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Home Theater Control Systems

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3Home Theater Control Systems

HOME THEATERCONTROL SYSTEMS

Everyone knows that operating a sophisticated hometheater is simply a matter of picking up a fist-full ofremote controls and turning on the right pieces of

equipment, right? In 80% of the home theaters out therethis is absolutely correct but the remaining 20% have abetter, or at least easier, way, theyhave a control system to performthe multiple key presses andsystem control that complex hometheaters require.

In this section we will examineseveral ways to automate yourhome theater. In the first section wewill examine wireless controlsystems as a product category. Wewill profile wireless remote controlsystems from hand-held remotes toexpensive network-type controlsystems.

After that we examine a new type ofinfrared controller that basically canbe described as a “remote-in-the-wall”. These Infrared Learning Keypad (ILK) devices are

built by three different companies, Niles, Xantech andRussound, and are a great way to add automation to ahome theater.

Finally we explain the “low cost” alternative: X-10 controlBecause these modules are so flexiblewe have written a section thatgenerically explains X-10 modules andhow you can use them to control yourhome theater, or your entire house.

Finally, for those high-end hometheater enthusiasts, there are severalcompanies that manufacture moreexpensive touch screen controlsystems. Some of the larger namesare Crestron, AMX, TronArch andothers. Most of these may be beyondthe realm of the ordinary do-it-yourselfer mainly because of costissues, but we have includedinformation about them so you knowwhat’s available in that level of controlsystems.

Interface Control’s TouchScreen

Home Theater Control Systems4

You know the problem. Even with a very simplehome theater system, it's not difficult to accrue ahalf a dozen or more remote controls, and have

them end up scattered across your home theater room'scoffee table. In reality, this wouldn't be so bad if theremotes would actually stay there, however if you have afamily, you know that "having children" and "findingremotes" are mutually exclusive principles. This isbecause all children know that remotes make not onlygreat interactive toys, but are excellent sources for fresh"AA" and "AAA" batteries. And the best part is: afterdonating their batteries to other household toys, theremainder of the remote can be left anywhere in the housefor adults to locate later! If you find yourself putting downthis magazine and feeling an uncontrollable urge to rundown to your home theater to survey the room - you maywant to finish this article first. In the future, a wirelesshome theater control system could make that tripunnecessary!

Home theater control systems, in particular, wireless ones,offer the immediate benefit of reducing the number of

remotes lying on the coffee table to smaller number -likeone. This alone will decrease your home theaterproblems because you should be able to hide that onefrom the kids. Another benefit is the tremendous ease ofuse you will gain. Many manufacturers of wireless hometheater controllers have put a great deal of thought intosimplifying the control of home theater systems viaproper ergonomic and electronic design. Several evenstate they have reduced the system to "complete onebutton control". Have they achieved it? In many cases,yes, but choosing the best device for your home theaterstill involves some research and thought. In this articlewe will explore the topic of wireless home theatercontrollers and help you choose the one that will best fityour needs.

Basic Control Issues

The basic operating principle behind virtually all wirelesshome theater controllers is "infrared command codeemulation". In short, wireless controllers learn the codes ofother dedicated IR remotes controls. This is why mostpeople call the more basic controllers "learning remotes".Here is how the process works: the "teacher" remote ispointed directly at the learning remote and the commandbutton to be emulated is pushed. With a specialmicroprocessor orchestrating the whole affair, the learningremote captures the transmitted IR code and stores it init's memory. This code, a mirror image of it's originalfactory code, sits there until the right key is pushed on thelearning remote and the code is reissued. The equipmentbeing controlled "sees" this IR code and executes thecommand just like it was coming from original remote.

Besides just parroting the commands of dedicatedremotes, wireless home theater controllers can perform

WirelessControl

Systems

The ROTEL RR-990and

MARANTZ RC 2000are two examples of programmable ,hand-held, remote

controls designed forcomplete hometheater control


Standard infrared wireless systems use unidirectional communication to control hometheater components. The advantages are affordability and simplicity of use .

