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[brobin]

You do more in week than a team of developers does in year! 

[Tuicemen]

LOL it certainly seems like it when you look at the wm100 advancements.

[dave w]

LOL it certainly seems like it when you look at the wm100 advancements.

"wm100 advancements" is an oxymoron. 

[Tuicemen]

LOL it certainly seems like it when you look at the wm100 advancements.

"wm100 advancements" is an oxymoron. 

[Tuicemen]

I've currently stopped playing and experimenting with my RPi boards.
Most I wished to accomplish has been done. I did create a small magic mirror using an old Android phone ( my old LED panel bit the dust)  a larger version will have to wait till I find the right monitor.
I also was able to get my Kinects camera working with the RPi for simple viewing but decided against using it this way. I found the picture quality wasn't as good as I expected (probably the drivers).
I'm amazed at what can be done with these compact low resource devices.
My conclusion:
If you 'd like to do something with one, in all probability it is possible.
 

[petera]

Glad to hear you enjoyed your foray into the world Linux Open Source on the Raspberry Pi/Raspbian OS. The playing never stops though.

HomeGenie, while an interesting choice for your X10 Hub does have its shortcomings and I think you realise this now. It was never going to be AHP with all the bells and whistles for the average user. This became apparent during the setup process and the less than confident reaction from those who attempted to join in.

Many didn't realise at the time that HomeGenie was in fact a .Net Windows based program which was adapted to utilise Mono allowing it to run in the Linux environment. Many Windows programs have adopted this approach to varying degrees of success.

One of the biggest shortcomings of HomeGenie of course is its singular development lead, it's sporadic update cycle and most importantly it's lack of a satisfactory community where experienced adopters and developers can exchange experiences. It did have this at one stage and was very successful but both contributions and ideas fell away when the developer shutdown the community forum. Other experienced contributors/developers tried to pick up the slack but it fell short of expectations.

A number of community members here did manage to tailor a setup in HomeGenie on the Raspberry Pi to suit their X10 needs. Outside of that I imagine many quickly realised that HomeGenie just wasn't for them. I firmly believe the lack of a viable HomeGenie community forum with experienced developers/users contributed to this.

I noticed you've written somewhere that you were going to get your hands dirty learning Python. Should you attempt this endeavour I strongly suggest that you channel your energies into something like Home Assistant, all Python based. The wheel has already been invented there. Endless amounts of platforms (plugins) available and even includes one for your Magic Mirror. And of course X10 is supported and implemented.

It comes in many installation formats and one that may be of interest to you, Hassbian which installs simply on the Raspberry Pi via an image installer. As I mentioned, the wheel has already been invented here so it leaves plenty of time for the all important automations. For those who want it even easier there's also the Hass.io method of installation. Zero coding required via this method.

I'd leave Gene to his hibernation for the moment and press on with something a little more active and productive along the lines I outlined above.

[Tuicemen]

Thanks petera.
When I started down the pi road I had no intention of learning a new programing language. However I have noticed that so many HA programs use middle men softwares to get things done, this includes X10.
I have a few HA routes I'll explore in the future but for now HG does all my HA with the fewest middle men softwares required.
My ultimate goal for my HA is to not require any middle men software.

[petera]

Thanks petera.
When I started down the pi road I had no intention of learning a new programing language. However I have noticed that so many HA programs use middle men softwares to get things done, this includes X10.
I have a few HA routes I'll explore in the future but for now HG does all my HA with the fewest middle men softwares required.
My ultimate goal for my HA is to not require any middle men software.

That's the beauty of Hassio. It works as an appliance as can be seen from here https://community.home-assistant.io/t/hass-io-vs-dietpi-manual-install/112679

Hours of tinkering avoided. It just works out of the box for those that want it that way.

Home Automation design has move moved on somewhat since Gene's original concept and I really do suggest you spend some time familiarising yourself with Hassio. And of course if you do get stuck on anything there's a vast amount of contributors only too willing to help instantly.

Maybe when your next home automation season starts

[Tuicemen]

I'll re-examine all possibilities next HA season however when I originally looked at Hassio it required heyu or mochad which are not drivers but middle men softwares.
Maybe this has changed.

[bkenobi]

I have a testing HA setup using Hasbian and it does work very well.  I have not yet gotten the RF working as I require for X10 which is why it's still a testing setup.  Although it does require Mochad, once configured it does work as expected.  And, although it is an additional software that is required, once installed, it just works.  The RF is supposed to be able to work with an additional add-on, but I failed to get it installed the several times I tried.

As for Hass.IO, it is pretty awesome so long as the components you want to use are already available.  Last I checked, Mochad did not work with Hass.IO, though.  If someone was to switch to a new standard then I think Hass.IO flavor of HA would be a really slick approach as it is easier than AHP to get running.

[petera]

I have a testing HA setup using Hasbian and it does work very well.  I have not yet gotten the RF working as I require for X10 which is why it's still a testing setup.  Although it does require Mochad, once configured it does work as expected.  And, although it is an additional software that is required, once installed, it just works.  The RF is supposed to be able to work with an additional add-on, but I failed to get it installed the several times I tried.

As for Hass.IO, it is pretty awesome so long as the components you want to use are already available.  Last I checked, Mochad did not work with Hass.IO, though.  If someone was to switch to a new standard then I think Hass.IO flavor of HA would be a really slick approach as it is easier than AHP to get running.

The appliance approach install that Hass.io takes is definitely the way forward. The Joe Average user has no interest spending countless hours fiddling about trying to get a light to turn on when a sensor triggers at a certain time of the day when the rain starts. We are way passed that in terms of home automation now.

I imagine owners of X10 controllers were happy enough to have their macros and timers programmed into their units and just walk away and leave the controllers to do their business.

The appliance approach of Hass.io now being adopted will do that and much more. Unfortunately with the slow demise of X10 for inclusion in the likes of these projects it is up to the current owners of this technology to find ways that X10 can be included.

Well the good news is that the CM11 and the CM15 are catered for by way of Heyu and Mochad respectfully and as @bkenobi states they just work. There's no apparent sign of a "middle man" here. Once it's setup it just becomes a constituent part of a much bigger picture called Home Assistant.

For Cloud aficionados it's all there and available. Personally I don't subscribe to the cloud but my setup has all the functionality that I need and more. For Alexa fans, you can go the cloud route or local control as I have done.

The main point here is the core code is sound and stable so it allows the user to get on with the business of home automation and not trying to reinvent the wheel each time you need to turn a light on or off at a certain time of the day when the rain stops 

[Tuicemen]

I've done all my original wishes with the Pi but the Smart mirror.
However I've accomplished much more then I expected.
I may soon start to play with a smart mirror  on a spare Pi.

[HA Dave]

I've done all my original wishes with the Pi but the Smart mirror.

Couldn't you just use a Amazon/Fire TV with a 2-way mirror? Include automation, news, weather, email, phone...........

[Tuicemen]

I've done all my original wishes with the Pi but the Smart mirror.

Couldn't you just use a Amazon/Fire TV with a 2-way mirror? Include automation, news, weather, email, phone...........

You probably could  but what fun would that be?
I also don't have an Amazon/Fire TV.

[bkenobi]

Some people think buying the complete project is fun.