HA modules from b&Q

[tabath]

Anyone used these at all?

http://www.automatedhome.co.uk/Reviews/HomeEasy-Wireless-Home-Automation-Review.html

[ddamron]

reading from the link you provided:

Shortcomings
Ok, there's a big one. Get ready, it's going to be like getting clubbed in the face with a sea-urchin encrusted mallet....there's no PC control interface!

Also:
The other drawback is that there are transmitters and receivers in the system, but no transceivers. So you can't go querying devices for their current brightness

Too bad.. I was looking for another protocol to integrate!

Regards,

Dan

[tabath]

I'll keep my eye on them  - transceiver may come along and pc interface(keepps fingers x)

[ddamron]

tabath,

Yes, keep your eye on it.  If you find a product, dig in and see if you can get the protocol.

I've got a WHACKLOAD of code I made for both Insteon and PLCBUS..
Heh, I did PLCBUS remotely!  Hari's setup (in Germany).. I (in Canada) just remoted in, and coded away...
We managed to get basic functionality within a couple hours, although 2way communication took a bit longer..

Now that that's done, I'm moving on, coding ThreadedRuby, which will allow protocols which can be threaded (aka Insteon, Zwave, etc) to communicate in a threaded fashion.  I Started this (latest) project when I was working on PLCBUS, and eventually learned (piss me off) that PLCBUS commands cannot be threaded.. ie, you send a command, and wait for a response.

Anywho, to make a long story short (er), I should be ablel to code practically *any* HA protocol out there, provided I have access to equipment (can be done remotely)

All the best, and keep me posted on what you find.

Dan

[tabath]

Thanks - I will keep a look out. My main interest is in obtaining some sort of heating control through linuxMCE - ( I am actually a heating engineer anyway) - danfoss have just released a Zwave compatable TRV, so I'm trying to read up on that. Am I ight in thinking basically you have an rf controller linked to your MCE Core via either USB or Rs232 which then receives/transmits data/commands to the module?

I don't have any idea how the danfoss trv would interact with linuxmce- is this a code module that would have to be written to control some sort of plug module that swtiches the boiler on an off and closes the various trv's when set temperatures have been reached. I would also like to integrate weather compensation as well.

[ddamron]

tabath,

If you're in NA, check out www.smarthome.com

They have released a new Thermostat for Insteon.
(can't remember the name)

Dan

[fibres]

Just a thought.

These things have an IR remote right? I know it would not be 2 ways and all but would it not be possible to control these using a USBUIRT or similar.

Regards

[ddamron]

fibres,

I don't think they do, I don't know about the danfoss stuff..

The Insteon Thermostats already use RF and Powerline to communicate, which is easily captured with a PLM.

[tabath]

No I'm in the UK ddamron. By the way what is PLM?

[ddamron]

The PLM is (one of) the Insteon Computer Interface. PLM = Power Line Modem

It's basically, just that.  No bells and whistles, no timers, no macros, no nothing.  Just FULL communication to Insteon and/or X10 devices (as inteon is backwards compatible)

That is the heart of my Insteon Driver. Being that it's only a modem, not a controller, it's also cheaper

There is also something called the PLC or PowerLinc Controller.. This device HAS all the bells and whistles..
The PLC is NOT, I repeat, NOT compatible with the PLM, therefore, it is NOT integrated.  I don't have one to test with.

HTH,
Dan