current state of protocols; x10? what else?

I've been starting to convert my house to Insteon. This appears to be more reliable than X10, primarily because of acknowledgements built into the protocol. Just a couple of lights so far, but they're working. It's similar to X10, in that it's a powerline protocol.

smarthome.com sells modules for the switches and motion detectors you're asking about. I don't know about humidity. It has nowhwere near the bandwidth required for a camera, though.

What's available depends on where you are and what the electical specifications are. While X-10 is available for most countries, Insteon and UPB are not widely available. Europe has a lot of basic wireless systems that are not readily available in N. America.

I'm unaware of any system that will do all that you wish off-the-shelf 9at least not with quality comp>

For starters:

HomeSeer is one example of the combination of a software + a PC that can do this:

A HAI panel can do this without a PC

There are also much more expensive systems such as AMX and Crestron

... Marc Marc_F_Hult

Joe Pfeiffer wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@snowball.wb.pfeifferfamily.net:

I have an X10 device with software (Smarthome Manager) that I bought from Smarthome to operate as a simple timer for lights at a commercial site. A couple of years after I bought it they changed the daylight savings time dates. Smarthome wouldn't update the software and said they discontinued support for this product. This makes me skeptical about buying any of their Insteon modules, since they could decide to stop supporting that protocol at any time.

They could, but it seems to me like they've hitched their wagon firmly enough to that particular star that it's unlikely. It would be nice if there were an independent second source, though.

Of course they wouldn't fix anything X-10 related. They're pushing Insteon, now, because they hold the patents. Any X-10 sale cuts into their sales figures for Insteon. When they first pushed Insteon out the door, it was apparent by the number of complaints about flickering dimmers and large loads that they had not beta-tested their gear quite well enough before sellkng it. They eventually instituted a reasonable recall, but that's the sort of problem that should have and would have been caught with more testing before release.

The most likely reason for someone like Smarthome to abandon Insteon would be heavy debt taken on at the wrong time like GM, Chrysler, Linens'n'things, the Sharper Image, Polaroid and about 32,000 other businesses in the 1/2 of this year who are bankrupt. Who would support the proprietary Insteon line if Smarthome joined them in bankruptcy? I've found that the much cheaper, license free, non-single source X-10 protocol gear is more than up to the task of automating most homes but only *with* addition of Jeff Volp's XTB line of X-10 signal boosters.

After I purchased the XTB-IIR I went from having X-10 issues every day to maybe one every one or two months or even longer. I have X-10 gear from 10 different manufacturers and the standard's an open one so there's no proprietary BS to deal with. With the XTB-IIR, I press the buttons and the lights do what they should. The only really bothersome problem left is the CFL issue: lights turning back on by themselves or flashing even when turned off. Other protocols don't suffer from that problem because they don't even offer the option to turn equipment on and off via local control, a feature I find quite useful.

I found it interesting that instead of fixing what was broken with X-10, vendors all developed new (and mostly proprietary) protocols that cost two to ten times as much as X-10 without offering anywhere near the flexibility or functionality of the X-10/XTB combo. Even better still, as more and more people encounter X-10 issues related to power switching supplies, I can find great deals on Ebay for X-10 gear, new and in the box, for pennies on the dollar. Recently I bought a bunch of switches and modules that would have cost $200 retail for $30. No one else even bid. My kinda auction.

Now if I could only talk Jeff into designing a coupler/repeater/amplifier that could be installed without having to enter the circuit panel or need to be wired to a dryer plug. I think a lot of people out there get nervous when they have to contemplate taking the cover off of their circuit panel and futzing with 220VAC.

It took me nearly ten years and near total breakdown of my X-10 setup to build the courage (and learn the basics) of installing a 220VAC single handle breaker to connect it to the XTB-IIR. To avoid that, you'd need two units, one plugged into each phase and coupled by RF should do the trick. One LED to show when you've found an outlet on opposite phase and communication has begun.

The upside to getting into the breaker box had much higher SAF than I thought. I had thought my box had no more space until Jeff clued me into the existence of tandem breakers. I was able to add the XTB's 220VAC breaker and a new circuit to the kitchen (after my wife got over the fear of my getting killed). Now we can use all the major kitchen appliances at once.

This is a 1940 house, designed with what I am sure people thought was an absolute excess of outlets at the time. Taking into account all the power strips I have, a modern home needs about 25 outlets per room!

-- Bobby G.

Per Eric:

I blew a couple hundred in Insteon modules tb used with mControl.

A couple weeks of spare time and couple hundred bucks down the drain so far.

Why do you say "down the drain"? My INSTEON modules are working just fine for me so far (as is the PLM daemon I've written a first draft of, and working on a second).