Many thanks to those who attended my Mac Home Automation talk at the MacWorld Expo on January 7, 2000. I'm happy with how the presentation went, especially given the limited amount of time there was to talk about so much! I apologize for not having enough handouts; I just didn't realize the amount of interest. Well over 100 people attended the presentation. If you didn't get a handout, or if you didn't attend and want to see what I talked about, I've placed the entire presentation online here. (This version also corrects one typo in a URL; MouseHouse is www.mousehouse.net, NOT www.mousehouse.com as in my original handout - sorry!.) If you have any questions on anything covered in the presentation, just let me know!

In 1997, I built a new house. I also began to play with home automation. This page is to serve as an example of some neat things one can do with home automation. The system is certainly in constant flux. Over time I'll be adding all kinds of stuff, and I'll try to keep things relatively up-to-date on this page. As this page is rapidly growing, I'll soon have to split it into multiple parts.

If you are new to home automation, Sand Hill Engineering has a nice introduction.

I hope this can serve of some value to others. If you have any questions or comments, please drop me a note!

Hey, this site got mentioned on MacOS Rumors on 10/30/98! Cool!

Contents

Hardware, Software, and general information
Outdoor motion sensor/floodlight
Thermostat setback
Post light
Alarm system integration
Fax software integration
Voice notification
Office system integration
Telephone Integration
Manual control
Garage Doors
Setting the correct time nightly
How to catch CM11 flakiness
Automatic restarting and file sharing
Weather (WX-200) monitor interface
Caller-ID (YoYo) use
Lawn Sprinkler (Irrigation) system
Internet Gateway

Home Theater integration [UPDATED 9/28/99]

Hardware, Software, and general information

My main Home Automation server is a Macintosh IIci with 20MB RAM and running System 7.6.1. This is a very old model, but is well suited to the task. I've added an ethernet card, a VideoVision card, and an old Applied Engineering QuadraLink (four-port serial card). The VideoVision card provides NTSC output; the computer is located in the family room and uses the TV as the monitor. Also attached is a FaxModem and a UPS (keeps the computer on when the power goes out).

[UPDATE] In November, 1999, I received a nice new G4/450 (pre-downgraded model). I turned my 7500 into the home automation server (604e/250 processor card, tons of RAM, huge HD). This is quite a treat with all the spare processor cycles, so I'm finding new toys to play with. My IIci is now enjoying some time off for the first time in years. This change will necessitate some changes to this page, which I'll make when I have a minute.

The software running the home automation stuff is XTension from Sand Hill Engineering. This is truly a wonderful application for X-10 interfacing. Not only does it handle the boring act/react functions of ActiveHome (Windows software from X-10) but has many other functions, not the least of which is great use of AppleScript, Apple's standard system scripting language.

I use the CM11A interface from X-10 to communicate with the power lines. The CM11A is known for having problems, and I certainly have them. Every few days it just goes to "sleep". I've yet to replace it with something better, like the Lynx, out of hope someone comes out with a working CM11A in the same price range in the near future. For now, I use whatever tricks I can to keep the CM11A "awake".

Other software on the system includes Timbuktu (allows remote use of the system), FaxSTF (see Fax software integration below), OkeyDokeyPro (clicks the default button on any dialogs that pop up) and KeepItUp (makes sure XTension is always running. I used to use it for nightly restarts, but that caused a big problem - see the automatic restarting section for details.).

In April, 1999 I added a HomePro signal repeater/amplifier. This attaches to the breaker box in the basement, and bridges (and amplifies) signals across the two phases. Prior to this I was losing occasional signals, but this did the trick. Expensive ($170) but worth it.

Outdoor motion sensor/floodlight

My first X-10 product with a purpose was the PR511 motion detector/floodlight. It's placed above the garage doors. When it "sees" motion, it sends an ON signal to XTension and turns its lights on. After five minutes of inactivity, it sends an OFF signal and turns its lights off.

Other than logging this activity, I don't currently do anything else with the PR511.

My opinion of the PR511 is very low. My first was totally dead. This works well as a dumb motion detector/floodlight, but doesn't always send the appropriate ON/OFF signals. It also sends random signals every few days. I've seen many others complain of similar problems. Eventually, I'll replace this function with an MS12A motion detector and regular X-10 wall switch.

Thermostat setback

This is a "justification" for home automation - energy savings. Will I save enough money to justify my entire automation system? Of course not. But I should save the cost of the setback controller (about $20).

