Newbie, Starting from scratch, Please help ! :/

[Defla]

Hello guys,

First of all, I would like to introduce myself!
My Nickname is Defla, I am 32 from Paris (France) and I am a programmer.
I will try to use my best english, but please, do not blame me if I do spelling mistakes

I am currently restoring my house and would like to set up something allowing me to control my room lights, garage door, Home Cinema, and so on..
I am totally newbie and do not know anything about how to do it.

I am considering buying the HouseBot sofware as it seems very interesting and powerful, but once the software is bought, I do not know what to do

For example, I am considering acquiring a Denon AVR-2310 A/V Ampli, Would I be able to control it with HouseBot ? How ? Using the RS 232 port ?
If I want to control my room lights, how to do it ? Do I need to buy some specific appliance/stuff to do it ?

It would be very kind of you if you could help me because I am really lost :/

[Steve Horn]

You should, at the least, be able to control your amp/receiver with IR. You will need some form or hardware interface that can transmit (blast) the IR to the receiver. That could be the ADI Ocelot or a USBUIRT. Either one connects to your HB server PC (via serial or USB) and are programmed into the HB server software as a hardware interface. You would then teach the HB server the necessary IR command via "learn" process through whichever interface you decide to use, using the remote that comes with the receiver. IOr you may be able to find the IR codes for that unit at remotecentral.com.
Similarly, you will have a hardware interface to transmit lighting and appliance commands to whatever device(s) you choose to use at the to-be-controlled lamps, etc. In the US, we are using X10, Insteon, Zwave, (maybe others ?) as the power control protocol. These protocols use either PLC (signallingover the power line), RF, or a combination to pass commands from the HB hardware interface to the remote device.
This is obviously oversimplified. Absorb as much of this forum as you can, read the HB Help docs, ask questions, and you'll do fine.

[Richard Naninck]

Hi,

English is pretty good I would say

You say you are a programmer so you should be able to get things going. However if you are restoring your house now and want to automate your lighting, you are probably a bit late depending on what system you want to start using. Some can be fitted without redecorating and others just need some more time (while drilling holes etc);)

As for AV equipment I only use stuff that has a rs232 port with a known protocol. HouseBot doesn't have out of the box drivers to get things going, but for me that is a major plus since it will keep me away from (crappy) drivers written by people that don't interface like you would do it yourself. So if you can do some programming, you just have to understand the basics here and you can build yourself everything you want using all of HouseBots great features. Many examples can be found here and lots of help can be expected on the forum. Obviously you can blast some IR but that does not produce any status and it less favourable for an AV setup. Use the USB UIRT for IR.

I hope you have lots of spare time or you are of the patient kind because it will take time to get things going but you may find it addictable once things start to work for you!

So in short: Get AV stuff with rs232 ports. Most protocols are online and all protocols can be scripted. Not sure what you would use in France for automating appliences. I used X10 but that truely doesn't live up to any standards anymore so I now use FS20 (Wireless German system also sold here in The Netherlands). Maybe ZWave (currently sold in Europe but not on American standards as far as frequencies go)! Find yourself something wireless if you don't want to drill holes and find a system capable of producing status. FS20 as well as X10, ZWave and all others switch lights but mostly also curtains and appliences. FS20 and ZWave also support Central Heating systems.

Good luck!

[Defla]

Ok, thanks a lot !
Another question related to my Denon, is there a way to use the Ethernet port instead of the RS232 ? My Denon will be far away from my PC and will be connected to the network ,so it could be very nice to use the Ethernet communication...
Or is it possible to plug something in my AV equipment (via RS232) that use wireless to communicate with my PC ? I don't know if I am clear enough ^^

I will have a look at the FS20 stuffs :)

[Richard Naninck]

Clear enough. Not sure about controlling the Denon through RJ45. It is connected to ethernet probably for internet radio and audio streaming. Not sure if control and streaming can coexist. If so, you need a protocol and look at Oslers Sonos code because that interfaces through an ethernet connection. However, I have up to 30 meters of rs232 connections in my home controlling various TV's, a projector and multiple touchscreens so length shouldn't be a problem. Atleast that way you can have both control and streaming and Denons protocols are easy to find because Denon posts them on their own website.

