Posted: 9/19/2010 11:50:19 AM EDT
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I've been using X-10 timers, remote controllers and various control modules for many, many years and have always been happy with the technology and products. I just set up the Wireless Alarm System and so far I'm quite impressed. It appears simple and effective as a basic door/window/motion intrusion system. Will take some getting used to, but it seems a lot of bang for the buck; especially at the bundle/sale price. Any users or critiques of the alarm system?  |
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I ordered a central lighting control unit, a couple lamp modules and a couple dozen light switches. Got one switch wire in and it didn't fit my older boxes and the switch cover seemed to be a piece of shit. I had guests who didn't quite get the switch in their bedroom and I've had the light switches sitting in the corner for a couple years now. |
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Quoted:
I've been using X-10 timers, remote controllers and various control modules for many, many years and have always been happy with the technology and products. I just set up the Wireless Alarm System and so far I'm quite impressed. It appears simple and effective as a basic door/window/motion intrusion system. Will take some getting used to, but it seems a lot of bang for the buck; especially at the bundle/sale price. Any users or critiques of the alarm system?
Same here, also have a telephone responder that controls X10 modules. We can turn the christmas lights on and off from anyplace in the US with our cell phone. BUTTT... There's a new kid on the block and it is far more advanced for a little more money. There is a network controller for abt $100 that will control all the modules over the internet from anywhere in the world and the modules are 2-way in that they confirm the setting they have been commanded. Ordered a few last month but haven't taken the time to learn to use them, but will soon. Have a lot of remote control functions to do with them at the BOL. Way better than the X-10 that has served so well for all these years. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
I've been using X-10 timers, remote controllers and various control modules for many, many years and have always been happy with the technology and products. I just set up the Wireless Alarm System and so far I'm quite impressed. It appears simple and effective as a basic door/window/motion intrusion system. Will take some getting used to, but it seems a lot of bang for the buck; especially at the bundle/sale price. Any users or critiques of the alarm system?
Same here, also have a telephone responder that controls X10 modules. We can turn the christmas lights on and off from anyplace in the US with our cell phone. BUTTT... There's a new kid on the block and it is far more advanced for a little more money. There is a network controller for abt $100 that will control all the modules over the internet from anywhere in the world and the modules are 2-way in that they confirm the setting they have been commanded. Ordered a few last month but haven't taken the time to learn to use them, but will soon. Have a lot of remote control functions to do with them at the BOL. Way better than the X-10 that has served so well for all these years. Care to share that name?.. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I've been using X-10 timers, remote controllers and various control modules for many, many years and have always been happy with the technology and products. I just set up the Wireless Alarm System and so far I'm quite impressed. It appears simple and effective as a basic door/window/motion intrusion system. Will take some getting used to, but it seems a lot of bang for the buck; especially at the bundle/sale price. Any users or critiques of the alarm system? Same here, also have a telephone responder that controls X10 modules. We can turn the christmas lights on and off from anyplace in the US with our cell phone. BUTTT... There's a new kid on the block and it is far more advanced for a little more money. There is a network controller for abt $100 that will control all the modules over the internet from anywhere in the world and the modules are 2-way in that they confirm the setting they have been commanded. Ordered a few last month but haven't taken the time to learn to use them, but will soon. Have a lot of remote control functions to do with them at the BOL. Way better than the X-10 that has served so well for all these years. Care to share that name?.. I think X-10 also has that available. I'll have to look. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
I've been using X-10 timers, remote controllers and various control modules for many, many years and have always been happy with the technology and products. I just set up the Wireless Alarm System and so far I'm quite impressed. It appears simple and effective as a basic door/window/motion intrusion system. Will take some getting used to, but it seems a lot of bang for the buck; especially at the bundle/sale price. Any users or critiques of the alarm system?
Same here, also have a telephone responder that controls X10 modules. We can turn the christmas lights on and off from anyplace in the US with our cell phone. BUTTT... There's a new kid on the block and it is far more advanced for a little more money. There is a network controller for abt $100 that will control all the modules over the internet from anywhere in the world and the modules are 2-way in that they confirm the setting they have been commanded. Ordered a few last month but haven't taken the time to learn to use them, but will soon. Have a lot of remote control functions to do with them at the BOL. Way better than the X-10 that has served so well for all these years. Link? |
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Here's the IP enabled remote controller I have to find time to learn..
http://www.insteon.net/2412N-smartlinc-central-controller.html 
The left side of the page has just about every kind of lamp, coffee pot, etc, etc, control you can imagine. Stuff is reasonably priced on eBay. |
| Mannnnnnnnnnn now you guys got me thinking again and probably spending more money. Haven't really looked into DIY home security systems, but the X10 website looks kinda cheesy and make me somewhat doubt their product (no offense to anyone that uses their stuff, it may be the best out there for all I know). With that being said can anyone tell me who is considered the "best" in DIY home security? Also I see with the X10 it has the controller that says it will call up to 4 numbers, but I'm assuming you have to have a land line for this to function (I'm young enough to be in the generation that has never had a land line in their adult life), but then I see the add on from insteon that seems like it's web based...... Is it possible to have a system that would call a cell phone through VOIP instead of a land line? |
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Quoted:
Mannnnnnnnnnn now you guys got me thinking again and probably spending more money. Haven't really looked into DIY home security systems, but the X10 website looks kinda cheesy and make me somewhat doubt their product (no offense to anyone that uses their stuff, it may be the best out there for all I know). With that being said can anyone tell me who is considered the "best" in DIY home security? Also I see with the X10 it has the controller that says it will call up to 4 numbers, but I'm assuming you have to have a land line for this to function (I'm young enough to be in the generation that has never had a land line in their adult life), but then I see the add on from insteon that seems like it's web based...... Is it possible to have a system that would call a cell phone through VOIP instead of a land line? Yep, check the Insteon documentation. That's my plan for another alarm. |
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We've been using X10 for years. HH6 installed it while I was stationed in Korea, no problems. When she called the monitoring company to activate, they said "Wait while we call the 5-0 to tll them we're testing and not to respond", and 30 seconds later there was a cop at the door about the alarm going off... In my experience, the keychain remotes are good for about 1-2 years if you carry your keys in your pocket. The larger remote console, the one with controls for lights, etc., is probably good for 5 or more, if you're not a klutz. (I'm not the most coordinated guy around...)  We're fairly happy w/X10.