A thermostat setback is a clever, if clumsy, device. About the size of a thermostat, it is mounted on a wall just below a regular thermostat. When powered on (via an appliance module) it gets slightly warm. This fakes the thermostat into thinking the room is about 10 degrees warmer than it actually is. As a result, it triggers the heating system for that zone at a lower temperature, reducing heating costs.

The only thing I dislike about the setback is that it lacks a power indicator. Since the heat/cool periods are several minutes long, you can never really tell if it's on or off. An LED and a resistor solved that problem. (Ran across the low-voltage power where the cord goes into the setback.)

My house has two heating/AC zones. Currently, I only have a setback downstairs, which isn't generally occupied at night. I'll be adding an updairs setback shortly.

XTension has a great scheduling window. At 11:00pm, the setback is activated (the attached appliance module turned on). At 7:00am, the setback is deactivated.

The alarm system is now installed, and controlling the setback as well. (see alarm, below). When I arm the alarm in "away" mode (when the house is empty) the setback activates. When I return, the setback deactivates. I still use the timed functions for evening setback, but I'll probably tie this to the "stay" mode of the alarm shortly (I've now done this.).

Fancy X-10-controllable digital thermostats definitely exist, but are currently too expensive to justify. This setup works quite well.

Post light

I have an outdoor post light, halfway down the driveway. My street has no town-provided streetlights, and this is actually the only post light on the street. I installed a standard X-10 wall switch to control the light. XTension has an accurate "sunset" event (based on date, time, and location as set in the Map control panel) which turns on the post light. Actually I have it fade up ("Simulate preset dim" set in the XTension unit dialog), just to impress the neighbors. I saw no reason to leave it on all night, so at 11:00pm it fades out.

I had some trouble getting the wall switch to fade up after a manual override (a human pressing the actual wall switch), so I toggle the control. Unless the light is already on (or off), the light acts normally.

In the stanrdard "sunset" script:

turnoff "Post light"
turnon "Post light" in 15 --(that's 15 seconds)

and in a scheduled script which runs at 11:00pm:

turnon "Post light"
turnoff "Post light" in 15

I recently added an X10 switch to the lights outside the front door, and added them to the same scripts. They're rather bright (Too bright for the otherwise unlit street) so I just raise them to 65% in the scripts.

I recently (5/99) added eight outdoor lights, along the walkway, and they're on the same sequence. Also along the way.

I had some trouble with the newspaper delivery person, who had a tendency to drive onto my lawn. So by looking at the XTension logs of the driveway motion sensor, I determined the range in which the paper is delivered. So the lights go on for about 45 minutes in the early morning. Problem solved.

Alarm system integration

Here's my theory on alarm systems. To me, a house alarm system is "mission critical". I never want it to fail. Since computers and X-10 devices can fail, I've gone the traditional professionally-installed and monitored route. I had an X-10 compatible alarm system installed. I've programmed it to send X-10 signals in response to various activity.

In the interest of security (although I'm not sure it makes much difference) I'm not posting the brand, model, or details of my security system. The controller is a common brand (not X-10). Many systems support sending of X-10 events.

The events I've integrated with the alarm system:

• Arming-Stay (arming perimeter, not motion detectors): This is the mode I use when I'm in bed for the night. Since that means I'm done downstairs, it will activate the downstairs thermostat setback.
• Arming-Away (entire system armed): This means I've left the house. Both thermostat setbacks will activate. This will also trigger scripts to turn interior lights on/off based on a semirandom schedule to simulate someone being home (made easy with XTension's randomized schedule function).
• Disarming: Deactivates thermostat setbacks, deactivates automatic lighting scripts, etc. This will also trigger a "status" speech script (see below).
• Actual burglar alarm: Hopefully this will never happen, of course. I'll log the event, but the security system does the rest. If/when I add cameras, I'll certainly record images.
• Fire alarm: Same as burglar alarm (it's the same system).
• If alarm is in AWAY mode, and either garage door opens, the interior light just inside the house from the garage turns on.
• And for no reason other than to impress my friends, an announcement is triggered when any alarm-capable door is opened.

Fax software integration

I work at home, and this same Mac IIci acts as a fax receiving system. It's running FaxSTF 3.2.5. When a fax comes in, FaxSTF runs a AppleScript applet to notify XTension. XTension increments a counter of unread faxes, and alerts me via voice.

