OS/2 Shareware BBS: OtherApp/OtherApp.zip/house2.zip/house2.hlp

OS/2 Help File | 1999-06-18 | 262KB | 2,415 lines

ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1. Description ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

HOUSE/2 ver. 1.8 - Shareware. HOUSE/2 - Home Automation & Security for OS/2
using the CM11A interface by X-10.

HOUSE/2 is an OS/2 version 3.0 and later program to control the home automation
interface model CM11A made by X-10. HOUSE/2 is similar to X-10's ActiveHome and
IBM's HomeDirector program. HOUSE/2 contains a conversion utility to take your
existing ActiveHome setup and convert it to HOUSE/2 format. See the
HOUS2UTL.EXE program help file for information on how to convert existing
setups.

Take note, OS/2 Community!

HOUSE/2 is the first fully featured shareware program available for the model
CM11x/CM12x controller. There are shareware and freeware programs available for
other computer platforms, but none is as fully featured as HOUSE/2.

Note: The CM11A type computer interface is available under various model
numbers, but appears to use the same protocol. The model CM11A is available in
the USA and Canada, the CM12U is available in the United Kingdom, the CM11G is
available in Germany and the CM11F in France. HOUSE/2 will work with all these
models.

HOUSE/2 is shareware and registration is available through BMT Micro at
www.bmtmicro.com or through the author directly. Registration now includes the
game Leave-One, a puzzle similar to Pegged. See the section How To Register for
details.

HOUSE/2 has the following features:

      Γûá Organize modules and macros into groups of up to 18 modules per group
      and 16 groups per set. Each set can be saved to disk. The number of sets
      are only limited by disk space.

      Γûá Move modules and macros into other groups using drag and drop.
      Rearrange module and macro order within a group using drag and drop.

      Γûá Operate modules directly from your desktop. It allows you to
      interactively turn on appliances or lights from your computer. If you run
      Warp 4.0 with dictation installed, you can operate your modules with
      speech commands.

      Γûá Program the CM11A interface by uploading timer and macro information to
      the interface EEProm. Special features like random turn on and off,
      multiple module and macro events, dawn to dusk individual and series
      calculations are supported.

      Γûá Clear interface EEProm, set interface clock and clear battery counter
      are supported.

      Γûá Modules, macros and groups can be setup without having to be connected
      to the CM11A interface.

      Γûá When connected to the CM11A interface, HOUSE/2 will log all X-10 events
      to a file and update displayed module status.

      Γûá Runs under resolutions of 640x480 through 1280x1024.

      Γûá Support for Two-Way modules like the LM14A, AM14A and Transceivers
      RR501 and TM751.

      Γûá Extended X-10 command support for Two-Way modules like the LM14A.

      Γûá Query ON/OFF and dim percent status of Two-Way modules.

      Γûá Alarm if no load current on Two-Way Lamp module LM14A. Tells you if the
      bulb is burnt out.

      Γûá Thermostat support for models HAS-3035 and HAS-3045.

      Γûá External database of modules. Add your own modules.

      Γûá Using the separate HOUS2UTL utility, you can migrate the existing
      ActiveHome or HomeDirector setup to HOUSE/2 format.

 New with version 1.7:

      Γûá Registration keys implemented. If you are a registered user and have
      not received a key yet, please e-mail me.

      Γûá Groups can now have up to 18 switches. Registered version only.

      Γûá Invalid date range check (From Date must be earlier than To Date).

      Γûá Configuration now saved to HOUSE2.INI.

      Γûá Delete modules by drag-and-drop to trash can.

      Γûá Complete Year 2000 fixes.

      Γûá Numerous other improvements. See HISTORY.TXT.

 New with version 1.8:

      Γûá Information line help for all module and macro editing objects.

      Γûá Works now correctly over a network.

      Γûá Jump to any module event.

      Γûá Correctly saves date and bytes last programmed into the controller.

 Note: The CM11A interface is not required to run the program only. However, in
 order to fully take advantage of the program's features, you must buy the
 CM11A interface and at least one module. This can be done for around $50 total
 to get you started and it can easily be expanded from that point on. See
 Internet Links for Home Automation for information on home control devices.

 In some European countries, namely Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the CM11A
 interface is available under the name PowerHaus-II. Please see Internet Links
 for Home Automation for information on X-10 representatives for these and
 other areas of the world.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2. Introduction ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Home Automation and Security with HOUSE/2

HOUSE/2 is OS/2 based control software for the CM11A home control interface
sold by X-10.

What is X-10?

X-10 is a system of modules and controllers that communicate through the power
line to activate lights or appliances. Installing this system requires no extra
wiring to automate lights and appliances. Simply plug in a module into a
receptacle, plug in a lamp into the module, connect a controller anywhere in
your home into a receptacle and you can control the lamp from your controller.

There are a number of modules available to control lamps and appliances. Wall
switch replacements are also available to automate your built-in lights. These
wall switches replace your existing light switches and in this case some wiring
is necessary but it is limited to disconnecting your existing switch and
reconnecting the new wall switch using the same wires. Using the wall switches
you then have the capability of controlling the lights at the wall switch or
remotely through a controller. These wall switches will also give you the
capability of dimming the lights, although only through the controller.

Controllers are also available in different versions, ranging from manual
on/off style to programmable units by timers or your home computer. The model
CP-290 is a popular controller which can be programmed by a PC, however, it is
only one-directional as it cannot monitor X-10 commands and send them back to
the PC. There are a at least two OS/2 programs available to control the CP-290.
The CM11A controller is one step up from the CP-290 and can be used to monitor
events from other controllers or modules as it reports the X-10 commands back
to the computer. The CM11A can be purchased for under $50 which is a bargain
for the feature it offers. HOUSE/2 currently supports the CM11A and is most
likely the first OS/2 based control software for this device. See picture of
the CM11A controller, an appliance module and a wall switch below.

Figure 1. The CM11A Home Control Interface and two Modules

What is HOUSE/2?

HOUSE/2 is OS/2 based control software that allows to program a CM11A home
control interface. The CM11A is manufactured by X-10 and available at a number
of home electronics, hardware stores and mail order companies. Radio Shack
sells this device separately under the name plug'n play and it is also bundled
with the IBM Aptivas under the name HomeDirector.

Control software is available for the CM11A, but it is mostly limited to the
Windows platforms and appears not to run under Win-OS/2 mode. HOUSE/2 was
written specifically for OS/2 Warp 3.0 and later. It supports speech navigation
under Warp 4.0 allowing you to turn modules on and off with voice commands.

The CM11A interface connects to your computers serial port and HOUSE/2 allows
to program macros and timer events that are stored in the interface. Once these
events are programmed, you do not have to stay connected to the interface.
Timer and macro events will execute within the interface automatically. To use
logging and security features you must stay connected to the interface and
HOUSE/2 must be running.

HOUSE/2 allows you to interactively control lights and appliances, which have
X-10 modules, right from your desktop. Simply turn on a slider on the screen
and HOUSE/2 will send out a command to turn on the corresponding module. Light
modules also allow you to dim lights between 0 to 100%. If you run HOUSE/2
under Warp 4.0 with speech navigation, you can also use voice commands to
perform these operations.

Physically, X-10 can only handle 256 unique addresses for modules. HOUSE/2
organizes the modules into groups of 18 with 16 groups available per
configuration. Each configuration (*.SET files) therefore can contain up to 192
modules. The number of configurations is limited only to the hard disk size.
This keeps organization of the modules simple and easy.

