Home automation
- Thread starter drm7
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X10 seems more like a pervert tool than home automation product. If I were you I would use stuff from a reputable company like Netgear or Linksys, better software, driver, and network support.
I think x10.com has marketed it like a perv toy but it's really an old standard protocol from what I can tell. It seems that it works pretty well overall. What I'm looking for is a really good software solution to go along with the various devices, x10 or other protocol.
X10 is acceptable when you already have sheetrock up and don't want to run new cable. It's also cheap enough. Minuses are when one half of the house is on the other phase b/c the signal has to travel out to the telephone pole transformer and back again.
I would run Cat5e or cat6 or whatever "ethernet" is now as well as RG-6 cable/satellite wire to most of your rooms and figure out what to do with it later. Maybe speaker wire too. Wireless/bluetooth type stuff will probably wind up being the final answer, ie everything will be on a 802.11 network. Consider foil-backed insulation is bad for passing through RF.
I would run Cat5e or cat6 or whatever "ethernet" is now as well as RG-6 cable/satellite wire to most of your rooms and figure out what to do with it later. Maybe speaker wire too. Wireless/bluetooth type stuff will probably wind up being the final answer, ie everything will be on a 802.11 network. Consider foil-backed insulation is bad for passing through RF.
You used to be able to buy coupling capacitors to jump the signal across the phases. They fitted into a dryer or stove socket. Not sure if they still sell those.
The stuff made by X10 is very cheap and of low performance, meaning that you need a strong signal over the power lines. The Smarthome stuff used to be a step up, but I haven't used any of this stuff for many years. I'd try and find some user forums to find out what works well and what to avoid.
If you are building, run the cable as mentioned. You could probably hire someone to make you a quick wiring design pretty cheaply. If it were me, I would run wires throughout the house to a centeral place. Preferrably a media closet where you could put your stereo and satelite tv tuners. Otherwise maybe run the wires to a central point in the garage.
have used X10 for very minor uses. Not real happy with the response - maybe noise on the line etc.
It functions tho-
If video is your main concern I would personally look at equipment available from security dealers. X10 is going for the low cost market and the results seem limited.
The network language is one thing (X10, cat 5 cable and IP)but the camera end of things has a larger impact on results - a 5mm lense on a tiny hide-able camera is great for an 8X8 foot room but the guy stealing your tires accross the street comes out as a tiny gray blur. You have to carefully plan your video needs and purchase cameras accordingly.
It functions tho-
If video is your main concern I would personally look at equipment available from security dealers. X10 is going for the low cost market and the results seem limited.
The network language is one thing (X10, cat 5 cable and IP)but the camera end of things has a larger impact on results - a 5mm lense on a tiny hide-able camera is great for an 8X8 foot room but the guy stealing your tires accross the street comes out as a tiny gray blur. You have to carefully plan your video needs and purchase cameras accordingly.
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