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Dropping Shion for mControl (But Shion is a Great Option)
I’m shifting back to using mControl (Windows) and dropping my recent use of Shion (OS X). However, it’s not because of problems with Shion. The program is very good and Chris, the author, was very...
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ASUS EeeBox PC as a Home Automation/Media Server
I recently acquired an ASUS EeeBox PC (EB1006). My goal is to set it up to serve media, manage our home automation systems, and some additional security roles. I’m hoping this will be the last major...
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mControl v3 Upgrade
Embedded Automation has officially released version 3 of mControl. There are several changes including new modules that can be purchased individually to additional features. Based on what I’ve seen it...
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Insteon 2-Wire Dimmer or Switch Not As Easy As X10
About a year ago I started swapping out some X10 dimmer and appliance modules with new Insteon modules. They’re much more reliable and more secure than X10 gear. However, the in-wall modules have one...
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Replacing X10 Motion Sensors (MS14A) with Insteon Motion Sensors (2420M)
The Short Version: The Insteon motion sensors cost nearly ten times more than the X10 motion sensors but they are very reliable (as long as you have the necessary APs to send the signals over a...
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Loss of X10 Control Using a SmartHome 2413U PowerLinc with mControl 3 (Build...
The Short Version: mControl 3 Build 4346 caused problems with controlling X10 devices. Rolling back to a previous build restored functionality. I recently upgraded my version of mControl 3 to Build...
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X10, Insteon, and Z-Wave – If I Knew Then What I Know Now
The Short Version: X10 is considerably less expensive and more compatible with various wiring schemes, Insteon is very reliable and relatively secure but requires a neutral wire for in-wall modules,...
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Moving from mControl 3 (Windows) to Indigo 6 (OS X) for Home Automation
The Short Version: I moved VPN, home automation control, and video recording from an ASUS eeeBox PC (Windows) to my iMac (OS X Mountain Lion). VPN was changed from PPTP to L2TP using iVPN to control...
View ArticleUsing Indigo 7 for Home Automation with a Mac
Back in 2013 I moved from using a very good Windows program called mControl for home automation control over to Indigo for Mac OS. mControl worked great for my needs then but I didn’t want to dedicate...
View ArticleBack to Indigo: The Home Automation Experiment
Home Automation has been a hobby of mine for almost eleven years. The technology has existed in various forms, for far longer; there are many other individuals that have been experimenting with home...
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