HOUSE/2 allows to read and set the CM11A interface time, check battery status
and keep track of date battery was changed. It also allows to clear the CM11A
interface memory and program timers and macros events into the interface.
HOUSE/2 was designed to keep operation and configuration of the CM11A interface
easy.

Once the interface is programmed, it is not necessary to stay connected to the
CM11A and tie up the serial port. The CM11A can be disconnected from the serial
port or the PC can be turned off as the CM11A will run the macros and timers on
it's own. If you stay connected to the interface, HOUSE/2 will record and log
every X-10 event that appears on the power line. This allows HOUSE/2 to be used
as a security system as you can program responses to these events. For example,
you could turn on a series of lights in response to an event that occurred at a
certain input device. An input device can be connected to a contact closure
from a vibration switch, window, or door sensor. An input command can also
originate from a motion detector or thermostat.

A number of X-10 compatible devices are available not just from X-10 but also
Radio Shack, Stanley, RCA etc. To get more information on these home control
devices, you can visit any of the sites listed under Internet Links for Home
Automation.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3. Internet Links for Home Automation ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

To get more information on home automation, you can visit any of the sites
listed here:

www.x10.com
Homepage of X-10.
This is the manufacturer of X-10 products.

www.x10.com/x10euro.htm
Links to European Representatives of X-10.

www.smarthome.com
Home Automation System, Inc. Vendor carrying large
selection of home automation devices. Download
catalog in PDF format, search for part numbers online.

www.hwg-telekom.de
HWG Telekommunikations Systeme GmbH.
X-10 Representative of Germany, Austria and
Switzerland. The CM11A is available as
PowerHaus-II in these countries.

www.automationplus.com
Mail order company for home automation devices.

www.asihome.com
Mail order company for home automation devices.

support.tandy.com/support_security/
Radio Shack Support. Follow the X-10 links.
Contains FAQ for home automation devices.

www.hometoys.com
Mailing lists, newsletters, articles and product reviews
of home automation products and services.

www.homecontrols.com
Large product catalog for home automation devices.
Also carries 220/230V models for international markets.

www.hometeam.com
Information about products and services for home automation.

www.infinet.com/~dhoehnen/ha/list.html
Index of home automation related sites.

www.io.com/~lbs/
Laser Business Systems Ltd. Home Automation dealer in
the United Kingdom. Lists controllers and modules for many
other European countries.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4. Important Notes ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Note: HOUSE/2 now works over a network. You can access the CM11A controller
from any workstation connected to the network. For instruction on running
HOUSE/2 over a network, see

  http://home.att.net/~ASchw

On a 200 MHz Pentium it takes approximately 15 seconds to load HOUSE/2 when
classical REXX is used. If Object REXX is used, then the load time increases to
20 seconds because of the additional syntax check. On a slower system, load
time will increase as expected. HOUSE/2 first comes up with a splash screen
which loads the main program. The splash screen displays a Close button after a
few seconds and it may be closed by clicking on it. The splash screen will also
close automatically once the main program has loaded. The splash screen program
(HOUSE2.EXE) will automatically detect if the main program (H2MAIN.EXE) is
already running and not load it a second time.

Problem 1:

Slow loading of module and macro edit windows. This is expected if you run
HOUSE/2 on a 486 computer. This delay is considerable, but normal. Opening the
Macro/Module edit window needs to load all objects required for editing. Using
HOUSE/2 on a Pentium improves the load time of the edit windows considerably.

Problem 2:

If you are running this program at resolutions lower than 1024x768x256, the
button bar icons will look a little fuzzy and the program will look grainy
because of the gray color background. I will correct the fuzzy icons in a
future version. Please note that the program is designed for a 256 color
minimum system and will look the best at 1024x768x256. See also the help
sections on Start-up Options and Troubleshooting for possible solutions.

Problem 3:

Macros can currently not be operated from the desktop, they can however be
uploaded to the interface and activated by other X-10 controllers or events.
Unfortunately, the CM11A does not activate a macro from a computer command. In
order to do macro activation, the actual macro commands have to be sent out
individually. For example a macro named B1 can not be turned on from the
desktop by sending out a B1 ON command. Sending a B1 ON command from an X-10
mini controller or PowerFlash module will activate the macro however. In the
future HOUSE/2 will support macro activation from the desktop.

Problem 4:

Macro actions must be separated by a minimum delay of 1 minute. The delay spin
button range will be set according to the action displayed. This is a limit by
the CM11A interface, not HOUSE/2. Macro actions separated by no delay will not
execute properly. It will execute the first action, but subsequent actions are
not executed. I will further investigate macro programming and make appropriate
changes or additions to HOUSE/2 as I find out details.

Problem 5:

If you use version 30.539 of the HP Laser printer driver, the Job Properties
button on the print window will not work. Please read the explanation under
File - Print for more details.

Problem 6:

Live update for standard (non-Two-Way) lamp modules does not display the
correct dim values under certain circumstances. Note that it is impossible for
HOUSE/2 to know what the dim value is because local operation of a dim switch
does not send out any X-10 commands or HOUSE/2 may not be connected at all
times and therefore not know what the current setting is. To correct this
problem, from the desktop, turn the dimmer fully on and then set to the desired
value. The lamp modules use relative dim values which further complicates the
situation. To dim or brighten this module, the previous setting needs to be
known and then a new value needs to be added or subtracted to achieve the
desired dim level.

The new Two-Way lamp modules correct this problem as they provide feedback of
their status and use absolute dim values, i.e. to set them to 60% a command
containing 60% will achieve the correct setting.

Problem 7:

You may experience a growth in swap file under the following circumstances: You
run another Vispro/REXX compiled program at the same time as HOUSE/2 AND Object
REXX is active. If you repeatedly start and exit HOUSE/2 while another
Vispro/REXX program is running, the swap file keeps growing. You may have to
start and exit HOUSE/2 5-15 times before you see a growth. The memory is not
released until both Vispro/REXX-compiled programs are closed. If you close both
programs, the swap file will return to it's original size. I have been able to
duplicate this problem with UPS Monitor for OS/2 and the HOUSE/2 main, utility
and X-10 Comm Tester program. This memory leak may not be specific to these
programs as the source of the problem points to Object REXX. If you use
classical REXX, this problem will not occur.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5. Shareware Limitation ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This shareware program is fully enabled with the exception of the following:

      Γûá Registration reminder when exiting.

      Γûá Groups are limited to 12 switches. Registered version can have 18
      switches per group.

      Γûá The CM11A can only be programmed with a maximum of ten (10) module
      events, that is, the first event of the first ten (10) modules (or first
      ten (10) events of the first module) starting with the first group. All
      Macros can be uploaded, however, they must appear ahead of modules with
      less than 10 events.

      Γûá When uploading to the interface, you will be reminded of a possible
      limited number of counter uploads.

 You can however configure and save to disk as many modules and macros within a
 set as possible.

 The registered version has these limitations removed.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6. Future Versions ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

I will continuously update this program and add new features to it. Below is a
sample list of what is to come in the future. If there are any features you
would like to see, let me know.

      Γûá Insert, rearrange groups.

      Γûá Deleting any events of modules or actions of macros rather than just
      the top event or action.

      Γûá Faster dusk/dawn calculations while making series events.

      Γûá Log readout, statistics, recording capabilities.

      Γûá Assign custom color schemes.

      Γûá Expanded reports.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7. HOUSE/2 Conversion Utility ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

If you have been using ActiveHome or HomeDirector to program your CM11A
interface, you can use this utility to convert your module and macro setup to
HOUSE/2 format.

The conversion utility is a separate program from HOUSE/2. Please run
HOUS2UTL.EXE and read the included help file for instructions on how to convert
your existing setup.

