Topic: [Closed] X10 Idea Contest! Winner receives a FREE Sentinel Camera! (Read 286121 times)

chronictom · « **Reply #15 on:** September 07, 2007, 07:56:41 AM »

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In the spring of 2008, we are starting construction on out strawbale home. Our plan is to have a sentinal camera mounted where it can cover the site of the construction and record daily pictures. The sentinal with its zoom features and pan/tilt capability will allow us to zoom in on details of the construction to ensure no details are missed.

Once construction is finished, the camera will be mounted on top of the house so it will be able to capture the maximum view possible.

The starlight function will allow us to be able to not only monitor the property for security, but also for recording nocturnal animal activity as we will be in the middle of northern Ontario wilderness.

Utilizing a satellite internet connection, we will have Webview set up to be able to allow other to see and check out our property. Eventually, there will be a network of cameras set up around the property in known wildlife gathering spots or paths, as well as an underwater camera in the lake.

Robert_k · « **Reply #16 on:** September 07, 2007, 08:14:16 AM »

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I integrated the X10 system into my house as an automation and security system. The motion sensors are programmed with a macro flag that when set turns them into security motion sensors and when not set turns on lights. I used a radioshack X10 panic dialer connected to 2 universal modules to trigger and disable it for the alarm mode. When activated it turns on all flood lights on the outside of the house, triggers security cameras to start recording, and sounds the loud X10 sirens for 4 minutes at a time, and calls my and my wife's cell phones to notify that the alarm was triggered. Plus there is a red night light connected to an appliance module that turns on when the alarm is active and off when not, in the garage. Also I use a StarDot video server for the security cameras with web remote viewing, it has a serial port so that I was able to connect a X10 firecracker module and with a custom web page stored in it I can controll all of my X10 modules from a secured web site (without my computer running at home). And when we come home and turn off the alarm, the lights in the basement, stairs and hall all come on so that we never enter a dark house. Also the exhaust fan in the shower is hardwired to a switch so that when we enter the shower a waterproof motion sensor turns on the fan and 1 minute after exiting the shower the fan goes off. And when my alarm clock goes off in the morning the lights I need to get ready for work all turn on automatically. Plus to keep us ontime for church all the lights in the house flash 3 times, 10 minutes before it is time to leave, and the bathroom lights go off with it is time to leave. This is all done with the following x10 and misc hardware: CM15A, Stardot Express 6 Video Server, 3 Universal Modules, 7 Motion sensors, firecracker module, DSL Modem, Linksys NSLU2 server w/250gb hdd, 5 transceivers, 17 light switches, 8 appliance modules, 9 lamp modules, 7 remote light switches, 4 keychain remotes, 6 pad remotes, and 2 alarm clocks.

Nishant · « **Reply #17 on:** September 07, 2007, 09:04:23 AM »

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Hi Folks!
These are 7 things (among many others) that I have done in my House :

Idea1 - I used a motion sensor with X10 Smart macros. And now I get an email in my office when the mailman puts new mail in my Mailbox.
Idea2 - When I walk into my Master or Guest bathrooms at night, my lights turn on at 30% brightness, but if I walk in during evening hours, it turns on at full brightness.
Idea3 - In the night (after 10 pm), if my wife or I close our bedroom door, then all the lights in all other rooms automatically turn off. (We sleep with our door closed and there are only 2 people living in our house). On the other hand if we open the door after 10 PM, then the kitchen and dining lights turn on (assuming that we are probably heading towards the Kitchen (or refrigerator)
Idea 4 - I have an electric waterfall in my backyard. If I walk into the backyard, it turns off automatically (although when I let me dog out in the backyard, it turns on as well), then after motion ceases it turns of after 5 minutes. Also, if I walk into the backyard at night, it turns on the backyard floodlights as well.
Idea 5 - when I open my garage door from inside, the lights turn on (same with the attic).
Idea 6 - When I enter my home in the evening (through the garage door). The hallway and kitchen lights turn on to illuminate my pathway. Took lot of time to make it work correctly. Because once I am in my home, if I need to go out to the garage to get something, it would trigger the same actions. I had to use a combination of motion sensors and flags to remember where exactly I am in the house at any given time.
Idea 7 - All my front yard bush /accent lights turn on between dawn and dusk

