X10 ?

[Michael]

Can Vixen control X10 devices?
I know it is not a fast protocal, but I have LOTS of modules and there are some high power items that would work better with X10 that just need to be controlled at the beginning or end of a sequence.
I have the wireless computer interface already. I believe it is called the firecracker.

- Michael

[teberle]

yes it can. I have been working on the plugin for this. I am about 50% done with it. I have been developing using the Firecracker (cm17a) protocol.

[stempile]

Nice! Currently running the firecracker with a linux program called BR. I have it hooked up to a cronjob with some randomization built in to control my house lights. Its been a solid x10 interface for me and it was cheap!

Looking forward to seeing the plug in for Vixen!

ms

[Michael]

teberle

That sounds great. Can I give it a try when you have it finished ?

- Michael

[teberle]

yep, I hope to have it soon, just trying to find time to finish and test.

[Michael]

Is there any X-10 plugin for Vixen ready for testing?

- Michael

[XmasInGalt]

X10 would also be a great to use a as trigger for some light sequences. Using a wireless motion detector or any other X10 device to turn 'on' or 'off' a X10 address would activate the sequence. I'd be intersted in testing this also if your ready for testing.

[hiddnmickey80]

I would love to test this as well...

[teberle]

Now that I have my display running and things have settled down a bit I am going to get back on this pluggin. I think initially it will only do the on/off but I can expand from there. What things are you interested in?

[flintman]

a basic on/off would be nice every outlet and every switch in my house is on x10 and that will be nice to intergrate x10 into my display. I know it's not a fast on off but looking for more of a static turn this on for say one song and this on for another song will be cool

[teberle]

That would be one of the stipulations. It would not be setup to sequence rapidly as the X-10 protocol has a latency issue.

[djulien]

I am also interested in the X10 plug-in. In past years, I've sequenced my lights using X10, but for next year I'm wanting to expand and sync to music, so I think the DIY controllers described on this web site would be more versatile, driven by Vixen.

Some questions about mixing X10 with other controllers described on this web site, all driven with Vixen:
- Can the older serial X10 controller (CP290) be used okay with the parallel-port on/off controllers such as Grinch or 595 Olsen?
- Can the Firecracker controller be used okay with other serial controllers (ie, Renard) as well as parallel-port (Grinch or Olsen)?

I'd like to continue to use my X10 modules for dimming, rather than buy a new dimmer controller, since they are working okay and I have a bunch of them. I'll probably phase out X10 as modules go bad, and replace them with a Renard or equivalent.

BTW, if someone gets the X10 plug-in working for simple on/off control, I might be able to help get it working for dimming (since I am a software guy).

thanks

don

[VICTORY402]

I was wondering if anyone ever came up with a plugin for X-10 modules? I have a ton of x-10 gear and wanted to do a simple display this year. Since I'm new to this I want to go with something simple and affordable this year, but next year...Blinky-Flashy!

[Virtus]

If your x10 application can operate from a command line using input parameters ( like "C:\x10app\x10app.exe /a1 /a3 /a5 /a7 ON") you could use the LAUNCHER plugin to accomplish this goal.

[VICTORY402]

Does Launcher send it's output signals through the serial port? I'm using a Firecracker control module that plugs into the serial port. I looked at launcher and believe I could do what you suggested if it will communicate with my Firecracker. I also have a CM11a, if your familiar with x-10 stuff, if you think this would work better. A ready to go plugin would have made this project go faster though, since we have less than a month til Christmas.
Thanks for your time,
Vic

[Virtus]

LAUNCHER operates as Vixen plugin on the show PC. You would need to install your x10 application on the same PC and connect it as required to your x10 devices. LAUNCHER allows you to open another application and set the command line parameters from within a Vixen sequence.

[VICTORY402]

Ok, I'm changing my thinking on this process,

I have 8 x-10 modules hooked up to 8 lights. Could I not simply open up my x-10 remote and wire the parallel port cable wires into it to trigger the remote buttons which would turn on the modules. Maybe i need to use triacs, no big deal to wire them in to the circuit or use 5v relays (i have 8 on the shelf)

Which leads to 2 questions:
1. What plugin would I use? (12 chanel parallel?)
2. I would need to figure out which printer cable wires (pins) turns on and off for each chanel. Ugh!

I should mention that this is for lights I have in my Gameroom. I want to be able to do a light show to the beat of the music (slow beat of course because of the 2 second x-10 lag), but I don't want to eliminate my x-10 set up, because when we are dancing to the jukebox we may simply want to turn on the disco ball or laser lights or Led strips in a static sense.

I do hope you can help me...