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Housewide Audio Setup Complete!

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    Housewide Audio Setup Complete!

    In my new home, I had a $1700 intercom system installed when it was built. I didn't think i'd use it much for the audio portion of it, but man am I glad i did that now. The main unit had 3 aux inputs. I have my Homeseer PC in the master closet next to my future security panel since my house is prewired for security. I went to Home Depot, got a 2x6 plank, some cardboard, a fishing line and my brother and I went at it in the attic. Being a first time home owner and fairly new at most things home related since I'm only 28, I was quite intimidated by walking in a sea of insolation and hoping not to wide up feet dangling out of the kitchen ceiling. Most of the guys on here are a bit older and have way more XP under the belt, and i'm sure things like this seem cakewalk to many, but not me! I ran a cat5 cable from my master security access panel up thru the attic and way over tons of insulation and then down the wall where the intercom control panel is. I then used one of the 4 pairs and attached some RCA plugs on both ends and plugged one into my soundblaster and one into aux in on the intercom system. It worked perfectly! No buzzing, no noise and sounds great! I now have homeseer announcing important items. Next project is to wire mic's into the house. I'd love to read up on others implementation for house wide microphones. Victory is mine!

    #2
    A couple of things I have found of use are:

    1. Go to Walmart and get a bicycle flag (6' fiberglass with flag on it) and remove the flag. It makes a good rod to use when wiring inside walls and it is cheap.

    2. Or go to your local alarm supply store (or Graybar) and buy some fiber rods to pull wires, you will need some of these.

    3. Lowe's has some drill bits that are about $35 that are 5-1/2 or 6' that are useful for running wires in the house.

    4. I also made some lights that I use to see inside walls. I cut a hole in the sheetrock inside closets (up high where most people dont look) and then insert a coat hanger that I have wired a flashlight bulb on the end of, and run the power wires back down the rod and taped them. (powered by one of the many transformers from the kids toys long gone - keep those they come in handy) I can then turn the light on and go to the other end of the hall and look through the other hole I drilled and see the light so I can run the wire. (oops - forgot to say I live in a two story house and running wires between the two stories is a pain)

    5. After running wires through a common area, pull a cotton clothesline rope with them and leave it for the next time you run wires so you dont have to fish the wires through the wall again.

    Maybe this will help get you started.
    A computer's attention span is as long
    as it's powercord.

    Comment


      #3
      Be careful in the attic...

      Chris,

      Glad to hear that you are getting things going. Be careful up there. I actually did step through the ceiling in one of my customer's houses. It wasn't pretty. Luckily it was in the garage and they didn't fuss too much about it. I did have to patch it though.

      Keep running those wires while you're young. I've heard it gets tougher as you get older.(I'm in your age group too...25)

      Good luck,

      Matt

      Comment


        #4
        Being one of the senior citizens, I have also put my foot through the ceiling. It was not good. The ceiling was a knockdown finish and was a bitch to match. I did that about three years ago, so you are never too old to screw up.

        Also get some brass chain. The kind with solid links. If you drop it through a hole in a top plate in the attic it will go straight down and makes a great puller. Also easy to snag with a fish wire.

        I have had no success with microphones and VR, but I am beginning to think about it more and more.

        Comment


          #5
          I can vouch for it getting tougher as you get older. Duck walking across the ceiling joists in a low attic is just too painful to describe, not to mention standing up afterward. It is, however, nice not having to get up to turn the lights off when you're done.

          Comment


            #6
            Yup attics are fun, and here in Phoenix our "attic season" is only a few months long. I think this might be the last weekend coming up so I'm trying to plan ahead for the rest of the summer.

            As for the mics throughout the house, I'd tape them on all the walls and run the wires inside first to really see if you like the operation before wiring in the attic. We like to think that that we can make a house where we just say a command and it listens, but were still years away from the house on the Jetsons. Echos, TV, and noises make it very hard for VR to work, and add more mikes and you get more noise. Use a wireless mike and give your house commands like Madonna does with her mic on stage, or get a very expensive mixer that can select the loudest mic and mute the others. Even then, VR will have trouble because each mike will have a different echo profile it will need to deal with.

            Comment


              #7
              Pulling Wires

              Take a look at Labor Saving Devices, especially solutions/techniques

              http://www.lsdinc.com/
              DSteiNeuro

              HS3Pro

              MSI Cubi Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-5200U CPU @ 2.20GHz, 2201 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s) 16GB DDRl RAM

              Enabled Plug-Ins
              BLRussound, BLSpeech, HSTouch Server, JowiHue, MyQ, Nest, Rain8, Squeezebox, Ultra1Wire3, UltraGCIR3, Vista Alarm, X10,Z-Wave

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                #8
                Running wires

                When I install cables in the walls, I take a 2' piece of the center conductor of some coax cable (RG-59 usually). Directly above where the wall plate will be, I poke the wire through the ceiling right near the wall and push it up as far as I can. Once up in the attic with a flashlight, I can easily see the wire shining and then I know right were to drill the hole in the header. Once finished, I remove the wire and touch the hole with a piece of chalk and the tiny hole disappears!

                The 6 year old son of one of my clients gave me the idea a few years ago and it has saved me TONS of time. When this kid is old enough to work, he'll always have a summer job if he wants one....

                Rob
                .

                Comment


                  #9
                  Hey Anogee - I lived in Phoenix for 7yrs and know what you mean... being up in an attic there for more than a few minutes in summer can be torture!

                  Below are some posts that I participated in some time ago that talk about whole-house VR. I'm actually having very good results and have installed and improved my system over the last three houses I've lived in. Largest install

                  Have used an assortment of mixers starting with equipment from Biamp and then moving on to equipment from Gentner (www.clearone.com) that is designed for audio conferenceing. This type of gear has echo cancellation and lots of other tricks designed into it to make voice conversation very clear in difficult environments which is perfect for VR!

                  These mixers also have logic outputs that can give you some additional smarts by letting HS know which room/mic you are speaking from. This opens lots of possibilities and allows me to issue simple voice commands such as "lights on" instead of "master bedroom lights on".

                  Cheers,
                  Paul


                  http://board.homeseer.com/showthread...ighlight=biamp
                  http://board.homeseer.com/showthread...ighlight=biamp
                  http://board.homeseer.com/showthread...ighlight=biamp

                  Click to visit: www.sbsmarthomes.com
                  Santa Barbara Smarthomes

                  Authorized Russound Dealer & Installer

                  Personal HA Website

                  HomeSeer User Profile

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Great tips!

                    Thanks for the tips guys. I've been doing these things for years, but still liked the tips.

                    I especailly liked the Bike Flag, Coax Wire, and "lighted hanger" ones. I've got similar tools, but these gave me some good ideas.

                    gk

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Hey outbackrob. I have a buddy that runs wires for DTV installs. He told me about that, but he says they call it a "Stinger", since it looks like a bee stinger. Dont remember if I put this in the previous post or not, but I bought a 6' drill bit at Lowes the other day. That is usually long enough and flexible enough to cut a hole in the wall, and then angle the bit in, and up inside the wall, and drill through the bulkhead at the top. I then leave the drill bit there, and go into the attic, and the bit has a little hole in it. You put the wire through and twist it and go back down and pull the bit back, and the wire is attached.
                      A computer's attention span is as long
                      as it's powercord.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Its called a flex bit and they come in all the flavors (wood, metal, concrete). Labor saving devices has whats called a wet noodle which is simply a metal chain (like youd see on your ceiling fan) and a magnet on the end of a flexable stick. Ive fished everything from a standard wall to an aluminium door frame with that thing.
                        https://forums.homeseer.com/forum/de...plifier-plugin

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