Life got a little complicated for a while and my automated house turned into piles of "stuff" that didn't do anything.
Now, it's time to start making some things work again. I've got HS running on a fancy new Server 2008 R2 box and a shiny new Omnipro II to replace my temperamental Stargate.
Everything in the house was X-10. I guess it all will mostly work since it did a few years ago and some simple tests tell me it should still. There is a lot of it, but not enough to dictate keeping it if that's the choice.
I got some UPB stuff to try. A pocket programmer, some appliance and light modules and a computer interface. No matter what I did, nothing did what it was supposed to. Nothing could talk to anything else. I tried different outlets around the house and everything I could think of and nothing remotely communicated. The only thing I haven't tried is testing at someone else's house to see if I happened to get a box full of broken stuff. Could my house be too noisy for UPB but not for x10??
So, with all that in mind, should I stick with X10 or look at heading in a new direction? I like some of the Zwave stuff, but will it work? I know asking what is best just opens a door to a bad place so I guess I'm asking for some subjective information on the options and if it even sounds right that UPB doesn't work for me.
Maybe the answer is to choose all of the protocols and mix and match as needed.
I know I'm probably leaving out lots of relevant information so ask away and I'll fill in the blanks as they come.
Thanks.
Now, it's time to start making some things work again. I've got HS running on a fancy new Server 2008 R2 box and a shiny new Omnipro II to replace my temperamental Stargate.
Everything in the house was X-10. I guess it all will mostly work since it did a few years ago and some simple tests tell me it should still. There is a lot of it, but not enough to dictate keeping it if that's the choice.
I got some UPB stuff to try. A pocket programmer, some appliance and light modules and a computer interface. No matter what I did, nothing did what it was supposed to. Nothing could talk to anything else. I tried different outlets around the house and everything I could think of and nothing remotely communicated. The only thing I haven't tried is testing at someone else's house to see if I happened to get a box full of broken stuff. Could my house be too noisy for UPB but not for x10??
So, with all that in mind, should I stick with X10 or look at heading in a new direction? I like some of the Zwave stuff, but will it work? I know asking what is best just opens a door to a bad place so I guess I'm asking for some subjective information on the options and if it even sounds right that UPB doesn't work for me.
Maybe the answer is to choose all of the protocols and mix and match as needed.
I know I'm probably leaving out lots of relevant information so ask away and I'll fill in the blanks as they come.
Thanks.
Comment