Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[bkenobi]

I searched through a bunch of threads, but didn't find any links that were really close to what I want.  So, perhaps someone can point me in the right direction or just tell my I'm full of it.   

I've set up my outdoor lights on X10 modules for the back yard among other places.  We have a couple dogs that can handle being outside in the dark, but I really don't want them getting too well acquainted with either the coyotes or Bob the bobcat.  If lights are on, experience so far indicates that neither will come close to the fence line which has not been true before the fence and lights were installed.  I have timers set up such that certain lights turn on in the evenings during the week when we won't be home before dark so the kennel isn't pitch black.  These lights are all set up to turn off at 11pm daily.

Well, that's fine and all, but there's an issue.  What if things don't go as typical.  What if we go out to an event and leave the dogs outside?  What if the event goes longer than intended and it's not a weekday where the lights will turn on?  Or, what if the event goes longer than intended and we get home after 11pm? 

We have no land line, so I can't get a DS7000 or something that would just answer the phone and respond.  We are on high speed internet though, so we should be able to use a cell phone to send a command, right?  Well, HOW?   

I thought perhaps I could use the OnAlert, MyHome, or MyGarage software that was bundled, but it appears to be pretty poorly reviewed for the network type features and I'm not sure it will do what I want anyway.

The goal would be to either have a web interface that any phone could load and send a basic command (e.g., A1 ON).  Perhaps it would be good to be able to use a mail server to accept a text message with the same format (e.g., A1 ON).  The main thing is how to get AHP to accept some kind of input from the network.

I'm good with software and hardware, but AHP is generally not all that logical to me.  I've been programming for years but it takes much longer than it should.  Anyway, just a push in the right direction would be great.  Thanks!

 

[lviper]

You can get activephone plugin and it will do it.

[bkenobi]

Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but ActivePhone is an app for a smart phone that uses the phone's WiFi to connect to your network and send commands via AHP to the CM15A.  That would work if I were at home within WiFi range (and I had a smart phone...my wife does, I don't).  What I want to do is one of the following:

1) to use the phone's cellular/GSM/3G/whatever it's called network to send a command over the internet to my home automation server PC
2) to send a text message which would be sent to an email address that my automation server can access
3) to send a command some other way via a cell phone that's not connected to my home network directly

If I'm in a different city and realize I'm not going to be home by dark, I want to turn the lights on.  If I'm away from home and realize I won't be home by 11pm, I'd like a way to send a command that can be interpretted as "don't turn off the lights" (such as turning on a phantom module that keeps timers from turning things off or just turning them back on at 11:01pm).

Thanks for the input!

[bkenobi]

Just to note, I do have myHouse Online that I haven't played with.  I read on these forums that it was shoddy at best (wish I knew that before ordering it...fortunately it was bundled).  If that's the best bet, I'll spend some time trying to figure it out.

[npampel]

I use ActivePhone to do exactly what you are wanting. And you can do it outside of your homes wifi by using dynDNS or a static IP.

First you need to know if you have a static IP or a dynamic (changing) IP address from your Internet provider.  If you have a static IP address it makes it a bit easier.  If you have a dynamic IP address, I recommend dynDNS (http://www.dyndns.com/).  This will enable you to have a static or non changing address to your AHP server even if your IP address changes.  You will need to set up an account but it is free.
Then you will need to go to your firewall router and port forward port 8777 to your AHP server.  The steps to do this depends on your router.  You can find a lot of useful and specific information to your router here: http://portforward.com/

Then on your mobile smart phone in a web browser you would simply use one of these addresses to access your mobile apps:
IPaddress:8777/ahp     or      username.dynalias.net:8777/ahp for Active Phone


I hope that this helps. 

[pvignola]

npampel is correct (but I am sure he knew that ).  I use the same setup and it works well to control my x10 devices over the internet.  I have a static IP so I just use the address rather than DynDNS.

I haven't had good luck with MyHouse Online.  It's doesn't work well with newer Internet Explorer versions in my experience and it doesn't work with any browser other than IE.  I wish they would work out a way to use it with any browser.  Relying on the servers at x10 can be very disappointing at times.

[bkenobi]

Ok, cool.  Any chance they have a trial version to make sure it will do what I need with my setup?  I hate buying software that doesn't work on the first try after dropping the money for it already.  I guess I've already done that with most of the X10 software already, but what am I to do...

Thanks!

Here's a link to a guide.

http://forums.x10.com/index.php?topic=21436.0

[ErikP]

registering iWatchMobile PRO also enables the 3G link use of the X10 reflector service for all other mobile apps including ActivePhone.

Also, ActivePhone Pro should be released soon which will be able to make use of the 3G link without needing to purchase/install iWatchMobile Pro.

[bkenobi]

Anyone ever try this one?

http://www.iphonehomecontroller.com/2009/02/15/iphone_home_controller_21/

Looks like it just requires an Apache install to serve a simple web page.  I'd have to check into a dynamic dns service probably, but I don't think my provider changes the IP that often/ever.

[anthonylavado]

Anyone ever try this one?
http://www.iphonehomecontroller.com/2009/02/15/iphone_home_controller_21/

Yes, I've set it up before. You do have to put all of your items in manually, and unless you know what you're doing with Apache, you wouldn't know to make a .htaccess file to restrict access to the page, so then you're potentially open.

It has it's ups & downs I suppose. If you're technically inclined, you can make it work. If not, it becomes more of a pain than installing a plug in that does the heavy lifting for you.

As far as the Dynamic DNS service goes, you'll use it more than you think 

[bkenobi]

Thanks for the input.  I haven't set up a web server (well, other than my hacked Tivo I suppose) although I've considered it's usefulness in the past.  I think I'll try this setup first since it's free.  If it works reasonably well, I might step up to the plugin.

[Noam]

Thanks for the input.  I haven't set up a web server (well, other than my hacked Tivo I suppose) although I've considered it's usefulness in the past.  I think I'll try this setup first since it's free.  If it works reasonably well, I might step up to the plugin.

I have been using X10Commander for a while now, and it works well for me.
The server is free, but they charge for the mobile app.
However, with just the server, you can create a web page that works (at no cost to you).
There is a link to it at the beginning of the forums on their site.
The only catch is that if you want to use it remotely, you will need to open a hole in your firewall, and use a static IP or Dynamic DNS.

However, setup is a breeze, and editing the web page is very simple, too.