RFXCOM – integrating BT house screen VP1000/Visonic to Homeseer

submission by Craig – This article discusses the RFXCOM Visonic receiver offered from www.rfxcom.com, as well as exactly how it can quickly be utilized to integrate a Visonic or BT VP1000 house screen Alarm system with Homeseer. The VP1000 alarm from BT has been tracking my house for sometime.

Before buying the Alarm I was sceptical about the variety as well as reliability of the wireless protocol. I discovered a great offer on the Web that included additional keyfobs as well as PIRs, as well as believed I would take a danger as well as provide it try. when the Alarm was installed, I was surprised at the reliability as well as variety of the security devices, the variety of the Visonic PIRs is really much better than the existing WiFi installation.

The next step was to integrate the alarm with my HA system, running Homeseer 2.0. I wished to allow the HA system to be more conscious of what was happening inside as well as outside the house. My master plan is to have several home ‘states’ where gadgets can be powered off when the home is in ‘sleep’ mode or ‘away’ mode. For example, if the home understands we are sleeping or away it can power down gadgets that do not requirement to be on, eg amps, sonos zone players, laser printers, freeview receivers, etc. I likewise would like the system to understand the specify of the home cars, eg parked outside, locked/armed, etc.

I understood the VP1000 was truly a Visonic, as well as I discovered it was possible to configure the manage panel to send X10 via an XM10U. The VP1000 was configured to send X10 signals which where in turn filtered/processed by Homeseer, as well as if required, X10 sent via the CM10. This solution worked, however I was not happy with the truth that X10 protocol was being utilized from the alarm panel to Homeseer. I wished to reduce the number of gadgets utilized for the integration, as well as ideally the latency.

RFXCOM – In my browse for an alternate solution, I discovered the www.rfxcom.com site. RFXCOM have a variety of products that allow RF gadgets to integrate with typical HA software, including Homeseer, Misterhouse etc. The core product is a USB interface that enables upto 2 child modules to be installed.

Different modules are offered for different protocols/frequencies, eg X10, Ikea Koppla, Visonic, etc. See www.rfxcom.com for full details.

The RFXCOM receiver looked particularly fascinating to me, my only concern was it is a USB device, so must be found near the HA PC. The Alarm panel is found at one end of the the house, as well as the PC in almost the opposite corner of the home on a different floor. Although the Alarm panel has excellent Visonic reception from all devices, I didn’t understand if the PC/RFXCOM receiver place would. I took the plunge as well as decided to purchase the RFXCOM with a Visonic receiver module.

The RFXCOM receiver as well as Visonic module shown up with a software/drivers/documentation CD. before installing any type of new drivers/software on my HA system, I always like to test on a test PC first. This has ensured that the HA system stays reliable, as well as is not subject to beta/test configurations. A USB driver is supplied on the CD, nevertheless I discovered a newer version is offered at www.ftdichip.com. I installed the new version, as well as plugged the RFXCOM Visonic Receiver into the PC, new hardware detected on the PC, great! A little issue though, the hardware detected was a ‘Microsoft Serial Ballpoint Mouse’, ooops!! A quick google, as well as I discovered this is a typical problem, particularly with gadgets such as USB GPS modules. If Windows detects a ‘M’ in the serial data, ‘Plug & Play’ assumes its a serial mouse. The solution is to disable serial enumeration in the USB gadget from the system gadget manager in manage panel. This disables the ‘plug as well as play’ on the serial side of the USB chip, as well as it then functions correctly.

It turns out if I had of installed the specific version of the driver supplied on the CD I wouldn’t have had the issue.

Now I had RFXCOM installed, I wished to inspect the range. On the CD is a small utility, ‘RFreceiver’, this can be utilized to inspect connectivity with the RFXCOM, as well as decode the RF output. I walked around the house, as well as verified the RFXCOM found in the corner of the home might pick up RF from all the BT/Visonic PIRs, as well as from keyfobs outside the front door. next step was to test with Homeseer.

ACRF – As the RFXCOM is referred to as being completely compatible with the AutomationCraft RF processor is a Homeseer plugin offered from the Homeseer update page, I believed I would try the application on the 30day evaluation licence. The ACRF does requirement some preliminary configuration, as well as this can only be done if Homeseer is running in interactive mode (not running as a service), however this is only an preliminary configurationto get the Visonic IDs mapped to the online devices. Its a simple one time operation of triggering a PIR, opening a door, pressing a key on keyfob, then looking at the log data to see the Visonic ID, as well as mapping this ID to a Homeseer device. when the gadgets have been setup, Homeseer can be restarted as a service.

