is Elk's strength where it combines the home security as well as everyday I/O needs all in one package. Plus (from what I hear) it is a lot easier to program as well. The only thing it can't do is IR.
Just wanted to get your take on it as well.
Regards,
BSR
Guy Lavoie
Active Member
Well, not really, since the Elk M1 also uses ladder logic, and it is very similar to C-Max.BraveSirRobbin said:
remoteshoppe
Member
This is the system I am currently configuring. I hope that it is pretty complete and I am still open to any comments or suggestions you all may have. My goal is to get all of the HA hardware in place now so I can tweak the heck out of my home as I wish.
- Converting an old PC to a dedicated HA server with HomeSeer software
- Output to Ocelot ---> PSC05
- Input x10 signals from IR543 (used in my home theater from my Harmony remote) and W800RF32A (to receive signals from PalmPads and key ring controllers from various house codes throughout my home)
My immediate goal is reliable X10 lighting control. Is this flow correct? Palm Pad -> W800RF32A -> HomeSeer -> Ocelot -> PSC05 -> light
I know the W800RF32A can be connected directly to the PSC05 but I like the idea of sending timed x10 macros to the Ocelot
Future plans are to add HVAC & Sprinkler system control to the Ocelot
- Converting an old PC to a dedicated HA server with HomeSeer software
- Output to Ocelot ---> PSC05
- Input x10 signals from IR543 (used in my home theater from my Harmony remote) and W800RF32A (to receive signals from PalmPads and key ring controllers from various house codes throughout my home)
My immediate goal is reliable X10 lighting control. Is this flow correct? Palm Pad -> W800RF32A -> HomeSeer -> Ocelot -> PSC05 -> light
I know the W800RF32A can be connected directly to the PSC05 but I like the idea of sending timed x10 macros to the Ocelot
Future plans are to add HVAC & Sprinkler system control to the Ocelot
BraveSirRobbin
Moderator
Remember that the Ocelot can run logic based on X-10 input also.
For instance you could trigger certain lighting scenarios to happen when you press a button on your palm pad.
This is very reliable and doesn't require anything on your PC at all.
I do this for my Keypadlinc8's which I have mounted in key locations. When a certain key is pressed it triggers various actions from the Ocelot.
BTW: Guy:
I meant to bring out the point that I wouldn't have had to figure out how to make two "different" programs talking to each other. I know CMax pretty well and have no problems with it. The DL900 software for the Caddx, well, I really don't care for it at all. My point was the "integration features" I have between the two would have been a lot easier with the Elk (all in one) as it is all run by the same controller.
For instance you could trigger certain lighting scenarios to happen when you press a button on your palm pad.
This is very reliable and doesn't require anything on your PC at all.
I do this for my Keypadlinc8's which I have mounted in key locations. When a certain key is pressed it triggers various actions from the Ocelot.
BTW: Guy:
I meant to bring out the point that I wouldn't have had to figure out how to make two "different" programs talking to each other. I know CMax pretty well and have no problems with it. The DL900 software for the Caddx, well, I really don't care for it at all. My point was the "integration features" I have between the two would have been a lot easier with the Elk (all in one) as it is all run by the same controller.
My Setup (copied from cinemar's forum):
One of these days I will post some pics.
Theater: 25 x 20 x 10 dedicated room built out of 10" foam concrete filled block covered with acoustic fabric. In process oak coffered ceiling - miter saw nightmare! UPDATE 1/7/04 This is now DONE! looks great...
Mains: B&W 801 series 2 in rosewood (wonderful!)
Center B&W CTC -1?
Sides B&W (small)
Rear AR (small)
Subs (2) VMPS w/15" driver and passive radiator
Parasound HCA 1263A 5 channel amp (surrounds)
Parasound HCA 1000A 2 channel amp (mains)
Carver Magnetic 250/channel (subs)
Sony DVP CX850D DVD / CD player (wish it was Control S!)
