[Lab Bench Online]
EiED Online>> Building A Multimedia Home Control Center, Part 3
William Wong
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ED Online ID #13858 |
October 19, 2006
Macros can employ timing sequences and can be time-triggered as well. This is a simple way to turn on the lights on a timed basis. You can even incorporate randomness into the process. It is relatively simple to turn on a light, later a radio, and then turn things off giving the illusion of activity within a house.
I was not able to test the camera support because the units I mentioned in part 2 were not compatible with mControl. Still, the interface described in the documentation seems relatively simple, especially after the system is configured.
I still use Insteon keypads for most system control, but macro management is where I use the software interface most often. It is handy to be able to turn off or on lights while watching TV, though. It is just a couple clicks away.
Insteon HomeLinc
SmartHome's HomeLinc is a different animal than mControl. HomeLinc's Windows-based interface is easy to use but it is completely different from mControl. The mControl interface is designed for use by people that may not have configured the system. In fact, many homes are set up by contractors, and homeowners simply use the configured system.
The HomeLinc interface is divided into multiple panes. The top left pane contains a list of devices. HomeLinc has a discovery mode that is indispensable. In fact, I found that setting up HomeLinc first was easier because it gave me the list of device IDs that I needed to enter into mControl. The discovery mode can be run when new devices are added to the home or you can add new devices manually.
All the features of a discovered device are available for viewing and manipulation. This includes any associations that were set up manually. For example, to set up the same actions on a pair of KeyLinc switches I had to hold down buttons and walk back and forth between devices to set up the linkages so I could turn on a light by pressing the same key on either switch. The autodiscovery mode found all these relationships.
Setting up the relationships would have been easier using HomeLinc. In fact, I finished linking other devices and switches that I never got around to doing manually. With HomeLinc, the process was a matter of drag and drop. Simply select a switch button entry under a switch device and drag it to another control device.
The other major advantage of HomeLinc is to save the configuration. This is something that is really lacking in a standalone Insteon system and it can take hours to set up a rather sophisticated environment. It takes much less time with HomeLinc and it is simple to save and restore a configuration. This is especially handy if your spouse prefers a configuration he or she has been used to for months over the "new and improved" configuration.
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