To make this work, place your applet in FaxSTF's "Fax In" folder and select the appet in Fax Settings to process received faxes. (The ability to run an applet here is an undocumented feature).

The applet:

on open theList
try
tell application "XTension 1.7.1"
execute script "ReceivedAFax"
end tell
on error
--do nothing
end try
end open

The XTension script:

speak "A Fax has been received"
set value of "Faxes Waiting" to ((value of "Faxes Waiting") + 1)

I reset this value from my office Mac (see the Office system integration section).

If you use FaxSTF on any server, I recommend disabling the FaxStatus DA and notification of incoming faxes.

Voice notification

My server is in the den, but I'm rarely down there. So I ran a speaker to my office. The speaker is in the floor, in an abnormally large return vent drop (far away from air flow). I could easily add other speakers around the house. I'm currently investigating a means to control active speakers without the use of additional hardware - by using the Mac's stereo sound control.

Once per hour, except at night (currently determined by scripting), I get a status message. Computer speaks the time and lets me know how many (if any) faxes are waiting.

Over time, I'll add many things to this message, like weather conditions, sprinkler system activity, etc.

The script, which runs every hour on the hour:

copy (current date) as string to RightNow
copy (word 5 of RightNow) to TheHour
if (word 8 of (RightNow) = "PM") and (TheHour  "12") then
	copy TheHour + 12 to TheHour
end if
if (word 8 of (RightNow) = "AM") and (TheHour = "12") then
	copy TheHour + 12 to TheHour
end if
--only do this after 8am, before 11pm
if (TheHour as number) > 8 and (TheHour as number) < 23 then
	copy (current date) as string to RightNow
	copy (word 5 of RightNow) to TheHour
	copy (word 6 of RightNow) to TheMinute
	copy (word 8 of RightNow) to AMPM
	if TheMinute = "00" then
		copy " oclock " to TheMinute
	else
		if TheMinute starts with "0" then
			copy " oh " & TheMinute to TheMinute
		end if
	end if
	if AMPM = "PM" then
		copy "peyem" to AMPM
	else
		copy "ayem" to AMPM
	end if
	if (value of "Faxes Waiting") > 0 then
		if (value of "Faxes Waiting") = 1 then
			copy " facks waiting " to faxstring
		else
			copy " fackses waiting " to faxstring
		end if
		speak "It is," & TheHour & " , " & TheMinute & " ," & AMPM & " 
                      , You have " & ((value of "Faxes Waiting") as string) & faxstring
	else
		speak "It is," & TheHour & " , " & TheMinute & " ," & AMPM
	end if
end if

One problem I've run into with XTension: scripts with multiple "speak" commands only speak the last speak command executed. That's why no speaking happens until the end.

My server (an old IIci) only has 8-bit sound, making for rather poor speech. Certainly understandable speech, but much more "computerese" than I'd like. I can't justify replacing the system just for that, though.

Office system integration

The computer I'm using most often is currently a PowerMac 7600, located in my office. I like to keep an eye on things with the server. Timbuktu and XTension's monitoring features are certainly useful, but I don't want them open all the time. I wanted something small with a minute interface, just for monitoring and some manual control. After playing with little AppleScript applets and HyperCard, I realized I had the perfect tool - OneClick from WestCode software.

OnsClick is a toolbar/macro program. You create buttons on palettes, and give them scripts. Palettes can be assigned to applications (only visible when an application is visible) or global (always visible). Quicken's toolbar actually uses a runtime OneClick system. Even before integrating with XTension, I've found OneClick to be well worth the money ($50-$75 or so), even just for the included buttons/scripts.

OneClick scripts can communicate with other applications (and other Macs on a network) by using included AppleScript code. A little tacky, but it does work well. I only started with these buttons two days before writing this, but already I have five buttons in a small (1"x1") palette. When I'm not using it, I just reduce it to a small title bar. It's a global palette, so it's a available.