[Defla]

ok =)
Actually, the lenght is not really the issue, I would have prefered not to use a wire connection as the PC and the Denon will be at 2 different floors :)
I agree with you, I shouldnt use the RJ45 to be able to use the streaming features...

[Steve Horn]

You might be able to find a serial data extender to meet your needs. I did a not-very-thorough search and found several, most wired (e.g. short haul modems) that use CAT5e between the two RS232 converters.. There was also mentioned one or more wireless solutions. I thought I might be able to find one that would ride on existing Ethernet, but could not. Then I realized that your two floor situation may rely on wi-fi anyway. If you go with an IR blaster solution, you'll likely end up stringing cat5 or equivalent anyway. Like Richard pointed out, you'll likely spend most of your time with the software aspects - configuration and cosmetics (user interface). Be prepared to invest a lot of time.

[Richard Naninck]

Where lots of time would be the fun part;)

If you are remodelling your house, make sure to put in some wires....

Cat 5 extenders are expensive and rs232 / ethernet solutions are almost priceless compared to the simple and native three wire solution for rs232. IR on the other hand can be blasted wirelessly very easy and it is cheap too but not the way to go depending on your needs of course.

[lostdreamer]

Just wanted to add:

If your devices have RS232, use that instead of IR. Putting in 1 extra cable, and programming something for the RS232 protocol being used will be better then having only 1 way control like you have with IR.
Without discrete IR codes, You'll never no for sure that the status of your device is the real status.

Regards,
LostDreamer

[Steve Horn]

This is a somewhat stupid question... but related. If you have more than one RS232 device (receiver or pre/pro, projector, and B-D player for example), do you need a serial port and cable twixt each? I do all my control via IR (with its limitations that Richard and LostDreamer pointed out - one way send and pray, need for discrete IR codes, etc.) and had not thought about using serial comm. Just askin...

[b_weijenberg]

To control the cheap French CHACON RF controlled light and appliance modules you can use the RFXCOM transmitter in HouseBot.
RF remotes and Chacon wireless wall switches can be received by the RFXCOM receiver.
And in addition you can receive the Oregon Scientific temperature, humidity and other weather sensors.
Add the Visonic slave receiver and you are able to receive Visonic security sensors.

See also http://www.touteladomotique.com/forum/index.php

Note: HomeEasy UK, Chacon, Intertechno, Düwi, KlikAanKlikUit and Nexa can be controlled by HouseBot using the HomeEasy protocol of the RFXCOM transmitter

[Richard Naninck]

I have 18 comports in use on my Housebot server pc of which HB is controlling 13. All ports are discrete meaning each device (receiver, projector, multiple tv's, alarm, lights control, vga matrix, cfsoundiii etc) all have their own hardware com on the pc and own cable to connect the device to the pc. Since my pc only has 13 hardware comports the remaining 5 are USB to serial.

[Steve Horn]

Richard, thanks; makes sense to me. That may be some kind of record for comm ports on a PC though.

[Richard Naninck]

I only have 3 devices controlled by the USB UIRT. An old DVD player (obsolete due to content on the harddisk) and 2 DVB-C's of which 1 DVB-C has an ethernet port. By pinging the ethernet port I atleast get a power status from that device. I really don't like IR in my system but sometimes there is no other way.

[Osler]

Don't forget Global Cache (GC-100) for a combination of IR and RS-232 over IP. As long as you have a network jack adjacent to your equipment, you can have 3 IR ports and a single RS-232 port available at that location without running additional wiring. With add-ons, you can also transmit IR signals back to the server or use the IR ports as dry contacts.

Osler