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**ADI Tech Support** · October 27, 2003, 08:30 PM

Connect all your modules to your Ocelot and auto address them all at once. It's easier that way. You can use C-Max or Homeseer (if possible in Homeseerer).

As far as plugins from Homeseer, I'll leave those questions to the experts:-)

Kevin Barrett
ADI Tech Support

**Jim Doolittle** · October 31, 2003, 01:28 PM

I have CM11A, Ocelot, Secu16I, Secu16IR, TEMP05, TEMP08, and BetaBrite connected to my PC.

I use CMAX to handle logic from inputs and set the status of variables. I then let HomeSeer do its own thing with the status of those variables.

For example, my garage door status uses two magnetic reed switches and two resistors in series to determine whether garage door is open/closed/ajar. The Ocelot input value from this setup can vary slightly so I use CMAX to translate value ranges to specific integer values that HS uses to set device strings, run events, etc.

I am trying the new ADIOcelot plugin and I am building HomeSeer IR Devices that create virtual remotes. The new TouchPad plugin displays the "virtual remotes" quite nicely.

Jim Doolittle

**jrfuda** · October 31, 2003, 01:36 PM

Thanks Kevin and Jim. Looks like I've got a lot of work/fun ahead of me. I hope I can everything up and running in the 10 days I'll have to do it!

OK, from 15-25 November, everyone must maintain a constant vigil by their computer, constantly hitting refresh on the new post page, ready to answer the milion questions I'm gonna have when I get started....

Like ya'll don't do that already!

| My HomeSeer | HomeSeer Webring | My Profile

[This message was edited by jrfuda on Sat, 01 November 2003 at 08:28 PM.]

[This message was edited by jrfuda on Sat, 15 November 2003 at 12:14 AM.]

**jrfuda** · November 17, 2003, 05:57 AM

OK, now that I got my W800 setup and got that pesky router problem fixed, it's time to start getting the Ocelot setup!

I got the Ocelot, SECU16 and SECU16 all auto addressed using CMAX, with their coms LEDs blinking happily along.

Once everything was working I went to HomeSeer and added the Ocelot as my IR interface. On restart it prompted me about adding devices and then added 127 new devices.

Do I need to install the plugin too, or is adding the ocelot as the IR interface the same thing? Which plugin should I use, the HomeSeer tech one or the new ADIOcelot (currently got the HST one installed)???

OK, so now I have three little black, blue, white and gold boxes sitting in front of me blinking and 127 new devices in HomeSeer. I've got a lot of reading (manuals, this board and the ADI board)ahead of me.

Interesting note: (atleast to me): I daisy-chained the modules' power inputs to a 9.5V, 1500 mA, DC power supply that I picked up from a thrift store for $3. It's working great, and saves me from having to plug in three wallwarts. I tested it with my multimeter before I started, and it was coming up as 11.6V, but that was without a load. With the load of the Ocelot and two SECU's, it's still providing 10.5V, so it's got lots of power to spare. I'll check it periodically the first week or so to make sure t conitnues behaving.

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**Jim Doolittle** · November 17, 2003, 06:26 AM

I would recommend using the ADIOcelot plugin during your set up. I have not fully tested the plugin myself (haven't used scripting commands yet) but what I have tested worked fine.

The ADIOcelot plugin will allow you to work with CMAX and IRMax programs without shutting down HomeSeer. This will help out tremendously.

The ADIOcelot plugin also allows you to only track the variables and inputs that you want. I selected 4 variables and 1 input (Secu16I - 16 inputs versus 8 inputs/8 relays for Secu16) for now because that is all that I am using. Keeps HomeSeer less cluttered.

I am currently using ADIOcelot to run IRMax so that I can import discrete (On=On whereas Power= toggle On/Off) Pronto codes. All this is described quite well in the IRMax documentation (13 pages).

Once codes are imported into a .lir file this file needs to be loaded into CMAX. Start CMax within ADIOcelot Setup (it will close COM port to Ocelot) and use CMax to attach to controller and then download your .lir file to controller. Close CMax and ADIOcelot will reconnect. Now your ready to test your new IR commands.

I am building IR devices for use with TouchPad plugin (can be used for "regular" HS web stuff too). I have a TEST IR device jsut for testing the new codes that I import. Importing is supposed to be better than learning assuming you import the correct codes for your hardware .

I just condensed several weeks of knowledge I gained into a few paragraphs. Take your time. It is worth the effort in my opinion. I can now use a DooMotion occupancy sensor to determine that no one has been in the Entertainment Center area and have HS turn all equipments off. Well, almost all as I do not have discrete OFFs for my JVC VCR (should be ablt to locate it) and Motorola cable box (I heard it doesn't have any) .