More advanced wireless systems use bi-directional RF communication to controlhome theater components. The advantages are oper ational reliability due to status

feedback and immunity to noise because of RF transmission


other tricks. One of the most basic is macro capability. Forthose of you who enjoy life without a computer, the termmacro usually refers to program that issues a number ofcommands under control of a single keyboard keystroke.An everyday example would be the memory dialingbuttons on your phone. Here one single button pressreplaces the action of keying in the entire eight digittelephone number. In the world of A/V remote controls, thesame principle applies except that instead of dialing aphone, a single keystroke willact like many sequentialcommand buttons are pushed.Example: Pushing "Macro 1" onthe controller can turn on theA/V preamp, then the amplifier,then the tuner and finally tuneitself to NPR. As you canimagine, macro capability is abig hit with many consumersbecause of the ease of use itlends to complex A/V systems.

The actual method by whichwireless home theatercontrollers communicate withA/V equipment and otherdevices can either beunidirectional or bi-directional.Understanding the differencesbetween these twotransmission methods will give

you insight into the wireless control process and it'scapabilities. Let's take the unidirectional systems first.Most IR home theater controllers are unidirectional (seeour diagram). Commands are executed by transmitting anIR code directly to the IR windows of A/V equipment andother IR controlled devices. This is a highly effectivemethod to control equipment but because it isunidirectional, no feedback can be given to the controllerabout system status (on/off, volume level, functions

enabled, etc.). If you arecontrolling A/V equipment lackingfront panel displays, or that ishidden from view, this can beannoying because you can't besure what "state" the equipmentis in.

When home theater systems getmore complex, or when greatercontrol is desired, bi-directionalsystems are best. Bi-directionalsystems take commands fromcontrollers and "reports back"with changes and status. Thefollowing scenario will help toexplain. Suppose you havedesigned and built your dreamhome theater room, and youopted to hide all your expensiveA/V equipment in an equipmentcloset. In order to control this

The Niles IntelliControl is designed toprovide “one button” automation of

home theater systems

How a learning remote learns the codes of other remote controls .(From the Marantz RC2000 Owner’s manual: teaching the

RC2000 LD buttons to emulate the codes of the factory supplied remote )


equipment, you install a infraredrepeater so that IR commands will"flash" the equipment inside thecabinet. As you sit down with yourfamily to watch a new DVDrelease, you push the macrobutton on your remote which isprogrammed to switch the entiresystem on. The result: everythinggoes on, except there's no sound.The question is what's wrong?With a uni-directional system, allyou can do is mash away on thekeys and change states (on to off,or off to on). You don't knowwhich audio component in thesystem is off and has killed thesound. This situation is mucheasier to troubleshoot (and maynot occur at all) with a bi-directional system becausepower status is fed back to the controller. You simply lookat the display to see which component is turned off, andturn it on.

The Playing Field

Although the stated mission is the same -providingcomplete wireless control for home theaters, the variety ofproducts to accomplish this task is quite broad and israpidly getting broader. Let's look at the more affordablecontrollers first.

The entry point into home theater controllers comes in theform of “super remotes”. These devices are sophisticated

handheld remote controls that aredesigned not only to emulatehundreds of separate IRcommands but organize them in afashion that is more intuitive thanstandard remotes. Possibly thebest known of this breed is theMarantz RC 2000 II. Priced at$250, this remote has received agreat deal of press lately for it'scapabilities and ergonomic design.The bottom section of the remotecontains button sets similar toother learning remotes, but the tophas a series of blank buttons thatcan be programmed for anyfunction and then custom labeledin the center LCD panel.Combined with 4 front-located

macro buttons, this remote is well thought out. It isdesigned to control up to ten components, with 32 specialfunctions available for each component, and all keys arebrightly back lit. Marantz says the design of this controlwas based on the input from over 100 Marantz dealersand custom installers. It shows.

If customization of a remote's button sets sounds exciting,you've got to take a look at Rotel's RR-990. Lacking actualphysical buttons, this remote is essentially one big LCDtouchpad with buttons that are images on the pad. Thetouchpad button images are divided into three parts. Thetop section has four programming control buttons (reset,delete, learn and macro), the middle are the standard A/Vcontrol function buttons (numeric keypad, play, volume,

Even though the Lexicon 500T is easy to program via the touchpad, Lexicon offersinstallers their windows-based software package, LexiDraw, to streamline the procedur e.

