Monthly Archives: May 2012

Raspberry Pi has Landed!

Posted by on 30/05/2012 No comments

Got my Pi today!!! Super happy and I cannot wait to start poking around with it tomorrow!!!

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More Home Automation / Light control…

Posted by on 27/05/2012 No comments

So I wanted to have cheap and simple E27 light sockets with 315mhz… before going off on an adventure to make them I managed to find a pack of 4 with a remote for $24US!!!! I picked them up from shopledlightings.com but looks like they are made by www.zsgeer.com.cn

Remote

They work as advertised, but the build quality is not great… can’t imagine they are rated over 30Watts… and I don’t think they are legal in Switzerland or Australia…

I updated my DomoticEthernetListenter code with support for rc-switch, I used rc-switch library to detect and retransmit the codes from the remote which came with the devices.

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Diablo 3 rant!!

Posted by on 20/05/2012 No comments

I have been waiting to play this game forever, finally that its out… I buy it online for 60euro only to be welcomed with Error 33 (never was I informed that it was down during the purchase)… For fucks sake I only want to play the bloody thing alone! I don’t want to play online!

Blizzard you suck, fix your shit DRM before I do.

 

Temperature over 315/433mhz – WIP for Domotic Home

Posted by on 19/05/2012 2 comments

So I wanted to find a cheap solution for transmitting the temperature from around the house to my DomoticHome Listener running a RXB1 (specsheet)… so I have started working with the FreeTronics LeoStick, DS18B20 Digital Thermometer… and the TXC1 (specsheet). I plan to move off the TXC1 & RXB1 and onto the cheap 315MHZ link kit but currently i do not have any extras. (Photo below)

Here is the transmitter code running on the LEO stick with the DS18B20 and TXC1 + a simple receiver code on a Freetronics EtherTen… I plan on merging all of this onto the DomoticHome Listener as soon as I have time.

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HomeZone Update: Now controls my DomoticHome 315mhz Transmitter!

Posted by on 17/05/2012 2 comments

So I wanted to remove the 315mhz transmitter from the HomeZone screen without losing the ability to switch my lights on and off with DomoticHome / 315mhz wireless…

So I got to work on a DomoticHome listener… an Arduino Ethernet with 315MHZ transmitter + a DS18B20 Digital Thermometer…

So I updated the code on the HomeZone, removed the DomoticHome support directly from the HomeZone screen… I then built in support to trigger a the DomoticHome Listener when I tocuh a button on the HomeZone screen…

PS: I now power most of my arduino’s with the Freetronics POE injector which means less cables!!!

Yes it all works … here is the code for the HomeZone Screen.. and the code for the DomoticHome Listener

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HomeZone Hardware / code Update – Domotic Home

Posted by on 09/05/2012 No comments

I was recently asked some questions regarding the pins used by the touch/LCD.. if there were any conflicts…. in short No.. The EtherMega 2560 from Freetronics and the Tocuh Screen / LCD from boxtec.ch worked without any pin modification…

The only issue that I had was the Ethernet port hitting the LCD shield and not sitting correctly… so I did some filing / sanding and it all worked out! Check out the pictures below.

I also added a small heat sink which I ripped off a voltage regulator to put on the ATmega as it was getting a little warm… unfortunately this LCD doesn’t have sleep mode so it’s always on … but for the price one can’t complain.

A close up of the board from the back.

Shot of the shield and the Ethermega together.

The wires are from the additional 315MHZ transmitter i added from boxtec.ch

Updated code which supports DomoticHome

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Domotic Home with 315MHZ / RemoteSwitch Library

Posted by on 07/05/2012 No comments

yes i am lazzzy and created this so i wouldnt have to get off the sofa to switch the lights off!!

So I thought I’d update you on my current project using DomoticHome via Android… I have been creating Power point plugs (3 so far) which can be controlled wirelessly from the Arduino over 315MHZ (RemoteSwitch Library) which I use to turn on/off floor standing lights or anything I want actually… I have case modded some old 433MHZ plugs I had around the house…. below is a picture of 2 of the plugs!

So whats inside? I have used the wireless learning 315MHZ relay from www.boxtec.ch and to power the relay I tried two low amp 12v power supply’s from www.goodluckbuy.com here and here (both work just fine)

I am using the Arduino Ethernet with the 315MHZ link kit (just the transmitter connected to Digital pin 7… you can find the sample code here

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Kitchen Tablet!

Posted by on 06/05/2012 No comments

So I finally got around to wall mounting my Asus Transformer TF101… I have put it in the kitchen!

Why you may ask? well the main reason is so that my wife and I can keep an eye on the kids and the house with 4 Foscam fi8918w… I use Net Eye Camera from the android market with split screen to keep an eye on all cameras at the same time. Check out the photos below :)

We also use the transformer to watch TV from my Dreambox DM500HD (Satellite) from the kitchen or to listen to internet radio… To watch the dreambox we use DreamDroid from the android market… works very well! check out the photo below!

We also use it for Skype and to stay in touch with family and friends!

Last but not least…I have setup my tablet to control some of the lights in my house using Arduino, I built some custom 315mhz controlled light switches (3 now)..  I am using DemoticHome at the moment as it already has an Android app and I found this handy code generator! but the intention is to build something simular but a little more flexible on Android / Windows Phone 7 / IOS.  Check out the Photo’s below!

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