Lexicon DC-1 Logic 7 loaded processor
Sony SLVR1000 SVHS (last of the great VCRs)
Audiotron (love it)
Tivos Sony SAT A-50 and Hughes GCXEBOT (both hacked)
Xbox (wish I had time to play - visiting kids love it)
Mitsubishi X300 front projector
Several older integrated amps for multiroom sound
Study
Sony Wega HDTV 36" connected to theater system
Desktop:
LiOn aluminum case
AMD1800
Corsair 1gig Ram
3 250 gig HDs
This is the PC I do all dev work on and RDPs to all other PCs for administration. Why is the PC I use all night long the slowest on my LAN???? Another project in the brew??
Master Bedroom
Denon Integrated ProLogic surround receiver
Fisher monitor (old but still works great)
VMPS center channel
AR Mains (medium size)
AR mini rears
Connected to theater sources
Kitchen
Older web PC w/ new Mitsu 15" flat screen
UPDATE: 1/4/04 - undercabinet swing mount w/ dockable FujitsuStylisticLT tablet
TV monitor adapter (ViewSonic)
connected to Theater sources via RG6 and IR
Telxon PTC-921 RF laser wireless bar code scanner connected to Lan via Lantronix MSS-100 serial to TCPIP adapter (run on Server virtual com port)
Master Bath
Small Sony flatscreen connected to Theater sources
Home Automation UPDATE: 1/4/04 - see new Server configuration below
Server: See below
Homeseer (wonderful product) - connected to Web
Slinke
USB (new - plugged it in and it worked!) and CM11A interfaces (now just for Slinke / MainLobby?)
Tons of X10 all over the place
2)Pond and sprinkler pump, jets, waterfall control
Napco Gemini 9600 security panel plus custom security add ons
LiOn black aluminum server case w/ slow 80 mm fans
Sound foam lining
GigaByte GA-8KNXP Mainboard: MB P4/800 I875P S/GB-L/SA/R
Power Supply: ENERMAX 460W DUAL CPU 24P
Ram: Corsair DDR TWINX1024-3200C2PT
5) SATA Seagate 160gig HDs (3Ware 8 port Raid 5 controller)
CPU: P4-3.0 GHZ 800MHZ RB 512K
Video Card: ATI Radeon 9200
LCD Touchscreen
On board audio (whole house zoning)
Hauppauge PVR-350 TV card (for camera input and TV output)
Iceburg Water cooling (CPU and chipset) external radiator
Edgeport USB - 4 Serial adapter
1 Wire device serial LAN adapter (temp / humidity / voltage etc readings from house / barn / ponds, etc.)
Software:
MLServer w/ Zoomplayer / DVDLobby / Slinke / Homeseer (Krumpy edition) plugins
MainLobby / DVDLobby / WeatherLobby / MusicLobby
MediaCenter 10 latest beta
ZoomPlayer / WinDVD codecs / ReClocker / ffdshow / Dscaler
preMovieManager / Trivia / Signs / MovieFacts / Demos / Trailers
Norton Antivirus
Homeseer 2.0 latest beta build:
NeoVoice Sapi 5 Voices
Hauppauge capture plugin (in process w/ beta)
Doomotion plugin
Napco alarm plugin
MediaPlayer plugin
Slinke interface w/ expansion module
Powerlinc USB X10 plugin
Network monitor plugin
Audiotron plugin
MSCTemp plugin
mscSprinklers using 2) Rain8Net RS-232 controlled relay boxes
TouchPad plugin
UltraSuite scripts
UltraLog scripts
Lantronix Redirector for connection to Lantronix MSS-100 TCPIP / serial adapter (for Telxon PTC-921 laser / wireless barcode scanner in kitchen)
MSIM Server (Krumpy edition)
Interfaces
Fujitsu Tablet XP (neat device)
Bluetooth IPAQ 3870 with 802.11b (haven't connected blue to anything yet...)