The Crestron SmarTouch S TS systemis offers ful color home theatercontrol at an affordable price


For those who want the flash of touch-screen control but live on a limitedbudget, Kenwood has a product for

you. Their KC-Z1 controller, a full featured A/Vpre-amp and part of their Stage 3 productline, comes with a RF-based, docking, touch-

panel controller. The Touch panel itselfcosmetically resembles the $1195 Lexicon

500T controller and you can use it to controlup to 6 additional home theater componentsand accessories. Since it comes completelyprogrammed to control Kenwood products ,

installation is a snap .

KC-ZI Front View

KC-ZI Rear View

etc.) and the bottom are eight component selectionbuttons (TV, VCR, CD, etc.). When you choose one of thecomponent selection buttons, VCR for example, a menupage appears with a button set programmed for thatcomponent. Preprogrammed by the factory, each menupage can be easily modified by the owner. For readabilityin the dark, the RR-990 touch pad is fully back-lit, softgreen lights come on when the touch pad is touched andfade out slowly after the last keystroke.

For those who want an affordable unidirectional controllerbut want total customization of their touchpad graphicalinterface, Lexicon has a solution. The Lexicon 500T is apowerful IR-based home theater controller that can beconfigured almost anyway that you can imagine. All controlactions occur via button images on the 500Ts bright, light-blue touch panel. All of the menus are completely "soft"meaning that all the button sets, sizes, locations, andlabels are completely customizable. One can even createdisplay that simply shows buttons labeled "Play CD" and"Watch Movie" and "Dim lights", each of which evokes amacro series of IR commands. Aside from it's wonderfulflexibility, this is also a very powerful unit. It can support upto 23 pages of menus with a total of 500 button images,and control up to 23 A/V components or other devices.Because of the complexity of this device, Lexiconrecommends you talk to your Lexicon dealer aboutprogramming. Most home theater enthusiasts will find itmanageable but some may find that having the dealer dothe programming is worth the extra cost.

High End Control For High End Theaters

The next rung up the wireless control ladder encompassesdevices that are more sophisticated in their design and, as

a result, use RF-based bi-directional communicationsprotocols. First example: the Niles Intellicontrol™. Niles, aveteran manufacturer of home A/V control systems,designed their new Intellicontrol with a specific goal inmind: to provide one button, foolproof control of hometheaters. The result is an ergonomically designed table topunit with 43 backlit keys capable of controlling up to nineA/V components -plus the room lights. The Intellicontrolsystem uses RF communication to eliminate interferencewith the command pulses, and bi-directional transmissionwas for status feedback and control. Besides the table-topcontrol module, the Intellicontrol system utilizes a MainSystem Module (MSU). The MSU is actually the brainsbehind the system and controls all the A/V components viaIR commands. The reason it is so smart is that it sensesthe power status of each component in the system viaspecial AC sensing modules and by knowing whichcomponents are drawing power and which are not, it cannever be fooled by components that accidentally gettriggered into different power states. The Niles Intellicontrolsystem retails for $1195.

Crestron Electronics, a company known primarily for it'shigh-end control systems, has recently introduced it'saffordable SmarTouch STS™ wireless home theatercontroller. Resembling Lexicon's 500T touch pad, STStouchpanel offers a 6" grayscale or optional full-colordisplay. The SmarTouch system also includes a mainsystem unit, which Crestron refers to as STS ControlProcessor. The STS Control Processor interfaces withhome theater components and other control equipment viaIR and RS-232 commands. The SmarTouch STS ST-1500system with a grayscale display will retail for $1350 andthe color version for $2400.

Located on the top shelf of the home theater control


hierarchy are systems that are best described as networks-total home control networks. These systems generallyutilize large, full-color touch screen panels and are eitherhardwired or are connected via bi-directional, RF wirelesstransmission to MSUs. The MSUs employed usually differfrom their less expensive counterparts by having theability to speak in many "languages". Typically, they cancontrol not only IR-based equipment, but X10-based,computers and other equipment via RS-232/422 ports,contact-closure relay devices, and many other specialtyprotocols. Two companies have a very strong presence inthis high-end control system area. The first, AMX, hasbeen building consumer and commercial control systemcomponents for over 20 years. It's AXCESS™ controlsystems consist of a large selection of touch panels, mainsystem units, sensors and control interface modules, alldesigned to provide control for virtually any home theatersystem. As matter of fact, after looking over their full-linecatalog, it would be hard to imagine anything this systemcouldn't control. This company does it all, but at a price.Full featured AXCESS systems can run $20,000 and up.For those who consider that kind of investment a bit stiff,AMX has another option. Their wholly-owned subsidiary,PHAST, offers a line of home control equipment at moreaffordable prices. For more information, see the list ofmanufacturers at the end of this article.

Another company that offers a complete selection of high-end control systems is Crestron Electronics. Crestron, acompany with a very strong presence in the commercialcontrol marketplace, was one of the first to offer full-colorflat panel displays as control interfaces for homeapplications. Like AMX, they offer a large variety ofmodules to interface with virtually any device. By the timethis article goes to press, Crestron's new SPECTRUM™line of wireless touch panels will be available. This systemis specifically designed to make full-color, wireless controlavailable at reasonable prices. An interesting technicalfeature of the SPECTRUM line is that it uses spread

spectrum RF transmission. This technique guaranteesimmunity to RF interference by changing the frequency ofthe transmission during use. It wasn't so long ago that thistechnology was only available for critical military purposes.

A new company to the high-end home theater marketplaceis Interface Controls, Inc.. Based in Ontario, Canada, theyoffer several touch panel control systems. Their SQUID™system, according to the factory, is completely userprogrammable. We will explore this feature in more detailin the next section.

Getting With The Program

As we mentioned previously, some manufacturersrecommend that their dealers install and program theircontrollers, others say customers can complete the task. Itall depends on the type of controller you choose, thecomplexity of the installation and how handy you are.Certainly inexpensive handheld remotes, like the MarantzRC2000 and Rotel RR990, can be successfullyprogrammed by most consumers. Both come withexcellent booklets designed to guide you through theentire process. However, if you aren't up to an evening of"remote training" and testing the results, you may wantcall your local A/V specialty dealer in to perform the taskfor you. The situation with the more powerful systemcontrollers, such as the Niles IntelliControl and the AMXand Crestron touch panel systems, is more clear cut.These systems are complex enough that having a dealerperform the installation is generally mandatory. (Dealershave two advantages. Besides having installed othersystems, they usually have learned the ropes at factorytraining seminars.)

Now for the gray area. Several of the more complexsystems can be probably be user installed andprogrammed; the Lexicon 500T controller and theCrestron SmartTouch STS, for example. Although these

AMX offersWavePack and Mini-Wave pack modules

to convert theirtouch panels into

two way RFwireless home

theater controllers


controllers are complex to program, both manufacturerssuggest that enthusiasts may be capable of doing itthemselves. It, frankly, all depends on one's DIY abilitiesand patience level. In the arena of control networkproducts, Interface Controls, Inc, does offer their productsto do-it-yourselfers. Although the SQUID system is not forlightweights -we are talking about routing cables, wiringinterfaces and installing cards in MSUs here, InterfaceControls believes enthusiasts can perform installations.The main reason for this optimism is that they havestreamlined the oft difficult programming phase withcomputer software. Called "Point and Click”, theirwindows-based software allows one to program the entiresystem and download it to the SQUID MSU.

Battery Park

Any discussion of wireless controllers would be incompletewithout a discussion about batteries. Fact: wireless remotecontrollers are pretty useless when the batteries are dead.Managing this situation so that it doesn't occur in themiddle of a special event is something most home theaterowners ought to be concerned about. Let's start withhandheld remotes. It's a fact that illuminating buttons andtouch panels on remotes can gobble up lot's of batterypower. Knowing this the smart engineers at Marantz andRotel have built light sensors into their handheld remotesso they only illuminate in the dark, not in daylight or whenlights are on. Batteries in these remotes can last manymonths.

The larger table top touch-screen controllers have brightback-lit panels and thus require a great deal more power.

For convenience purposes, this power comes fromrechargeable Ni-Cad battery packs. Combined with powermanagement techniques, like time-limiting the displayillumination (they stay on for just 10-15 seconds), thesecontrollers can work for many weeks before recharging.However, for those of us mortals who occasionally forgetto plug in rechargeable devices consistently, deadcontrollers can still be a problem. The solution, of course,is not to forget to charge these things periodically. Oursuggestion: do it every time you water the plants!

The Niles Intellipad, in spite of it's table-top size, has anadvantage here. Since it does not use an energy-thirstybacklit touch panel, only conventional backlit keys, the lifeof it's three "D" batteries is rated at about 300 hours ofcontinuous illumination. This remote should give you manymonths of usage before the batteries need to be changed.

Not So Stupid Home Theater Control Tricks

As you undoubtedly know by now, wireless home theatercontrollers do more that just control A/V equipment, theycan be equally adept at controlling other equipment in thehome theater room and devices elsewhere in the house.One of the first accessories that makes sense to put undercontrol of a home theater controller would be the roomlighting. Doing this with an IR-based controller is easiestvia X10 modules which are available at Radio Shack andmost home automation dealers. More elaborate controlsystems with MSU modules generally offer interfaces toother lighting control products also via RS-232/422 andother protocols. With the AMX ACCESS system, forexample, you can purchase a controller that directly

Interface Control’s SQUID system of wirelesshome theater controls offers an affordable

alternative to high-end home control systems .Programming is done via point-and-click wizards


interfaces via AXlink with LUTRON and RADIA lighting control systems. AMX also offers a series of modules that directlyconnect to incandescent, fluorescent and low voltage lighting systems.

If you have a front projection system with a motorized electric screen, the control of the screen is also an option toconsider. This can be accomplished several ways. The first is to simply trigger the screen from a relay connected to thevideo projector; when the projector turns on, the screen drops down. But there are times that you may want the screendown and not watch video, such as using a slide projector. In cases like this you want to control the screen separately.Here’s how: for IR-based controllers many of the screen manufacturers off IR control modules. These modules arereasonable priced and often mount right on the screen housing. More elaborate control systems with MSU modulesgenerally offer interfaces you can use. Crestron, for example, offers a series of relay interface cards designedspecifically to control video projection screen motors. Got the picture? Other things you may want to consider controllingare motorized blinds, ceiling fans, projector lifts, screen curtains, room temperature, video cameras, etc. Almost anythingis possible with the right equipment and proper programming.

Who To Call:

AMX Corporation, 11995 Forestgate Drive, Dallas, TX 75243 800-222-0193

Crestron Electronics, Inc., 101 Broadway, PO Box 394, Cresskill, NJ 07626 800-237-2041

Interface Controls Inc., 250 Shields Court, Markham, Ontario, Canada L3R9W7 905-477-1049

Kenwood USA Corp., PO Box 22745, Long Beach, CA 90801

Lexicon, Inc., 3 Oak Park, Bedford, MA01730 617-280-0300

Marantz America, Inc., 440 Medinah Road, Roselle, IL 60172 708-307-3100

Niles Audio Corporation, Inc., 12331 SW 130 Street, Miami, FL 33186 800-289-4434


Want to automate your home theater but don’t wantto dump four figures into the control system? Ifyou answered yes, then Wall Mounted Infrared

Learning Keypads (ILK) are a option to consider.

How ILKs work

ILKs operate on the same principle astraditional infrared (IR) remotecontrols. Here’s what happens whenyou use one: Instead of pushing abutton on a handheld remote, you usea wall mounted keypad that isconnected to an IR sender. When youpush the keypad "on" command, thedigital pulse travels down a wire buriedin the wall to an infrared sender, whichthen flashes the stereo receiver. Thediagram below illustrates this chain ofevents. The elegance of the ILK system is its simplicity.You can use common stereo components and you canhide them in cabinets.

Who makes them

One of the pioneers of architectural audio, Niles Audiooffers an ILK called the Intellipad that is not only stylish

but highly flexible and easy to install. It retails for $350and comes with an installation and operation guide, anda complete installation kit.

Xantech, a California-based architectural productscompany, offers the Smart Pad 2 modular keypadsystem. This second generation version of Xantech’soriginal Smart Pad, works with virtually any combinationof audio/video equipment. The basic Smart Pad 2retails for $150 to $300 depending on specific plug-inmodules needed for your system.

Located in Newmarket, N.H., Russound also offers anILK product. Its model 1582 Learning Keypad is similar

to the original Xantech SmartPad and interfaces with avariety of other Russound products. the type of audiocomponents you have.

How they can be used to controlhome theaters

On the next page we show a NilesIntellipad used to control a typicalhome theater. As we explained before,these are simple devices conceptually.On the next page this concept isexplained diagrammatically.

Who To Call:

NILES Audio Corporation, 12331 SW130 St., Miami, FL 33186 305-238-4373

XANTECH Corporation, 12950 Bradley Ave., Sylmar, CA91342 818-362-9506

RUSSOUND/FMP, Inc, 5 Forbes Road., NewmarketIndustrial Park, Newmarket, NH 03857 603-659-5388

Using InfraredLearningKeypads


A Home Theater Controlled By A Niles Intellipad


Physical Installation of the Niles Intellipad

1) Install theduplex box

2) Tighten thesecuring tabs

3) Place the Intellipad in the Duplex box

4) Put on the Decora face plate

5) Mount theinfrared flasher nearthe audio equipment


X-10 is a language whereby commands, like”turn lighton”, are sent to electronic devices over standardelectrical wiring in a home. Since you already have

plenty of the right wiring running through your walls, youcan achieve complete automation without the mess andexpense of rewiring.

Each device on your X-10network resides at a speci-fied “address” of yourchoosing. Acommand cantell a single device (alamp, for instance) orgroup of appliances (alamp and the coffeemaker) to switch on or off.Managing the signals trav-eling through your wiringnetwork are controllersand modules, the corecomponents of any X-10-based home control sys-tem.

X-10 Controllers

The controller, whichcomes in a variety of fla-vors from many manufac-turers including the developer of X-10 technology, X-10(USA), places commands on the powerline. Languageslike X-10 are commonly called powerline carrier, or PLC,technologies. When you see “PLC,” you know you won’thave to add additional wiring for home theater automation.One of the most basic controllers on the market is the X-10Mini-Controller, a table-top unit that accommodates up tofour separate device codes. Several devices can be set tothe same address code, so the unit can actually controlmore than four devices. The Mini-Controller features on, off, dim, all lights on, and

all units off controls. For activating more lights ordevices, the X-10 Maxi-Controller controls as many as16 addresses, but otherwise has the same features asthe Mini-Controller.

X-10 Modules

Plug your A/V equipment into an X-10 compatible mod-ule, then plug the module into an ordinary AC outlet.Voila, you’ve just added automation to your home the-ater.

There are a variety of modules available to suit variousdevices in your home theater. Regardless of the moduletype, each device gets its own address, which you set witha screwdriver on the X-10 module. Multiple devices can

share the same address ifthey’re all supposed to beoperated together. Forinstance, two lamps in yourbedroom might share thesame address.

Addresses are easy to set:Choose a specific “House”code (A-P) and “Unit” code (1-16), for a total of 256 possibleaddresses. Alight in the denmight be set to A1. Yourdrapes might be G15 .Eachpushbutton on a controller isset up to correspond with theaddresses you’ve assigned toyour appliances. When themodule hears its commandcode, it “wakes up” and listensnext for a function commandlike on or off, or dim or bright-en. (Some controllers alsoinclude an all units on com-

mand and all units off command.) Thus, if that den light isA1, it will awaken when A1 is pressed and turn on whenthe on button is pressed.

