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My younger brother and his fiancé are moving into a brand new home this weekend. So I’ll be spending my weekend packing, loading and lifting boxes helping them move. As this is an exciting time in their lives, especially since it is their first home, I’m ready to do my part to get them settled.
If I survive, look for me to be back to work on Monday, sore back and all.
I love hearing stories about people buying their first home. If you have one that you’d like to share let us know!
It’s been a busy week at headquarters for the X10 team. So much going on amidst the hustle and bustle that I think it’s time to take a quick breather and talk holiday.
With Independence Day quickly coming upon, I wanted to share a few thoughts as to what this day means to me.
Although it’s a time to gather for BBQ’s and watching fireworks, I hope we can all remember the true purpose which is to celebrate our freedom, which so many people have taken for granted.
This is a great day to be thankful for those who have fought to defend our freedom. It’s also a great day to remember those who have lost their lives in providing us opportunities and prosperity.
When you’re chugging down that cold beer and chowing down on burgers and brats, give time to reflect and be thankful for what you have.
To those of you in the Armed Forces working hard for us, A SINCERE THANK YOU for sacrificing time out of your life to protect and defend our country. Happy Independence Day to you all!
I remember when I was fairly new to web design and would host my own sites. I used to browse the web at other people’s pages and wonder how was it that they were able to get advertisers to place their ads onto their pages. This used to bug me, as I could never figure this out. I used to try and call businesses to let them know that I had a website and was looking to place ads, but would never get anywhere doing this.
Finally, I had figured it out. Businesses and advertisers have what is called an Affiliation program. What this means is that they will advertise their banners on your page, and although you are not partnered with them directly, you are affiliated. How an affiliation program works is that by placing a business’s banner on your site, you earn a commission for each time someone purchases a product online from that business as a result of clicking the advertisement from your site. You don’t even need to have a shopping page, you just simply need to put a banner on and the automatic tracking does the rest.
X10 is involved with two affiliation programs: first is their own in-house, found at http://www.x10affiliate.com and the second through a medium website called Commission Junction, whose sole purpose is to bring advertisers and web designers together. There are many other Affiliate programs available, and you can easily find them by doing a search through a major search engine.
Joining an affiliate program is free and you don't have to pay for services!, Once you are accepted into the program, you are provided with different banners, and tracking reports so you can find out how much commission you are receiving. For those of you web-savvy designers looking for how to place ads onto your site, this is the process for doing this. You don’t have to directly contact businesses and try to throw salespitches only to get turned down. Just simply apply through an Affiliate program and you’re on your way to making your millions!
Want a great way to light a room of your house while you are in it -- without the hassle of looking for that X10 remote control? Try this experiment and you’ll feel like you just stepped into a “house of the future!” You’ll need a lamp module, a transceiver module, and a Hawkeye motion sensor.
Place all of these devices under the same letter frequency to ensure they are all in communication with another. Choose a room that you would like to experiment with and plug the three items into electrical sockets in that room. Attach a lampshade to the lamp module and make sure that the power is set to the ‘On’ position on the lamp. Now every time you enter the room, the light will automatically turn on, and after you leave the light will shut off on its own! You’ll never have to walk to the lampshade or flip a wall switch again!
To see how this concept benefited an X10 customer, click on the following link: http://www.x10.com/news/articles/0322_elder.htm
*To read more great stories about X10 products, click the NewsWorthy Link from the Main Page.
So far, you’ve learned the basics of home control using a remote device to talk to your transceiver, and your transceiver initiating the commands or passing off those signals to the proper modules. You also understand the concepts of how modules operate by performing a specific function.
Now it’s time to add a new twist… The personal computer…
Involving Your Computer:
The personal computer is a great tool for home automation. The computer has the ability to monitor your home when you are asleep, or even initiate functions while you are away.
Home Automation software for the PC is relatively inexpensive. X10’s ActiveHome Pro software can be purchased at a price of $40 USD individually, or can be found packaged as a kit for a greater rate.
Another component that you will need is the ActiveHome Pro USB computer Interface, a device that will send and receive unit/house codes. This device connects to the computer via a USB cable to the USB port and then the box unit is plugged into a standard 110 volt outlet. There is also an additional battery compartment for the purpose of powering the unit in the event of electrical power loss.