Now the software application has been installed on my HA PC, the ‘house’ now understands when we are home, away, sleeping, etc. I am in the process of composing events that can power off gadgets when they are not required

Verdict – RFXCOM has now been linked to my HA server as well as the ACRF software application has been installed for about a week now. before buying I was sceptical about the USB interface as well as RF range, however since utilizing the solution, I am extremely happy with the results. The Visonic protocol as well as RFXCOM Visonic receiver variety as well as error inspecting has exceeded my expectations.

The ‘house’ now understands when we are home, away, sleeping, etc. I am in the process of composing events that can power down gadgets when they are not required, as well as ideally save some pennies off electricity expense that I can utilize for future HA purchases.

The future – I have discovered out the BT house Monitor/Visonic sensors have a secondary get in touch with available, so each sensor can screen 2 ‘zones’.I plan to utilize additional zones for an integrated door bell/entry system.

I likewise plan to attempt to in shape a Visonic sensor to the home vehicles as well as utilize the sensor to screen if the vehicles are on the drive as well as in a locked/unlocked state.

 

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BUDGET BLOOMS: PINK LOVELIES (A bit LATE)

As many of you know, every month we like to delight in one inexpensive- as well as in some cases free- bouquet to keep things feeling fresh around right here (the concept really stemmed from a very wonderful Christmas present from the hubs a while back). as well as because July was our anniversary month, we chose to honor that truth with some gladiolus stems that we snagged for a tune at the grocery store a few weeks back (just $2.39 for the entire bouquet!).

What do gladiolus stems have to finish with our anniversary? Well, three years back we whipped up garden themed favors for our backyard wedding. We just chosen up easy brown small paper bags at Target as well as dropped a single gladiolus bulb into each one for our guests’ garden. We even added simple handwritten planting directions on the back of each bag (they were one of the only bulbs that might be planted that late in the season). Clipped to the front of the bag was a photostrip (tying in with our photostrip save-the-date as well as the actual photobooth that we rented for the event) as well as the strip on the favor featured John’s deal with covered in lipstick kisses while we held indications that read: plant one… on us! *smooooch*

Our preferred Videos

Believe it or not, numerous of our buddies as well as household members planted their gladiolus bulbs as well as really get to delight in their own bit backyard blooms every summertime when they sprout (my mother sends us photos of hers each year without fail). however because ours never bloom (they shoot up leaves however don’t get sufficient sun to flower) we opted to pick up this under $3 bouquet to fill the void.

We like the wonderful pink color as well as the tall sculptural stalks. particularly paired with my fun curvy eco-friendly vase (a birthday gift from John’s sibling from Crate & Barrel).

So although we didn’t get a possibility to share our July bouquet in July, we figured it was much better late than never. as well as before you understand it we’ll be back with our August blooms so we’re sure not to miss those this time. however sufficient about us. What about you guys? Did you just recently snag any type of greenery on the inexpensive from your backyard, your regional grocery store, or even the farmer’s market? tell us all about what flowers as well as other outside discovers you’re loving this month.

Wanna see our very first grocery store bouquet from last January? Itching to inspect out February, March, April, May, June, July, August, as well as September too? exactly how about this year’s January, February, March, April, May, as well as June bouquets? just comply with the links for some quite wonderful cheap-o (and even free) bouquets.

More messages from young home Love

Pretty Silver Sectional

A silvery-grey fabric gives this clean-lined sectional a soft look, while eclectic patterned pillows strike an exotic note. “It’s a trim shape, but it’s comfy and casual enough for the whole family to pile onto and view movies,” homeowner and editor Sally Armstrong shares.

10 ways TO add LIFE and spice TO OLD homes

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There are some interesting and affordable decors and techniques which can add life and spice to old homes. Old homes normally have old fashioned decoration or decors in them. You can either absolutely replace them with new ones or along with a few old ones, you can add new ones. It brings a contemporary look to the old homes. It is normally fun to decorate an old house and see how stunning it turns out.

So, here are 10 ways to add life and spice to old homes:

Custom man-made trees

The custom-made man-made trees are the synthetic trees, mostly made of plastic material. They are customized according to the customers’ needs and requirements. The custom-made man-made trees could be bought from a good company or some types could be made at home. If you want to get them, they are available at affordable prices in nearly all décor stores.