A note about conversions: There is almost an infinite number of ways to set up
modules and macros. Conversion will work best if you have dedicated on/off
times for each module. If you for example have programmed your modules to turn
on at dusk throughout the year and turn off at random, lets say at 10pm ё30
minutes, then it is almost impossible to convert this setup as the on/off times
can't easily be matched to the right modules. The series dusk/dawn setup
features make it easy to recreate these kind of module setups within HOUSE/2.
You can always try if HOUS2UTL.EXE will convert your setup, but always check if
the imported HOUSE/2 setup matches what you setup previously. If your module
and macro setup is complex, I suggest you recreate it using HOUSE/2.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8. Menu Description ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Describes all menu items available for this program.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.1. FILE - New ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Clears HOUSE/2 of all groups and modules to start a new SET configuration.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2. FILE - Open ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Allows to open any of the SET configuration previously saved. SET
configurations are modules and macros ordered in groups.

When you run HOUSE/2, by default, HOUSE2.SET will automatically load into the
program. Use Save As if you like to name your module and macro setups
differently. When you exit the program, the last setup file name will be saved
and remembered the next time you run HOUSE/2.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.3. FILE - Save ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Saves the current module and macros configuration to disk. The default file
name is HOUSE2.SET. Use Save As if you would like to change this default name.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.4. FILE - Save As ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Saves the current module and macro configuration to disk by prompting for a
file name. The extension of the file name must be SET.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.5. FILE - Print ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Brings up the Print Report window. It allows you to print the current module
setup to the printer or to a text file of your choice if you choose Save to
File. Currently only a General Report is available which prints out all
information of the modules and macros.

Note: The PRINT... button on the Print Report window will bring up the OS/2
print dialog where you can select any of the printers attached to your system
before the report is printed. The Job Properties button on that window allows
you to call up a specific printer property like landscape or portrait
orientation. It may be possible that for certain printer driver versions (like
version 30.539 of the HP Laser Printer driver) this button will not bring up
the Printer Properties window. If this is the case, and you would like to use
the Job Properties, try going back to an older version of the particular
printer driver. HP Printer driver version 30.460 does work properly.

The Font... button brings up the Font Selection Dialog and allows you to select
the font the report will be printed with.

If you use Print Grid Lines you can use any proportional font you have
installed on your system. Make sure the size is smaller than 7 points or the
text will not fit in the grid when you print in portrait mode. If you only see
a size selection of 8 or larger, I hope you are aware that you can type in
sizes lower than the provided ones for most fonts. When you press the enter key
after you typed in the new size, it will show you the new smaller font on the
Font Dialog. The newly selected font will display in the Printing Font window.
You can select larger font sizes if you print in landscape mode.

If you don't print with Grid Lines, you must select a non-proportional or
mono-spaced font otherwise the data columns will not be aligned. Again, use
font sizes smaller than size 7 if you print in portrait mode. The font size can
be larger when printing in landscape mode. There are a very limited amount of
mono-spaced fonts available on a standard Warp system. System VIO and Courier
are two of them, but unfortunately, selecting these two fonts may print nothing
but blank pages. This may be a problem with the print object provided by
Vispro/REXX. You may have to find mono-spaced fonts elsewhere. Look for ATM
fonts with the file extensions AFM, PFB and PFM and install them with the Font
Palette (see HELP inside the Font Palette). LotusLineDraw is one font that
works well, you can select sizes down to 2 points. If you use Warp 4, you can
also get any True Type mono-spaced font, provided there is support for sizes
smaller than 7.

General Report Column Explanation.

Location = Group Name.

Module Name = Name of module or macro.

Upload = Module or macro upload to interface, yes or no.

Type = Part number of module. Macro name and function for macro.

Code = House and device code of module.

Event = Event or action number.

Upload = Event or action upload to interface, yes or no.

Date Range = Date range module or macro timer settings are executed.

Weekday = Weekday(s) module or macro timer settings are executed.
       U = Sunday, M = Monday, T = Tuesday,
       W = Wednesday, H = Thursday, F = Friday, S = Saturday.

Time-On = Time ON event for module or macro.

Time-Off = Time OFF event for module. Not used for macro.

Level = Dim level in percent for module. Time delay in minutes for macro action.

Live-In for = Live-In for modules executed at either time ON or time OFF.
       This shows for what time the random time is active.
       For macros, this column shows the macro action house,
       device, function code and dim level.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.6. FILE - Exit ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Exit the program. A remainder will be given to save any SET data if the
configuration has changed. At exit, the current name of the SET file will be
saved and the next time you run HOUSE/2, that particular SET file will
automatically open.

Also, if HOUSE2 is connected to the interface, the connection is terminated.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.7. INTERFACE - Connect ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Opens selected com port to communicate to the CM11A interface. A check mark on
this menu item will indicate connection status. Also, the tool bar icon will
indicate three possible status: ONLINE, OFFLINE or Connect Error (if serial
connection to interface gets disconnected or interface does not respond).

When connecting to the CM11A, this program will first check for any data
available from the CM11A interface. If data is available, any displayed module
status is updated and data is logged to HOUSE2.LOG if logging is enabled. It
will then request status from the interface and if it passes, it will complete
connection. If the received data is not valid, then the program displays
Connect Error but the com port will remain open. This initial connection check
takes about 3 seconds to complete.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.8. INTERFACE - Disconnect ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Closes selected com port to disconnect from the CM11A interface. A check mark
on this menu item will indicate connection status. The tool bar icon will
indicate three possible status: ONLINE, OFFLINE or Connect Error (if serial
connection to interface gets disconnected or interface does not respond).


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.9. MODULES - Edit ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Edit any selected module or macro within a group. To edit a module or macro in
any group, right-click near the particular module slider and select Edit from
the popup menu. Double-clicking on any of the module status lines (text
appearing at the top of the switch plate), will also allow to edit the module
or macro.

The program will automatically detect if a macro or module is edited and bring
up the corresponding module or macro edit notebook.

Note: Module and Macro editing notebooks are modal windows, you must close the
notebooks before returning to HOUSE/2. You can, however, go to any other
application on the desktop without having to close the edit notebooks.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.10. MODULES - Add Module ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Adds a module to active group. The module will initially be a generic on/off
type. You must edit house, device code and on/off times, module type and other
settings, to fully configure the module. The button bar also contains an ADD
Wallswitch button which will add any module that allows dim commands (wall
switch, lamp module, screw-in module). See Modules - Edit help for details on
how to edit module settings.

Up to eighteen modules can be put in one group. Modules and macros can be mixed
inside groups. You can rearrange module order inside a group or move them to
other groups. Modules in a group always appear in sequential order, no blanks
are allowed. Blank groups are allowed.

To add a module to any existing group do one of the following:

      Γûá Right-click near any slider already in the group and select Add Module
      from the popup menu.

      Γûá Select ADD Module or ADD Wallswitch from the tool bar.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.11. MODULES - Add Macro ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Adds a macro to active group. Macros are events that occur as a result of
another X-10 event. You must edit all macro settings to enable macro action.
See Modules - Edit help for details on how to edit macro settings.

Up to eighteen macros can be put in one group. Macros and modules can be mixed
inside groups. You can rearrange macro order inside a group or move them to
other groups. Macros in a group always appear in sequential order, no blanks
are allowed. Blank groups are allowed.

To add a macro to any group, right-click near any slider already in the group
and select Add Macro from the popup menu.

To add a macro to any existing group do one of the following:

      Γûá Right-click near any slider already in the group and select Add Macro
      from the popup menu.

