Posted: November 23 2003 at 09:13 | IP Logged

Well it's here....side note (BOY ITS QUIET HERE! WHERE IS EVERYONE?)....I started with X10 last year in a major way around Christmas time with my Christmas display and have taken it to a whole new level.  In between I kinda lagged off but with the holidays approaching I got back into it, got addicted again, spent a whole lot of money and raised the wife's eyebrows :)

Now, I like to consider myself a good hack when it comes to perl programming and stuff, but I'm having a heck of a time figuring out doing a what I think should be a simple thing - programming on of the buttons on my two-button keychain from the Activehome kit to fire up the entire christmas display.  I've got the macro created to turn on all the required modules, and I've tried to create the trigger based on examples out of the sample database, but I can't seem to get anywhere.  I am basically using a housecode that the keychain is programmed for, then setting up a trigger for that housecode.  I've tried having the trigger fire the macro via a direct "macro" method and then a "send keys" method with the ph_x10setstat + ph_macro combo. 

Has anyone attempted such a feat?  Am I missing something?  Am I overcomplicating something?  I also tried to program a spare button on one of my upstairs slimline wall switches so the wife and kids could ooo and ahhh their friends but that ain't working either.

I loved PowerHome enough last year right off the bat to register it and I still think it's the best for my needs, and I've looked at alot of them out there.

Thanks for any assistance!

Pete

Posted: November 23 2003 at 23:08 | IP Logged

I use many triggers like that. Most of the time, my problems come from the RF side of things. Hopefully, the WGL W800 I should be receiveing this week will help out.

One of my RF remotes is at my front door, which I use to tell my system goodbye. It shuts off all the lights, and, does a few other things. The trigger (B5 off) just calls my Bye macro.

Here is the exported trigger line...

insert into triggers values ('BYE','LEAVE HOUSE','BYE',4,'B',5,3,'1',1,0,0);

Posted: November 24 2003 at 11:55 | IP Logged

Pete,

As Tony said, that should be pretty simple.  When you check the log, do you see the incoming X-10 signal?  How are you picking up the RF from the keychain remote?  Are you using a transceiver or do you have an RF serial device such as the mouse remote (MR26A)?  Depending upon your RF receiving device, you may have the trigger declared wrong.  If you are using a powerline transceiver such as a TM751, the trigger should be an X-10 In trigger.  If you are using a MR26A or similar, the trigger should be an X-10 RF In type.

Let me know what you find out, especially whether the log is showing the incoming X-10 or not.

HTH,

Dave.

Posted: November 24 2003 at 13:25 | IP Logged

BINGO.....I've got a TM751 and I was going off the example...so I was specifying X-10 RF IN rather than X-10 In.....now I gotta wait tilll I get home from work to putz with it! Thanks for the direction!

And Tony...thanks for the heads up on the WGL W800...I didn't even know it existed.....but it looks like a toy I'd love to have......

Posted: November 24 2003 at 22:36 | IP Logged

Dang Compaq!  Only one serial port!

http://tonyno.ods.org/2003-1124-CompaqSupportChatLog.htm

Posted: November 25 2003 at 08:59 | IP Logged

I had a spare comm port card with two serial ports but for some reason it didn't work with my gateway pc/PowerHome setup.  So....I had a nifty little USB adapter from Keyspan for my serial port-less laptop that I occassionally whip out of my laptop bag and plug in to one of my Gateway USB ports in case I need a spare comm port for things.

Sometimes I use it if I need to use, say a Firecracker for something......the adapter IS expensive (I remember around $49) and if you have a spare slot it would DEFINTITELY be much better going out to CompUSA and getting a spare PCI board with the extra comm ports.  Since I already had the Keyspan for work related stuff it's just convienient that way for me....

Posted: November 25 2003 at 10:37 | IP Logged

That really bites on the serial port.  Like Pete suggested, I would run out to CompUSA and get a four port PCI card.  Thats what Ive currently got in my PC and am now running six serial ports.

On a side note...just hooked up one of those Smarthome X-10 bridge/amplifiers from Leviton.  Needed to do this since I got a new dryer and suddenly lost control to half the house.  However...this device seems to cause problems for the CM11A and causes it to lock up occasionally.  Went ahead and swapped out the CM11A for the RS-232 PowerLinc and everything is working great now.  Still get occasional timeouts anytime the Leviton bridge is powered but the PowerLinc does not lockup.

Dave.

Posted: November 25 2003 at 16:37 | IP Logged

FYI, Cyberguys (www.cyberguys.com has USB-to-serial adapters for $19, Radio Shack is $29, and, Best Buy is $49. I'll be stopping to buy one on the way home today.

My side note: I was having noise problems on my 2nd floor, so, I got a few X-10 line filters. Everything was fine until a few weeks ago, when it all went south again. I'm bringing a scope home this holiday weekend to see if I can see anything on the line. Of course, I can't think of anything new that was recently connected, but, one of the kids could have something plugged in that I don't know about.