Jim Doolittle

**jrfuda** · November 17, 2003, 07:20 AM

Thanks Jim,

I'll unistall the old plugin, delete the devices and install the new one.

I've learned 20 codes to the Ocelot so far. These are going to be my input only codes, so I learned them in slots 1-20 for fast response.

I have a HTM MX-700 remote. It's PC-software, MX-Editor, can import individual IR codes from pronto files, so I used codes from a manufacturer whose equipment I'm pretty sure I'll never be able to afford (McIntosh) as my input codes, that way when the codes trigger conditional macros, the codes themselves wont trigger anything I have or may get in the future. We'll see how those codes work out. The learning process seems to be pretty straight forward so far, but boy does it take a long time to upload the .lir file to the ocelot. That's got me thinking, what baud rate should i set the port the ocelot's on, will a higher one help with upload?

I only own 1 piece of equipment that has discrete on/off codes, my Yamaha DSPAX1 integrated amp, and I'm not going to get to use it until I get back to the states in the Spring. That was one of the main reasons I wanted an Ocelot. I have 6 cr magnetics current switches that I'm going to use as power detectors in conjunction with the SECU so the Ocelot will know if somethings on or not and know which codes to send.

Thanks again.

jrfuda | My HomeSeer | HomeSeer Webring | My Profile

**stevea** · November 17, 2003, 08:01 AM

Jim,
I'm curuous to hear your opinion. I've been watching what Michael McS has been doing and reading the comments about the new Ocelot plug-in. I've got a couple of hundred lines of CMAX code and make use of several variables to facilitate communcations and synchronization between HS and the CMAX code. I've been hesitant to switch plug-ins just because I was afraid of having to re-setup all the stuff I have. It sounds like you made the switch. Is it going to be painful for me?
Steve

**Jim Doolittle** · November 17, 2003, 11:28 AM

The switch from Applied Digital Ocelot to ADIOcelot was painless. As Michael has pointed out, both plugins utilize similar "base" code but the ADIOcelot plugin has some new features.

Note that when I said painless, I didn't necessarily mean easy. But it can be. If you have renamed the Ocelot plugin variables to use different names than the default, then you may have a little more work to do.

Since Michael added the ability to synchronize CMax System Map and plugin varible names to the latest beta (not in the updater yet but provided in another post), naming becomes a trivial matter.

Here is my appraoch:<UL TYPE=SQUARE><LI>Use CMax 2.0 System Map to name the inputs (and relays) that I am using. I save my CMAX code as a project which holds system map and CMax code. I then download the project to the Ocelot when I am done tweaking. Another nice thing about the System Map, is that it will use your new names in your CMax code.
<LI>I use CMax code to set ranges of analog values to discrete values so that a corresponding plugin device in HomeSeer doesn't end up with repeated status change triggers (from the original analog signal changing slightly).
<LI>Whenever I extensively alter the CMax System Map, I use ADIOcelot plugin to create all plugin devices and then use CMax System Map to set plugin devices names. I then hover the mouse over the checkboxes of the plugin devices and un-check the ones that do not have a custom name. I then let the ADIOcelot recreate the plugin devices. This time it will only contain the ones that I named.[/list]
I would recommend deleting original Applied Digital Ocelot plugin device and let ADIOcelot plugin create its own especially if you use the System Map approach.

Jim Doolittle

**stevea** · November 17, 2003, 12:27 PM

Consistent with my hesitance to go to the newer Ocelot plug-in, I'm yet to make the transition to CMAX 2.0 (I'm still on 1.7e, I think). That means I have no System Map to exploit. It sounds like that is the main reason to move to the new plug-in, so maybe I should hold off until I upgrade CMAX.

<philosophizing>
As I'm sure is true for most of us, Home Automation has become a major part of our household. I've paid the penalty in WAF and KAF (Wife and Kids) more than once when something broke due to my taking on some new Beta in HS, one of its components, or all my IR stuff (i.e., the Ocelot). For that reason I'm still running HSP 1.X (for CID only, since the rest of HSP was a real WAF-killer). I haven't seen a need (until now) to upgrade CMAX, although I did download it. I've gotten so whenever a new Beta for HS or one of the plug-ins comes out I watch the board for quite a while to see if I should make the jump. If some of the "early adopters" hit problems, I won't go there.
</philosophizing>

I'll probably download the most recent CMAX and give it a try this weekend. If all goes well, maybe I'll work up the courage to try the new Ocelot plug-in.