      Γûá Select ADD Macro from the tool bar.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.12. MODULES - Delete ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Delete any selected module or macro within a group.

To delete a module in any group, right-click near the particular module slider
and select Delete from the popup menu. A dialog will pop up to confirm the
delete.

Drag and drop deleting of modules is now also implemented. Simply right-click
on the module or macro name and drag it to the trash can shown in the upper
right corner of the program. A dialog will pop up to confirm the delete.

Note: Deleting a module by the popup menu method while connected to the
interface is now disabled because of circular dependency problems when changing
the module organization. You can however delete modules while connected to the
interface using drag and drop.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.13. TOOLS - Set Clock ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Checks the CM11A interface time and date. A window pops up showing interface
and system time and date. Interface time is read only under the following
circumstances:

      Γûá When the Clock Read/Set window is first opened.

      Γûá Every time the minutes advance to the next value.

 Interface seconds are incremented at system time speed when the interface time
 is not read. This conserves CPU cycles, as the interface clock does not have
 to be read every second.

 Interface time can be corrected with the SET INTERFACE TIME button. A red
 warning will pop-up if the computer and interface time differs by more than 10
 minutes.

 Note:  You can use SET CLOCK as a troubleshooting tool to check if your
 computer successfully connects to the interface.

 This window also displays the firmware revision of the CM11A. That value is
 permanently stored inside the CM11A.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.14. TOOLS - Battery Status ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Checks the battery status in the interface. If the battery status drops below
20%, the button bar icon changes to "Battery Bad".

A window pops up and displays battery status and battery installation date. To
read battery status, a valid connection to the CM11A interface must exist.  If
the interface does not respond, then "No response from CM11A" is displayed.
Battery installation date is still displayed as it is kept in the HOUSE2.INI
file.

If you press the New Battery button, then the counter inside the CM11A is
reset. Do not press that button if you do not change batteries in the CM11A as
well.

To edit the battery installation date and battery type only and if you do not
change batteries, simply select the desired battery type and edit the date.
When you exit this window, you will be asked if you want to save the changed
data.

Note: To conform to Year 2000 standards, the date format has now been changed
to DD MMM YYYY, where DD = day of month, MMM = month using three letter
abbreviation and YYYY = four digit year. If your set date does not conform to
this format, simply edit it manually by clicking on the date and then pressing
EXIT. This date is not used for any calculations at the present time, but it
doesn't hurt to be Y2K compliant.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.15. TOOLS - Clear Interface EEPROM ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Clears the CM11A Interface EEPROM Memory. This will take approximately 30
seconds and a progress bar will indicate percentage complete. Interface memory
size is 1024 bytes.

Note:  If the interface becomes disconnected during this operation, the program
will retry a few times and then terminate indicating the error. It may take 10
to 15 seconds for the error to be detected.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.16. TOOLS - Upload Data ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Uploads timer and macro settings to the interface. Before the actual upload,
you will be given a choice to upload or not. Also, it will show how many bytes
the setup uses of the 1024 available in the interface.

During the upload, a progress bar indicates percentage complete. See TOOLS -
Clear Interface EEPROM section for picture.

Note:  If the interface becomes disconnected during this operation, the program
will retry a few times and then terminate indicating the error. It may take 10
to 15 seconds for the error to be detected.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.17. TOOLS - EEProm Status ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This selection displays the following data:

   - Date of EEProm last programmed.
  - EEProm bytes used of 1024 total available.
  - Battery installation date.

The data for the EEProm is stored after every successful upload to the CM11A
and then stored in HOUSE2.INI. The battery installation date is displayed for
convenience and can be edited under the TOOLS - Battery Status selection.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.18. CONFIGURATION - Settings ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Contains all configuration settings for HOUSE/2 in notebook format. The note
book contains the following pages: Comm for Interface communications settings,
Location for geographical location settings for dawn/dusk calculations and
Dawn/Dusk for dawn/dusk offsets and series events calculation sets.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.19. CONFIGURATION - Settings: Comm ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

CONFIGURATION - Settings: Comm

Communications settings for the CM11A interface. Allows to set serial port
(COM1 thru COM8), auto connect, and automatic logging upon program startup.

If Auto Connect is checked, then HOUSE/2 will connect to the CM11A interface
whenever the program is started. Auto Connect is disabled by default to allow
you to setup the com port and configure your modules.

If Auto Logging is checked, then all X-10 controller commands and CM11A
originated timer events are logged to HOUSE2.LOG automatically whenever HOUSE/2
is connected and such an event occurs.

If Auto Logging is turned off, then only power failure reports from the CM11A
are logged. All other X-10 events are not recorded. However, module on/off
status on the screen continues to be updated live.

The Log Rate is set to 1 sec. by default. This is the rate at which the CM11A
is checked for incoming X-10 data or timed macro executions from within the
interface. You can increase or decrease this value if necessary. An shorter
time interval will however use more of your CPU cycles. I found both, 1 or 5
seconds to work fine.

To permanently change the communications settings, press the SAVE button. The
EXIT button and close window selection on the system menu will only change the
settings for the duration of the current HOUSE/2 session.

Note:  Communications parameters are fixed for the CM11A at 4800 Baud, 8 data
bits, 1 stop bit and no parity.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.20. CONFIGURATION - Settings: Location ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

CONFIGURATION - Settings: Location

This page is used to select your geographical location required for dawn/dusk
calculations. You must select a location to gain access to the dusk/dawn and
series event calculations.

The three radio buttons labeled N. America, Europe and Other select the
location data file for each region of the world. The file names of these three
regions are NORTHA.DAT, EUROPE.DAT and OTHER.DAT and they must appear with
these file names in the same directory as the executable program. These files
are text files and you may add your own location to them using the Custom
button or a text editor like EPM. The file format is described in each of these
files. Note that only the first 100 cities are recognized in each of these
files.

The Location selection box shows the city that is currently selected.

The Custom button allows to add your own location to the DAT file. Select a
city near your location before you press Custom. This will help you in
determining the sign of the time zone and longitude/latitude. When you press
Custom, a text window will appear where you can enter the location name. After
you have entered the name, set the time zone, longitude and latitude. The newly
entered location will be added to the end of the location list and will be
displayed in the selection box. Select Store to permanently save the location
in the DAT file. You can only store newly added locations and these locations
are appended to the DAT file. No alphabetical sorting takes place. Locations
with the same name can not be stored. Make certain the data you enter is
correct. If you have to delete any entries, it must be done with a text editor.
If more than 100 entries exist in the DAT file, a warning will be displayed.

Time Zone, Longitude and Latitude text boxes show the corresponding data of the
selected location. This information is pulled directly from the regions of the
world DAT file. Time Zone is positive for locations west of GMT and negative
for east of GMT. Longitude is positive for west and negative for east
locations. Latitude is positive for northern and negative for southern
locations. The format is DDD.MMSS where DDD is degrees, MM is minutes and SS is
seconds.

The Daylight Savings Time Observed check box must be enabled if your area
observes daylight savings time. If you turn this box on, then the program will
automatically calculate the dates when DST will be active. The calculation
defaults to the first Sunday in April and the fourth Sunday in October. If
these dates are not correct for your area, then you can direct edit the dates
(click on the text box and type in the date in the format MM-DD-YYYY) and they
will be saved in the HOUSE2.INI file.