A simple way to describe how these two interact can be seen as: The ActiveHome Pro computer software is the remote control, and the ActiveHome Pro USB Computer Interface is like a transceiver, but with much more capabilities.
ActiveHome Pro Software:
The ActiveHome Pro software is a virtual control panel for all X10 and X10 compatible products. ActiveHome Pro allows you to control your modules and place timers on them. You can program ActiveHome Pro with a few mouse clicks to turn on your lights at a certain time of the day then shut them off a few hours later. You can even identify to ActiveHome Pro which modules are in what part of the house then control them by room.
Another great feature to the ActiveHome Pro software is your ability to set macros. A macro is when you program one command into the ActiveHome Pro software and it executes a series of them based on that one command.
Let’s explain this further. For example, I’ll create a command and call it ‘Wake up.’ When ‘Wake Up’ is programmed to occur, a series of commands are supposed to happen:
1. Turn on bedroom light
2. Turn on Stereo
3. Turn on Coffee Pot
4. Turn off Front Door light (which was set to be on all night)
This is an example of a macro, where one command sets in motion a chain of events.
Macros in the ActiveHome Pro software allow you a world of opportunities in setting up things the way you would like and when you would like for them to happen.
Plug-Ins:
Many people choose to add X10 cameras to their automated home system for the fact that they like the added security or monitoring they provide. In addition, many use X10 cameras for hobbies such as bird watching or nature viewing.
ActiveHome Pro has the iWitness plug-in, allowing people the functionality to use their X10 cameras with the ActiveHome Pro system. This iWitness plug-in is part of a separate package and must also be ordered when you purchase ActiveHome Pro.
In addition to iWitness, also available are the Smart Macros plug-in and the My House Online plug-in.
The Smart Macros plug-in allows additional advanced macros to be set up on your ActiveHome Pro software while the My House Online plug-in allows the user to control their home from anywhere globally via the Internet. Again, plug-ins are not included as part of the normal ActiveHome pro software package and must be ordered separately.
Definitions:
ActiveHome Pro software: X10’s user-interface automation software which allows you to control your modules, cameras, and other X10 devices via your computer. Allows your computer to become a remote control for your modules.
ActiveHome Pro USB computer Interface: A device that sends and receives signals to and from your modules. This interface works in conjunction with the ActiveHome Pro software, and works like a transceiver but with more capabilities.
iWitness: A plug-in for X10’s ActiveHome Pro software which allows control of X10 cameras via the computer.
Macro: A single command that is programmed to execute a string of events.
My House Online: A plug-in for X10’s ActiveHome Pro software which allows control of your automated home anywhere globally via the Internet.
Plug-In: An accessory software program that extends the capabilities of an existing application.
Smart Macros: A plug-in for X10’s ActiveHome Pro software which allows additional advanced macros to be set up via your ActiveHome Pro software.
In the previous tutorial, we introduced you to how to get started automating your home with just two devices. Now it’s time to increase our abilities for automation by adding modules.
Modules:
Modules, are devices that when they receive a command, they perform what they are designed to do. They do not re-transmit signals back to the remote control nor do they transmit signals forward to other modules. They only perform one task, and that is to either turn a unit on or off. Some modules have the ability to dim and brighten, and others have features which are specialized for their chore.
Modules vary in styles, sizes, and pricing, with basic modules starting around $12.99 USD.
Modules are necessary in order to increase the amount of items in your home that you will be able to take control of as you continue to automate.
For this tutorial, we will be adding three new modules to our current setup:
1) The LM465 Lamp Module ($12.99)
2) The LM15A Socket Rocket Module ($19.99)
3) The AM14A Appliance Module ($12.99)
The LM465 Lamp Module, is a specialized module with the ability to turn a light source on and/or off, and also the ability to dim or brighten a lampshade, even if the lampshade can not do this on its own. To use the LM465 Lamp Module, simply plug your lampshade into it, then plug the module into the electrical outlet on the wall.
The LM15A Socket Rocket, is a module that is different in the sense that to use this module, you don’t plug it into a normal 110 volt electrical outlet, but you twist it into a light socket with the light bulb attached (also by twisting the bulb on to the socket rocket).
