Cheapest way for scheduling

Hello everyone,

We recently moved into a house with C-Bus lighting and Homesafe security. The previous owner left a laptop with the C-Bus toolkit, but no other software. There is no Wiser installed either.

As the holidays are coming up, I have been trying to find a solution that would allow us to schedule the lights to turn on and off for a lived-in look while away.

The guy we called said we need a Homegate or Schedule Plus program - at a cost of $750-1500!!!

Is there another solution - preferably free or cheaper than this?

Thank you.

 

You can do schedules with the 5500PACA product.
I think it is a bit cheaper than Homegate software.
5500PACA does need a USB connection to alter the programming.

Homegate running on a PC which you can remote desktop to is still a pretty good option in my opinion.
Though you would need a CNI on the network for Homegate to talk to CBus.

Touch screens could also do the job but are a bit more expensive again.

If you already have a CNI you could use some 3rd party software to send some commands to CBus.

Wiser is also an option.
A fairly reasonably priced one if you dont already have a CNI.

 

Thanks for the quick reply.

I have a 5500PC that is connected to my computer. Can I ask how do I do schedules with it?

Thanks.

 

Essentially you can't. The 5500PC is an interface device, so it only provides a mechanism for other software like toolkit to connect to C-Bus.

What Daryl is saying is you need some sort of scheduling system. There are several C-Bus units that incorporate the standard C-Bus scheduler, Daryl listed them in his post.

So the easiest way is to purchase one of the unit types Daryl mentioned and program its scheduler to do what you want.

The particular unit you choose, depends on what other features that unit offers and what you will find most usefull.

Cheers

Rohan

 

Thanks Rohan,

In my hopeful state I thought Daryl referred to the 5500PCU - the USB equivalent of my 5500PC. I now see that the Pascal Automation Controller is a different device - one I don't have on my network.

I am still clinging to Daryl's suggestion I may be able to use some 3rd party software, as $700+ just to turn some lights on and off on a schedule is a bit too much for my budget at this stage.

Thanks.

 

Cheapest option is a bus coupler interfacing a cheap diy timer module (about $150 solution). Or a bus coupler with a Cloudbit to remotely turn on/off from your smart phone. (about $300 total)

 

Thanks for that suggestion.

Unless I'm missing something, I'm not sure a coupler+timer will allow the independent control of multiple lights across the house?

I'm still holding hope for a 3rd party software solution that would offer basic scheduling...

 

Hey Floppy,

To be honest I doubt you will find 3rd party software that is cheaper than a PAC. It wouldn't be hard to write in saying that, but most people end up getting one of the existing products due to the functionality.

What I would suggest is that you keep an eye out on ebay for either a PAC or a Touchscreen. They do come up fairly often for good prices, there is a touchscreen listed at the moment that would do what you want:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Clipsal-...48?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_15&hash=item1a022bf2dc

The other option is to download PICED or Homegate/Schedule Plus and run it in Demo mode and just make the computer restart every 2 hours Not very good as a 'going away security' thing though.....

 

I like that idea, simple and reliable.

 

What's your budget?

I could produce a utility that takes group address and level on the command line, that you fire from the windows scheduler whenever you like, but to be honest I think a PAC is better value for money and you don't need a PC to run it.

Cheers

Rohan

 

I was hoping to spend less than $300 if possible if it's only turning lights on/off on a schedule.

Would be happy to look into the idea of a coupler + cloudbit if it works with multiple independent lights (?).

Otherwise, I may have to keep an eye out for a PAC...

By the way, does the Translink do scheduling? I like its mobile functionality...

 

I have seen similar done a few times, a bus coupler is a 4 channel device so you would be able to control 4 x whatevers (group address, scene, lights) per coupler. Not sure how many GPIO the cloudbit has. You may need a little relay board to interface to it but also maybe not, depending on the transistor outputs. While the cloudbit would be cool, just make sure you can schedule it, having to do it remotely every day would be a pain! Otherwise you could probably hook up a time clock to the cloudbit...