To save the Location settings, press the SAVE button. The EXIT button and close
window selection on the system menu will only change the settings for the
duration of the current HOUSE/2 session.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.21. CONFIGURATION - Settings: Dawn/Dusk ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

CONFIGURATION - Settings: Dawn/Dusk

This page is used to select parameters for dawn/dusk calculations. Dawn/Dusk
calculations can be performed for single events right from the Time page of a
module or macro setting. Dawn/Dusk calculations can also be done for a certain
date range by automatically creating a series of events. This feature is
available on the Series module settings page. This allows you to preprogram a
module for up to one year to follow dusk without repeated programming for
example.

For example: From January 1 to January 10 the module on-time is set to 5:25 pm,
from January 11 to January 20 the on-time is set to 5:30 pm etc. The interface
will then turn on the module at the specific time and date range.

Dawn/Dusk Series Computation Sets.

These parameters determine the range and accuracy of the dawn/dusk series
calculation.

Start Month is the month the calculation begins, default is 1 (January). This
value can be between 1 and 12. This parameter can also be changed temporarily
in the Series page where the calculations are started.

No. Months is the number of months the calculations are to be carried out,
default is 12 and therefore it will calculate the dawn/dusk times over a full
year. The range of this value can be between 1 and 12. This parameter can also
be changed temporarily in the Series page where the calculations are started.

Day Steps is the number of steps in days the dawn/dusk calculation will be
performed. If this value is set to one, the dawn/dusk times will be calculated
for every day of the year. Default value is 3. Maximum value is 30. Depending
on your location, these default parameters may need to change. If you live
close to the equator, the dawn/dusk times will not vary as much as if you live
closer to the poles. This parameter really determines the resolution of the
data for selecting module events. It does not set the selection criteria for
events directly. See the help on Series for an example.

Dawn/Dusk Event Selection Sets.

These parameters determine which dawn/dusk times will be selected to create a
series of module events.

Minute Steps is the time in minutes that determines the selection criteria of
events. If dawn time or dusk time do not change by more than the selected
Minute Step between two dates, then the next calculated date will be checked if
it matches the criteria. Default value of 10 minutes appears to create about 40
events over a one year period if you live at the 41st parallel. You can
therefore preprogram an outside lamp for a full year to follow dawn/dusk in you
area. Be aware that only a maximum of 113 timer events can be programmed into
the CM11A, provided you have only one module. If you program other modules,
then the number of dawn/dusk events will have to be reduced accordingly. You
can either increase the value of Minute Steps or, preferably, shorten the date
range.

Dawn Offset is used to compensate the calculated dawn (sunrise) time. Civil
dawn time is calculated, which is defined as the point when the sun is at the
location of 6 degrees before astronomical sunrise occurs. Depending on weather
you live behind a mountain or in a flat area, you can use this offset to adjust
the actual time when artificial lighting is required. The range is 0 to ё30
minutes. If the offset is negative, then the amount selected will be subtracted
from the rise time, thus activating a module earlier than sunrise. If the
offset is positive, then the module is activated later than the actual sunrise.
This offset is used for both, the single event sunrise calculation and the
series event sunrise calculations. Default offset is zero.

Dusk Offset is used to compensate the calculated dusk ( sunset) time. Civil
dusk time is calculated, which is defined as the point when the sun is at the
location of 6 degrees after astronomical sunset occurred. Depending on weather
you live behind a mountain or in a flat area, you can use this offset to adjust
the actual time when artificial lighting is required. The range is 0 to ё30
minutes. If the offset is negative, then the amount selected will be subtracted
from the sunset time, thus activating a module earlier than sunset. If the
offset is positive, then the module is activated later than the actual sunset.
This offset is used for both, the single event sunrise calculation and the
series event sunrise calculations. Default offset is zero.

The DEFAULT button is used to restore all parameters displayed on this page to
the default values.

To save these parameters, press the SAVE button. The EXIT button and close
window selection on the system menu will only change the parameters for the
duration of the current HOUSE/2 session.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.22. CONFIGURATION - Settings: Misc ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

CONFIGURATION - Settings: Misc

The 18 Switch Group check box enables HOUSE/2 to hold up to 18 switches per
group. After changing this setting, you must exit HOUSE/2 and then restart it.
Only then will the changes take place. This option is only available to
registered users.

The Monitored House Code allows to set the house code the CM11A is able to
monitor. HOUSE/2 at the moment uploads this code to the interface but does not
use it for any other functions. Default setting is house code A.

Log File Size in kBytes keeps the file HOUSE2.LOG to the specified size. This
file contains all recorded X-10 events when HOUSE/2 is connected to the
interface and logging is enabled. If the file size exceeds the specified size,
HOUSE2.LOG is renamed to HOUSE2.000 and a new HOUSE2.LOG is started. Any
previous HOUSE2.000 is deleted. Default log size is 10 kbytes.

Note: The HOUSE2.LOG can now be decoded with the HOUS2UTL program. See
Utilities - Log Decoder in the HOUS2UTL.EXE program for details.

The Default button resets all values on this page to their defaults.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.23. CONFIGURATION - Thermostat ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Thermostat Configuration

Contains all configuration settings for a thermostat. This configuration
notebook page is also accessible form the Edit... button of the Thermostat
Control window.

Before the thermostat icon in the button bar is enabled, you must configure the
thermostat through this menu selection. Only one thermostat is supported right
now. Up to 99 thermostat events can be programmed and executed at different
times, weekdays or selected date ranges.

The thermostat configuration notebook contains three buttons on the bottom to
save, cancel or delete the thermostat settings. SAVE will save the thermostat
settings and close the settings notebook. CANCEL will cancel any edit
operations and close the settings notebook. DELETE will delete the thermostat
and also disable the thermostat icon on the button bar.

Thermostat Definition:

The Name entry field defines the Thermostat Name as it appears on the
thermostat window. This name can be up to 12 characters long.

Two models of thermostats are currently supported and a selection box allows to
choose between the models. The HAS-3035 and HAS-3045 are one-way models and use
an entire house code with 16 device numbers to perform the functions. The
functions of these two models are very similar, differing only in three
temperature setting values. Changing models will automatically adjust the
temperature settings range box. The specifications for these thermostats can be
found on the Home Automation System site (Smarthome) listed in the Internet
Links for Home Automation in this help file.

The thermostat address occupies an entire house code and is selected from the
House Code box. Only unused house codes appear on the list to prevent
interaction between existing modules and the thermostat.

The Upload to Interface check box enables the thermostat events for uploading
to the CM11A interface. The On time has to be enabled if the thermostat events
are to be uploaded. Upload to Interface is completely separate from the On time
enable setting. Turning Upload to Interface off will not change the On time
check box.

Thermostat Event Time:

This section defines the times the thermostat function is to take place for
each individual event. The On check box provides a way to enable or disable the
time for the particular event. Time is 00:00 to 12:59 AM or PM. Dawn and Dusk
buttons automatically calculate the civil sunrise and sunset times depending on
the location set in the Configuration. The date used for the dawn and dusk
calculation is the FROM Date as set in the currently selected event.

Note that a 12:xx AM selection will be displayed as 00:xx AM when this page is
re-entered. When a thermostat event is added, On time is disabled. If the time
value is changed, then the box is automatically checked, thus enabling the
corresponding timer event.

Thermostat event time can be set to different days of the week. The switches in
the group Day of Week provide for this selection. If the weekday buttons are
green then that particular day is selected.

Thermostat Event Date Range:

This section allows to set the date range the particular thermostat event will
be active. Spin buttons provide for month and date selections. If the date
falls to the last day of the month and the month is changed, then the date is
automatically set to the last day of the new month. You must enter the TO date
to a later date than the FROM date. An error window will pop up if the date
range of the current event is invalid. The date range must be valid before the
thermostat settings can be saved. There are no checks for overlapping date
ranges among all the events.

