X10 Developers?

[ivankslee]

Has anyone tried developing .NET apps for the X10 Activehome products? This basically entails sending and receiving packets through a serial port, which then sends a signal through your power lines to control lamps, appliances, etc. Tricky part is that the transmissions have to synchronize with the frequency of the AC power line! Tutorial and samples for monitoring COM ports are here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/issues/02/10/NETSerialComm/ And the X10 protocol for the power line interface is here: ftp://ftp.x10.com/pub/manuals/technicalnote.pdf Any input is welcome. The Activehome kit is a pretty nifty little toy and could make for some interesting programming applications.

[MultiThread]

Hi, It actually sounds like a nifty idea. Everyone seems to have a serial port and the interface protocol is a bonus; however, if there is no hardware with which to interface, it's difficult to do the testing. I think it would be rather keen to create devices (such as infrared receivers) to be able to provide the ability to dim and/or turn on/off lights. (i.e. from the home entertainment system remote control.) Regards, Joe

[Steve S]

Is this stuff available in the UK? My wife is disabled, and among other things has problems with light switches, etc, although she can use a PC, so this would be quite interesting... Steve S