The AM14A Appliance Module appears to look like the LM465 Lamp Module but is designed for the use of appliances such as an electrical coffee maker or toaster oven. When hooking up appliances only use an appliance module, and never a lamp module, as lamp modules are not designed to handle appliances. You can however use lamps and lighting sources for appliance modules.
In order for a module to function properly you must have the transceiver plugged into an electrical outlet. You send the command from your remote control to the transceiver, the transceiver then distributes the signals out to the modules. Without the transceiver, your modules can not receive remote commands.
Recall back to the prior lesson where on the transceiver module (and on some remote controls) we discussed the switch on the front which was lettered from A to P? This is where knowing what this means comes in to play. You’ll notice on each module that this switch is also present. In addition, another switch with numbers 1 to 16 is also present next to or below the switch with the letters.
The letters represents the letter frequency to be used, allowing the remote, the transceiver, and the three modules to communicate. If all of the devices are set to the same letter code then all of the devices are communicating on the same letter frequency. If one module is set to a different letter than the transceiver or the remote, this module is not communicating with the transceiver and will not respond to commands you send by the remote control.
With the three new modules we are adding to the system, we can make them respond in different ways. For this example, we are going to use a HR12A Palm Pad remote control, which gives you the ability to control up to sixteen separate modules.
If we want all three modules to turn on at the press of one button from the remote, we would manually set all of the modules onto the same number frequency. Then by clicking the On button on the number position of the remote all three modules will simultaneously turn on. When you press the Off button from the same number position on the remote, all three modules will turn off.
If we want two of the modules to respond to the number 1 ON/OFF position on the remote but want the third module to respond to the number 2 ON/OFF position on the remote, you would manually change the switch number of only the third module to #2 ( but leaving it on letter A). Remember, they are all still communicating on the same letter frequency, You just re-positioned the third module to respond to a different number frequency, which can be controlled from the number #2 ON/OFF position from the remote.
So, the number switch (1 – 16) on the module represents the number frequency that the modules respond to. You can have multiple modules set to the same number frequency and respond simultaneously at the press of a single button on the remote, or you can have them respond individually by re-numbering them to respond to their own button on the remote. This allows you to set up your system at your own preference.
Since the number frequency goes as high as sixteen, this means you can have up to sixteen modules running off of one letter frequency. If you add more modules, these will have to be placed under a different letter frequency, but this also means that you will need a second transceiver also placed under that new frequency, and possibly another remote unless you want to keep changing the letter frequency on the remote by hand back and forth from the original letter frequency to the new letter frequency you just added.
In the event your neighbor is using a similar home control system, you may notice your lights or appliances turning on or turning off. If this is the case, simply change the letter frequency on your remote, transceiver and your modules. This will prevent your home automated system from talking with your neighbor’s system.
Definitions:
Appliance Module: A module designed for controlling appliances such as a blender, coffee maker, and more.
Lamp Module: A module designed strictly for controlling a light source such as a lampshade.
Letter Frequency: An initial signal of how modules, remotes, and transceivers communicate. In order for them to communicate they must be under the same letter frequency.
Module: A device that when sent a signal, performs a function.
Number Frequency: A secondary signal of how modules, remotes, and transceivers interact. All must be under the same letter frequency to communicate, but can be placed under a different number frequency to identify them as an individual or a group.
Troubleshooting:
When I press a button on the remote, there is no response from my module.
1) Do you have batteries installed in the remote?
2) Is your device plugged into the module?
3) Is your transceiver plugged into an electrical outlet?
4) Is your module plugged into an electrical outlet?
5) Is the switch letter on the module the same as the letter on the transceiver and remote control?
6) Is your module within 100 feet of your transceiver?
Home Automation can be as simple as the ability to control one light source, to being as elaborate as having your computer run your whole home, even when you’re away! Many people believe that automating your home is an expensive process. I’m going to dispel this belief by showing you how you can start automating your home on a shoestring budget.
The great thing about this, you can get started with just two items at a low cost of around $30 USD, and over time build your way to a fully wireless home!
This series will focus starting on the basics and will continue to develop to a more sophisticated automated home over time. The goal is to eventually work our way towards a self-functioning home.
