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    Snevl_bb LED Sign Control package Discussion

    This thread is for discussion of the Snevl_bb script package (here: http://board.homeseer.com/showthread...619#post907619 ) providing Homeseer control over the BetaBrite and (hopefully) other Alpha protocol signs from Adaptive Micro Systems.

    Please post any comments, questions, bugs, or requests here.

    Thanks!

    Steve

    #2
    To anyone who is trying this out:

    It turns out that the method I used for the "disable_sign" function will only actually keep it disabled until the next command you send to the sign, rather than keeping it disabled until you do a "enable_sign".

    I've fixed this in the next Beta, but will hold off for a few days in case people find other things that need fixed.

    Steve

    Comment


      #3
      For those who might be interested: I've verified that Snevl_bb works with some of the older 2-line signs, but I need to put in the ability to specify which line to display a message on. Pretty neat, actually....

      I'd like to hear some feedback - positive or negative - from anyone trying this out. I don't want to pollute the boards with another beta if it turns out it is just me and GreenAcres messing with this.

      Steve

      Comment


        #4
        I'm excited to try this out. The LEDAM plugin never worked 100% reliable for me, and I ended up writing my own, but I've since lost the source for that due to a hard drive crash. So this should be good!

        Thanks
        Joe (zimmer62)

        BLSecurtiy, AC-RF2, RCS Serial Thermostats, RFXCOM SMarthome SwitchLinc, mcsXap, Global Cache GC100, SqueezeBox, TWA_ONKYOINTEGRA, BLLogMonitor, BLPlugins, BLRadar, BLSpeech, BLZLog.aspx, HSTouch (Windows, iPhone, iPod), USB Mimo touchscreens, VMWare Server, Vortexbox, Windows Home Server, MyMovies, Windows Media Center, X10, ZWave, and much much much more.

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by zimmer62 View Post
          I'm excited to try this out. The LEDAM plugin never worked 100% reliable for me, and I ended up writing my own, but I've since lost the source for that due to a hard drive crash. So this should be good!
          zimmer,

          What model of sign do you have? Is it the standard BetaBrite, or one of the other Adaptive Micro models? Snevl_bb doesn't support the Prism yet.

          Steve

          Comment


            #6
            standard betabrite
            Joe (zimmer62)

            BLSecurtiy, AC-RF2, RCS Serial Thermostats, RFXCOM SMarthome SwitchLinc, mcsXap, Global Cache GC100, SqueezeBox, TWA_ONKYOINTEGRA, BLLogMonitor, BLPlugins, BLRadar, BLSpeech, BLZLog.aspx, HSTouch (Windows, iPhone, iPod), USB Mimo touchscreens, VMWare Server, Vortexbox, Windows Home Server, MyMovies, Windows Media Center, X10, ZWave, and much much much more.

            Comment


              #7
              Ok then, no problem.

              I am adding some controls to specify top/bottom line on the 2-line displays. v1.0 should be ready to post this weekend.

              Steve

              Comment


                #8
                I had two of these signs, but I think one of them blew up the power regulator chip inside. I've kept it around in case I either need parts, or get ambitious and try and fix it.
                Joe (zimmer62)

                BLSecurtiy, AC-RF2, RCS Serial Thermostats, RFXCOM SMarthome SwitchLinc, mcsXap, Global Cache GC100, SqueezeBox, TWA_ONKYOINTEGRA, BLLogMonitor, BLPlugins, BLRadar, BLSpeech, BLZLog.aspx, HSTouch (Windows, iPhone, iPod), USB Mimo touchscreens, VMWare Server, Vortexbox, Windows Home Server, MyMovies, Windows Media Center, X10, ZWave, and much much much more.

                Comment


                  #9
                  I am excited about your new Script & Plug-In as well. I have the one line standard BetaBrite sign... I am getting ready to start building a new HomeSeer Pro Machine next week. gary

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Well, I'm glad some people are willing to give it a try, and I'm anxious to see what people think. Although I've gotten a copy of the LEDAM docs, I've never used it. From what I can tell, my approach is very different phylosophically. I hope that it doesn't just confuse and frustrate people. Then again, I'm willing to try and consider ideas to make it do what people need.

                    v1.0 will be posted here either Saturday or Sunday.

