Messages

31

Users / Re: Anyone used a Valcom SIP Door Intercom

« on: April 20, 2010, 06:00:04 pm »

That is neat, so how did you plan to send audio back to emulate a full intercom?

Is that something done easily with the KNX stuff? Being in Canada, Ive never really looked at KNX...

Ignore the KNX stuff, it's a red herring.

I figured to need 2 cat6 cables.  1 for the PoE supply to the camera, which returns video (and I assume audio from the camera board, although I've not tested this) as a video stream to browser (over the built in webserver). Then using the other cat6 (or cat5 should work) use two pairs for two push to make switches and the other two pairs as a return speaker cable to the door intercom. I've tested this and it works okay.  At the return end (in my electrical cabinet in my case) I'd need two inputs to sense the push to make (this is where I would use some spare KNX inputs I have) and an amplified audio source for the door intercom speaker (I've yet to source a small suitable speaker).

I haven't finalised how to tie it all together at the software end, but the hardware is relatively simple.

32

Users / Re: Anyone used a Valcom SIP Door Intercom

« on: April 20, 2010, 05:33:43 pm »

I bought one of these IP Kamera Kits some time ago, for this purpose.  I intend to use the microphone socket of the camera, and combine it with a PoE injector/adaptor (I bought a job lot of netgear ones years ago for indecently little money which are ideal for individual usage not needring a PoE stwich where only 100mbs are required) to run remotely without a power source.  Then using an ordinary push to make switch or switches connecte to my available KNX inputs.  I have two cat6 cables and a knx bus cable wired to my fronty door, so there's no reason I couldn't do this and even potentially add a knx keypad or other device.

Was going to go with the home-made, cobbled together approach that is not well supported by LinuxMCE. It struck me as more fun, and no real reason it couldn't be resilient and robust. Still, not supported well in LinuxMCE - particularly that camera which doesn't work with LinuxMCE (but can be configured using windows and then used to display pictures in any browser - which is how I envisaged using it).

This comes in at a total of under £100 UKP excluding housing.  Another motivation.

33

Users / Re: Finally started my install, but can't install kubuntu....

« on: April 18, 2010, 03:52:12 pm »

.....Hope you're having some success.

Thanks for that.  I'm on hold with it at the moment.  I've had the board or power supply blow and trip the electrics.  I need to take it all to bits and test to see what has been fried and what hasn't.  In the meantime I'm going to install the core as a test on an asrock atom 330 I've got lying around.  I'm not expecting that to go smoothly either, but I need to test the dvbworld 2104's that have arrived.

So much to do, so little time.

34

Users / Re: TV suggestions?

« on: April 16, 2010, 12:58:13 am »

The LG 50PS3000

Shows it has rs232 so at worse a template could be made for it.


My 37 has simplink so at one point I will check into its capabilities with lmce.


Tim

I have a 32LH300 and a 42LH3000.  All the RS232 control codes are printed in the manual (check the LG site for your manual online).  I intend to work on device templates for these two devices, which presumably should be easy to modify for other LG models with the same control codes.  Of course by the time I've done this you wont be able to buy these models, but them's the breaks.

35

Users / Re: EnOcean + DALI + LinuxMCE, doable ?

« on: April 15, 2010, 02:39:53 pm »

I think it's a very important design consideration.  To the extent that I have designed my home with full independent autonomous systems.  I'm only using LinixMCE to integrate those systems together and to add functionality (....for example turn the lights on, if someone enters the room, and it's dark).  For me LinuxMCE is the icing on the cake. I would be uncomfortable with it being the whole cake.  It's not just the obvious that you need to consider.  How do you feel about not being able to make or receive phone calls if your core is down? What provision have you made for making emergency calls?

There are certain things that you need to keep working irrespective of the status of a server. It's a reason that I'm so pleased with KNX.  The equipment is of a high quality and has industrial level reliability.  For other systems I generally have one self contained subsystem capable of working without Linuxmce for each important function - except security/alarm which is not a big concern to me, but if it becomes so I have planned everything so that I can drop in an approved alarm box.

36

Users / Re: Finally started my install, but can't install kubuntu....

« on: April 13, 2010, 01:08:52 pm »

No thoughts I suppose. I feel like this might be one of the hazards of trying to run an old kernel on new hardware. I know that I have other equipment that isn't supported in the kernel shipping with 8.10, could it be this causing my problem?  I've tried adding the noapic switch to the install command.  Is there anything else I can try?  I was hoping some of you who have tried the core on a recent atom board might have come across something similar.  I perhaps should add that I've had ubuntu 9.10 running on the board.

Slow development rate, leads to old kernels and less modern hardware support, however fast hardware evolution means that buying new well supported hardware is difficult.

It's a pickle and no mistake.....

37

Users / Re: Network layout question - all-in-one router.

« on: April 12, 2010, 03:49:44 pm »

I think we should all calm down a bit.