Fujitsu Stylisitic LT win 98 w/802.11g (was nice until the Tablet XP) undercounter mount in kitchen
Fujitsu Stylistic LT win98 3/ 802.11b in Master bedroom
Fujitsu PenCentra CE tablet w/ 802.11b (Love the instant Boot of CE)
Dell 802.11b laptop XP Pro
Custom desktop Athalon 1800 XP Pro (3 200 gig drives)
Xantech IR distribution throughout house
RG6 everywhere w/amplified distribution panels
Cat5 everywhere (don't use it much with 802.11b now)
HTPC
Just got some Cocobolo wood from Costa Rica for the front face - should look great with the B&W801s - gonna spend some time on this one...
Griffin Powermate multifunction input device
Matrix Orbital USB VFD Blue
Abit AN8 motherboard
DVine Aluminum ATX case
Zalman Reservator water cooling (mostly because it's geekie but also quiet and cool)
3200 AMD 64 bit
1 gig matched Corsair
AIW 9800 graphic card w/watercooler
AudigyPlatinum Ex sound card
Forsam 400 watt silent PS
2 200 gig Maxtor 7200rpm drives (40 gig for OS and programs)
1 250 gig Sata 7200 drive in heat case
Sound reduction padded top, sides, bottom.
Software
Media Center 2005 w/ all plugins
MainLobby2, DVDLobby3, PPC DVDLobby, MusicLobby, WeatherLobby, MLServer
Homeseer
MediaCenter
ZoomPlayer w/ Zoom Player Homeseer plugin
Dscaler
DVDShrink
Girder
Arcade Cabinet:
Custom cabinet
PC:
Dell MB
P3 933 mhz
1 gig RDRAM
Multiple HDs
Logitech optical keyboard / mouse / camera
Hercules sound card
Logitech 5.1 PC speakers
Fisher 25" monitor
XGaming arcade sticks
Mame32 / MainLobby
CarPC (new for 4/8/04)
Shuttle XPCG2 800mhz FSB w/ 802.11b, SATA Raid
Corsair (2) 512 meg
160 Gig SATA drive
P4 2.4 ghz
Creative USB Audigy soundcard
Starvision 7" touchscreen in retractable DIN chassis
Ease Diagnostics WVI OBD2 802.11b interface (serial / ethernet / USB)
Delorme Earthmate GPS
Gyration Ultra keyboard and mouse
400 watt Invertor
Software: MainLobby / CruiseControl / Ease Dashboard / Streets 2004
MediaServer (under construction)
Gigabyte GA-8INXP motherboard w/ SATA w/passive cooling on chipset
2.8 ghz P4
1 gig Corsair matched Ram
Gonna move the SATA 3Ware RAID5 card here
One of these days I will post some pics.
Theater: 25 x 20 x 10 dedicated room built out of 10" foam concrete filled block covered with acoustic fabric. In process oak coffered ceiling - miter saw nightmare! UPDATE 1/7/04 This is now DONE! looks great...
Mains: B&W 801 series 2 in rosewood (wonderful!)
Center B&W CTC -1?
Sides B&W (small)
Rear AR (small)
Subs (2) VMPS w/15" driver and passive radiator
Parasound HCA 1263A 5 channel amp (surrounds)
Parasound HCA 1000A 2 channel amp (mains)
Carver Magnetic 250/channel (subs)
Sony DVP CX850D DVD / CD player (wish it was Control S!)
Lexicon DC-1 Logic 7 loaded processor
Sony SLVR1000 SVHS (last of the great VCRs)
Audiotron (love it)
Tivos Sony SAT A-50 and Hughes GCXEBOT (both hacked)
Xbox (wish I had time to play - visiting kids love it)
Mitsubishi X300 front projector
Several older integrated amps for multiroom sound
Study
Sony Wega HDTV 36" connected to theater system
Desktop:
LiOn aluminum case
AMD1800
Corsair 1gig Ram
3 250 gig HDs
This is the PC I do all dev work on and RDPs to all other PCs for administration. Why is the PC I use all night long the slowest on my LAN???? Another project in the brew??
