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[cantbreak80]

Thanks Tuicemen.
I've made that adjustment.
But, being seriously AR requires me to seek instant gratification.
I'll be working on trigger mods to reach that goal...along with dongle placement.
Now...where's my measuring tape?
  back at ya.

[HA Dave]

......... I'll be working on trigger mods to reach that goal...along with dongle placement.
Now...where's my measuring tape?

Of course... I haven't done an antenna mod on a dongle yet. But I have seen directions on the Web. I think a LOT can be done with range yet.

You've done excellent work with BlueWatch Tuicemen! Been running and testing it (again) all day. It's awesome.... an excellent way to track Occupancy.

[Tuicemen]

You've done excellent work with BlueWatch Tuicemen! Been running and testing it (again) all day. It's awesome.... an excellent way to track Occupancy.

Thanks Dave_x10_L,
Hopefull it will only improve. Been playing with new BT drivers and they look promising!
I was able to stay connected with a HeadSet for most of the night last night.
Also been playing with Network pinging this afternoon as I picked up a wireless LAN card. The issue with wifi will be how to limit the range not extend it!
 

[HA Dave]

I've already rewritten my macros. Instead of the keyholder/DS10A sensor telling the HA Computer that I am home. The Occupancy Sensing is now completely automatic.

I do need to write a macro that will allow me to tell the computer (BVC Voice Command or remote) to "show me as home" and then a command to undo that. As mowing the grass... will put me out of range of BlueWatch yet still within my perimeter detection limits.

But with six inches of snow on the ground now... it's not a problem I need to fix.... today. But I do have an idea or two. I've worked so hard on my home automation these last few days... it reminded me of this cartoon.

[Tuicemen]

I do need to write a macro that will allow me to tell the computer (BVC Voice Command or remote) to "show me as home" and then a command to undo that. As mowing the grass... will put me out of range of BlueWatch yet still within my perimeter detection limits.

Well I could always add a option that a X10 signal would turn off detection,
another signal would start it detecting again!
 

[dbemowsk]

OK, I am having an issue with BlueWatch.  Today I went to best buy and bought  A USB bluetooth module.  I plugged it into the machine and installed the drivers and software that came with the device.  On my BlackBerry Curve 8330, I went into my bluetooth options and set Discoverable to yes.  I then tested connection using the supplied software and was able to successfully pair my device with my HA computer. 

So, now on to BlueWatch.  The software will not show my phone in the list.  At first boot of the software I try clicking the [Discover] button and for half a second it will say [scanning...] then back to [Discover].  I get nothing showing under Discovered BT Devices or Watched BT Devices.

BTW, I have a P4 3.0 GHz with 512MB of ram running WIn XP Pro with SP3 installed.

Tuicemen, am I doing something wrong?

Dan B.

[Tuicemen]

dbemowsk   Yes!
A couple of things which are causing your issues
First you must use the Bluetooth stacks in Windows if you install another software such as BlueSoleil it will not work!
Second you can't configure your device in Windows Bluetooth devices or it will never see a disconnect.

Remove your Blackberry from windows Bluetooth devices.
Uninstall the software that cam with your Dongle.
Unplug your dongle reboot windows.
Once it has rebooted plug in your dongle and let windows discover it.
BlueWatch should now see your BlackBerry
Also get more mem 512 is not enough

 Hope that helps!
 

[yancy]

Yes I played with it!
If X10Ping works why add the option to BlueWatch
It is doable!
What would be the difference/benefit of using BlueWatch over X10Ping? 

Why add the option?  One less app to be running.  I can use my Wifi connectivity for certain tasks yet still be able to capture other bluetooth devices, (kids and friends phones).  Also, since I haven't played with Bluewatch yet I wasn't sure if there was some other functionality/logic that X10Ping didn't have that might be useful.

As for the difference, again, can automate multiple ways.  Since distance is a limiting factor with bluetooth (although quite a few posts already on extending), wifi can over come it.

Not sure this helps or is of much value over what is already in place, just trying to share some thoughts and see what comes of it.

[Tuicemen]

Why add the option?  One less app to be running.  I can use my Wifi connectivity for certain tasks yet still be able to capture other bluetooth devices, (kids and friends phones).  Also, since I haven't played with Bluewatch yet I wasn't sure if there was some other functionality/logic that X10Ping didn't have that might be useful.

Well I understand the one less app running!
I'm not sure I can have net detection (pinging) and BlueTooth detection running at the same time without some major issues but I'll look at it.
Running either or wouldn't be an issue!
 

