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I haven't worked on the soundcard since yesterday (it IS finals week, you know!), and I'll probably just wait and get them when I go home for break. I'll be leaving after my 9 AM final tomorrow, and work on the Dorm Automation project will be temporarily suspended until next semester (mid-January), so I don't expect to have many (or any) updates to this log, although I may do some updates to the Dorm Automation webpages. Adios till then...
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Well, I still haven't gotten the proper soundcard drivers. I might have to open the case back up and check it out. I don't really mind opening up the case, it's just that it's currently buried underneath a table which supports my laptop and monitor. Grrr.
Anyway, there has been a significant improvement in MH performance... it now uses around 12% of the CPU, where it was sometimes using 40-50% steadily on the P120 laptop. The wakeup routines didn't process this morning (not that they do much good without sound), and I found that MisterHouse was trying to catch up on quite a few hours. It turns out I had forgotten to turn off the BIOS power management features. Silly me.
The current (known) setup is:
- Pentium 166 MMX
- 64 MB RAM
- 500 MB IDE Hard Drive
- Generic ISA Modem
- LinkSys PCI NIC
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I went ahead and slapped the NIC in the ol' P166. After wussing out and installing Windows 95 instead of Linux, I had a multitude of problems installing the drivers for the NIC. Grrr... I was about to tear my hair out, and then it suddenly started working. That made things a lot easier, as I was able to update Internet Explorer, update my video drivers, and copy MisterHouse over the network. I installed the TTS engine, but forgot that I haven't yet installed the soundcard drivers. Worse yet, I don't have the CD here at school, so I'm going to have to try to remember what card it is so I can download teh drivers...
Anyway, I've got MH running, it seems to be doing fine (and it's much faster). Good things...
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Not much news on this front. I ordered the thermostat setback and a transceiver module this weekend with my latest X-10 gift voucher. So I'll end up paying under $10 for those two items and 2 slimfire keychain remotes. Not bad...
I won't really be able to try out the thermostat setback... although there is a thermostat in our room, it controls our whole side of the hall... actually, that might be a fun little game! I got it more as a future-minded thing. I figure Heather and I will be pretty poor when we get married, so any energy savings would be appreciated...
Speaking of the setback, I wasn't quite sure how they worked at first, but after a little research, I found that you install it underneath your current thermostat, and when it is turned on it produces an amount of heat which will "trick" your thermostat into thinking it is warmer than it actually is, therefore setting back the actual temperature by the set number of degrees (5, 10, or 15). Pretty neat.
The transceiver module will be put to use in servicing more macros from handheld and keychain remotes. I'm not sure which ones yet, but that's the plan, anyway.
Oh, and I also got the LAN card I've been waiting for so I can dump my home automation stuff on my P166 desktop instead of running it off my P120 laptop. I also ordered a SCSI card for that machine, and will hopfully be able to find a cheap, small SCSI hard drive to throw in it. I also ordered a KVM switchbox and the necessary cables from Computer Gate. They have the cheapest prices I've found on computer and audio cables & adaptors, and lots of miscellaneous computer stuff. Just watch out for shipping!
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I thought I'd begin this log by talking about my current dorm automation project, and my progress thus far. I am a Senior Business/Computer Systems Management major (Comm. minor) at Grove City College. That's in Grove City, PA. (For more personal info, see the "About Me" page on this site.
Anyway, I first delved into X-10 at the beginning of this year (2000), when I got the "free" (it's $40 now, of course) Firecracker starter kit from X-10. I dabbled in some different software for the CM17 interface, finally settling on the freeware MisterHouse. After a short while, though, I tired of trying to learn PERL, and resorted to the PalmPad interface included in the kit. Well, my interest was sparked again this year... I don't really remember by what, but I'm pretty sure the X10.com gift vouchers helped... and I jumped back into MisterHouse and Home Automation in general. The web has been an excellent ally in finding information, and I hope that my site and this log aid that.
I now have a fairly large number of lamp and appliance modules (for a dorm room, at least), a couple of wall switches, plenty of palmpads and keychain remotes, and I just recently received an Activehome kit for Christmas (a little early, I know...). Going from the Firecracker (CM17) to the Activehome (CM11A) interface... all I can say is "WOW". The main reason I asked for the CM11A was for the ability to run macros... but I've found that the ability to read all X-10 signals (for instance, codes from RF remotes to individual units) and report that change in state is very nice.
Concerning MisterHouse, I have written various "modules" to run what I need them to. They include:
- Bedtime_routine.pl -- Upon a voice command, keypress, or certain time, bedtime routines are run for my roommate and I. The next step is to modify this file to respond differently depending on who goes to bed first (this hasn't been an issue yet, as I always go to bed after him).
- djmjr_protect.pl -- If the CPU temperature on my main computer gets too high, Mother Board Monitor 5 will write to a file logging the event. Every 10 minutes, MisterHouse (running on another computer) checks the file, and if it has changed alerts me vocally that the temperature is too high and turns on an external fan.
- dorm_x10.pl -- Assigns voice commands to all my X-10 modules, and also defines names for input received. This also has the routines to handle the lights for the comings and goings of my roommate and I. Upon entrance or exit, we it an on or off button for our personal unit code. Misterhouse runs different events based on whether the other other person is in the room and whether they are sleeping or not.
- proxy.pl -- A one-line file that assigns my school's proxy server to the $ENV{'http_proxy'} variable.
- security.pl -- This sets a security variable which is disarmed by a combination of X-10 keypresses. Still working on implementation.
- sunset_routine.pl -- File defines events that happen at sunset.
- wakeup_ben.pl and wakeup_dave.pl -- these handle the wakeup routines for my roommate and me (respectively). Some spoken text and flashing lights serve as the wakeup call. Music should be implemented shortly.
Well, I think that's quite enough to bore everyone with on the first day... plus, I should really be getting to bed!
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Well, it's 2:27 in the morning, and I finally got these silly tables looking halfway like I want them... so they'll have to do for now! Tomorrow (or today?) I plan on starting the regular updates... Yee-haw! Be sure to check out the links to the left!
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Okay, I've spent way too much time on trying to get these tables to look right! Pretty soon I'm just going to go with whatever I get. This is my first time dealing with templates and nested tables... ugh. I'm sure it'll come in handy someday...
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This is the first official post to this weblog. I will be keeping track of my progress in automating my dorm room.
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