So far, I'm not using any scheduled scripts. I'll add them once I have a better idea of what to do with them. As an example, this is the script of a button to get the current number of unread faxes, and display them as the text of that button (named "FaxesWaiting"):

Variable anumber
Button("FaxesWaiting").Text = "Hold on!"
Button("FaxesWaiting").Update
AppleScript 
	--requires the "Login As" OSAX, part of GTQScriptingLibrary
	--available at www.scriptweb.com/osaxen/
	
	set RefInfo to (login as "mitch" password "xxxxx")
	tell application "XTension 1.7.1" of machine "MitchServe"
		copy (value of "Faxes Waiting") to anumber
	end tell
	logout RefInfo
	anumber
End AppleScript
Button("FaxesWaiting").Text = ASResult & " faxes"

The "Login as" function is part of the GTQScriptingLibrary, an AppleScript Extension ("OSAX"), available at http://www.scriptweb.com/osaxen/. It allows control of applications on remote servers without the need to manually "log in" each time. OneClick's "ASResult" variable contains AppleScript's "result" information; in this case, the variable "anumber".

This script runs very quickly - the result displays in under one second. Be sure Program Linking is turned on (File Sharing or Sharing Setup control panel) and XTension is set to be controlled (Select the XTension application icon, select Sharing from the File menu).

I also have a button to toggle the power on a laser printer in another room.

There's a bug in OneClick that generates incorrect compilation errors when compiling scripts when the Finder is the frontmost application. If you run into this, just have something else active. The buttons run fine in the Finder.

Telephone Integration

At this writing, I have no telephone integration, although one feature is immenent. While I like the hourly spoken status updates, I don't like them while I'm on the phone. My current thinking is this: Using a $20 telephone recording control interface (the kind that plugs into the "remote" jack on a tape recorder), trip a relay on my ADB-I/O. The ADB-I/O, from Beehive Technologies, is a really cool Mac-based real-world control/acquisition box. I'm not using it for anything at the moment, so this might be a nice (if not rather menial) task. XTension can easily query a port just before speaking.

Alternatively, I could use a powerflash interface to signal phone line activity. I don't see a need to do this, nor do I want to buy a powerflash since I already have the ADB-I/O.

I recently purchased an X-10 Telephone Transponder, but haven't hooked it up yet..

Manual control

I have a few X-10 remote controls which I use for manual control around the house. I've reserved the "A" letter code addresses just for these functions (no actual devices are set to "A"). From a remote, I can request spoken status, turn the post light on or off, activate or deactivate the thermostat setback, etc. All buttons control XTension scripts rather than directly controlling a unit.

I really like X-10's universal remotes. I have two UR19's, which are non-learning remotes, and one UR24, which is a learning remote (and has a funky red backlight). The buttons are very well laid out, especially for satellite receiver use. I also have a two-button pocket remote, which isn't too useful due to its limited outdoor range.

In winter of 98/99, X-10 had bizarre sales where you got a truckload of free remotes with any purchase. I now have about a dozen UR19's, and a few "Beer Buddy" remotes; the rest of which I gave away as Super Bowl Party favors... The Beer Buddy (now called TV Buddy) is an odd little remote with an integrated bottle opener. Really.

Garage doors

I have a habit of leaving garage doors open. Using two Radio Shack alarm magnetic alarm contacts and a powerflash, XTension monitors the doors. If a door is open for more than 30 minutes, I'm notified via a spoken alert and a light being turned on.

The "On" script (runs when the door closes):

remove event "GarageOpenWarning" --if it exists
turnoff "Appliance/RF"

The "Off" script (runs when the door opens):

remove event "GarageOpenWarning" --if it exists
create event "GarageOpenWarning" that executes unit "WarningAboutGarage" in (30*60)

and the "GarageOpenWarning" script:

speak "Garage has been open too long"
write log "Garage has been open too long"
turnon "Appliance/RF"

Also, if either door opens while the alarm system is set to AWAY, an interior light near the garage entrance turns on. It will turn off 30 minutes later, since I rarely need that light on when I'm in the house.

Setting the correct time nightly

One pet peeve I have is setting all my clocks to the correct time. Now I can't really solve that with home automation, but it can help. On the internet, there are several NTP (Network Time Protocol) servers. These maintain relatively accurate time. With a little scripting, each night my server connects to the internet, gets the current time, and disconnects. The whole thing takes about 45 seconds.

This is done with a little help from Vremya, a scriptable NTP client, and OT/PPP, Apple's PPP implementation. OT/PPP comes with Systems 7.6 and higher, and is available from Apple's support area. OT/PPP is easily scriptable through an OSAX installed along with OT/PPP.

I also have a small application, SetDateTime, in the Startup Items folder of other Macs. This app gets the current time from the server Mac, keeping everything in sync.