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My folks have had X10 for over a decade now with no issues. Lamps, lights, alarms, all kinds of stuff.
I tried in my first place, and a lamp control was picking up wierd signals from somewhere and turning lamps on in the middle of the night. Too spooky when you're living alone for the first time, in a semi creepy place anyways.
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| I'm still trying to wrap my head around this so forgive me if I sound completely dumb........ If I was to get a system I don't want anything too fancy, just sensors on the doors and windows that would set an alarm off if opened and possible a few motion sensors. What's confusing me right now is if an alarm did go off how the information would be communicated to me. Is it possible to have a system and not have to pay a monthly fee for someone to monitor it? At first I envisioned having a controller hooked up into my cable internet via some CAT-5 cable and if the alarm went off there would be some software in the cloud that would email my smart phone, call it, whatever and be able to deactivate the alarm using my phone or jumping on a computer somewhere.... but all of this would be FREE. Reading around I'm starting to think that if I wanted a system I'd be stuck having to pay for a monthly fee. |
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Quoted: I've been using X-10 stuff for more then 25 years. Unlike others I have occasional issues with lack of triggering. This isn't a big deal for a system that turns lights on and off but for me the technology isn't reliable enough for a security system. The door / window sensors communicate with the main control panel via RF and not the Powerline signal. Also, they're communicating back-and-forth at regular intervals to test for any faults. So far they seem to be quite reliable. Even has a "chime mode" which sounds a single chime whenever a door or window is opened or closed. So far, I'm impressed. We'll see. |
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Quoted: How long do the batteries last on the sensors? They're saying to replace the batteries every year. 2 x AA in each door / window / motion sensor, 2 x AAA in the key chain remotes, 4 x AAA in the main hand-held remote / controller, and 1 x 9v in the base station (back up). Yeah, lots of batteries, but better, (easier), than running wired sensors. Many years ago I installed a hard-wired system in a different house. What a nightmare drilling holes and running and routing wire from each door and window to the main control panel. Never again.  |
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Sun's going down earlier, set a propane tank at the 'tainer today and worked til dark trenching for the gas line and burying the electrical PVC conduit the CVVT will pass through and later had time to get out all the Insteon remote control stuff and learn how to use it.
After a little while, it turned out to be pretty simple and user friendly. A few months ago I purchased a: ... plug-in remote control ...a battery operated remote control, ...2 dimmer modules ...1 appliance module AND Ta-Da... a network controller model 2412N First I learned how to setup the dimmer modules with the remotes and then set up the appliance module. Then I took a deep breath and opened up the box with the Network Controller, plugged in an Ethernet cable and stuck it into an outlet. Then I looked in my D-Link router network page to find the latest IP addy that was assigned to the controller. It was right there. So I opened IE, plugged in the addy and bingo I had access to it. First thing I did was to turn off DHCP and enter a static IP addy that I can remember, then I set a use name and PW. I had to figure out how to make it work with the appliance module that I had an LED strip light plugged into. I won't go into the details, it's pretty eash, just push a button on the module, it's mini-mac addy pops up and you save and then config with the on-off times if you want to, etc. The big test was to see if I could control the light with my cellphone way up here in the mtns and I typed in my WAN IP and the public IP for the network controller and bingo, there it was. I can touch the on and off buttons and the light responds, so the light can be controlled from anywhere in the world form a PC or phone. This is really neat and I can see applications such as switching backup internet feeds, turning on floods for IP cameras when it's dark controlling alarms, The features that set this apart from X10 are that the modules are two-way devices and you get a status of whether the device is on or off. Other features are the simple network control and a large user group with all sorts of info and help and |
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Quoted: I've been using X-10 timers, remote controllers and various control modules for many, many years and have always been happy with the technology and products. I just set up the Wireless Alarm System and so far I'm quite impressed. It appears simple and effective as a basic door/window/motion intrusion system. Will take some getting used to, but it seems a lot of bang for the buck; especially at the bundle/sale price. Any users or critiques of the alarm system? I have an older model (optional siren/lights or silent alarm.....it dials a phone number when the alarm goes off). It works well. Just after putting it in I had problems with the alarm tripping at night seemingly for no reason .... never during the day though. Turns out the motion detector was picking up a bat in the house. It's fairly sensitive. |
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We used the Inseon over Christmas to control the outdoor lighting from 1000 miles away using the internet. Worked real well.
I'm a convert to Insteon from my old friend of many years,-X10. 
ETA WAIT! I still use an X10 telephone transponder to control several modules to reboot my router and cable modem remotely when they hang up once in a blue moon. Last time was in december when I was config'ing the router for an IP cam and I was some distance away from my cable modem. Used the cell phone to dial in to the X10 transponder, turned an X10 power module off and then on and presto! I was back in biz! Of course the POTS doesn't rely on an internet conx and when the internet screws up I can get'er going from most any place in the country. 
Something to keep in mind... |