Re: Apple IIe House Control?

[dalloff@freenet.columbus.oh.us (Dave Althoff)]

Matt Clark wrote:
: > 
: > I seem to remember seeing a book about using an Apple IIe as a house
: > controller. (IE: Lights, etc). Anyone heard of it?

And Rob Szarek replied...
: There was a product called X-10 PowerHouse that could do this for you.
: Using AppleSoft Basic you could customize the application. X-10 was
: based on work done by BSRlabs.

The X-10 Powerhouse system is still around.  Radio Shack sells modules
with their own nameplate that are completely BSR compatible; and the BSR
modules are readily available through good electronics houses.  The way
the system works is that you have a module for each controlled device, and
these devices all talk to the controller(s) through the house wiring.

One controller that is currently available is a programmable clock, designed
to talk to a program running on a PC.  But unlike a lot of this kind of
stuff, instead of plugging into the parallel port, the controller plugs
into the serial port...which means you could just as easily program it
with an Apple ][, provided you could figure out the codes to send the
controller.  As BSR is a going concern, I'll bet you could get that
information from them.  The interesting thing about the system is that it
uses the computer for programming, but then once the controller is
programmed, everything is controlled by the clock on the controller, so
the computer is freed up to do other neat things.

I don't have the system, but I am considering it, particularly since I
have this //e sitting around...but I am also considering building my own
control system...

I can also tell you that the full line of BSR X-10 modules are available
through (among other places) MCM Electronics, www.mcmelectronics.com,
800-543-4330.

--Dave Althoff, ][.
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