X10 Community Forum

💬General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: Tuicemen on January 16, 2020, 09:20:33 AM

Title: What OS are you primarily using for your Home Automation
Post by: Tuicemen on January 16, 2020, 09:20:33 AM
X10WTI devices were originaly created to run on Windows and they supplied the software. However X10WTI is no more and Authinx is unable to maintain any of the software. Luckily end users created drivers allowing the hardware to work on virtually any OS with a varity of different softwares.
I'm trying to gauge if most users are moving to other softwares and on what OS. Or are most die hards and still using the original software.
Title: Re: What OS are you primarily using for your Home Automation
Post by: toasterking on January 16, 2020, 02:37:49 PM
My scenario is not actually represented here.  I exclusively use software I have written for myself which communicates with my XTB-232 via the "ActiveHome Scripting SDK" (which is just a service and COM class).  So I'm using third party (first party from my perspective) software on Windows, but I'm also dependent on X10WTI middleware (not AHP).  I selected "No but still use Windows with a thirdparty solution" in your poll.
Title: Re: What OS are you primarily using for your Home Automation
Post by: Tuicemen on January 16, 2020, 02:43:10 PM
My scenario is not actually represented here.  I exclusively use software I have written for myself which communicates with my XTB-232 via the "ActiveHome Scripting SDK" (which is just a service and COM class).  So I'm using third party (first party from my perspective) software on Windows, but I'm also dependent on X10WTI middleware (not AHP).  I selected "No but still use Windows with a thirdparty solution" in your poll.
Ah yes forgot about the AHP SDK
I use to fall in the same category, what you've selected is close enough.  >!
Title: Re: What OS are you primarily using for your Home Automation
Post by: HA Dave on January 16, 2020, 03:07:41 PM
An old widows guy myself.... and I barely use windows anymore. My home automation runs on various Raspberry/Linux/android/cloud and Apple iPhone stuff. I haven’t had a Windows automation machine running 24/7 for more than a couple years… Now.

I really don’t know… What portion or percentage of my automation processing is done in house or by cloud processors. That’s something I should give some thought to… If only as a mental exercise.

I am currently… Even dictating this post via my iPhone.
Title: Re: What OS are you primarily using for your Home Automation
Post by: Tuicemen on January 16, 2020, 04:36:30 PM
I still use Windows for browsing and such but my HA stuff has all moved away from it.
Most my stuff is run from a Pi, I love the compactness of it, and the low voltage makes running 24/7 at my off grid place a no brainer.
Title: Re: What OS are you primarily using for your Home Automation
Post by: SkipWX10 on January 17, 2020, 08:58:50 AM
I'm the one vote for X10WTI/AHP. I have a simple setup and still use the CM15a and love it, only issue is power outages since the battery compartment is long corroded away...but, I added the WM100 so I can disconnect the CM15a and access my home when away reset after an outage. I don't do anything but lighting, so I am not concerned that anything horrible can occur if there is a problem.

Title: Re: What OS are you primarily using for your Home Automation
Post by: HA Dave on January 17, 2020, 05:06:08 PM
..... What portion or percentage of my automation processing is done in house or by cloud processors. That’s something I should give some thought to… If only as a mental exercise. 

And after thinking about this... I am confident that the bulk of my Home Automation "processing" is done by servers. I DO run several small smart devices... a router for my garage door, a Wink smart device, An echo Plus (with Zigbee), and 5 other echo's, and my X10 is controlled by a Homeseer pi based controller. But virtually ALL my timers and programmed actions are Internet controlled. Even my newest cameras save videos to a server (somewhere).

I am currently experimenting with switching over to using.... my phone... (my iphone to be more exact) as my primary home computing device.

Others I know have already done this. Or were never actually "computer" users. It's like I've gone full circle. From a toy of a PC with a Vic-20, to the Windows 3.0, NT, 95, and every other iteration Bill Gates marketed. Then the iphones and ipad.... even made a stab at a Raspberry solution.

But it all boils down to IoT (the Internet of Things). All anyone needs is a "device" and a connection... and both are ubiquitous... being built into everything. 

Title: Re: What OS are you primarily using for your Home Automation
Post by: Tuicemen on January 19, 2020, 09:01:13 AM
But it all boils down to IoT (the Internet of Things). All anyone needs is a "device" and a connection... and both are ubiquitous... being built into everything.
And that's why the writing is on the wall for X10 Home Automation, maybe!
Plug in socket rockets, lamp & appliance modules most definitely will soon be obsolete. The shelves at my local hardware store now has equal number of smart lights verses standard bulbs.
It is getting harder and harder to find non smart TVs.
In fact every thing I now control via X10 both here and at my off grid place has a smart equivalent.
Even my off grid outdoor wood furnace  has a smart version and is now available with Wifi  ::) :'
Title: Re: What OS are you primarily using for your Home Automation
Post by: LostDog88 on January 19, 2020, 09:35:56 AM
Even my off grid outdoor wood furnace  has a smart version and is now available with Wifi  ::) :'

My dad has a smoker that has bluetooth.

He can view the meat temp with one probe and the smoker temp with another probe. Both temps show up via bluetooth and an app on his iPhone.

My dad.