LinuxMCE is an incredible project. The developers, though very stretched, do an excellent job and are much appreciated by those such as me who are not in a position to help with the development.  Nevertheless it's not perfect, and there are clearly challenges in the pace of development and the accessibility of information.  Setting up LinuxMCE isn't easy. Developing for it is clearly a nightmare. At the same time the more people who are encouraged to try it and find their own needs, the more it will be tested, and expanded.

We should all try to encourage each other, and move forward.  There isn't enough spare effort going around to waste it on arguments, particularly if it discourages people from getting involved.

38

Users / Finally started my install, but can't install kubuntu....

« on: April 11, 2010, 04:44:25 pm »

Okay.  I have custom built what I hope to be my LinuxMCE core and media directors.  I have four motherboards mounted in a case, with four power supplies, four power switches, fans and 6TB of storage.  Each motherboard can be turned on or off independently. The bottom motherboard in my stack is the core. Based on a Tyan S3115GM2N motherboard (no nvidia graphics, but dual nic, and an atom server board) it has a 64GB flash drive connected for the system files and three 1TB hard drives in a backplane arrangement for storage.  The other three motherboards, for media directors, are Asus AT3N7A-I's.  The next motherboard up from the Tyan board has another three 1TB hard drives connected via SATA backplane.  This motherboard is for the media director in the lounge.  The other two motherboards have no attached storage.  I have on order four DVB-S2 C 2104D usb tuners on order for my satellite feeds which I hope to connect to the core and to the lounge media director (two to each).  The intention is to leave the core and the lounge media director on at all times, and turn on the others as required (one will feed to my dining room, and the other will provide a central audio source and/or act as a media director for the kitchen).  All of the places that screens wiil be located are within a 5m cable run of the rack installation.  Currently none are connected via HDMI, rather they are all connected to an old KVM switch in the rack via VGA and ps/2 to usb converters.

Ultimately I will connect a cd/dvd drive via usb to the lounge media director.  I also hope to connect usb soundcards in various configurations (I have ten lying around and like the idea of moving the soundcard away from electrical noise from the server rack). As a result I'm trying to use a bootable usb drive to install Linuxmce.

Switching only the core on and booting (successfully) from usb flash drive (using the snapshot published on the 8th of this month) I get the following. It asks for my language and then reaches the install menu. I select install kubuntu. The sliding blue bar indicating progress runs for a few minutes, and then freezes. No progress.

Any thoughts?

39

Users / Re: **Need Input** Newbie building [Hard]core server

« on: April 10, 2010, 12:30:07 am »

unfortunately, trentend, I do have one caveat you must keep in mind...

The Device database is designed to deal with databases and setups that OTHER PEOPLE CAN USE.

I will have a very hard time accepting changes for a setup that will only work in your case.

-Thom

Understood.  I'll have to discuss the detail with you when I'm working on that part of my setup. Don't hold your breath.

40

Users / Re: Network layout question - all-in-one router.

« on: April 10, 2010, 12:03:10 am »

I think it's relatively simple.

LinuxMCE is designed to be a consumer level all-in-one solution.  So connect it as the wiki suggests to your router and it will work (mainly, once you've twiddled with it a bit).  for most people this is all that you will need.

There are other people, who have specific requirements, and specific knowledge, that may use it in other non-supported (as much as anything is around here) ways.  Personally I have a problem with any one element being a single point of failure, as I have a problem with essential systems relying on computers/servers.  So what I have is a series of self-contained systems that work without any requirement for server level control.  I have a self contained heating control system, a knx based electrical and intrusion detection system (door sensors and PIR's), a 1-wire sensing system, a separate asterisk server integrated with POTS. I have quad LNB's on my satellite dishes so that they can run a setop box as well as DVB-S2 tuners in LinuxMCE.  I have purchased other items (like my Onkyo receiver) so that they give me what I want as a stand alone unit, as well as being capable of being integrated into LinuxMCE.  I have put together these items, and planned the construction and layout of my house in such a way that everything works without LinuxMCE, but can do more and work better with it.  I have not placed all my eggs in one basket - for example my heating control system has an integrated webserver with the capability for remote control, but I have also wired so that I could replace the thermostats, timers, and valves with KNX units if I later choose to go down that route.  I also have allowed for z-wave capability if KNX doesn't meet all of my needs.  I have a lot of spare power and CAT6 dotted around the place.  I have TV aerials, radio aerials (dab and FM) as well as my eight satellite feeds (from two separate dishes, one motorised).  I'm just not the sort of person to rely on one critical system working.

In addition to my LinuxMCE network I have a need for a work network (I work from home and integrate using vps with a number of sites that I administer from an IT perspective).  The scope of LinuxMCE just does not meet my needs in this area.  So my intention is to split LinuxMCE and my work network using VLANS over a Level2 smart switch (I've been working on that today, actually).  My router will connect to both subnets (work and LinuxMCE) but LinuxMCE will totally control, as designed, the home subnet.

