[Closed] X10 Idea Contest! Winner receives a FREE Sentinel Camera!

[x10marko]

Your votes decide the WINNER for the FREE X10 Sentinel Camera Giveaway!  You've shared with us many GREAT ideas! 105 GREAT IDEAS, in fact! and NOW it's time to decide who gets the prize!  Just like an election, whoever has the HIGHEST vote total WINS!



ATTENTION X10 Fanatics! We've got something HHHHUUUGGGEEEE we need to tell you about.

We don't like to brag, but here at X10, we're crazy about our own products.

And, if you're reading this, we know that you are, too!

We are asking you, and anyone you know who loves X10 products, to submit your best ideas on how to use our products!

It can be Home Automation, Security, Entertainment, Surveillance - whatever! Just post your coolest and wackiest ideas. If you've got photos or videos, even better!

HERE'S WHERE IT GETS INTERESTING:

Each month, we let the public vote on the best idea. The winner will receive a FREE X10 Sentinel!  

That's right! A FREE Pro-Grade, 44X Zoom, NightVision, Outdoor Camera! This is the absolute BEST camera that we sell, and it can be yours for FREE!

REPLY TO THIS POST TO SUBMIT YOUR WAYS AND IDEAS HOW YOU USE X10 PRODUCTS! 

For September we accept submission until 9/23, the poll to determine the winner will be held from 9/24 to 9/30.

Thank you all who have shared your life-style stories about how X10 has effected your life and all the wonderful ideas you have all submitted thus far. While you are all sharing your stories we at X10 have been doing the same.

Click here to see how X10 employees have used X10 products in their own lives.

Here you can get to know the people who make up X10 and share in their real-life uses. Perhaps, they can offer you a solution that you can use in your daily lives from the security of surveillance cameras and security systems to the fun of home automation and entertainment systems.

Keep the ideas coming, they have all been very inventive and a real joy to read through and share with everyone here. Check back to our company profile page often as we will be adding new employee profiles often.

Thanks again for all of your submissions. We look forward to many more!

Andrew
X10 Web Designer


Disclaimer: X10 reserves the rights to award prizes at their own discretion.  Only 1 winner will receve the grand prize of an X10 Sentinel Camera.  Awarded prizes hold zero or no cash value and cannot be exchanged or negotiated.  In the event of a tie at the conclusion of the contest, a runoff between the tied top-vote receivers will occur using a poll-style format.  Only 1 vote per each IP Address and household will be counted.  Multiple votes from the same IP address will be removed, and the applicant can be subject to disqualifcation for violating these terms.  X10 reserves the right to modify these rules anytime at their own discretion.
Note: Edited title to show thread is closed

[Tom Atkinson]

001


I use my X10 system as a reminder, or alert system.

I retired last year, so I have a lot of time on my hands. I have an ms14a motion sensor setup on my front stoop. Then I plugged in an sc546a inside next to my couch. It's nice because whenever the mailman comes, a friend visits, or the morning paper is delivered I hear the sc546a. That lets me know when I need to get off my butt! 

I hope this is the sort of thing your looking for. I'll take pictures and send them soon.

Thanks,

Tom Atkinson
Davis, CA

[larry s]

002


   My current project is building a birdhouse, only it's has an X10 camera built in to it as well using the Ninja Robotic mount mounted to the side on top, above a plexi-glass top. Then I can have it placed on my domains website for easy access and veiwing.
  Watching nature can be an awesome experience as well as a bit gruesome in some cases. This way I have the means of not only watching, but recording as well.

[Hilario]

003


I cant live without it. i use to
1) change the Ip address of my Router
2) Reboot by system
and 3) like magic power on my Beautiful Fish Tank remotely. Here is a pic of my fish tank

[Nick Stefanisko]

004


My car has a programable "home link" garage door opener built in. I don't have a garage so it is kind of useless but, I discovered that the buttons can learn from X10 palm pads. So I've programmed my car with the on and off codes for my porch light. Now when I leave in the morning and discover that the kids have left the porch light on all night I can turn it off right from the car. And when I get home late at night and no one was considerate enough to leave it on for me, I can turn it on right from the car so that I don't have to play blind man's bluff with my keys and the door knob.

Now for a new product idea! Inductive Dimmer/Appliance Switch. As we know, the standard push button X10 dimmer switches require an incandescent light bulb to work. This is because they draw their power through the lighting circuit. The appliance modules, however, do not work that way. Why not make a push button appliance module switch that looks and fits like the standard X10 dimmer switch. Secondly, A switch with an inductive dimmer that can be used on a ceiling fan would also be great. I know that there are high end decora style switches that do this, but I just don't like the look of decora. the simplest switch could be made by repackaging the RF receiver that has a switch on it. It doesn't need the RF part, just the button and switch so I would think that it would fit.

[John Hudak]

005


I use it to cut my outdoor security light power usage in half.  I use the CM15A to turn on outdoor security lights for the first half (approximately) of the night.  I have PV cells located under the lights that charge a battery powered LED based outdoor light. When I turn the lights off with the CM15a, the battery powered lights come on.

[Carmen Knowles]

006


I find the screws that support the X10 Windows and door alarms hard to install, and the glue strips that come with the alarms are useless, they do not hold anything. Instead, I buy Velcro strips for general use at our local office store and cut them to fit the alarms. A year later, they are still holding on.

