I've found over the years that you really don't want to depend solely on a PC for your day-to-day scheduling stuff. An outboard, dedicated unit is more reliable and easier to manage in the end. Then, you tie in your PC for the one-off control stuff, remote access, etc.
I'm using a JDS Stargate (http://www.jdstechnologies.com) with some LCD Keypads and their IR Commander as the basis of my system. It can communiate with other devices and/or a PC via one of the on-board serial ports. It has A/D converters, relays, and audio control all on board. To add all of this to a PC gets to be just about as pricey as the Stargate system, and way more (IMO) kludgy and awkward over time. For audio distribution I'm using a Russound PR4Z with AP-48 amp. Russound, Kustom, and Xantech all make decent whole-house audio setups. They all can be controlled via IR and/or serial ports. If you don't want to drop a bundle of cash on a decent controller at first, you can start out with something like the Applied Digital Ocelot (http://www.appdig.com/adicon_new/ocelot.htm). When I ran my HA business we used to sell these by the boat load. I'm pretty sure I still have one around that I'll give you as a homewarming gift if you want it. I *might* also have some of the I/O modules... somewhere. X-10, the protocol, not the brand, is still a very decent cost-effective way to go about this. I've been using X-10 in 3 houses now for almost 10 years with no major issues, once I got past some (minor) initial debugging. If there is interest I could host a meeting at my place (Amherst) to talk about Home Automation and linux, and some basic integration ideas and concepts. > -----Original Message----- > Anybody have any experience with this, specifically with > Linux? We're mostly insterested in distribution of a stereo > system, but light control, security, appliances, are all on > the list of things to check out. _______________________________________________ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss
