Sorry to ask, which X10 plugin should I be using for Smarthome 1132CU USB interface?

[Pete]

mfisher

I keep developer mode off these days but wondering if there is a way that you could put a switch for X10 debug mode with the developer mode box unchecked?

[The Keeper]

Oh, ok, gotcha. I did a bit of wandering around the HS forums, and I see the discussions from like 12 years ago on antennae. A lot of the links are dead, but hopefully I can figure some of them out. I do actually have a manufactured antenna from RS that I think is what Dan Rozwood was referring to, but I must have had it connected wrong, to whatever it was I was testing it with, because it wasn't any better than what I was already using. But if I can go down to one CheaperRFID receiver for the 40m tags in the wood barn, replacing the pigtail with a much better antenna, then that would be great. I'll have to revisit it in a month or two after I get the basics of my HS3 setup running.

I found the CheaperRFID quite helpful with our doberman/rot mix dog. She was the best -- you could just open the door, she'd do her thing, and come right back. But sometimes we'd forget, and once or twice she'd get bored and wander off. So the 8m tag she had on her collar was very useful, I had it set reminders that she needed to go out, or that she'd been let out but the back door hadn't been opened for her yet. There was a very stern reminder at "alarm set from inside" time that the tag disappeared after the back door had been opened and closed, and that someone should really let Chelsea back in.

Thanks,
Chris

[Pete]

Yes here utilize the inverted Radio Shack antenna for the CheaperRFID and W800 here. Dan Rozwood is still around. Originally installed the Cheaper RFID device with pigtail in the attic with a long RS-232 (cat5e) wire to the basement (2 floors down). Worked fine then tried the inverted RS antenna and it worked better. I wasn't looking for that long of range anyhow. I used a second one with a pigtail in the old Rainbird irrigation box in the garage. The attic is very high here and I just cut a piece of PVC and fastened it to a cross beam and connected the antenna to the PVC tube. In the attic for years now is a RPi2 doing ZWave via GPIO plus USB radioi downloading NOAA weather maps (another antenna) and also a GPS board with PPS and a long serial cable to the basement firewall for NTP.

The automobile tags here are buried in the headliners.

I use X10 today for the Christmas lighting via a CM11A and a Volp dual phase TW-523 emulator (X10 on steroids) and still have a Volp X10 amplifier around. I put outlet on boxes next to the fuse panel with their breakers and serial runs out to the server boxes. Did the same with powerline UPB. There is one serial Zigbee device there and tinkering these day with a USB Zigbee device (well plus the Samsung hub sitting on the main floor of the home).

[mfisher]

mfisher

I keep developer mode off these days but wondering if there is a way that you could put a switch for X10 debug mode with the developer mode box unchecked?

Hi Pete, thanks for the suggestion, I'll add this to the enhancement list.