Homeowner Forum / Home Automation / November 2008

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Many of the problems you may be facing in your sexual life could be
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I can't tell you how old it is, at least a couple years. Anyway I
opened it up and there's a big blackened spot around what I presume is
a zener diode.  
So can anyone tell me what normally dies on this thing?  the zener?

I was getting out the holiday lights this weekend, and something
occurred to me...
Where I live, outside outlets must have GFI.  If I plug in an x10 module
to a GFI outlet, are the things plugged into the module still GFI protected?

I asked Smarthome why they dont sell plain white un-engraved buttons
for their Insteon keypads (they only sell the clear ones, or white
with A,B,C,D engraved).  To replace all my buttons with white would
cost close to $1000 dollars, (for crappy little plastic injection

Needed: low profile module for embedding in a wall sconce. Starting with a
WS467 as the base module, I did the neutral and SSR mods (idobartana.com)
using a large 6A SSR. The smaller Crydom SSRs would have been nice but not
on hand.

I've been searching for printed magazines that cover home automation
as either a primary or secondary topic.  I'd also be interested in any
magazines that don't specifically cover home automation, but cover
topics that might be applicable in an indirect way (electronics

I have a homebuilt home control system based on an 80c51FA processor. I recently
had a memory failure on it. It currently uses 32K x 8 bit mmemories, sharing the
space for code and variables. I would like to replace the 2 memories with one
128k x 8 bit memory.

I want to control automate a ceiling fan which has 3 pull switches
(bottom lights, top lights & fan).  I have a Hampton Bay Jericho II fan.
To do this for the X10 system, I would need WS13A or WS14A. is this right?

Can PC board chemists here figure out a way to custom etch plastic or
metal wallplates for identifying switches?  I was thinking there must
be some photo-etching method that can etch the plastic and you would
just rub contrasting paint into the etching.  Can you photo-etch a

New to this.  I gather that X10 is normally mono-directional (i.e. the
modules just get told what to do).  However, I sawe devices mentioned
with bi-directional capabilities.  This sounds a bit more exciting
from a developer's point of view.  Can anyone tell me what devices can

I have set multiple USB cameras around the house. Many of them came with software
to record time-lapse video. Unfortunately they record only specific cameras.
What I am looking for is (preferably free) time-lapse or similar software that
could cycle between capture devices and save ...

I want to use my pc to imput data when a motion detector detects movement.
I've read that LPT port can handle 5V. But what about current? I'd like to test
with a small transformer. The transformer outputs 4.5V with 2.5A. Will that
damage the printer port should should I cut the ...

I need this to repair my old homebuilt home control system.
Anyone know any places in Seattle area that sell these retail?

I currently have HomeSeer and an OLD X10 controller and looking to
upgrade everything to Z-Wave and a similar controller. I've been
looking at Z-Troller but having difficulty figuring out if it works
while unplugged from the computer?

I have been using X-10 with a CP290 Interface for almost 19 years.
It's worked very well for me, for the most part. I use it to control
all the lights inside and outside my home. I had problems in the past
with some of the devices failing, but, thanks to this forum, a