CK

[Fifo]

007

I have a security light at each corner of my home. They are all linked so if one triggers they all trigger.  I also have a transceiver so that if I hear any noises outside at night I can just press the button on my remote control in my key chain and it illuminates my front and back yard. I also have my front and read door post lamps automatically turn on and off at dawn and dusk. Finally my favorite is the fish tank control. I have two appliance modules hooked up to the four lights. 2 of which are blue actinic lights. I use these to grow my corals and keep the fish happy. I simulate dawn and dusk by turning on the blue actinic 30 minutes prior to the daylight bulbs and doing the opposite at night.  I also created a circuit to automatically top off my aquarium when the water goes below a certain level so my pumps don't run dry. I use another appliance module to turn this one on and off.  check it out at  http://www.hectorg.net/pets/aquarium/aquarium.php

[320vu50]

008


I have rope light strings on my car cover. One is in the peak and it lights whenever my security lights turn on. Two other strings are on the side edges of the cover roof that turn on and off by command; I also have rope light strings on my driveway that turn on and off by command. I have both white and red strings of lights across the driveway gate that turn on and off by command. I've written four macros; two for when I arrive at the house and two for when I depart. One of the macros in each set will only operate during dusk to dawn. (That is the fun one to watch.) When I arrive the Always macro turns on certain lights in the house. If it's after dusk the other one also operates and it lights the side light strings and the driveway strings and the red lights on the gate, which is across the driveway; and the front entrance patio light. As I approach I activate the opener and the gates swing open; when they get fully open a magnetic switch trips and activates a universal interface module (set to continuous) which kicks on another macro and the red lights on the gates turn off and the white strings turn on, plus the driveway light strings also come on. I drive in and activate the gate control again and the gates close. The sequence reverses and the drive lights go off and the gate magnetic switch releases, the universal module sends an off command that runs a different macro and the white gate lights go off and red comes on. In the meantime the (dusk to dawn) arrival macro is still running on a timed delay of fifteen minutes when the patio and car cover side lights will turn off, plus three minutes later an inside entry way light and two minutes behind that the main hall lights also go off. I also have a chime that signals when the macro starts, five seconds before the off cycle begins and when it;s finished.

[david3336]

009


Check out my x10 page for many great ideas my whole home is x10 automated and this page explains how it all works: Welcome To X10 Man's Page


<< Edited by -Bill- (of wgjohns.com) to repair link to X10 Man's web-page. >>

[rick]

010


I couldn't live without it either! I use it just about everywhere. I have Activehome Pro and use it to set up schedules and macros and along with all the 'Plug-ins", I have security set up for those things that I wish to be warned about, when someone is into something that they shouldn't be. I have 'My House" installed so that I can log in from anywhere and check all of the cameras around the house. I have the soffit lights set to come on at dusk, dim to 40% and shut off at a set time. I have rope lighting above the kitchen cabinets that comes on shortly after dusk and shuts off around midnight, kind of like a nightlight in the kitchen. I liked it so much I decided to have it come on in the morning and shut off at dawn so that I can see my way around the kitchen before the sun comes up. I also use it in the yard to turn the low voltage landscape lighting on around the yard shortly after dusk and then turn them off at midnight. One of the lamps lights up an address rock in the front so that passer bys can catch the address at night. I have the stereo set to turn on and off at set times throughout the day. My favorite, is when the stereo comes on in the morning, just as I am climbing out of the shower. I can catch up on the daily news before I even leave the room. The lights in our bedroom and ensuite come on shortly after dusk and dim to about 36% and shut off automatically around 11:00 pm. I also have a sprinkler controller from EZRain to control all of the underground sprinkling. I also have it set to turn my waterfall pump on and off a few times during the day to get rid of any oxygen that may have built up in the system. Along with motion sensors I have used it to turn on soffit lights when someone approaches the front door, along with turning on a camera to record the action to my pc. Motion sensors are also used in the basement hallway and utility room to turn on lights so that you are not fumbling for a lightswitch in the dark. The cameras are a nice touch. I have one at the front door, one at the man door at the back of the garage along with one in the backyard looking back at the house. Two of them are set up so that I can pan them and catch most everthing that I need to.

Rick

Calgary, Alberta

[Cathy Correia]

011


  I use my X10 camera for watching the wild life in my fields. The deer and wild turkey. Have a camera aimed at every field.. it's truly amazing and can make you see just how truly amazing wildlife can be.

[Frank H]

012


At Christmas time my house is set up like a fantasy land with all the lites and ornaments like snowmen , Santa's , raindeers and Christmas trees standing all over the place. Lites on every bush and tree. All over the house. People come from all over to see the lites with there children. With one push of a button on the X-10s control panel the whole house lites up at the same time. We use one number for all the outside lites and another number for all the inside lites. it is truly beautiful to see the whole house lite up at the same time.

[raymond little]

013


id use the x10 to keep an eye on the apartment complex and my friends house the apartment has a lady who has carbon monoxide poisoning and she has been living there about four months and has been robbed by drug addicts that run in and grab what they can and run off i live about a block away without zoom i cant really see her door to well so we cant try to stop them cause it happens the first time a 3 o'clock am  the next time at 5 pm and my friend house she has a young boy and the apartment has a big swimming pool and the people leave the ladder in all the time and don't watch for the little kids that could climb in we have asked them to take the ladder out and watch to be sure that the kids don't get into the pool but they don't give us the time of day so we keep a eye on the place cause I've lost a family member like that he fell in the pool and the mother looked all over for him but he was at the bottom of the pool they found him two days later Robert butler was his name he was 4 thanks for reading

[homevista]

014


We used X10 devices as parts of our system to throw a surprise party to a guy working with us. We used HomeZIX software http://www.automationvista.com to detect when he comes in the office (late evening) using motion detector, turn on the lights, and play the Happy Birthday song.
The real action recorded here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVK8BlxloyA