If you think you can make them, you can try some do-it-yourself methods to create them. They are easy to make and you can have fun while making them. The materials for man-made trees are available in wholesale. So, you can try to make the ones which suit your interest.

Fake decorative trees

Fake decorative trees are one of the trending decors in the market. These, fake decorative trees are adaptable and do not require too much money or any maintenance. This makes them the designers’ favorite. add one or two fake decorative trees at the corners of the home or at the entrance of the home. The make the entrance look welcoming.

Commercial silk trees

Commercial silk trees are one of the trending decors which will help you in spicing your old homes. They are available at various prices. You can choose the one which fits your budget. The commercial silk trees are made of fine silk materials which make them look fresh and shiny. This will also add life to your home and keeps the home lively and pleasant.

Japanese bonsai trees

Japanese bonsai trees are the cutest decors among the interior and exterior decors. They also help you in setting up a stunning landscape. Japanese bonsai trees are available ready-made in the shops and could be created at homes too. Their dwarfism makes them a lot more attractive and noticeable. Bring them home. They will help you add life and spice to your old home.

Hangings

Hangings are terrific at attracting attention. They can be hanged from a hook or can be hanged on the wall. Both are a terrific idea to make your old home lively and beautiful. The kind of hangings you use makes a decision whether the hanging is adding life or spicing up your old home. If you have time and if interest to make one, you can actually try making them. There are lots of videos available on the net. anybody can easily make stunning hangings at home. So, try them at home or if you can’t afford time then get them. Bring the ones which suit your home interior.

Wall art or stickers

The best way and easiest way to style the old house is to add wall art or stickers. There are lots of varieties of wall arts and stickers available in the market. The prices vary from place to place and design to design. The advantage of this is that you can change them from time to time. According to the season or occasion, you can change the art or stickers.

They are very easy to use. just remove the thick paper stick at the back of the sticker and stick them at the proper place. You can remove them whenever you want. It is easy to use and remove.

Stencils

Stencils are thick or thin sheets which have carved designs in them. They are placed on the surface and painted on the surface through the design. It brings the carved design on the wall. The stencils, if they are thick, could be used for space division too.

Stencils are one of the elegant man-made walls for interiors. They are slightly costly but are worth a try. There are even thin sheets of stencils which could be continuously used for creating a repeated design over the wall.

Designer or special furniture

To add life and spice to your old home place a designer or some kind of special furniture. The furniture has to be attractive and noticeable. A good furniture will cover-up all the wrongs and bad of the old house. place them where there are cracks or breaks at your home.

This helps them cover it up and also decorates the home. They make your home look updated and makes it a lot more attractive. They are available in varies materials and prices. You can bring the ones which suit the interior of your home.

Flooring designs

The flooring design also helps you in adding life and spice to the old home. These days, flooring is also given enough crucial for creating an appeal of the houses. So, add some floor stickers or floor mats to your old home.

You can even try to use your old rags to make a floor mat. The colorful looking floor mat can make your home look lively and spicy. If the floor mats have geometrical shapes on them, they add dimensions to the room. So, add varieties of floor stickers and mats.

Lightings

Lightings are a lot of crucial in adding life and spice to your home. add LED lights if possible. They make space look much brighter and lively. You can add other types of lights too. Make sure that they are not too dim. It is better to use white or light yellow lights for the home. You can even add fairy lightings if you have a pathway through your garden.

Conclusion

The above are the 10 ways to add life and spice to your old homes. They are basic and easy ways to execute. They help you to add liveliness and spice to your old home. These ideas will help you to make your old home interesting as well as pleasurable to stay.

 

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Updated Classics: holiday Wreaths

discover fresh options to popular design patterns in our on the internet series, updated Classics. 

Classic Pick: There’s no better way to dress up a door for the holidays — whether it’s your front door or a door inside your home — than with a wreath. If you’re time-starved this season, select a ready-made wreath, but if you’re up for a DIY, search our gallery of creative ideas here!

Fresh Spin: rather than reaching for a wreath for your front door, consider making a tiny version to dress up your dining chairs or table. Stylist Lynda Felton crafted a small wreath made with tiny trimmings, cardstock and ribbon. Hang the tiny wreath from your guests’ chairs, or use them as place cards.

What Do I requirement To understand about selecting Tile?

right here are general suggestions that you can utilize when buying for tiles, plus concepts for different looks for floors as well as walls.

Size as well as style

The many typical size of wall tile is 4″ x 4″. It’s frequently laid square, however can be different as a focal point or border by turning it diagonal.