Thermostat Event Select:

The thermostat can have up to 99 events with different event on times, weekdays
and date ranges. The buttons in the Event group select these events. A text
window shows the current event and the total number of events for the
thermostat. The Next button selects the next event. If the current event is the
last one, then you are asked if you would like to add a new event. If you don't
add a new event, it wraps around to the first event. Previous event will cycle
through all available events and wrap around to the top event. Delete event
will delete the current event. Currently, only the highest event can be
deleted.

Thermostat Function Definition:

The thermostat functions can be selected from the Function/Temp. selection
list. A check box provides for Fahrenheit or Celsius temperature display. All
programmed events can be displayed in the text window. The Refresh button must
be used to re-display the events after changes were made as refresh of that
window is not automatic.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.24. SWITCHES ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This pull down menu provides access to the sliders through hotkeys. It is
especially designed to allow speech macros to control each of the switches. The
hotkeys assigned to switches 1-12 are ALT-F1 through ALT-F12 and switches 13-18
are assigned SHIFT-ALT-F3 through SHIFT-ALT-F8. Activating any of these hotkeys
will give focus to the corresponding slider which can then be turned on with
the up arrow or turned off with the down arrow. Speech macros can easily be
assigned to each of the switches so that for example you can say "Living Room
Light ON" to turn the corresponding switch on.

Note that only as many switch selections are enabled as are switches in the
currently displayed group. Macros can not be activated through the desktop and
therefore these hotkey selections are disabled.

To help recognize which key combination belongs to the switches, a number
followed by a dash is displayed on each switch. For example, switch 10 of a
group is labeled 10 - to indicate that ALT-F10 is the hotkey.

Note: You must use the SHIFT-ALT sequence in that order for switches 13-18. The
reverse, ALT-SHIFT is used to cycle through the open programs and is assigned
by the system.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.25. HELP - Help Content ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Displays the help contents (but uses the OS/2 index feature). The Help Content
is also accessible from the Toolbar. Note that help is organized in sections
and Help Content brings up the section headings in alphabetical order. I find
this a more logical way to organize help even if it goes against common OS/2
convention.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.26. HELP - General Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Displays this help file (HOUSE2.HLP) starting with the program description.
Press Index button to display the help content sections. I know, this goes
against OS/2 convention, but I find Help easier to navigate this way.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.27. HELP - How to Register ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Explains how and where to register this program (HOUSE/2).


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.28. HELP - Product Information ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Product information.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9. Editing Modules - Name ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Module Name:

The name section defines the module's Group Name and the Switch Name as it
appears on the bottom label of the switch face plate. These two names can be up
to 12 characters long. The Group Name can also be edited by right-clicking on
each of the group buttons. This allows you to name all groups without having to
add any modules or macros.

The module's address (House Code and Device Number) is selected here and will
appear on the top label of the switch face plate. If a duplicate house and
device exists, then a warning is displayed on the notebook status line just
below the tabs. Remember, if you have a thermostat configured, then all 16
device numbers of that particular house code will create a warning if you
select the same house code for the  module and the thermostat.

Do not select the same house code for a module and a thermostat because module
events will interfere sooner or later with the thermostat settings.

The Module Type selection box allows to define the module. This is used to
distinguish between dim, non-dim, one-way, two-way, input and output
capabilities. Module Type selection is important to correctly support the
module's features.

Dim-capable modules are: Wall Switch WS467, Lamp Module LM465, Screw In Lamp
Socket WS467 and the LM14A Two-Way. Selecting these enables the sliders to
adjust from 0 to 100%. All other type selections will provide ON/OFF only
function to the slider.

If any of the Two-Way modules are selected, then the ON/OFF/Dim% display box
next to the slider can be used to request status from the modules. Two-Way
capable modules are: LM14A, AM14A and the RR501 Transceiver.

The type "Generic Input Module" is used for any modules providing input signals
like the Motion Detector for example. Input modules are currently not handled
by HOUSE/2 any different than a regular output module.

If you have a module that is not on the list, simply select one that closely
matches the features and it will be fully supported by HOUSE/2. As an
alternative, you can use the external data base and define your own module.

The External Database check box lists the modules as entered in the H2MODULE.DB
file. This provides a way for entering and defining modules that are not listed
in the internal data base and also keep a part number inventory once that
report feature is added.

To edit the external data base, you must use the separate HOUS2UTL program, it
cannot be done from inside HOUSE/2. Use the menu selection UTILITIES - Module
Database in HOUS2UTL to add your own modules to the data base. See the Help in
HOUS2UTL for additional information on the external data base features.

Note: You don't have to use the external data base feature to fully take
advantage of the various module features like dimming or two-way support.
Simply select a module from the internal database which closely matches your
module's features and you will be able to support all features. The only thing
you won't be able to do is keep an accurate part number inventory.

The settings in this section are common to all events of the particular module.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 10. Editing Modules - Time ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Module Time:

This section defines the module's on and off times. Modules may have only ON
time, only OFF time or both. The On check boxes provide this selection for each
ON or OFF timer. Time is 00:00 to 12:59 AM or PM. Dawn and Dusk buttons
automatically calculate the civil sunrise and sunset times depending on the
location set in the Configuration. The date used for the dawn and dusk
calculation is the FROM Date as set in the currently selected event.

Note that a 12:xx AM selection will be displayed as 00:xx AM when this page is
re-entered. When a new module is added, on and off times are disabled. If any
of the time values are changed, then the boxes are automatically checked, thus
enabling the corresponding timer.

Also, if the ON and OFF times are identical and you save or change to a
different event, you will be notified of the identical times. You have the
option to answer YES to disable the timers or NO to continue. If you choose NO,
you will be returned to the event and you have to correct the timers before you
can continue. Either disable one timer or make the ON and OFF times unequal. If
you Cancel or Close the edit module window, you will be warned of the time
conflict. A YES response will disable the timers, a NO response will leave the
event as is. The program will upload such an event if you choose Upload to
Interface, there will be no further equal time check.

Be aware that uploading equal on and off times may result in unpredictable
module behavior and there is no way in testing for certain how the interface
will respond to such a case.

Module on/off time can be set to different days of the week. The switches in
the group Day of Week provide for this selection. If the weekday buttons are
green then that particular day is selected.

The Live-in Time check boxes program the CM11A interface to randomly turn on
the module within ё30 minutes of the selected on or off times. This provides a
live-in look to your home. Live-In time feature is available separately for on
and off-times.

Example: To program a light to turn on at random between 8-9pm and off at
random between 10-11pm, set ON-Time to 8:30pm, OFF-time to 10:30pm and check
both Live-in Time check boxes. The light will now turn on at random between
8-9pm and stay on exactly for two hours.

Another example: Turn off a module at random between 11pm and midnight. The
same module may have been turned on by another event or timer previously. Set
the OFF-Time to 11:30pm and check the Live-in Off-Time check box. Disable the
On-Time. The off command will now be executed anytime between 11pm and
midnight, at different times every day.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 11. Editing Modules - Date Range ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Module Date Range:

This section allows to set the date range during which the particular module
event will be active. Spin buttons provide for month and date selections. If
the date falls to the last day of the month and the month is changed, then the
date is automatically set to the last day of the new month. You must enter the
TO date to a later date than the FROM date. An error window will pop up if the
date range of the current event is invalid. The date range must be valid before
the module setting can be saved. There are no checks for overlapping date
ranges among all the events.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 12. Editing Modules - Special ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Module Special:

The Enable Upload check box enables the module for uploading to the CM11A
interface. The on or off times have to be enabled if the module events are to
be uploaded. Enable Upload is completely separate from the on or off times
enable settings. Turning Enable Upload off will not change the on or off time
check boxes.