The Basic Devices:
X10 Products are designed to be easy to installed without the need for an expensive technician. Aside from the affordability and low costs for products, this is another reason that the X-10 protocol is very popular amongst users. Beginning the process of home automation requires a minimum of two things:
1) A Remote Control; and
2) A Transceiver Module
The Remote Control:
The remote control will be used to perform your basic functions such as turning a device (like a lampshade) on and off. Depending on the type of remote control, you can even have the ability to dim a light bulb or make the bulb brighter. Keep in mind though, in order to perform these additional functions, the (transceiver) module used must be equipped with those features.
For home automation, a regular remote control (such as one that comes pre-packaged with your television) will be incompatible. You must have a remote control designed to communicate for the purpose of home control using X-10 signals. A remote control such as the one shown in the image to the left can be purchased at a price of $19.99 USD via X10’s website at www.x10.com.
The Transceiver Module:
A regular module does not transfer signals to other modules, so can not communicate with them. It is merely designed to receive a signal then perform its own basic function. A transceiver module on the other hand, is a module with additional purposes of operation. Here are some of these things that the transceiver module is designed for:
1) Controlling another electronic device. By device I mean anything that requires electrical power and needs to be plugged in to a standard 110 volt outlet. Some examples of devices are a lampshade, a coffee maker, or a television.
2) Relaying signals to other modules in order for those modules to perform what they are asked to do.
3) Expanding the range of another module or transceiver you may have in order to use at a greater distance.
A transceiver module such as the one shown in the image below can be purchased at a price of $12.99 USD at the X10 website at www.10.com.
Installation:
Since we do not have any other additional modules at this time, the transceiver will serve as our main module to control our lampshade.
On the transceiver you’ll notice an ON/OFF button and another switch with letters designated from A to P, this switch is also present on some remotes. By default, this switch is set to letter A. As we progress further in this tutorial, I will get into a more detailed explanation as to the use of these letters. The ON/OFF button on the transceiver turns the unit on or off. Think of it as a power button. For example, like a vacuum cleaner, if you have the switch to the ‘on’ position the vacuum powers up, if you have the switch set to the ‘off’ position the vacuum then shuts down. When the transceiver is turned on, you are able to send commands to it via the remote control and have those commands performed. When the unit is shut off, the transceiver will not receive these commands from the remote control, thus, will not do as told. So for this example, make sure that the unit is turned on.
Next, find a lampshade that you would like to remotely control. Plug the electrical end of the lampshade into the transceiver, and then plug the transceiver into the electrical socket of the wall.
You should now be able to turn the power on and off to the lampshade by clicking either the On or Off button on your remote control. If all is functioning correctly, you now have a basic home automation control system.
Definitions:
Device: An item which uses electricity to function or operate.
Home Automation: The process of automating your home for means of comfort, ease, or security. Home automation involves using technology to achieve these means.
Module: A device that when sent a signal, performs a function.
Remote Control: An electronic device which sends signals to another electronic device to perform a function(s).
Transceiver Module: A special module which is used to relay signals from a remote control to a module.
X10: The leading company in home automation whose standards involve the X-10 protocol.
X-10: An industry standard protocol used for communication among devices used for home automation through the use of power line and electrical wiring.
Troubleshooting:
When I press a button on the remote, there is no response.
1) Do you have batteries installed in the remote?
2) Is your device plugged into the transceiver?
3) Is your transceiver plugged into an electrical outlet?
4) Is the switch letter on the remote control the same as the letter on the transceiver module?
5) Is your remote within an acceptable signal range of your transceiver of 100 ft or less?
Stay Tuned for Part 2 to this Series.
It’s a horrifying sense of feeling violated. You don’t know how to feel whether its anger, confusion or scared. I’m talking about being burglarized. A few years back, my brother had experienced several cases of burglary. The first instance his car was stolen right from the carport of his house, only to have been found six months later damaged, stripped down, and unrecognizable. The second time, the door to the shed at the carport was pried open with a screwdriver and several items taken. Burglaries can occur anywhere. In fact, these occurrences happened in nice family neighborhoods, and in an area you wouldn’t expect.
He did everything “right”. He had installed a lighting sensor system in the carport and had dead bolted the door for added protection. Unfortunately doing everything “right” does not ensure you won’t be the next victim of a break-in.
With the help of X10 products, I wanted to talk about a few added measures that can be used to add an additional layer of protection to give you peace of mind.