                    Steve

                    Comment


                      #11
                      v1.0 of Snevl_bb released and posted

                      The script library thread for Snevl_bb (http://board.homeseer.com/showthread...619#post907619) has been updated with the first release version (v1.0) of Snevl_bb. Please post any comments, questions, problems, or suggestions here. Thanks!

                      Steve

                      Comment


                        #12
                        What would be a good one to buy? Something cheap for the beginner and where would you get it. I looked a some on ebay, but just dont know what I am looking for.
                        Thanks for any information,
                        danielbo
                        danielbo

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by danielbo View Post
                          What would be a good one to buy? Something cheap for the beginner and where would you get it. I looked a some on ebay, but just dont know what I am looking for.
                          Thanks for any information,
                          danielbo
                          Daniel,

                          A good one to look for on EBay is the BetaBrite Classic. I say classic because the newer one is called the BetaBrite Prism, which uses a USB interface rather than the serial interface, and my stuff only works with the serial interface (as far as I know). Aside from that, any other sign that you can find that is build by Adaptive Micro Systems that supports a RS232 interface should be fine. The BetaBrite Classic is smaller, and so maybe more home-friendly.

                          So as a start, search EBay for "BetaBrite" but avoid ones that are specifically "Prism". If that doesn't work, search for "Adaptive Micro". I just did both and found a couple of prisms, and a few larger signs. Two that are listed right now are 4120C two-line signs, but the starting bid for both are about $400. I just bought a 4120C for $19.99 on EBay two weeks ago, so I would just check back.

                          Steve

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Snevl_BB example usage

                            A friend suggested it might be useful to provide some examples of how you might use the BetaBrite (or other signs that I support with Snevl_BB). Here is how I use my two signs right now:
                            • Throughout the day, the sign cycles through my "idle" message (which is displayed whenever there is nothing else happening). This includes:
                              • current date (day of week, and calendar date)
                              • time of day
                              • outside temperature
                              • reminders of current or upcoming events. As I write this note, this last part is displaying "Today is almost Mike's Birthday (5 days), and almost Valentine's Day (6) days, and almost President's Day (7 days)"
                            • If either of our two garage doors opens, the fact of whatever doors are open is added to the cycle, so it may say "Large Garage Door Open" as well as the above. When the door(s) close this data is droppled from the sequence.
                            • If I've got MP3s playing on the Windows Media Player, the idle loop is augmented with a display of "Now Playing:" followed by the artist name and track title. This data is automatically updated when the track changes, and is removed from the cycle when the player is stopped.
                            • When someone calls on the phone, the above sequence is interrupted and replaced with a display of the incoming call information (caller name and number). After 40 seconds the display returns to the regular cycle.
                            • If there is a CNN Breaking News alert, the idle sequence is temporarily replaced with the text of the news. After 60 seconds the sign returns to the idle sequence.
                            • I've got a VR / manually triggered event for the forecast data (a modified version of the XML weather VR event, working with BLWeather). When I run that, besides announcing the weather over the speakers, it displays it on the sign. After 60 seconds, the sign returns to the regular sequence.
                            • Similarly, I can ask for the current headlines, triggering a custom version of the CNN Headlines script, which displays the headlines in a marquee fashion across the sign. Again, after some number of seconds the sign returns to displaying the regular sequence of date, time, and important date reminders.
                            What is especially handy is that almost all of this (except for the weather) is included in the "Extras" in Snevl_BB ZIP file, with some customization for your situation.

                            Although she thinks the big 2-line sign I just added is a bit too much for our master bedroom , I think I got my wife to admit the BetaBrite is one of the nicest things in our HA. She especially likes the important dates reminders, caller ID, Outside Temperature display, and Breaking news.

                            Now please excuse me. I need to go buy Mike a birthday present!

                            Steve
                            Last edited by stevea; February 15, 2010, 10:41 PM.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Daniel (and anyone else who may be interested):

                              I saw three BetaBrite classics on EBay this a.m. One you can find by searching for "BetaBrite" and the other two by looking for "Adaptive Micro LED" (I think).

                              Steve

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