I need it to work this way.  I may very well get shouted at here, and I expect it to require a lot of time and effort on my part to get it working, but then this is a long slow project for me and I accept that.

So that's where you need to be.  You either need to use the system as designed and take recommendations on equipment that it is known works well with LinuxMCE (something that I have found difficult to achieve in Europe when most of the available advice doesn't always apply as well), or you need to define your own requirements and be prepared to do your own legwork to get it working.

LinuxMCE is a marvelous piece of work almost without peer.  That does not mean that I agree with all design decisions, nor with what is well supported and what is poorly integrated or supported.  The framework is there to make it something special though, and I'm going to have a crack at making it work for me. 

If you really want an easy push to play system, then you need to speak to one of the system integrators and buy an off the shelf system.  If you want to do something against that intended usage of the developers you have to accept that you are on your own - they're stretched enough as it is.  Having said that, I believe that LinuxMCE can integrate with my requirements for a system, and my needs are outside the intended scope of LinuxMCE as designed.

41

Users / Re: **Need Input** Newbie building [Hard]core server

« on: April 09, 2010, 10:25:54 pm »

1-wire is a very well established, resilient, and scalable standard for networking sensors.  I have a weather station and some temperature sensors, a humidity sensor, and a pressure sensor.  This shows you how to put together a network.

The sensors require a very simple wiring (I use 1 cat5) topology, are individually addressable, and are cheap enough to dot them around where you need them (monitor temperatures in server cabinet, humidity in bathrooms, temperatures in rooms, etc.).  A lot of people use them for environmental monitoring in gardens (for greenhouses and the suchlike), to trigger remote watering of plants, and there is significant usage of weather stations (they work out amongst the cheapest options for integrating with computer systems).

Because of the simplicity of the wiring scheme it's very easy to add additional sensors.  Combined with an optical coupler (to reduce potential damage to connected computers) they are a very flexible and resilient method of dispersed environmental monitoring.

I know that they are not well integrated with LinucMCE. That's one of the areas I will be looking at when I have my system up and running.  Initially I'm using an NSLU2 to log data and hopefully it's just a question of querying the database log from LinuxMCE.

42

Users / Re: 810 Abandoned?

« on: April 03, 2010, 07:38:14 pm »

"Bowlcam" check your rectal health. Easier than sticking your head up your arse.

That is wrong on so many levels....

You wouldn't have liked the first draft then.

Today was a happy day for me, I finished my homebrew case for mytyan server board and three ion boards.  Rackmount width and 25cm high by 22cm deep. Contains four power supplies and two disk SATA removable hard drive backplanes (for media) with a 64GB solid state drive for the systems software. Under a short soak test it seems to run at stable temperatures, except for one power supply that seems unstable.  I'll swap that out and soak test again.  After that I'm ready to begin my LinuxMCe journey.

Didn't want to post about it, in case someone thought it was a joke.

43

Users / Re: 810 Abandoned?

« on: April 02, 2010, 04:07:37 pm »

"Bowlcam" check your rectal health. Easier than sticking your head up your arse.

44

Users / Re: I need orbiter advice

« on: March 30, 2010, 04:17:57 pm »

Andrew,

Thank you for that.  As you say it makes sense.

As regards your work on 10.04, I'm unfamiliar with the scope of that.  Clearly the input of your company provides a massive amount to the Linuxmce community.  While respecting your commercial interests it is very useful to the project as a whole the work that you contribute back.  There are those of us, like me, who are neither developers nor potential customers.  I know I'm hell bent on getting things to work for myself. Nevertheless, I'd be happy to contribute testing and feedback if that might be of any use to you.

I have concerns about the long term viability without substantial contributors and consequently I see the input of you and your organisation to be very important.

I do think a 10.4 version would be a very good idea.  On the other hand I know that with limited developer contributions the direction of the project is determined by the knowledge and judgment of a small number of people. To prosper Linuxmce needs to be as open as possible, the documentation (for users and developers needs a lot more contributors, and the project needs sufficient momentum to provide version development within reasonable timeframes.

Currently I'm cutting up lexan and making holes in order to build a custom case for my centrally mounted motherboards (A Tyan atom for the core and three ASUS atom ions as MD's). Over the next month or so I will be in more of a position to contribute.  From a base of absolutely no knowledge unfortunately.

45

Users / Re: Best Automation type to implement

« on: March 26, 2010, 11:25:57 am »

Nobody has mentioned KNX, which may be fair if you are not in Europe.  KNX is an excellent, robust, industrial quality system. It has cross manufacturer support and a very wide availability. Most frequently used in bus form although it also supports powerline and wireless.  I recommend it as a bus based system, I genuinely believe there is nothing better.  The disadvantage is that it is at the top end in regard to cost.