Having a motion-sensored light was a good start. But, come early crack of daylight, a motion sensored light is of no use, as there is already enough natural lighting outside to drown out the light coming from the system.
One basic thing that could have been added was a power horn siren. Once the motion sensor gets tripped, the powerhorn sensor could send an ear-piercing blast loud enough to scare anyone away, especially someone trying to work inconspicuously and not trying to draw attention to themselves.
If a power horn siren is of annoyance to you, X10 even carries a “dog barking” siren. Instead of the ear-piercing and deafening sound, a vicious animal attacking sound may be your fancy. These types of devices are relatively cheap and won’t cost an arm and a leg to purchase. In addition, installation is as simple as plugging into a standard 110V outlet! Keep in mind, in order to use these power horns, a motion sensor and a transceiver module will be required. The nice thing, the prices for these pieces are very affordable.
Another simple thing that many people don’t realize works as a great deterrent is a simple sticker with a warning saying your house is protected by some security company or system. These stickers can be found for very cheap and can be very intimidating to people with bad intentions.
If you have a tight budget but would like to purchase an actual security system package, the X10 Protector Plus system would be a great thing to invest in, as you get a control console with the ability to call you when an alarm is tripped as well a the options of adding additional pieces to your security system. Prices vary depending on what you need and can be upgraded over time.
For anyone who has ever experienced the feelings of being violated. You do have the ability to fight back, especially if you are on a fixed budget without the ability to invest a lot of money or time.
As we inch closer to Father’s Day, I wanted to share a few thoughts about my dad, who I feel is an amazing man.
My father is the epitome of Mr. Fix-it. You name it, he has the ability to make it work. Rebuilding car engines, adding a new room to the house, plumbing, wiring, electrical, you name it – I’ve watched him fix it all. As a youngster I grew up thinking that every dad knew how to do this stuff, and it was just a part of their daily role. Boy was I shocked when I found out that this was not the case.
I was around 12 years old or so, when my best friend’s family car broke down. That’s ok, I thought, his dad can fix it and get it running again in tip-top shape. Afterall, that’s what my dad did when the car would croak. When it turned out that they had to have the car taken to the auto service center, I was left perplexed wondering “Now why would you do that?”
It’s great having a father who is a Jack-of-All-Trades. It’s only unfortunate that I didn’t do a good job to learn from him as I was too lazy growing up to want to do that stuff. Now, a homeowner and a car owner myself, I kick myself just thinking about what I should know – all of this should have been passed on to me, but thanks to my own unwillingness, I am now faced with a world of regrets.
My father is a very caring man. He instilled within his children hard work ethics, and he backed it up not only with his words but in his actions. He grew up poor in the farms in a third world country with many siblings, only to be the best provider he could be. Most impressively, he sent 3 kids to college and had scraped every nickel and dime to pay for these educations himself!
As I grow older, one day to have a family for myself, I can only be thankful for what my father has provided for me. I constantly think, “How am I ever going to be as good as my Dad?” I've come to understand that I am who I am. No, i'm not a Mr. Fix-it, but I have learned through him that hard work and dedication will always help you succeed.
I can only pray that every child could feel so proud about their Father as I do. Thanks Dad. Happy Father’s Day.
Now who’d be crazy enough to disclose a gift before it is given? Well, of course I am! In honor of Father’s Day, I decided to buy a home automation package for my father, especially after getting a great deal courtesy of the X10 Midnight Bandit! In case you didn’t realize it, X10 employees go crazy too in trying to reel in the great deals!
Well anyways, I received the package and am excited to give it to my Pops. As he gets ready to enjoy retirement soon, he can be as lazy as he wants (shoot, he’s earned it afterall) and I am going to do my part to help.
Now with the control of one remote he can kick back in the comforts of his La-Z-Boy and control his lights, his television, his stereo, and his coffee pot. He’ll never have to get up with the exception of having to fill up his coffee pot.