-Thanks
Nishant

mkgriff · « **Reply #18 on:** September 07, 2007, 09:36:17 AM »

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::)I am in a wheelchair with very limited use of my hands and arms. I use x10 along with my voice input system on my computer to operate my household lighting and appliances when I'm home alone. But probably the neatest thing is, I have a power door opener which when it is triggered by a wall switch it unlocks and opens the entrance door for 20 seconds then closes and Reeboks. If powe ris interrupted the door will actively. I have a camera watching the door, when the doorbell rings I can see who it is from my computer room three rooms away. Then by interrupting power with an x10 module I activate the unlock and open mechanism to allow whoever it is to enter (if I want to). This also allows my wife to open and unlock the door with an x10 keychain remote

Ryan KLein · « **Reply #19 on:** September 07, 2007, 09:37:47 AM »

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I use my tiny cams on 2 places, on the rear of my pickup so I can back up and see when I Hook up my trailer, also, on another channel, I have another cam mounted on the rear of my 17 foot trailer. These are a great safety aspect so that Io don't hit anything backing up,how did i do it??? i simply made an adapter that I can plug into my cigarette lighter( because the cams are 12 volt) I placed the receiver(which is also 12 volt) under my dash and placed a small 5 inch moniter on my dash.. SO I THINK X10 WOULD BENEFIT GREATLY IF YOU MADE A CAR READY SYSTEM, INCLUDING 12V ADAPTERS (THIS WORKS AWESOME ON MY R.V. ALSO!!!!) and possibly a small moniter/receiver combo to place on dash (or anywhere for that matter).. THANKS FOR READING!!!!

LeeBear35 · « **Reply #20 on:** September 07, 2007, 10:05:59 AM »

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My house layout has raised ceilings combining the kitchen, dining and living room areas. I placed dimmer modules above the cabnets with LED Christmas lights to provide ambient lighting. Note: This required modification of the dimmer modules to remove the current sensing circuit, because the trickle current for the current sensing circuit will illuminate the LED's.

GJ · « **Reply #21 on:** September 07, 2007, 11:07:05 AM »

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I use my Van Guard camera to view the front of my house. I also have a camera at my front door ,one in the living room, and another out back.

I use Active Home Pro to turn on/off my air conditioners, my lights, of which I also use my remote so I can walk down the hallway without stubbing my toe like I used to.

I also have an Eagle Eye sensor positioned at my front door that will turn on a Macro that will turn on the porch light and start taking snapshots from all of my cameras and email me them for later viewing in case something happens to any of my stuff.

I also have my voice dialer security console set up to call me when a security sensor trips then I can monitor my cameras from work using my iWittness software.

There are other ideas I have yet to incorporate into my smart house security system.

Not sure if this is what you had in mind for the contest, but I hope I win, sure could use another camera to use in my home security system.

Thanks GJ

John Carter · « **Reply #22 on:** September 07, 2007, 11:12:42 AM »

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For an elderly family member whose clothes dryer is located in a utility room off the carport, I set up a remote end-of-cycle signal using a PSC01 Powerflash Security Interface and a SC546A Remote Chime.

A small plug-in DC power supply (a "wall wart" style charger) that is connected to the end-of-cycle buzzer. The 9 volts DC from the wall wart goes to the Powerflash module which is set for Mode 3 (one unit code on, then off). The Remote Chime is set to the same house and unit codes as the Powerflash unit.

When the clothes dryer cycle ends, the dryer turns on the end of cycle buzzer for a few seconds, which also powers the wall wart. This activates the Powerflash module which then signals the Remote Chime to announce that the dryer is finished. The Remote Chime can be plugged in anywhere in the house to monitor the dryer's status.