[HA Dave]

Why add the option?  One less app to be running. 

You can often tell who has been using computers for some time (that's a good thing).
I once made a comment to my grown son.. that "Web Pages have so much graphic content.. people are going to need a gig of RAM to just surf". His reply was.... So?
On my Home Automation Computer I run AHP (of course), BVC, WeatherAloud, and now BlueWatch. Even with video image capture... my old P3 can still keep up.

I wouldn't hesitate to add any new product that I thought would be helpful to my setup.

I have considered upgrading my PC to a more modern one (maybe one LESS than 10 years old). I would rather spend a couple bucks (if I really HAVE to) than give up a good automation opportunity.

[dbemowsk]

Well, it appears that the RocketFish bluetooth module I bought is not a windows (default)  friendly module.  Meaning that it seems to only work with the supplied software.

Remove your Blackberry from windows Bluetooth devices.

By this I take it you mean go into control panel and into bluetooth and remove it from there. I did that, but the applet in control panel that I removed it from was apparently the WIDCOMM bluetooth software that got installed when I ran the CD.

Uninstall the software that cam with your Dongle.
Unplug your dongle reboot windows.
Once it has rebooted plug in your dongle and let windows discover it.

I did all this.  Uninstalled the WIDCOMM bluetooth software that came with it.  Unplugged and rebooted, but when I plug it back in, I try to go in and install the driver for it, none of the default drivers that windows has seem to be compatible.  It will only use the driver that came with the supplied CD.  When I do this, it shows up in the device manager as a bluetooth device, but I still get nothing in control panel as far as a bluetooth manager for windows, and BlueWatch still fails to detect.

Do I need to get a different bluetooth module?

Dan

[Tuicemen]

Do I need to get a different bluetooth module?

Dan

Most likely yes!
Some PC manufactures install their own Bluetooth flavor of stacks.
Check in add remove programs to see if there is any other Bluetooth drivers installed.
If so remove them.
I'm currently looking for Bluetooth dlls that will work with other Stacks but most only work with Windows or Windows and 1 other Flavor.
Possibly other users can chime in with the Brand name Dongle they are using to help if you need to get a different one!
 

[dbemowsk]

Looking in "add or remove programs", I do not see ANY installed bluetooth software.  Typically drivers alone are not shown in "add or remove programs".  Do the windows bluetooth stacks only get installed when using a windows default driver? 

What brand/model of blutooth are you and Dave using?

Dan B.

[dbemowsk]

IT WORKS

Well, I was not about to give up on this.  I did some searching on the net for my Rocketfish bluetooth adapter and found this http://www.serialio.com/support/LaserChamp/3rdPartyRemove.php. This article shows how to use any bluetooth adapter with the windows stacks.  I felt that my frustrations with this were things that others may encounter, so I felt this to be a MUST POST.  Click on the link above and scroll down to the section "How To Hack Windows Bluetooth to support any Bluetooth adapter!".  Follow the instructions listed as a guide for your version of bluetooth adapter.  This article has you modify the "bth.inf" file.  I ALWAYS recommend that if you are changing a windows file of any kind that you make a backup of the original file before making any changes..

I followed the instruction to the letter, which BTW happened to show it's example for the exact bluetooth adapter I had.  When done with everything I started BlueWatch and voila, I had Discovered BT Devices in the list.

This should help anyone with a non-standard bluetooth adapter that widows does not recognize.  Tuicemen, this msy also be something that you'd want to post on your website for people that have trouble getting BlueWatch working with their BT adapter.

Now the fun begins.

Dan Bemowski

[HA Dave]

IT WORKS
Well, I was not about to give up on this.  I did some searching on the net for my Rocketfish bluetooth adapter and found this http://www.serialio.com/support/LaserChamp/3rdPartyRemove.php.

Now the fun begins.

Yes it does! BlueWatch is (thank you again Tuicemen) Occupancy Sensing made easy. There are so darn few people ANYWHERE that have truly intergraded Occupancy Sensing into their Home Automation that I don't think we can even fully imagine the scope of what this can do yet.

That is why I started my S.A.R.A. project. S.A.R.A. stands for Smart Articulate Responsive Automation. Having inteligent computer controlled automation that can sense your presence, understand your Voice Commands, and speak to you with (pre-programmed) warnings and notices... is very much like science fiction.

But available TODAY and on a tiny budget as well.