For an airy look in a space with tiled walls, select simple, straight-laid or big tiles; the smaller the tile or the much more elaborate the pattern, the busier the look.

If you’re mixing as well as matching wall tiles, keep in mind that different types have different thicknesses; this can work to your advantage if you want to produce texture.

Top a wall that’s only tiled partway up with matching cap pieces. Not all tile styles include these; laying the tiles without them produces a sharper edge as well as much more contemporary look.

The many typical size for floor tiles is 12″ x 12″. The size as well as shape of a space frequently identifies the size as well as pattern of floor tiles. For example, big tiles work finest on the floor of a big space, where smaller tiles may produce a hectic look. Mosaics are spectacular in a little space, like a powder room, that benefits from much more detail.

If you want a floor pattern produced from different-sized tiles, select tiles of the exact same thickness so you don’t trip on the edges.

It’s possible to utilize floor tiles on walls, however it’s not typically advisable to utilize wall tiles on floors because they’re frequently not as strong.

Finish

Most tiles are only glazed on their tops; if your wall won’t have a border of cap pieces or wood trim, make sure the tiles at the edge of the pattern are glazed on the sides for a completed look.

A tile with a glossy glaze or one made from glass or polished stone imparts a much more contemporary look or a formal feel.

For a softer look, select a honed tile, which has a soft, buttery look, or one with a matte finish.

For an area that needs a great deal of wiping, like a backsplash, select tiles with a shiny finish. utilize water resistant backer board before tiling your bathroom.

When selecting floor tiles, think about safety: extremely polished tiles are extremely slippery; matte tiles are less so. If you want a high-shine floor, utilize little tiles, which have much more grout lines to produce slip resistance.

In high-traffic areas like mudrooms, slate tiles are a fantastic choice since of their rough texture, however their ridges trap dirt, so they need much more cleaning than smoother tile.

Stone tiles are much more porous than ceramic or porcelain as well as should be treated with a sealer if utilized in areas that are subjected to wetness or grease. (Slate is the most absorptive stone, complied with by limestone, marble, then granite.)

Grout

There are numerous colors of grout to select from. One choice is to match grout to the tile’s tone so the grout blends in. keep together awesome tones (grey grout with blue tiles) or warm tones (taupe grout with beige tiles).

For a graphic look, a dark tile with a white grout is always crisp as well as fresh.

White grout can look filthy quickly, particularly on floors or in showers, where mildew develops up; to camouflage dirt, utilize a darker grout. However, prevent utilizing grout that’s as well dark or you’ll acquire the opposite impact of hiding dirt: the grout may look filthy even when it’s clean.

Quantity

To discover out exactly how much tile you need, multiply the length as well as width of your space to identify the square footage. Subtract the areas that don’t requirement to be tiled, like under cupboards. add 10 to 15 per cent for squander as well as cuts. If you’re tiling on the diagonal, add 20 percent.

Half price BT home monitor VP1000

one of our readers has just informed us of this half price offer on the BT home monitor system – The offer ends at midnight TONIGHT. The package is reduced from £179.99 to £90.00. At checkout enter the Code BTHM50.

“The BT home monitor VP1000 is an intelligent house alarm system that alerts you to intruders wherever you are in the UK, via e-mail, text message or a fixed-line telephone call*. You can also raise an alarm if you come under personal attack. The VP1000 is the complete home monitoring and Alarm System, giving you control and the ability to manage your system through a personal password-protected online account. This is a self install unit which uses wireless sensors.

Features:

Self Install

Wireless Technology

Supports up to 28 sensors

Alerts designated contacts via phone, email, SMS

Monitor the status of your home, via Internet

Keyfob – 1 unit

Magnetic Detector – 1 unit

Movement Detectors – 2 units

Click here for more Info

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Control X10 by means of web or Phone – complimentary software application

HomeLife is house Automation software application that enables you to manage your X10 gadgets by means of the Web, or interestingly with your phone utilizing spoken menu options. A complimentary version is offered for download (limited to 4 devices)…

“Lifetime software application has released their most current version of HomeLife, their X10 house Automation software application which enables you to take full manage of your X10 devices. The software application includes an simple to utilize .Net client interface, built-in web server for web gain access to as well as an response phone enabling gain access to to X10 gadgets by means of a series of spoken menus.

Features include:

Easy to utilize .Net client with “Windows Explorer” style interface.

Full variety of X10 gadget actions.

Control gadgets by means of web or Phone.

Play seems as well as speech announcements.

Events for Sunset as well as Sunrise.