There is no longer any need to make trips outside to check whether the dryer has finished. X10 will report immediately when it happens.

sccron · « **Reply #23 on:** September 07, 2007, 11:47:17 AM »

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I have a cabin in colorado and I live in Phoenix. I use quite a few x10 components to monitor my cabin. I have Active home that i run which has three wireless cameras that i control remotely as well as turn lights on and off as necessary. Being that this is in a rural location the power is sometime a problem so I modified the computer to allow for remote start and reboot via the x10 telephone decoder. this allows me to restart from the ground up and or just reboot when the power goes out as needed.

robtog · « **Reply #24 on:** September 07, 2007, 12:58:46 PM »

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I have used X-10 to automatically control my lights and secure my home for many years. I have two neighbors who are not into gadgets and electronics, both of whom are up in years. Since they are on the same transformer from the power company, I was able to operate lights for them with my own system. They can always come home to a house with an inside light or two, and post lanterns and porch lights that come on automatically. They really appreciate it. They tell me that at times when they have guests over and the lights come on by themselves, and they tell them their neighbor does it, the guests are amazed.

Bob Festog

steven r · « **Reply #25 on:** September 07, 2007, 01:39:50 PM »

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I've used X10 since the days of the old BSR timer (BTW... I still have the timer.) and have used AHP since it came out.

I have a macro to wake me in the morning by 1st turning on a small bedside light, the radio 2 minutes later and then the overhead light after another 3 minutes. Since my bathroom is at the other end of the house from the water heater, I have AHP trigger a universal module a few minutes later that starts a pump to bring hot water to my bathroom faster. This way I can turn on the shower and have hot water in a few seconds instead of a couple minutes. I save money on my hot water bill as well as not having to wait for the shower to get warm.

I have AHP dim my front light to 60% at dusk. I also use a motion sensor near the door that brightens the light when someone approaches. By using an else to the macro, this motion sensor doubles as a trigger for my Halloween display. My Halloween display dims the front light and turns on a foggier, a strobe and strange sounds when kids approach. See pictures here. Someone called 911 last year because there was so much smoke and I had a chance to meet the fire department. They've recently build a fire department about 1 mile from my house so I may get to meet a new bunch of firemen this year.

One of my most useful macros is my welcome / exit macro. It's triggered by a drive over switch that I made. See instructions here. By using a flag to indicate an at home status the same trigger can either turn off lights and close the garage when I leave or welcome me by turning on an inside light near the door.

I also have a timed shutdown macro that closes the garage at night and in the morning. No more accidentally leaving the door open.

I even have a power recovery macro that will shut my garage door even if I had to open it manually during a power outage.

james shoemaker · « **Reply #26 on:** September 07, 2007, 02:53:17 PM »

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I live on a private lake that restricts speeds to no-wake starting at sunset. I was given a traffic light as a present by my Wife's parents and could never figure out what to do with it until I put the two together. I rigged the lights in the traffic light to be individually controlled by X10 lamp modules and set it up with my CM11A to turn on the Green light 1 hour before sunset, switch to yellow 15 minutes before sunset, then red right at sunset and leave the red on for an hour after sunset. That way we know when to stop waterskiing or jetskiing and can avoid a find for violating the sunset rule. I use a linux program called heyu to program the CM11A.

James Shoemaker

aschreiner · « **Reply #27 on:** September 07, 2007, 03:15:04 PM »

Thank you to all who have submitted such great stories.

We are all quite impressed with the ways that many of you have found to use your X10 products.

----------------------------------
I live on a private lake that restricts speeds to no-wake starting at sunset. I was given a traffic light as a present by my Wife's parents and could never figure out what to do with it until I put the two together. I rigged the lights in the traffic light to be individually controlled by X10 lamp modules and set it up with my CM11A to turn on the Green light 1 hour before sunset, switch to yellow 15 minutes before sunset, then red right at sunset and leave the red on for an hour after sunset. That way we know when to stop waterskiing or jetskiing and can avoid a find for violating the sunset rule. I use a linux program called heyu to program the CM11A.