Steve

**jrfuda** · November 18, 2003, 08:54 AM

As I said in the beginning of this thread, one of the things I want to be able to do is use current switches with my Ocelot and SECU in order to determine the on/off state of my Home Theater equipment so I can have discrete/conditional control of equipment withoutdiscrete power codes. The paragraphs below outline a problem I'm having. This is a cut and paste of my post in AppDig's forums, where this concept was originally discussed, available here:

http://www.appdigsupport.com/cgi-bin...=000025#000012

I'm in the early stages of setting this up. Right now I'm trying to determine how many windings I need for each piece of equipment. I have 4 CR9321-NPN and 2 CR9350-NPN. The only thing different about the 9350 is that it has a .67" diameter hole... thought it would come in handy for my VCR and DVD, which don't draw much current.

In order to determine the optimal number of windings, I created a little tester using a 3V power source and an LED. I planned on placing each current switch in the middle of this circuit, so when the switch was closed by current, the LED would light.

I figured I'd start with the TV, since it draws a lot of power and would require very few windings. I set up an extension cord and temporarily spliced in about a foot of extra wire on one conductor. I set it up so I could unplug the extension cord and easily disconnect the extended conductor to add or subtract windings around the current switch. I started with two windings and plugged everything in. As son as power was applied y test LED lit up. I turned the TV on, and it stayed lit, off and it stayed lit. I subtracted a winding, and still the same effect. I tried it with the wire just going strait through, still the same.

The only time I could get the light to go off was if I unplugged the extension cord from AC, or if I unplugged the TV from the extension cord.

I even tried reversing the DC wires (the ones going from the batteries to the LED) but all that did was make the LED burn all the time, even when the current switch was no where near any AC current. I tried it with all 6 in case one was defective and had the same result.

I gave up on the TV and tried some of my low-draw stuff. I got the following results:

DVD Player: 1-3 windings, all worked equally well
Receiver: Straight through ONLY
VCR: Straight Through ONLY
Cable: 1 Winding, but would only dimly light the LED, 2 windings made the LED stay lit, straight through had no effect. I wonder if this is enough to trigger the SECU16 input?

So, my TV draws too much juice to detect on off state with these current switches... Does anyone know of a way to shield some current from being sensed, so that the switch will work? Also, am I totally wrong with my test setup, will the SECU16 inputs "see" the current switches differently than the LED setup does? Seems like, in supervised (digital) mode, the LED and SECU inputs would react the same way.

Wow, my equipment sure does draw a lot of power in "standby, I wish it had a "sitby" mode ... The TV really has me upset, it was the single most important thing I wanted discrete/conditional power control of (I found work-arounds with the others using macros).

I appreciate any help ya'll can offer. I'm going to post this in the HomeSeer AppDig forum as well.

Here are links to the switches:
http://www.crmagnetics.com/newprod/P...rodName=CR9321

http://www.crmagnetics.com/newprod/P...rodName=CR9350

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**huggy591** · November 18, 2003, 09:41 AM

I have the current sensors, CR3110-3000, but haven't played with them yet. However, here's an interesting and inexpensive find:

http://home.nc.rr.com/tacairlift/Pow...erdetector.htm

- Gordon

"There are several theories detailing how to win arguments with women. After years of extensive research, I've concluded NONE of them work."

**Jim Doolittle** · November 18, 2003, 02:38 PM

jrfuda,

I seem to recall some stick on sensors that would pick up a LED that is active. These sensors act like dusk/dawn sensors (bet I know a plugin that would work with them ). Most of my equipment has an LED that is lit when the equipment is ON.

I always thought that this was an easier and more reliable alternative to current sensing and had planned on trying it. My first approach had been to use Discrete IR commands. I think I have exhausted those and have a couple of pieces of equipment that will need to be handled by other means. So, I am ready for either current sensing or LED detection. The problem is I lost the url where I read about those sensors and haven't had time to go surfing.

Gordon,

I wasn't sure if your link referred to similar technology. I am behind a firewall that is blocking that link.

Jim Doolittle

[This message was edited by Jim Doolittle on Tue, 18 November 2003 at 04:53 PM.]

**GenevaDude** · November 18, 2003, 03:10 PM

jfruda,

One important point to remember when using CMAX. Please be careful NOT to select the menu item that autoscans your devices! This will cause great pain, once you have deployed your various Bobcats and SECU's. There is no warning on this menu item. It just starts. Even if you see the errors of your ways, once you execute this little gem all your devices are gone. You have no cj=hoice but to go through the process again. So if this happens to you and you have no record of what device was in what "position", you may erroniously reassign them.

I have done this several times by accident. Because my SECU is in the basement and some of my Bobcats are outside, I need to deploy the kids so they can press the button when requested. No fun there!

regards,

GenevaDude

http://AutomatedHome.org http://genevadude.com http://GoldenBuffet.biz

**Jim Doolittle** · November 18, 2003, 03:39 PM

GDude,

Been there ... Done that ...

Jim Doolittle

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Ocelot, SECU16 & SECU16IR setup

Ocelot, SECU16 & SECU16IR setup

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