Runs in the background as a Windows service.

Manual as well as automatic EEPROM downloading of events.

Devices as well as events are grouped into rational zones for simple management.

Create user-defined modes.

Integrated response phone with phone call logging with caller id.

HomeLife is offered for complimentary download (restricted to 4 gadgets up until activated) at  www.lifetime-software.co.uk

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Organizing & storage concepts

Ahhh September. The air is cooler. Dusk comes earlier. We fracture open our books, as well as sharpen our pencils. There’s a specific January 1st freshness about it all, isn’t there? even if we’re no longer students, there’s no reason why all of us can’t take advantage of this new seasonal beginning to freshen things up.

Mornings begin a bit earlier as well as why not wake as much as this trendy devil? Its traditional great looks as well as polished black surface produce an stylish morning rise. the very best part is, it’s Ikea and only costs $10.

After a bowl of something hearty (I liked the method my father utilized to make porridge in the mornings), you can zip off to class (or the boardroom!) on this retro-looking bicycle. around the city, having a vintage bike is the epitome of hipster chic, however you can pick up this lilac charmer at Sears! I say, if you gotta commute — do it with panache!

Now it’s time to hit the books. Whether you’re setting up your trainee research study zone, or equipping that neglected house office, I’ve got some inexpensive trendy techniques up my back-to-school sleeve for you.

Start with a excellent desk. This x-based beautiful is new from West Elm and has a fold down lid to hide all your clutter. however then again, I hear clutter as well as boho-haphazardness is in, so perhaps leave it open?

If you’ve resolved to keep things neat as well as neat this year, hide away all your papers as well as junk in these poppy storage solutions, likewise from West Elm. They’re on sale best now as well as I’m type of in like with this off-beat melon colour, aren’t you?

Outfit your desk with smooth illumination as well as a colourful desk blotter. This industrial trendy clip-on lamp is one of my favourites as well as can be discovered at Staples for $20! as well as this quite pale blue Semikolon blotter really is available in a rainbow of other colours as well as will jazz up even the most fundamental computer desk for only $18.

Back to that boho thing: I like a desk to look personal as well as show the person who utilizes it. You don’t requirement a matching desk set to home all your stuff. I like the concept of throwing a fresh set of HB No. 2 pencils ($1/10) into a quirky mug. This one’s from Anthropologie in Toronto ($9), however you can pull out any type of offbeat cup you like. Or hit a thrift shop!

Not every concept starts out with a ‘EUREKA!’ so get a woven waste-paper basket (Crate & Barrel, $25). I’ll admit, I don’t have one of these personally — yet! I’ve been craving one for months now as well as should take my own advice. They just look SO good!

And for one extremely essential completing touch, produce some type of motivation board. Someday soon you’ll discover yourself burning the midnight oil as well as shackled to your (stylish) desk. When that moment comes, you’ll say thanks to yourself for pinning up motivation shots, magazine tears, birthday cards as well as getaway snaps. They’ll revitalize as well as revive you as well as assist influence you to pen that magnum opus.

Get a tons of this luscious as well as layered bulletin board by my good friend Sabrina Linn (stylist to the stars).

Photo credits:
1. {frolic!} blog
2. Ikea Dekad Alarm Clock
3. Sears Mongoose Monteray Cruiser
4. West Elm flip Desk
5. West Elm house office storage bins
6. Staples Catalina illumination Swing-Arm Lamp
7. Semikolon Desk Blotter, from our March 2009 issue, photography by Felix Wedgwood
8. Staples HB No. 2 pencils
9. Anthropologie pressed flowers Mug
10. Crate & Barrel Sedona Wastebasket
11. Sabrina Linn’s loft, from our August 2009 issue, photography by Michael Graydon

HomeEasy web site Goes online with significant variety of wise house modules

We reported back in August on the new house automation variety of products introducing in B&Q stores.  now the web site for these products has just gone live. The big variety of RF modules is split into four catagories, On/Off, Timmer & Dimmer, outside as well as Ultimate.

“What is HomeEasy? – house simple is a wirefree variety of products created to remotely manage your home. The future is right here now! house simple will add a new dimension to your everyday living. This revolutionary new innovation enables you to operate:

Lighting

Appliances (ON/OFF)

TV/DVD/SATELLITE

Heating

Door Access

All of these can be operated from a single hand held remote manage from anywhere in your home. even if you are away from home, you can still operate the above by just texting from your smart phone from any type of world large location!”

www.homeeasy.eu

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