The on-time module brightness value can be selected if a module provides the
dim function. If the module only supports on/off, then the on-time is always
the command ON.

The off-time event is always the command OFF no matter what module type is
selected.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 13. Editing Modules - Series ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Module Series:

This page lets you easily create multiple events for modules.

For example: You want the outside lights to turn on at sunset and turn off at
sunrise throughout the year. Simply select Sunset-Sunrise on the Series Event
Type spin button, press MAKE, review the calculated times and press ACCEPT.
That's it. Read on for more details. For examples using series events, read the
section Examples.

The series calculations can be controlled by five spin buttons:

Start Month selects the month to start the calculations from. Any changes to
this value will only affect the current instance of HOUSE/2. Range is 1-12
(January - December). This control is also available on the Settings -
Dawn/Dusk page where you can save a certain default value to the configuration
file.

No. Months selects the length in month of the series calculation period. A
selection of 12 will perform a full year's worth of calculations. If Start
Month plus No. Months go past December, the calculations will roll over into
the next year. For example: if Start Month is 12 and No. Months is 2 then the
calculations are performed for the range of December 1 to January 31. Any
changes to the No. Months value will only affect the current instance of
HOUSE/2. Range is 1-12. This control is also available on the Settings -
Dawn/Dusk page where you can save a certain default value to the configuration
file.

Dawn Offset is used to compensate the calculated dawn (sunrise) time. Any
changes to this value will only affect the current instance of HOUSE/2. This
control is also available on the Settings - Dawn/Dusk page where you can save a
certain default value to the configuration file. The range is ё30 minutes. If
the offset is negative, then the amount selected will be subtracted from the
rise time, thus activating a module earlier than sunrise. If the offset is
positive, then the module is activated later than the actual sunrise. This
offset is used for both, the single event sunrise calculation and the series
event sunrise calculations. See the Settings page for details on how sunrise
time is defined.

Dusk Offset is used to compensate the calculated dusk (sunset) time. Any
changes to this value will only affect the current instance of HOUSE/2. This
control is also available on the Settings - Dawn/Dusk page where you can save a
certain default value to the configuration file. The range is ё30 minutes. If
the offset is negative, then the amount selected will be subtracted from the
sunset time, thus activating a module earlier than sunset. If the offset is
positive, then the module is activated later than the actual sunset. This
offset is used for both, the single event sunrise calculation and the series
event sunrise calculations. See the Settings page for details on how sunrise
time is defined.

Series Event Type selects the type of repeated events you want to create. The
following types are available:

   ON-time  OFF-time
  1. Sunset - Sunrise
  2. Sunset - Repeat
  3. Repeat - Sunset
  4. Sunrise - Repeat
  5. Repeat - Sunrise
  6. Sunrise - Sunset'

The left half determines the type for the ON-time event, and the right side
determines the OFF-time event. So, type 1 would turn on a module at sunset and
turn it off at sunrise. The "Repeat" will simply repeat the settings of the
particular timer of the current event.

For example: You want to turn on a module at sunset and turn it off at 10:00pm
using the Live-In Special setting. On the Timer page, enable both ON and OFF
timer, set the OFF time to 10:00pm, ignore the ON time. On the Special page
check only the OFF-time Live-In box. Go to the Series page, select Sunset -
Repeat and click on Make, then Accept. You're done.

The Adjust for DST check box allows for Daylight Savings Time compensation. If
you do not manually change the interface time at the DST change-over dates,
then do not check the Adjust for DST box. This allows for operation of the
lights at the proper dusk and dawn times. This also allows you to pre-program
the modules correctly if you are planning to be away from your residence when
the DST changes. If you adjust the interface time later to reflect the DST
change, you must recreate and upload the events to adjust for the change.

If you adjust the interface time manually every time the DST changes, then
check the Adjust for DST box. However, be aware that you should change the
interface time at exactly the official time DST changes or some modules will
not operate at the programmed time.

Note: If you are also using ActiveHome to access the interface, then be aware
that ActiveHome changes the interface time automatically to whatever the
computer time is set, without letting you know. This may interfere with the
proper dusk/dawn time settings pre-programmed into the interface if you use
both programs.

The Make button starts the series calculations. This may take a few seconds
depending on the speed of your system. During calculations, progress is
displayed next to the Make button. At the end of the calculation, all the
selected events are displayed in the multi-line entry field. See Table 2 below.
You can inspect the calculated values before they actually get converted into
events. Accept will add all the events starting with the currently selected
event. All existing events at and above the current event will be over-written.

Cancel will discard all calculations and retain the existing events.

Details on Series Calculations

Below is a partial list of calculated values as determined by the default
Dawn/Dusk Series Computation Sets (Start Month = 1, Stop Month = 12, Day Step =
3). These values are only calculated and are not visible within HOUSE/2. Note
the interval of days (Day Step = 3) for each calculation. Too large of a value
for Day Step may affect time resolution. You will have to experiment with this
value in your geographical area.

Date Dawn Dusk (in minutes)

01-01 441 1062
01-04 441 1064
01-07 441 1067
01-10 441 1070
01-13 440 1073
01-16 439 1076
01-19 438 1079
01-22 436 1083
01-25 434 1086
01-28 432 1089
01-31 430 1093
02-03 427 1096
02-06 424 1100
02-09 421 1103
02-12 417 1107
02-15 414 1110
02-18 410 1114
02-21 406 1117
┬╖
┬╖
┬╖
11-18 408 1057
11-21 412 1055
11-24 415 1054
11-27 418 1052
11-30 421 1051
12-03 424 1051
12-06 426 1051
12-09 429 1051
12-12 431 1051
12-15 434 1052
12-18 436 1053
12-21 437 1054
12-24 439 1056
12-27 440 1058
12-30 441 1060
12-31 441 1061

  Table 1. Calculated Data.

Below is a partial list of selected values as determined by the default
Dawn/Dusk Event Selection Sets (Minute Steps = 10, Dawn Offset = 0, Dusk Offset
= 0). These are the values that will show up on the multi-line entry field and
you can inspect before accepting them. Note that some time values are more than
10 minutes as specified by Minute Steps. This comes from the data calculated as
in Table 1. You may redo the calculation by reducing the value of Day Step,
however be aware that it may not result in better accuracy.

No Date Dawn Dusk
 1 01-01 07:21 17:42
 2 01-13 07:20 17:53
 3 01-22 07:16 18:03
 4 01-31 07:10 18:13
 5 02-09 07:01 18:23
 6 02-18 06:50 18:34
┬╖
┬╖
┬╖
37 11-21 06:52 17:35
38 12-03 07:04 17:31
39 12-15 07:14 17:32
40 12-31 07:21 17:41
A total of 39 events will be
added starting with event 1.
Select "Accept" or "Cancel"
to continue...

  Table 2. Selected Data.

Below is a partial list of the actual events, showing time and date ranges as
taken from Table 2 above. Note that an event date range goes from the listed
date to one day before the next listed day. Certain dates will always be
present in this list (if they fall within the selected date range) as they are
important for proper operation of the interface:

January 1, December 31, the last day of the selected date range and Daylight
Savings Time start and end dates (if applicable).

