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Ye Old House<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Herein lies the oldest descriptions of my early home automation work from the middle 1990’s. Although I had used home automation techniques in the 1980’s using a Commodore VIC 20 to schedule X10 devices, things change a lot with the purchase of the JDS Time Commander+ dedicated Home Automation controller in 1996.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NOTICE: Updating the links from the old site still – most do not work<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
08\/2000 – Moved to New House – See the Current HA Page<\/a><\/strong>
04\/02\/00 – New House Deal is On – Moving in August 2000
04\/02\/00 – Updated Dan Hoehnen’s BIG HA LIST Link
10\/12\/99 – Added links\/phone ops to House.ProtoWrxs.com
10\/12\/99 – Added Home-Automation.org Link
09\/06\/99 – Added Front Door Camera (pics added 09\/08\/1999)
07\/01\/99 – Installed ACE System Server\/Clients, Updated CID functions
06\/01\/99 – Article in HomeToys.com
03\/14\/99 – Washing Machine Integrated
03\/03\/99 – BIK Sensor Link – Robot Integration Idea
02\/17\/99 – Changed to world WebServer, IP Changed, Updated Web Interface
01\/14\/99 – Changed to ASP Page for some future database portions 01\/12\/99 – Added SAYIT Online
01\/09\/99 – Put House Online<\/strong>
01\/09\/99 – Updated voice system
12\/??\/98 – Updated PC Systems
11\/01\/98 – Added ISDN Connection
10\/09\/98 – Added Monitor Camera
09\/07\/98 – Updated PC System Info
07\/20\/98 – Added XTend on Main PC
07\/20\/98 – Updated my PC Systems Page
01\/29\/98 – Added RSACi Rating
01\/16\/98 – Added more Pics
01\/14\/98 – Started on Pics Page
12\/22\/97 – Added IR Keyboard to Entertainment PC
11\/10\/97 – Updated Entertainment PC
10\/30\/97 – Added HA WebRing <\/strong>Link, Vacuum Cleaner trick
10\/30\/97 – Our Own Domain www.ProtoWrxs.com\/ha<\/strong>
10\/25\/97 – Added local and remote phone control
07\/25\/97 – Put Voice Mail System Online
07\/11\/97 – Added CallerID\u00a0Announce
07\/10\/97 – Added IR Input
05\/25\/97 – Added sprinkler system control, a couple future plans
04\/20\/97 – Added IR Control to the TC+ System
01\/27\/97 – Added Link to Event Manager Schedule Samples
11\/05\/96 – Clothes Dryer Integration <\/td><\/tr>
<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

The\nBeginnings<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My interest in Home Automation goes way back to the beginning of the X10 ‘Plug and Power’ modules offered by BSR and Radio Shack. These modules allowed remote command of appliances and lights via ‘command consoles’. This was before the CP290 Powerhouse system was available and the only way to ‘schedule’ your lights or appliances was with a dedicated computer. I had just the computer too, a spare Commodore VIC-20. With it’s 5K of RAM, 22 column display and a small ‘User Port’ X10 adapter, the VIC controlled lights and appliances in our small house on the schedule I prepared. It also had a simple cds light sensor hooked up to it that triggered a joystick fire button when it was dark so the program could turn the lights on at dusk and off at dawn… sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The program was written in Commodore interpreted BASIC and\n no power backup or reload capabilities were at hand. So if the power went out, I had to\n restart the whole computer\/program… not too good of an idea if you want the house to\n look ‘lived in’ while on vacation. When the CP290 came out, that was one answer to my home\n automation desires… at least it could take care of scheduling everything. I purchased\n the CP290 with the C64 software and was off and running with the new system. My plans to\n keep the VIC online as a real-time monitoring system was dashed when the VIC AND the X10\n interface was trashed somehow. I’m still not sure what\/why or how it happened but they\n both didn’t work. I eventually fixed the VIC and still have it, another VIC, and two C64’s\n setting around gather dust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With our move to our new house in 1989, the CP290 came with us and once I found some PC software to program the unit, it was hooked up to my new 8088 XT (Commodore brand in fact) and set about doing it’s simple scheduling task. I still hadn’t pursued the real-time monitoring since I didn’t have an easy way to hook the C64\/VIC stuff up to X10 and didn’t want to spend the extra money at the time to get a new interface. So for several years, the CP290 did it’s job of turning the lights, computer monitors, heaters, etc. on and off as needed and is still working today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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JDS Time Commander+<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I had planned on using an old PC to handle home automation. I even built a digital I\/O board, and looked at many different ways to automate things. MicroMint’s NetPort modules looked like a promising way for a distributed system but after working on the flow charting of developing the code to take care of it, I opted to go with the JDS TimeCommander Plus system. It is a stand alone or PC integrated system that provides 2-way X10 control, 8 analog inputs, 16 binary inputs, and 8 binary\/relay outputs. The system uses an additional Support PC to handle features such as voice output, WAV output, and other special features listed below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The JDS system is installed and running and has been\n located in a secured area near our home security system.
\n The system tracks the following items;<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ANALOG INPUTS:<\/strong>
1 Outside Air Temperature (OAT)
2 Garage Temperature (GAT)
3 Inside Air Temperature (IAT)
4 Inside Humidity
5 Wind Speed (Future)
6 Future
7 Future
8 Future <\/td>		DIGITAL INPUTS:<\/strong>
1 Alarm System Armed Status
2 Alarm General Loop
3-5 Alarm Loops 1, 2, 3
6 Burglar Alarm Sounding
7 Fire Alarm Sounding
8 Door Bell
9 Garage Door Status
12 – Washing Machine
16 Clothes Dryer Monitor (11\/05\/96)<\/em> <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

