OK, motorised curtains are on the cards. Trouble is, we've got curtain poles and we don't want tracks...

I reckon it's possible with a single motor and ingenious loop, but before I get carried away, has anyone else done this? Any pitfalls to watch for?

Ta,

Nick.

Not done curtains myself but do control my Central heating and a few lights (X10) from the PC / Alarm (Comfort).

I presume you know www.automatedhome.co.uk (http://www.automatedhome.co.uk) and associated yahoo mailing list ?

Deano

Hadn't seen that - thanks Dean!

you lazy begger. I bet your house is a mass of electronics and cables:D, like your car:p


ps YHM

I can give the heating or hot water an extra hour from my Pronto remote in the lounge. I can also turn outside/patios lights on and off from both the lounge or bedroom.

Can all be done via PC and remotely via Phone aswell.

The wife was sceptical at first but actually mentioned the other evening how it was quite useful :o

Deano

Thats just posing;)

So central locking as well then? :)

that sounds cool!
i once watched a program on sky and they had no need for curtains etc because they used some smart glass.At the touch of a button a clear pane of glass turned jet black and you couldnt see through it!!!! it was some sort of reaction with some gasses in the middle of the glass.cant remember the price but it was plenty.
(wouldnt want it to malfunction in the middle of some hanky panky though:eek:,would give the neighbours something to talk about!!)

Duncan

They have windows just available that has leccy running through it to lighten or darken the view outside :o

i've been a fan of home automation for a while, and get a couple of the american mags. Am just wonder how feasible to wire the whole house for audio using mp3 thru pc........

MP3 house wide.... :D Now there's an idea.

There's got to be a nice way without having to have a PC (or terminal) in every room.

The next logical step is to have distributed video based on something like "Showshifter"...

I'll have a think about that :)

MP3 house wide (http://www.ihavetohave.it/acatalog/Multiroom_Home_Mp3.html)

I haven't gone this route - I have a Sony 400 disc CD jukebox & run phono cable between rooms. The Sony has a monitor output which goes to the video distribution system so you can see what you're selecting, then wired I/R beterrn the rooms to finish off.

Video is relatively easy too - straight into a video distribution system & I/R extenders. Sony used to do a DVD jukebox too, but for some reason they stopped it :( Works OK witha TiVo though :)

Deano: how do you control heating and hot water? My Pronto controls my lights (and electric blanket!) via X10, but the boiler has its own controller. Is there an X10 boiler controller?

A.