,

A SIMPLE ACTIVE HOME PROJECT 

(A motion sensor controlled lamp with motion sensor off control also)

The Active Home Package is a wonderful set of components for the home owner that wants to go the next step in home automation and security. It contains a nice assortment of needed X-10 components including a transceiver, keychain remote, and lamp module but the centerpiece is the CM11A Computer interface. The CM11A is actually a small computer that can be programmed by your IBM compatible computer running Windows software. Don't worry, the software makes programming a simple drag and drop procedure. The best part of the CM11A is that it stores your program in its own memory so that you don't have to leave your computer on to control your projects. See our Deals Page for great pricing on the Active Home Package. For this project you'll need to add 2 Hawkeye Motion Sensors. Note that they have special on that also. You will need to install the software that comes with it and connect your CM11A to a 9 pin serial port on your computer. Since these procedures are described in detail in the manual, I don't need to take up space here with them.

Next You Need to Set Up Your Motion Sensors

This part is very similar to Project 4, except that you will need two sensors: one to turn the light on when you enter the room and one to turn the light off when you exit the room. The first sensor you can mount as you did in Project 4 so that you cross its path as you walk into the room. If you have address A1 available you can leave it at the factory setting otherwise you will need to program it to whatever is available. See our addressing mentor page for details. The second motion sensor needs to be mounted outside the door to your room so that you pass by it as you leave the room and addressed at a unit code that is the first sensor's code plus 2 (i.e., A3 if the first sensor is A1). Be sure that your transceiver is set to the house code (A in this example) that you are using.

Then You Need to Set the Addressing on Your Lamp

This time we are going to have the Active Home CM11A turn the lamp on and off so we will need to set the lamp address to something other than the sensor addresses. In addition we may want to use the neat little keychain remote that comes with the Active Home package to turn our lamp on and off. Since it has limited addressing capability (the left button must be set to unit code 1 or 5) we naturally choose A5 for our lamp address in the example above or ?5 where the ? is the house code you are using for the sensors.

Finally, Connect the Sensors to the Lamp Through Active Home

The program setup for Active Home is a simple two step process. First you identify your controlled lamp in the startup page. At the bottom of the screen you see a list of locations for your items. If this lamp is in your bedroom, click on Bedroom . Note the list of controlled items at the top of the screen. Click on lamp module or appliance module (whichever you are using) and an image will appear on your bedroom page. Next set the address in the bottom of the image to A5 (or whatever address you have chosen for the lamp). Now choose Macro-New Fast Macro (Macro is your programming medium and Fast Macro means it will run from the CM11A without the aid of your computer---strange terms but what they use). From now on we will assume you are using our A1, A3, A5 addressing scheme. If not, then change your addresses to fit your scheme.

You should now see the Macro Generator Screen with your new Macro on the left set to A1 and your lamp on the right set to A5. Now drag your lamp image over the Macro image and you will make the connection from Macro to lamp as shown by a line drawn between them. Click the on-off switches on both too make sure they are both set to on. This means that when Active Home sees an A1-on signal from the sensor it will send an A5-on signal to the lamp to turn it on. At this stage the sensor will turn on your lamp but when it sends the A1-off signal nothing will happen since your lamp is controlled by A5. So the lamp stays on forever unless you manually send an A5-off signal (from your keychain remote, for instance). Now we need to set up the lamp off sequence. Click on Macro-Fast Macro to get another Macro and set this to A3-on (so it will be activated by the outside motion sensor). Drag your lamp image over this macro to connect it and set it to off. Now when the outside motion sensor detects motion it will send an A3-on signal that turns the lamp off through your Active Home connection. Finally go to tools-download Macros and Timers to set your new program in the CM11A so you can disconnect it from your computer and just plug it into any power outlet to continue performing the tasks you have programmed.

CONCLUSION

This very simple example of how the Active Home System can be used should give you a much better idea of how it works. It is much more powerful than would be indicated by this example and I hope to add several more involved examples in the future.

TROUBLESHOOTING

What! You set up your new system and it doesn't work? It does happen but not very often. Check our troubleshooting page before you toss it all in the garbage.

ORDERING THE COMPONENTS

To order from Smarthome (or just see their description of these devices) click on the Smarthome X10 affiliate link below:

X10

OTHER LINKS

Top of this Page

Starter Project --- Select a Project --- Alternatives to the Mini-Controller -- Battery Operated Remotes -- Help with Troubleshooting -- Help with Addressing -- Deal Finder -- Resource Page - Affiliate Information -- The Newbie Club

(C) Donald Scouten 2003