I have a script, "Nightly Internet Stuff", which is scheduled for 2:45am each day:

execute script "PPPConnect"
execute script "GetTCPStuff"
execute script "PPPDisconnect"

(I keep the pieces seperate, so I can easily add functions later)

The "PPPConnect" script:

try
	PPP connect with quiet mode
on error errmsg number errNum
	write log "Error " & errNum & " was encountered when attempting to establish a PPP connection."
end try

The "GetTCPStuff" script:

set TheStatus to PPP status
if state of TheStatus  "idle" then
	try
		tell application "Vremya"
			set TimeDiff to sync "clepsydra.dec.com"
			quit
		end tell
		write log "Time set.  Seconds difference: " & TimeDiff
	on error
		write log "Error trying to set time via NTP!"
	end try
else
	write log "PPP wasn't connected, couldn't set the time"
end if

And the "PPPDisconnect" script:

if ((state of (PPP status))  "idle") then
	try
		PPP disconnect
	on error
		write log "Tried to PPP Disconnect, but got error #" & errnun
	end try
end if

Dealing with CM11 flakiness using XTension

Here's a good one. The CM11 interface tends to "go to sleep" now and then. Most people find this happens about twice a week. Restarting the host computer seems to wake it up. This is a (messy but functional) solution. This is a long one - so click here to see these scripts.

UPDATE: XTension 1.7.3 has integrated a similar function, which toggles the serial port until the CM11 wakes up. After a few weeks of use, it seems to do the job well.

Automatic restarting and file sharing

Here's something annoying that I ran into. I use KeepItUp to keep XTension in the foreground, and relaunch it if it happens to quit. KeepItUp also has a function to restart the Mac daily. For a while, I also used it to restart the Mac every night. It worked well except for one serious problem:

If at the time of restart, another Mac was connected via file sharing, the restart wouldn't complete. XTension and KeepItUp would quit fine, but the "Users are connected to your Mac, how long to disconnect?" dialog appeared. OkeyDokeyPro didn't catch that dialog (a bug I verified with the author), so that dialog remained up - without XTension running - until I manually caught it the next day.

My first thought was to force sharing off via AppleScript (and on again at startup). An applet in the Shutdown Items did the job fine when manually restarting, but (another verified bug) KeepItUp doesn't run Shutdown Items scripts at restart. So the script never ran, so the Mac never restarted.

The solution was the script the restart into XTension.

At 2:15am, XTension runs a script called "System Restart".

ignoring application responses
	tell application "System Restart"
		run
	end tell
end ignoring

This runs an applet called System Restart (isn't that confusing?):

on run
	ignoring application responses
		try
			tell application "Keep It Up (68K)"
				quit
			end tell
		on error
		end try
		tell application "XTension 1.7.1"
			quit
		end tell
		tell application "Finder"
			restart
		end tell
	end ignoring
end run

The "ignoring" lets the scripts quit without waiting for a response; since the Mac is restarting, there won't be a response.

Lastly, I have a pair of scripts in the Startup Items and Shutdown Items folders, within the System Folder. These scripts turn sharing on and off without any dialog warning.

In the Startup Items:

tell application "Finder"
	set file sharing to true
end tell

In the Shutdown Items:

tell application "Finder"
	set file sharing to false
end tell

Thus, the restart happens irregardless of anyone using the Mac as a server. I should say that at 2:15am, if a computer is on, I'm either asleep or not doing anything on the server anyway. I'm currently looking for a way to detect active users and kick them off in a friendlier manner.

Weather (WX-200) Weather Monitor

The WX-200 is a Radio Shack product (Actually made by Oregon Scientific) which provides current weather data collection. Going price is about $300.00. It measures all sorts of things - temperature, humidity, dew point, barometer, wind speed and direction, etc. Several measurements are both indoor and outdoor. It has a nice display itself, but through the built-in serial port, one can connect it to a computer. It comes with some lame Windows software (much better Windows software is available). Sand Hill has a page on interfacing the WX-200 to XTension, but I'm writing my own front-end which will eventually do a little more. (It is VERY early in development.)

Currently my software does nothing more than read the data and display it on-screen. I plan to add data logging, analysis, internet connectivity, graphing, etc. It should be pretty cool.

