X10: Fun with Home Automation
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The serial connector it comes with, the ‘Firecracker’ allows for some very fun things. There are several Linux packages available that interface with the serial transmitter. The one I use is called heyu. It allows you to easily send commands to the X10 units like so: heyu fon A1. So to automate my Christmas lights, I just had to add two lines to crontab for on and off.
Another fun application of this system is alerting me if I have a new voicemail on my landline. I never remember to check for messages on my landline when I come home, so now I have it set to turn on a lamp whenever someone leaves me a voicemail!
Here is how it works. A feature of my voicemail services is that the system emails me a copy of every voicemail when it is left. I use Thunderbird for a mail client and leave it open on my Linux box. I use Thunderbirds filters to move any messages from the voicemail service to a voicemail folder. I use an add-on, Mailbox Alert, that can watch a particular folder, and can run a command when a new message arrives, so I have it set that whenever a new email from my voicemail service comes in it issues this command: heyu fon A2, turning on my lamp alerting me of a new voicemail.
1 Comments:
I don't get it...
:) Amber & Josh
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Anonymous, at 9:03 PM
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