James Shoemaker
-------------------------------------

Wow, I thought I have heard it all before - a traffic light on a lake controlled by X10! That is really cool

Keep the stories coming and be sure to check back often!

Thanks to all of you who have submitted your stories. We look forward to reading more!

Andrew

X10 Web Designer
Web Marketing

AccessGuru · « **Reply #28 on:** September 07, 2007, 03:42:23 PM »

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My original purchase of the X10 camera was a 3 camera deal with motion sensor and VCR commander. I use this to monitor our entry and exit doors of a small family owned business in a high crime area. It records everyone entering and leaving the building. Luckily we've never needed the tape, but I feel much safer with it.

I recently purchased 2 additional camera's for home use. One that monitors the swimming pool, and the other monitoring the driveway. Unfortunately I have a detached garage where I was going to place a camera to monitor the swimming pool and deck area, but the distance from the camera to the video receiver was just over 100'. 109' to be exact, and I could not get a clear enough signal to use it in the ideal location. I relocated it to a roof peak off my back porch which does give me a clear view, but due to the distance not what I really intended it for. I would love to purchase the sentinel for this reason alone, but it is not in my budget at this time.

As for a suggestion or idea...
I'd love to see a signal booster, or something you can place in between the signal similar to a wireless router/workswitch allowing further distances or improve signal capabilities when theres poor reception due to interference.

Thanks for a great product!

computerpal · « **Reply #29 on:** September 07, 2007, 03:44:15 PM »

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I love my Active Home Professional. We use it for serval things:

1. We use it to wake up the family in the morning. I have it programmed to cut the lights on in the morning with a delay and then turn the lights off. My oldest son lights come on @ 4:30 am, then my younger kids goes on @ 6:00 am, and mine comes on @ 6:05 am to get that extra sleep

.

2. We also use Active Home Professional when we are going out of town to turn lights on/off at different intervals and delays, so it appears someone is home. We also hook a radio up to an appliance module so it comes on at different times as well to get some cool sounds while we are away

.

3. When we are out of town we use it check on the house with our 8 camera system.

4. AND THE BEST WAY we used it was when we were selling our house last year. I set up the system to record ALL 8 cameras while our house was being viewed. What a treat that was to see how people were going through our house. We got a kick out of it.

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Author Topic: [Closed] X10 Idea Contest! Winner receives a FREE Sentinel Camera! (Read 286121 times)

chronictom

Re: X10 Idea Contest! Winner receives a FREE Sentinel Camera!

Robert_k

Re: X10 Idea Contest! Winner receives a FREE Sentinel Camera!

Nishant

Re: X10 Idea Contest! Winner receives a FREE Sentinel Camera!

mkgriff

Re: X10 Idea Contest! Winner receives a FREE Sentinel Camera!

Ryan KLein

Re: X10 Idea Contest! Winner receives a FREE Sentinel Camera!

LeeBear35

Re: X10 Idea Contest! Winner receives a FREE Sentinel Camera!

GJ

Re: X10 Idea Contest! Winner receives a FREE Sentinel Camera!

John Carter

Re: X10 Idea Contest! Winner receives a FREE Sentinel Camera!

sccron

Re: X10 Idea Contest! Winner receives a FREE Sentinel Camera!

robtog

Re: X10 Idea Contest! Winner receives a FREE Sentinel Camera!

steven r

Re: X10 Idea Contest! Winner receives a FREE Sentinel Camera!

james shoemaker

Re: X10 Idea Contest! Winner receives a FREE Sentinel Camera!

aschreiner

X10 Idea Contest! Winner receives a FREE Sentinel Camera!

AccessGuru

Re: X10 Idea Contest! Winner receives a FREE Sentinel Camera!

computerpal

Re: X10 Idea Contest! Winner receives a FREE Sentinel Camera!