Caller ID

I just bought two YoYos, from Big Island. The YoYo is a little box that plugs into the Mac ADB port, and provides Caller-ID (and a few other) features. At a list price of $120, this was pricey, but I found them in the clearance bin of a computer store going under - for $35 each. Quite a steal! Since they connect to ADB, they are daisy-chainable (as opposed to Caller-ID modems which require a dedicated serial port).

While one can do all sorts of things with the YoYo, all I do is have the server announce the caller:

on <<event TELECAID>> theCaller
	
	set theCallerIDType to item 1 of theCaller
	set theFirstName to item 2 of theCaller
	set theLastName to item 3 of theCaller
	set theAreaCode to item 4 of theCaller
	set theLocalNumber to item 5 of theCaller
	
	if theCallerIDType is "Caller ID" then  --We've got good data
		tell application "XTension"
			speak theFirstName & " " & theLastName
		end tell
		end if
	end if
	
end <<event TELECAID>>

This script goes into a YoYo-related folder, and is run at each call.

Lawn Sprinkler System

In about a week, I'll be the proud owner of an underground sprinkler system. Naturally, it should be computer-controlled. As a controller I chose the IrrMaster, about $179. It's an 8-zone controller which responds to X10 on/off commands. It does have some intelligence related to sprinkler systems, which is why I chose it over the more common universal module method. For example, it won't let you activate more than one zone at a time, unless specifically configured. It will also turn off any zone left on for 80 minutes, in case the X10-OFF command wasn't received.

[UPDATE] The sprinklers are in, and have been running for about a week. Since it's getting late in the season (I can't really run the system later than mid-November) I probably won't implement some of the cool stuff until the Spring. The main script that runs the system is currently: [It's summer now and I'm still using a basic schedule; been too busy to set the programming and weather moniting up the way I'd like.]

--ON script for unit Sprinkler Activate

set newzone to future value of "Sprinkler Activate"
set oldzone to value of "Sprinkler Activate"

if newzone is 0 then
	--turn everything off
	if oldzone > 0 then --avoid error if already turned off
		speak "Zone " & oldzone & ", off"
		turnoff "Sprinkler " & (oldzone as string)
	end if
	turnoff "Sprinkler Enable Perm"
else
	if oldzone > 0 then
		--another zone was on!
		turnoff "Sprinkler " & (oldzone as string) with no script
	end if
	--test for rain, humidity,temperature
	--if above limits use, announce it
	remove event "sprinkleroff" --in case another is still there, perhaps a manual switch
	if (status of "Sprinkler Enable") is true then --in case it's on bypass
		speak "Zone " & newzone & ", on"
		turnon "Sprinkler Enable Perm" with no script
		turnon "Sprinkler " & newzone in 15
		brighten "Current Zone" to newzone with no script
		if newzone is 1 then --ten mins for front bed, else twenty
			create event "sprinkleroff" that turnsoff unit "Sprinkler Activate" in (10 * 60)
		else
			create event "sprinkleroff" that turnsoff unit "Sprinkler Activate" in (20 * 60)
		end if
	end if
end if

The above script is an ON script for a "dimmable" address-less unit called Sprinkler Activate. It is called from Scheduled Events. Currently I'm running it every hour (one minute past the hour). The unit gets "dimmed" to the value of the zone I want to run (I currently have seven zones; four more will be added in the Spring). To be extra safe, I power-down the IrrMaster when not in use (using it's Enable function). This is still a script somewhat in development; I'll post changes as time goes on.

The only nifty function is a 30-minute disable remote. Since the water supply comes from a private well, house pressure (available water, really) goes down when the sprinklers are running. So when someone needs to shower, there's a remote in the bathroom (one of the ugly X10 wall remotes, but not mounted) which tells XTension to turnoff the Sprinkler Enable unit, and it adds a scheduled event to turn it back in 30 minutes later.

I've also programmed a keychain remote to switch zones. I used this to be sure everything was running right; I'd walk around the backyard, pressing the remote, and taking notes on which sprinkler heads were on which zones. I cranked up the speakers so I could hear the computer's confirmation outside. So the neighbors saw me pressing a remote control, heard a computer announce "Zone four on!", and then the sprinklers would kick in. Bet they were amused!

My automation plans for this include:

• Intelligent rain sensor, by way of the WX-200. Not only prevent use if it rains, but intelligently determine based on how much rain over what period of time, temperature, humidity, etc.
• Intelligent planning based on forcast data available over the internet. I'm still figuring out how to do this. Forcast data is easily available for human readability, but so far I haven't found a free source for computer readability.