Digital Inputs Explained
<\/strong>Most of the DI’s are self explanatory. The first 7 DI’s are used to track the alarm system status, loop status, and alarm on status. The Doorbell input is primarily used to open the garage door in emergencies but will later allow announced visitors and the ability to take a message if we don’t answer the door. I track doorbell toggles during the day and when I hit the ‘home’ code the system tells me if there were any doorbell rings today or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The garage door status is used to insure the door is closed\n at night and used as feed back for the relay output for closing\/opening the door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Clothes Dryer?<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(11\/05\/96) Yeah I track the dryer now. We recently purchased a new dryer and to my amazement, it doesn’t have a ‘buzzer’ or other notification sound that a cycle has finished. It is also located in the garage which makes it very difficult to know when the dryer is finished unless we happen to be in the garage at the time. So I added a dry contact relay output that goes ON if the dryer’s running. The TC+ then checks the DI and if it TOGGLES and GOES OFF that means the dryer has finished and the system ‘speaks’ the notification through the sound system. It also will remind us every five minutes that the dryer is done until we toggle the notice off via an X10 control code. It’s semi-intelligent in that if the away<\/strong> mode is set it will not announce and is DOES give up after an hour of notifications just in case. Works for me!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washing Machine<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(03\/14\/99) To compliment the Dryer setup above and provide some run time and cycle feedback, I added the washing machine to the digital inputs. Actually we ran out of ‘Bounce’ dryer sheets one weekend and I couldn’t ever remember when to add the fabric softener so I tied the washing machine in an have it announce that ‘washing machine stopped’ when that occurs. The connection is on the timer so it does show a stop in between wash and rinse which is exactly what I wanted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
RELAY OUTPUTS:<\/strong>
1 Arm\/Disarm Alarm
2 Open\/Close Garage Door
3 Future
4 Future
5 Future
6 Alarm Siren Interrupt (01\/02\/97)
7 (future)
8 (future)

X10 MODULES:<\/strong>
Living Room –
End lamps, recessed lighting, hall lighting and ceiling fan
Kitchen –
Ceiling light and fan, sink lighting, and TV
All Bedrooms –
Ceiling lights and fans, reading lights, and arch lamp
Computer Room –
Personal system Monitor, TV, HomeAutomation PC Monitor, All lights
Outside Lighting –
Low voltage pat lighting, north and south side lighting, patio and garage lighting and rear lighting.
Driveway light is X10 motion\/dusk sensor and is used to trigger front events.

Ceiling fans are controlled through transmitters using a single button for light and fan control. The light is on the house code of the transmitter while the fan is on a different house code using the same unit number. The ‘light’ button pressed once will automatically turn on the light. If the button is pressed again within 3 seconds, the fan will be turned on by the TC+ using the XSEQ checks.

Slowly replacing wall switches with Leviton Transmitters to allow standardized control of everything without having to use the current remote keypads. Primarily this is to keep from losing the remotes so often. Even with six of them all over the house, we never can find the one in the area we are at the moment. <\/td>		 <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

ACE System<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

During June of 1999 I purchased and begin implementation of Dan Hoehnen’s ACE software system<\/strong>. The reason for switching to ACE was originally the CallerID features since I continued to have problems with CIDMan. I converted my speech applications to use the ACE Text To Speech since it offered more options and features than my SayIt program does and eliminated more Visual Basic coding for me to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Future functions for ACE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n