Master Bedroom
Denon Integrated ProLogic surround receiver
Fisher monitor (old but still works great)
VMPS center channel
AR Mains (medium size)
AR mini rears
Connected to theater sources
Kitchen
Older web PC w/ new Mitsu 15" flat screen
UPDATE: 1/4/04 - undercabinet swing mount w/ dockable FujitsuStylisticLT tablet
TV monitor adapter (ViewSonic)
connected to Theater sources via RG6 and IR
Telxon PTC-921 RF laser wireless bar code scanner connected to Lan via Lantronix MSS-100 serial to TCPIP adapter (run on Server virtual com port)
Master Bath
Small Sony flatscreen connected to Theater sources
Home Automation UPDATE: 1/4/04 - see new Server configuration below
Server: See below
Homeseer (wonderful product) - connected to Web
Slinke
USB (new - plugged it in and it worked!) and CM11A interfaces (now just for Slinke / MainLobby?)
Tons of X10 all over the place
2)Pond and sprinkler pump, jets, waterfall control
Napco Gemini 9600 security panel plus custom security add ons
LiOn black aluminum server case w/ slow 80 mm fans
Sound foam lining
GigaByte GA-8KNXP Mainboard: MB P4/800 I875P S/GB-L/SA/R
Power Supply: ENERMAX 460W DUAL CPU 24P
Ram: Corsair DDR TWINX1024-3200C2PT
5) SATA Seagate 160gig HDs (3Ware 8 port Raid 5 controller)
CPU: P4-3.0 GHZ 800MHZ RB 512K
Video Card: ATI Radeon 9200
LCD Touchscreen
On board audio (whole house zoning)
Hauppauge PVR-350 TV card (for camera input and TV output)
Iceburg Water cooling (CPU and chipset) external radiator
Edgeport USB - 4 Serial adapter
1 Wire device serial LAN adapter (temp / humidity / voltage etc readings from house / barn / ponds, etc.)
Software:
MLServer w/ Zoomplayer / DVDLobby / Slinke / Homeseer (Krumpy edition) plugins
MainLobby / DVDLobby / WeatherLobby / MusicLobby
MediaCenter 10 latest beta
ZoomPlayer / WinDVD codecs / ReClocker / ffdshow / Dscaler
preMovieManager / Trivia / Signs / MovieFacts / Demos / Trailers
Norton Antivirus
Homeseer 2.0 latest beta build:
NeoVoice Sapi 5 Voices
Hauppauge capture plugin (in process w/ beta)
Doomotion plugin
Napco alarm plugin
MediaPlayer plugin
Slinke interface w/ expansion module
Powerlinc USB X10 plugin
Network monitor plugin
Audiotron plugin
MSCTemp plugin
mscSprinklers using 2) Rain8Net RS-232 controlled relay boxes
TouchPad plugin
UltraSuite scripts
UltraLog scripts
Lantronix Redirector for connection to Lantronix MSS-100 TCPIP / serial adapter (for Telxon PTC-921 laser / wireless barcode scanner in kitchen)
MSIM Server (Krumpy edition)
Interfaces
Fujitsu Tablet XP (neat device)
Bluetooth IPAQ 3870 with 802.11b (haven't connected blue to anything yet...)
Fujitsu Stylisitic LT win 98 w/802.11g (was nice until the Tablet XP) undercounter mount in kitchen
Fujitsu Stylistic LT win98 3/ 802.11b in Master bedroom
Fujitsu PenCentra CE tablet w/ 802.11b (Love the instant Boot of CE)
Dell 802.11b laptop XP Pro
Custom desktop Athalon 1800 XP Pro (3 200 gig drives)
Xantech IR distribution throughout house
RG6 everywhere w/amplified distribution panels
Cat5 everywhere (don't use it much with 802.11b now)
HTPC
Just got some Cocobolo wood from Costa Rica for the front face - should look great with the B&W801s - gonna spend some time on this one...