I'll certainly post more on this as things are implemented!

Internet Router

I'm currently testing IPNetRouter, from Sustainable Softworks. It is a simple internet router. It runs on the server (along with everything else). If any computer on the network (Mac or PC, including the Mac server) requests internet access, it connects, and provides internet access through the server. Speed is excellent - even though the router runs on the old Mac IIci, throughput is no lower than with the modem directly connected. All computers have simultaneous access, as well. IPNetRouter is $89.

The other popular software router is Vicomsoft Internet Gateway, or their lower-priced SoftRouter. IPNetRouter is closer in features to SoftRouter (no DHCP server, etc). I tested the Vicom routers, and had truly horrible throughput on my server. I should say, though, that several customers are using Vicom's gateways with good results. Vicom's products are easier to configure, and offer more features, but are quite a bit more expensive than IPNetRouter.

I came up with some handy scripts to deal with IPNetRouter, so I could check connection status remotely, as well as force a disconnection/relaunch/etc. Since IPNetRouter isn't truly scriptable (a future version should be), doing these things is a bit messy. These use the Login As OSAX, mentioned above.

IPNetRouter Status (launched on any networked Mac):

set RefInfo to (login as "mitch" password "[password]")
tell application "XTension" of machine "MitchServe"
	set displaythingie to "Router is " & (state of (PPP status))
end tell
logout RefInfo
display dialog displaythingie

IPNetRouter Quit (launched on any networked Mac):

display dialog "Are you sure you want to quit IPNetRouter?"
set RefInfo to (login as "mitch" password "[password]")
tell application "XTension" of machine "MitchServe"
	execute script "IPNetRouterQuit"
end tell
logout RefInfo

IPNetRouter Launch (launched on any networked Mac):

display dialog "Are you sure you want to launch IPNetRouter?"
set RefInfo to (login as "mitch" password "[password]")
tell application "XTension" of machine "MitchServe"
	execute script "ipnetrouterlaunch"
end tell
logout RefInfo

IPNetRouterLaunch (XTension script):

ignoring application responses
	tell application "Finder"
		open file "MitchServe:IPNetRouter:IPNetRouter68K folder:IPNetRouter.Primenet"
	end tell
end ignoring

IPNetRouterQuit (XTension script):

if ((state of (PPP status)) [not-equal] "idle") then
	try
		PPP disconnect
	on error
		write log "Tried to PPP Disconnect, but got error #" & errnun
	end try
end if
tell application "IPNetRouter.68K"
	quit
end tell

I use the Quit/Launch scripts when I need the modem line for something else, like faxing.

Home Theater Integration

I've purchased an "slink-e", made by Nirvis Systems. This is pretty much the ultimate home theater interface. It allows RS-232 control of Sony S-Link protocol devices (most CD changers and many other Sony products), along with IR in/out. The only Mac program out there for it is TitleTrack Jukebox, which I'm also using. It's nice, but is more for the person with a CD changer on their desk than in a home automation setup. It also doesn't support any device other than CD changers. It's running on my IIci along with everything else. The newest version (1.0.1) is scriptable over a network, which improves its usability in a home automation setting quite a bit. I've written a very simple OneClick palette for my office computer to control basic tasks. It lists out the CD choices, plays, pauses, and stops.

My audio setup is simple, but a bit odd at the moment. The Sony CDX-240 200 CD changer is in the cabinet with everything else, including the IIci server (I should really put a photo online). Line out from the changer goes into my Denon receiver/amp. I run a line out from the amp into two spare pairs of CAT-5 cable, which goes through the walls, patched in the basement and eventually finding its way to my office. In the office I have a pair of Bose Video Roommate speakers, which are self-amplifying. Yes, that's right, I'm using CAT-5 (sharing cable with ethernet!) for running line-level audio. Not exactly THX-certified but really not all that bad for casual listening.

My main speakers are by Sound Dynamics, which are really quite nice. My center channel and surround speakers are B&W. I used real audio cable with the good stuff...

Eventually I'd like to see the Slink-e as a main control device for all equipment (which includes an S-Link compatible satellite receiver and TV). Click a button on a remote and set all equipment for the desired mode. Program in a schedule of favorite TV shows and radio programs. Stuff like that.

And that's all I've got so far! Comments? Questions? Drop me a note at mcohen@proactiveinteractive.com!