I would suggest you have a look at the documentation for both things, link for the coupler:
http://www2.clipsal.com/cis/technical/product_groups/cbus/input_units/bus_coupler

 

Take a look at CQC. Bit of overkill for just schedules, but you may just like it enough to go further.

The basic package is $US199 (Bronze) and is for 10 drivers and 1 client. It will do scheduling and triggered events.

You will need a PCI so the PC can communicate with the C-Bus network

 

Hi floppy
So you have an RS232 PCI.
That's great.
Much more useful than a USB PCI in my opinion.

I wonder what is your current setup.
Is the laptop plugged in and lying on the floor in front of the switchboard?
With the RS232 PCI you can add a serial device server to get an ethernet and presumably therefore a wifi connection from your PC to the CBus network.
The one I use is NPort 5110A.
In effect your RS232 PCI becomes a CNI.
No one wants to be doing work tethered to the switchboard.
A CNI also opens up some options for 3rd party control from your phone (I'm not aware of any that have schedules)

I like jboer's suggestion.

This is your free option.
What it will also allow you to do is create a project, make your schedules in Piced and test them on the network.
It wouldnt be much of a stretch to then remote desktop to your PC and get some remote control of your home with Piced/Homegate.
Maybe not the most convenient "away from home mode" but not bad for zero dollars.

If you were going to buy a PACA or Touch screen somewhere down the track, Piced software is where you need to start anyway.

There are a few challenges for you though.
First thing, if the laptop can be safely left connected to the PCI (eg no one is going to step on it) you don't need to change any hardware.
Perhaps you could use some remote desktop software if the laptop is not in a convenient location to work on.

If you do go and buy an ethernet device server, don't go running ethernet cabling through your electrical switchboard.

ToolKit and Piced rely on compatible versions so you may well need to upgrade ToolKit depending on which version of Piced you install.

You want to be familiar with backing up and restoring ToolKit projects otherwise you may find yourself in the dog house.

Piced is a bit of a learning curve if you are starting from scratch.

 

I couldn't write the code for $300 and to be honest, I only paid $500 for my PAC (ebay) and it does much more.

No the Translink does not do scheduling, we often pair them with a PAC to get the best of both worlds.

Rohan

 

Thanks for the helpful contributions.

For a start, I'll give CQC a try and see what it can do. They offer a free trial, so that's helpful to get my head around it can do.

In parallel I will investigate the PICED program and keep an eye for a PAC - seems to be a good addition to the network especially if it can be had for significantly less than the $750+ it seems to go for.

(Regarding my current setup: the RS232 PCI is connected to a laptop via a RS232-USB converter. The toolkit runs on the laptop. I can remote desktop to the laptop for ease.)

 

I am here to help if you have any troubles with CQC. Rohan also knows a bit, he may have forgotten more than he remembers. He is the author of the C-Bus driver for CQC.

Mick

 

Actually cheaper still since you have a homesafe is to connect a programmable timer to a spare zone on your home safe and program that zone to trigger a c-bus group or scene. I used this method before I started using a pi for the c-bus brains. Total cost approx $8 - like this one

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1x-12V-D...96?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_15&hash=item4184c10da8

 

A Pi for the brain? That's exciting! I have a spare one that I was hoping to use for something - would you be able to share a but more about your setup/use?

I have been playing with the node.js code on GitHub for C-bus, but only used it in the laptop that has the c-gate/toolkit running.

 

sure. I have a Pi running c-gate and nodejs that talks to c-bus via a usb/serial cable connected to a 5500PC unit. There's quite a few threads on this forum on how to go about setting this up, even some links to sample nodejs projects to get you started. So far my PI brains provide smart schedules (for example my bedroom blinds open at 7am on a workday and 9am on a non workday - including all public holidays) and smart scenes - both of which I currently configure the rules for in an xml document, a bootstrap responsive UI with authentication for remote control from my phone and sony smartwatch and I'm currently working on interfacing to BOM to allow weather rules - like closing all the blinds if the forecast is to be over 30 degrees.