Xtenscape Features

X10 home automation has been around for some time now. Its a simple idea whereby control signals are 'piggy-backed' on top of the electrical current running through your house, these signals can tell a specific receiver to switch on or off.

Anything can be plugged into the receivers socket and so can be controlled. Somewhere in your house you will need the controller, typically a CM11 or CM12 unit. You plug it into the wall socket and a wire from it goes into the back of your computer so it can send signals.

The final piece of the puzzle is the software to send these signals to the CM11/CM12. There are several to choose from on Windows, some free, some not, on the Mac, there's two that I know of both commercial and quite expensive, so as usual, I wrote my own, and this is it. Xtenscape

In the photo above is a lamp module plugged into a regular wall socket, then the lamp is plugged into the lamp module. Thats it. The lamp can now be switched on and off (and dimmed) from Xtenscape, automatically or manually.

The picture shows an american style controller, but you can get X10 controllers for any type used around the world. I use the UK type of controller which has a standard 3-pin mains socket on the front of the module.

As well as lamp modules that will turn on, off and dim. There is an Appliance module, which simply turns on and off, so is suited to any appliance which includes non-incandescent bulbs such as Florissant tubes, dimmers will NOT work on these, so you need an appliance module instead.

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