Getting Elaborate

Building on this basic configuration of controller and mod-ule you can get as elaborate as you want with home the-ater control. Several controllers and modules can be com-bined to max out the 256 addresses. Pressing button A1then on using a controller in the living room could, for

What it will cost you:

X-10 Appliance Module (AM486) $15.99

X-10 3-Prong Appliance Module (AM466) $16.99

X-10 220-V Appliance Module (HD243) $26.50

X-10 In-Wall Receptacle (SR227) $21.95

X-10 Lamp Module (LM465) $15.99

X-10 Maxi-Controller (SC503) $26.50

X-10 Mini-Controller (MC460) $13.75

X-10 Mini-Timer (MT522 $31.99

Stanley Power Timer (370-2552) $35.99

X-10 Remote Chime Module (SC546) $26.50

X-10 Sundowner (SD533 $21.25

X-10 Wireless Controller (RC5000) $52.99

X-10 Powerflash Interface (PF284) $29.99

X-10 Two-Way Interface (TW523) $29.99

X-10 PC Interface (CP29 $69.99

Home Intelligence Corp. Program Module $119

IR Interface $30-$300

Telephone Interfaces $80+

Using X-10Modules


instance, dim a set of lampsto create a movie viewingatmosphere, while pressingB2 could activate the coffeemaker.

Timers. True automation, inwhich devices operate withoutany help from you, requires aslightly smarter controller likethe X-10 Mini-Timer or the X-10 Sundowner. These devicesare just as easy to install—just plug them into an AC out-let—but transmit commandsautomatically. The Mini-Timerlets you program on and offtimes for modules set to a sin-gle house code.. Asimilarunit, the Power Timer, avail-able from Stanley, adds anilluminated all lights on button.

PC Control. Maximum flexibility is achieved through acomputer and software that let you create elaborateautomation scenarios from an ordinary household PC (Macversions are also available). X-10’s CP-290 interface andnumerous spin-offs are available forthe task. The interface plugs into theserial port of a computer. Unlike thestandard fare of X-10 controllers,which can only control one set ofhouse codes at a time, a PC-basedsystem can operate modules of mul-tiple house codes simultaneously.So, in addition to the A1 lights, it canactivate other devices.

This capability can also be achievedwith the new Program Module fromHome Intelligence Corp., whichallows basic controllers like the Mini-Controller to communicate with mul-tiple house and unit codes simulta-neously.In its basic configuration, an X-10based home control system canonly transmit commands, notreceive them. Thus, a controller cansend out a signal to turn the lamp on, but turning the lampon manually can’t send any kind of message to the con-troller.

The TW-523 interface, whenconnected to an X-10 homecontrol interface, gives yoursystem limited “two-way” capa-bility. With this capability, push-ing a button on a Mini-Con-troller, for example, couldactivate the dinner scene youhave programmed into the PC.The PC system in turns sendsout the dinner scene com-mands—like kitchen lights on,playroom lights off.

Non-X-10 interfaces. With theaddition of other interfaces youcan make your X-10 systemcommunicate with non-X-10devices like the stereo, securi-ty systems, and thermostats.The PF284 Powerflash module

enables an X-10 system to receive and react to “relay” sig-nals from a hardwired security system or doorbell. Forinstance, when a security system trips, the connectedPF284 (or Leviton 6326) could activate flashing X-10 lights.

IR interfaces are also avail-able that add infrared con-trol of TVs, VCRs, andstereo gear to automationscenarios. These interfacesinclude the IR Xpander fromJDS, HomeVision from Wor-thington Distribution, IRMaster from Dancraft, IRMini from X-10, and Univer-sal IR Controller from Com-pco Engineering.

Get Started

The X-10 concept is easy tofollow and opens up a won-derful opportunities to auto-mate many functions of thehome yourself. Start smalland as you become morefamiliar with the technology,

you can add new components and experiment with newprograms—all without the expense or hassles of routingnew wiring throughout the home.

An X-10 Module

X-10 Who to Call:

Advanced Services Inc. 800-263-8608

Compco Engineering 615-436-5189

Dancraft Enterprises 800-860-8910

Home Automation Systems 800-367-9836

Home Controls, Inc. 800-266-8765

Home Intelligence Corp. 619-538-4235

JDS Technologies 800-983-5537

Leviton Manufacturing Co. 800-323-8920

Powerline Control Systems 800-526-0027

Stanley 800-521-2752

Worthington Distribution 800-282-8864

X-10 (USA) Inc. 201-784-9700

On the Internet:: The X-10 FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)ftp://ftp.scruz.net/users/cichlid/public/x10faq

X-10’s site: www.X10.com comp.home.automation


Home Theater Automation Using Ilabs’ AutoStrip

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