What better gift than the gift of ultimate laziness? And in having siblings who like to compete to see who gave the better gift, let’s see my brothers beat that! And the winner for this years prize? Well, we’ll just have to wait and see…
It’s almost Father’s Day, a time to make the trek home to visit Dad. I wanted to share a story about camping with my Good ‘Ol Pops. We got a good laugh out of this one, and I hope you will too…
A few years back, the family decided to do a group camping trip with twenty other members of an association that we are afiiliated with. Of course, my brothers and my mother were excited, as we talked about what a great time we were going to have. My father on the other hand, knew he would have a good time, but still felt an uneasiness about having to leave behind the comforts of home. We kept telling him “Dad, this is going to be great. We are all going to have fun!”
We took the 3 hour trek up the mountain and set the campsite up. Afterwards, the group decided they wanted to take a 2-mile hike. In the middle of the hike was a basketball court with some basketballs. While playing a game of 2-on-2, my father sprains his ankle and is unable to walk. He had to be driven 2 miles back to the campsite, a bit embarrassed but otherwise in high spirits. After this minor mis-hap, there was not a complaint from my father.
As the night closed in, everyone was gathered around a main campsite several hundred yards away laughing and sharing stories, apparently having a great time. Unable to walk, my father lay in the tent, as we took constant watch to make sure he was ok He couldn’t do anything but stare up at the tent ceiling and think about his injury. Still, he lay quiet, with not a complaint from my father.
It was around midnight and it started to rain a downpour. Water was everywhere and with an old tent, there was no water repellent and it started to become a swimming pool. To make things worse, the air mattress that my parents lay on lost all air and became flat! Here we lay in the middle of the woods in a soggy tent that was more like a swimming pool, with sore backs from laying on the hard ground because the air mattress had gone flat, and my father unable to move. Still, there was not a complaint from my father.
Around 5am, the tent top had accumulated so much water that a puddle lay above our heads. Drip…drip…drip… The water was dripping everywhere! Let me remind you again, here we lay in the middle of the woods in a soggy tent that was more like a swimming pool, with sore backs from laying on the hard ground because the air mattress had gone flat, and my father unable to move. And remember, there was not a complaint from my father! With so much water on the top of the tent, my parents ask me to gently poke the top to allow the water to drip to the side and flow off of the tent.
So what do I do? I take strong punch at the tent….then…suddenly the waterlogged tent collapses and lays atop of us. So, here we lay in the middle of the woods in a soggy tent that just collapsed atop of us in a pool of water with sore backs from laying on the hard ground because the air mattress had gone flat. The next words I hear? Right from my dad’s mouth in the most sarcastic tone: “Gee, I think I am having fun now!”
We told you so, dad…. We told you so….
Leave it to kids to find a way to turn something that was created as a means of being annoying to them into something useful. Call it a backfire and a misstep on the part of adults. Recently an inventor found a way to repel loitering teenagers by using an irritating high pitch sound that could only be heard by younger ears. This was meant to drive away these kids who were hanging around scaring away potential business and making a mess of the store grounds.
Now comes a news report showing how students have developed a ring tone for their cell phones that only they can hear and is totally oblivious to adults. Imagine that. Now kids have found a way to text message or receive messages in class unbeknownst to the ears of their teachers.
I guess the moral of the story is when you try and find a way to outsmart a child, you’ve only managed to outsmart yourself!
I have a funny story to share. My friends and I sometimes get together to watch movies sometimes late into the night. One time, it was horror movie night. I don’t remember what we were watching, I can only recall that it was a flick about ghosts and crazy things like that.
I have a dimming module and a remote control. During the movie, unbeknownst to them, I grabbed the remote and started playing with the lights while we were all seated in the living room. You could imagine their reactions when I threw in a few fake “What the … (you fill in the blank)”! There were screams, scares, and many shocked faces! When they finally figured out I was the culprit I almost received the beating of my life!
For anyone looking for a great prank, here’s a great way to get reactions from your friends! Just be ready for the consequences!
My tiny college made national news! Yesterday, on cnn.com, a video report was published showing how student engineers at Western Washington University, in Bellingham, WA, developed a car that ran on cow poop! Yes, you heard that right. Now, it’s probably not what you think, the car actually runs off of the methane gases produced by bovine waste.
In the article, it stated that each day, one cow produced waste containing enough methane to provide 15 miles of fuel.
How the process worked was that the methane gas was separated from the cowpie, then cleansed to remove any odor before being pumped into the specially designed car.
So if the car is running from cow power? How do you answer when someone asks you what’s under the hood? Just a thought…