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Author Topic: Can the X10 be programmed to turn certain things ON/OFF depending on these......  (Read 2819 times)

dmike1975

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Pardon my ignorance, as I just now heard of the X10, but can one plug these kind of sensors into it?

pH/EC/TDS, CO2, air temp, H2O temp, humidity, smoke, movement, light intensity, and soil moister content?

Here are some of the sensors I speak of...  These seem to be Ethernet...
http://www.growtronix.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2&zenid=aff9f433d76a9d25a5f7935498e259cc
http://www.growtronix.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=7&products_id=54


Perhaps, if we could get these sensors plugged in, that is, if they don't already, we could figure the voltage range for each sensor and use that to program events/triggers/switches/sequences/whatever, right?

What programming is involved here, macros?

Being that I'm new to growing, I was searching for a cheaper alternative than http://growtronix.com
I just learned about PLCs too, but the programming seems a bit too involved for me.
http://www.plcs.net/chapters/links.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cm_xlqmPm0c
« Last Edit: December 17, 2009, 05:25:17 AM by dmike1975 »
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Puck

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Pardon my ignorance, as I just now heard of the X10, but can one plug these kind of sensors into it?

pH/EC/TDS, CO2, air temp, H2O temp, humidity, smoke, movement, light intensity, and soil moister content?

You should never have life protection items such as CO2 & Smoke Detectors plugged into an X10 module to control its power, X10 is not reliable enough to trust someones life with. However, there are ways to interface these items to allow them to control other devices in the event they go off.

Maybe provide a specific example of what it is you are trying to accomplish and maybe someone here can provide assistance.

P.S. I deleted your repeat post... no need to post the same question more than once.
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dave w

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Pardon my ignorance, as I just now heard of the X10, but can one plug these kind of sensors into it?
No, at least not directly.

The sensors you reference have a serial data output which can provide analog data (changing temp, humidity, etc.) to the serial I/O of a computer. You probably need special software.

Technically any sensor that provides a contact closure can be interfaced to X10 through the X10 "Power Flash module (Also known as "Burglar Alarm Interface" module). The X10 CM15A and ActiveHome Pro  software is the X10 computer interface for home automation.

If you are a programmer, it might be possible to interface the Growtronics sensors to X10's AHP via the AHP Software Development Kit.

That said; you might be able to find other sensor systems which could provide a contact closure interface to the Power Flash.

Heed Pucks words. X10 transmits control codes over the homes power lines, which makes the signal  susceptible to power line noise and coupling problems. Meaning: you can not count on the signal always getting to its target.
« Last Edit: December 17, 2009, 12:45:48 PM by dave w »
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