[asterisk-users] phone as control interface (was 99 bottles of beer)

[David Cook]

Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2007 13:19:32 +0300
From: "Dovid B" < >
Subject: Re: [asterisk-users] phone as control interface (was 99
	bottles of	beer)
To: "Asterisk Users Mailing List - Non-Commercial Discussion"
	<asterisk-users at lists.digium.com>
Message-ID: <05bf01c7ebb8$6ff3ffc0$0a00a8c0 at DovidLaptop>
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	reply-type=original


>>
>> ) Off-hook
>> ) Dialtone
>> ) Press ** (change to remote mode)
>> ) "To control the..."
>> ) Press 1
>> ) "To change the vol..."
>> ) Press 1
>> ) "To mut..."
>> ) Press 0
>
>

>I am new to the whole controlling devices in your home from asterisk. Can
anyone give me a URL to devices that I can connect >to my box that can then
connect to the lights, security system, TV etc ? This is a whole new area
for me to play and get lots >of sleepless nights ;) 

X10 control (Send data control signals over house wiring)
I use an X10 Firecracker (CM17A) interface
http://www.smarthome.com/1141.html which is a little radio transmitter the
size of a DB9 shell and plugs into a serial port. The software that comes
with it is for Windows and is very lame. However, there is a unix tool
called bottlerocket which is a command line utility
http://www.linuxha.com/bottlerocket/ to control the device.

There are some "smarter" devices but that infers programming them within
their constraints/user memory/etc. The command line one seems to work real
well for me because the computer is far more capable than the other
"intelligent" devices given the time to program it correctly. I have some
code to calculate sunset so all my timings are relative to the correct
sunset time so there is no altering for time of year or DST.

This device can also send signals to more than one "house code" as I have
two receivers. One for the lights & stuff, and another for the sprinkler
system. They don't make the one I have anymore, but here is a link to some
others http://www.smarthomeusa.com/Shop/wgl-irrigation// 

X10 Warning: Read up on the technology. There are some controllers that are
BI-DIRECTIONAL which means the receiving device will tell you what it
did/what its status is rather than assuming it did what you asked it. X10
can have difficulty sending to some devices depending on which side (leg) of
the power circuit you are on. (There are bridges to fix this problem too).
X10 themselves also make some of the ugliest wall switches I have every
seen. Leviton make x10 switches that are _really_ attractive (spouse
friendly in your decor). They also work _much_ better with more consistent
(virtually perfect) control. A much more professional system but be prepared
to pay for the "wife-approved" model. Depending on features some of the
Leviton versions are well over $100.

X10 is also being replaced by a newer technology called Insteon. Don't have
any of these devices yet but it looks like "X10 version 2.0" and is backward
compatible.

****************

Manual wired versions
You can also get I/O interface boards for your PC which typically plug into
a serial port and provide signalling to turn on/off many outputs with
varying voltage/load characteristics like this
http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=20

PIC/Basic Stamp
http://www.parallax.com/html_pages/products/basicstamps/basic_stamps.asp
There are other intelligent devices like the PICs from Parallax called Basic
Stamp modules. These are little computers designed specifically for I/O
control type tasks. This is roughly the kind of little computers you might
find in you microwave, etc. Only these ones are designed with an open-ended
consumer programmable interface for creating general purpose devices. (These
little guys also support a neat mode where you can create a master/slave
network of many of them kinda like an RS485 industrial control bus. That
means only one of these devices needs to connect to your PC but you could
control hundreds of these in robotic control or data acquisition type
scenarios.

This is only the tip of the iceberg and I am certainly not the authority on
this. But take a look at some of the links and let your imagination run
wild. This is what got my daughter interested in programming. When she saw
that you could get "outside of the box" and control real-world stuff from
actions on the computer she was hooked.