Griffin Powermate multifunction input device
Matrix Orbital USB VFD Blue
Abit AN8 motherboard
DVine Aluminum ATX case
Zalman Reservator water cooling (mostly because it's geekie but also quiet and cool)
3200 AMD 64 bit
1 gig matched Corsair
AIW 9800 graphic card w/watercooler
AudigyPlatinum Ex sound card
Forsam 400 watt silent PS
2 200 gig Maxtor 7200rpm drives (40 gig for OS and programs)
1 250 gig Sata 7200 drive in heat case
Sound reduction padded top, sides, bottom.
Software
Media Center 2005 w/ all plugins
MainLobby2, DVDLobby3, PPC DVDLobby, MusicLobby, WeatherLobby, MLServer
Homeseer
MediaCenter
ZoomPlayer w/ Zoom Player Homeseer plugin
Dscaler
DVDShrink
Girder
Arcade Cabinet:
Custom cabinet
PC:
Dell MB
P3 933 mhz
1 gig RDRAM
Multiple HDs
Logitech optical keyboard / mouse / camera
Hercules sound card
Logitech 5.1 PC speakers
Fisher 25" monitor
XGaming arcade sticks
Mame32 / MainLobby
CarPC (new for 4/8/04)
Shuttle XPCG2 800mhz FSB w/ 802.11b, SATA Raid
Corsair (2) 512 meg
160 Gig SATA drive
P4 2.4 ghz
Creative USB Audigy soundcard
Starvision 7" touchscreen in retractable DIN chassis
Ease Diagnostics WVI OBD2 802.11b interface (serial / ethernet / USB)
Delorme Earthmate GPS
Gyration Ultra keyboard and mouse
400 watt Invertor
Software: MainLobby / CruiseControl / Ease Dashboard / Streets 2004
MediaServer (under construction)
Gigabyte GA-8INXP motherboard w/ SATA w/passive cooling on chipset
2.8 ghz P4
1 gig Corsair matched Ram
Gonna move the SATA 3Ware RAID5 card here
remoteshoppe
Member
I do want to use the Palm pad with the Ocelot and I have the old-fashioned (read unreliable) x10 transceiver now. That is why I was planning on using the W800RF. What is the difference between the W800RF and the V572AB? Is my hookup through the PC correct or would it be better to get a second PSC05... one for the ocelot, one for the W800/V572?
edit: Answered my own questions... one I figured out that the W800 & V572 were both from WGL I found this http://www.wgldesigns.com/w800_vs_v572.html
edit: Answered my own questions... one I figured out that the W800 & V572 were both from WGL I found this http://www.wgldesigns.com/w800_vs_v572.html
BraveSirRobbin
Moderator
Good catch (as usual E). I should have clarified that my logic does not rely on a PC!!electron said:
HAL 2000 seems to be a well kept secret, here, this is the chat forum for HALRupp said:
http://www.automatedliving.com/phpbb2/
HAL reads me the current weather forecast in great detail every morning at 6:35 a.m. and tells me what day it is
Call and ask for a demo, HAL is way cool
contact Bill Stevenson by phone at HAL (888-243-8425 or 817-557-9400) if you really want to know all its functions you must check this outExpand Hal's Internet Capabilities with Tell Me by JIM http://www.automatedliving.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=1468
Rupp
Senior Member
easytim,easytim said:HAL 2000 seems to be a well kept secret, here, this is the chat forum for HALRupp said:
http://www.automatedliving.com/phpbb2/
HAL reads me the current weather forecast in great detail every morning at 6:35 a.m. and tells me what day it is
Call and ask for a demo, HAL is way cool
Expand Hal's Internet Capabilities with Tell Me by JIM http://www.automatedliving.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=1468
I use HS to do this and a lot more. Is HAL mostly a voice interface software? Does it have a lot of 3rd party software integration? Is it built on an expandable software architecture?
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