I'm still adding charcoal to my unit and looking and saying, Hmmm.....Nope. Not quite ready yet.
Title: Re: What OS are you primarily using for your Home Automation
Post by: Tuicemen on January 19, 2020, 09:47:28 AM
Ya I have a friend with a pellet smoker he only needs to put the meat in and out and load the pellets the smoker does everything else.
Title: Re: What OS are you primarily using for your Home Automation
Post by: HA Dave on January 19, 2020, 05:16:35 PM
...…. that's why the writing is on the wall for X10 Home Automation, maybe!
Plug in socket rockets, lamp & appliance modules most definitely will soon be obsolete. The shelves at my local hardware store now has equal number of smart lights verses standard bulbs.
It is getting harder and harder to find non smart TVs.
In fact every thing I now control via.......

Things have ALWAYS changed. As an adult... I known MANY other people who remember their first "car ride" which occurred as adults. I have worked with some of the very first Air Force Airmen, and hopefully will get to know some of the 1st Space Force Members. A lot of change for a man that is still a sexagenarian.

X10.... is fully capable of introducing new products that utilize the WiFi protocols.... as well as supporting the old X10 protocols. But 1st... X10 needs to accept that "controlling" is no longer what automation is about. And lighting is a fractional part of home automation. 
Title: Re: What OS are you primarily using for your Home Automation
Post by: Nipperkin on June 03, 2020, 11:03:11 AM
I still use android since I am already used to it.
Title: Re: What OS are you primarily using for your Home Automation
Post by: madbrain on November 26, 2021, 10:56:06 PM
I use heyu on my Odroid XU4 running Ubuntu, and ActiveHome Vista on Windows 10.
Title: Re: What OS are you primarily using for your Home Automation
Post by: petera on November 27, 2021, 07:51:48 AM
If you’re happy with your CM11 and like the single board computer concept you won’t get better functionality from it than using a Homeseer HomeTroller. Besides all the additional home automation elements it offers its CM11 functionality is second to none and can be fully integrated with any of the voice assistants out there and has fully secured remote access via Homeseer’s own server. No need to mess around with port forwarding either. It’s currently on flash November sale price too https://shop.homeseer.com/products/homeseer-hometroller-pi-g2-smart-home-hub
Title: Re: What OS are you primarily using for your Home Automation
Post by: JeffVolp on December 04, 2021, 12:42:39 AM
I was a beta tester for the CM11A and CM14A back in the 90's.  The CM14A was a serial port predecessor to the CM15A.  As the warts were gradually eliminated, it turned out to be a good controller with macros.  Since it was never released as a product, I was concerned about its longevity and possible replacement should it fail.

I was not aware of the ongoing CM15A development, and opted for the Ocelot when we moved here.  Except for a dried out electrolytic in the power supply, it has been rock solid for almost 2 decades.

Unlike some other controllers, it handles extended codes for Leviton dimmer switches.  With an expansion module and inexpensive thermistors, I use it to monitor indoor and outdoor temperatures to control irrigation and auxiliary ventilation.  It does math and converts the A/D readings to actual degrees F.  Of course it is an old design, and doesn't provide the web or smart phone access that many people want today.

Jeff
Title: Re: What OS are you primarily using for your Home Automation
Post by: petera on December 04, 2021, 09:41:25 PM
I won a job lot on an eBay auction a while back. I was the only bid and the postage cost more than the purchase price. The seller was just cleaning the house up and wanted rid of the lot.

The job lot consisted of an Ocelot, two Addicon 2500 Secu16, one Secu 16 IR. I got a hold of an old XP PC not connected to the outside world of course and fitted an RS232 header to give a genuine RS232 Com port just for convenience.

Everything tested and working but I still haven’t got round to putting them through their paces. As you say Jeff old school technology that doesn’t rely on the outside world to function and does exactly what it was designed for.....automation.

Looking forward to a closer look over the holiday period.
Title: Re: What OS are you primarily using for your Home Automation
Post by: dhouston on December 05, 2021, 06:57:14 AM
Of course it is an old design, and doesn't provide the web or smart phone access that many people want today.
It wouldn't be that difficult to design a module that connects to the serial input and provides serial and web access as well as RF I/O. That might give your Ocelot another 20 years of life.

I had designed an ethernet/serial device about 20 years ago but, even if I could find any documentation, the chips I used have long been obsolete.

More recently, I designed a Serial/USB/WiFi/RF interface intended for the XTB-232 using all surface mount components. My health worsened plus Jeff announced he was discontinuing the XTB-232 so I never completed the project. The hardware design is completed (although untested) and it can easily be adapted to interface with any serial device such as the Ocelot. If anyone is interested in finishing development, I'll provide the hardware design specs and can even supply a handful of unpopulated PCBs.
Title: Re: What OS are you primarily using for your Home Automation
Post by: JeffVolp on December 05, 2021, 10:54:22 PM
More recently, I designed a Serial/USB/WiFi/RF interface intended for the XTB-232 using all surface mount components. My health worsened plus Jeff announced he was discontinuing the XTB-232 so I never completed the project.

We had discussed my re-working the XTB-232 PCB for surface-mount and replace the serial port with your Wifi interface.  When that fell through the XTB-232 was discontinued.  But then due to a bunch of requests I made a final batch of 50.  About 30 are left.  The schematic and parts list are on line, and I can provide the PCB Gerber files if anyone wants to continue producing it after these are gone.

Jeff