Ev. On   Off   Date Range
1  17:42  07:21  01-01 to 01-12
2  17:53  07:20  01-13 to 01-21
3  18:03  07:16  01-22 to 01-30
4  18:13  07:10  01-31 to 02-08
┬╖
┬╖
┬╖
37 17:35 06:52  11-21 to 12-02
38 17:31 07:04  12-03 to 12-14
39 17:32 07:14  12-15 to 12-31


  Table 3. Selected Events.

When calculating series events you must observe the limit of 113 timer events
with only one on and off command that the interface memory can hold. This
number is drastically reduced if you have other modules and macros. Before the
data is uploaded, HOUSE/2 will tell you how much of the interface memory is
used. If it is over 100% you cannot upload the data.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 14. Editing Modules - Event Select ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Module Event Select:

Each module can have up to 99 events with different on/off times, weekdays and
date ranges. The buttons in the Event group select these events. A text window
shows the current event and the total number of events for the module. The Next
button selects the next event. If the current event is the last one, then you
are asked if you would like to add a new event. If you don't add a new event,
it wraps around to the first event. Previous event will cycle through all
available events and wrap around to the top event. Delete event will delete the
current event. Currently, only the highest event can be deleted.

To jump to any event, simply enter the event number to jump to in the text
window and click on Next. You can enter the event as 23/49 or simply as 23 for
example.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 15. Editing Macros - Name ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Macro Name:

Note: Macros can currently not be activated from the desktop. See section
Important Notes for details.

The name section defines the macro's Group Name and the Macro Name as it
appears on the bottom label of the switch face plate. These two names can be up
to 12 characters long.

The House Code and Device Number make up the macro's address and are selected
here. It will appear on the top label of the switch face plate along with the
word Macro to distinguish between a macro or module. The Macro Function defines
the X-10 function at which the macro's action is executed inside the CM11A
interface. If an external X-10 event occurs over the power line that matches
the macro's address and function, then it will trigger the macro action as
defined on the Action page.

For example, if an E1 ON event occurs over the power line and the macro's
address and function is E1 ON, then the CM11A interface will execute all
actions as defined in the Action page of this macro.

The Upload to Interface check box enables the macro for uploading to the CM11A
interface. Upload to Interface is completely separate from the Time On and
Enable Action settings. Turning Upload to Interface off will not change the
Time On or the Enable Action setting.

The settings in this section are common to all actions of the particular macro.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 16. Editing Macros - Time ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Macro Time:

Note: Macros can currently not be activated from the desktop. See section
Important Notes for details.

Timed execution of a macro is currently not available yet. You can set and save
these settings, but the time and date range will not be uploaded to the
interface. The macro action however is available and will upload.

This section defines the macro's ON-time. Macros only have ON-time to provide
for a timed execution of the macro. Note that a macro does not need to have an
on-time to operate. A macro is also executed whenever the X-10 event as defined
in the Name section occurs. Dawn and Dusk buttons automatically calculate the
civil sunrise and sunset times depending on the location set in the
Configuration. The date used for the dawn and dusk calculation is the FROM Date
as shown on this same page.

Macro on-time timed-events can be set to different days of the week. The
switches in the group Day of Week provide for this selection. If the weekday
buttons are green then that particular day is selected.

The settings in this section are common to all actions of the particular macro.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 17. Editing Macros - Date Range ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Macro Date Range:

Note: Macros can currently not be activated from the desktop. See section
Important Notes for details.

Timed execution of a macro is currently not available yet. You can set and save
these settings, but the time and date range will not be uploaded to the
interface. The macro action however is available and will upload.

This section allows to set the date range the particular macro timed-event will
be active. Spin buttons provide for month and date selection. If the date falls
to the last day of the month and the month is changed, then the date is
automatically set to the last day of the new month. You must enter the TO date
to a later date than the FROM date. There is currently no check for invalid
date ranges.

The settings in this section are common to all actions of the particular macro.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 18. Editing Macros - Action ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Macro Action:

Note: Macros can currently not be activated from the desktop. See section
Important Notes for details.

This page defines the macro actions to take whenever the following occurs:

      Γûá  Activation from Desktop (not supported yet).

      Γûá  External X-10 event occurs as defined on the Define page.

      Γûá  A timed execution as defined on the Define page (not supported yet).

 The Start Delay spin box provides for a macro action start-up delay. The range
 is 0 to 240 minutes for the first macro action and 1 to 240 minutes for all
 other actions. This appears to be a CM11A interface limitation, as macros that
 don't have at least a 1 minute delay are not executed at all. Note that the
 smallest increment of time delay the CM11A accepts is 1 minute. You can now
 also use the keyboard to enter this start delay.

 The Enable Action check box enables the action to be uploaded to the CM11A
 interface.

 The House Code, Device, Function and Dim Level define the macro action to be
 taken when an X-10 event as defined in the Define page occurs (the macro
 address and function). The function has values of ON, OFF, DIM, BRIG (for
 brighten) and DIMX (extended dim command used by the Two-Way Lamp modules).
 You must select the function that a module supports, or the particular macro
 action is not going to work. For example, if you select a DIM command for an
 appliance module, this function is not going to activate the module. If you
 select from the available module list, then the Function selection box will be
 automatically filled with only the valid commands. Using the Next or Previous
 button to page through the macro actions will refill the Function box with all
 available commands. See below for the explanation of the list of available
 modules.

 The list box on the left hand side lists all macro actions of the current
 macro. This allows you to review and edit the actions easier. The Refresh
 button re-displays all actions and must be clicked on, whenever a change to an
 action is done.

 The list box on the right hand side lists all available module addresses and
 names of the loaded SET file. You can compose the macro action by
 left-clicking on one of the listed modules. The house and device code will be
 filled-in automatically and the Function selection box will contain the
 commands as supported by the selected module. This allows you to compose the
 actions easier. If you have a thermostat defined, then the particular house
 code will be shown without the device number. Consult your thermostat manual
 to find the particular device number and function to control the thermostat
 from a macro action.

 Each macro can have up to 99 actions. The buttons in the Action group select
 these events. A text window shows the current action and the total number of
 actions for the macro. The Next button selects the next action. If the current
 action is the last one, then you are asked if you would like to add a new
 action. If you don't add a new action, it wraps around to the first action.
 Previous action will cycle through all available actions. Delete action will
 delete the current action, but currently only from the last one down.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 19. Group Set Change Buttons ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Groups are selected by clicking on any of the eight buttons appearing on the
bottom of the main program window. A total of 16 groups can be setup. To select
between the two sets of 8 groups, click on either of the or buttons. These two
buttons will wrap around to the other set such that you can use either button
to select the two sets of groups.

To name the 16 groups, right-click on a group button and type in the group
name. Any typeable characters are accepted. The group name length is limited to
12 characters. To save the new group name, press the Tab then the Enter key or
click on the Save button with the mouse. Empty groups are allowed and can be
named and saved.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 20. Moving Modules and Macros ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Moving Modules and Macros to other Groups.

To move a module or macro to another group, simply drag the module or macro
name (text appearing on the bottom part of the switch plate) to another group
button. When the drag operation has started, the module name will turn green to
indicate which module is being moved. If the group the module is moved to, is
full, the status line will display a message. Modules and macros are moved to
the last position inside the new group.

To move a module or macro to the second set of groups, drop the module to one
of the or buttons. These buttons will turn green to show that they contain a
module or macro to be moved. Also, the group button labels show the names of
the next group set, however the modules of the source group remain displayed.
Now drag any of the green buttons to one of the new group buttons. The module
will be moved and the previous group names are restored.

If you do not want to move the module to one of the displayed group names after
you had dropped it into one of the group set change buttons, simply left-click
on one of the group set change buttons to display the correct group set and
drag the module from the green group set change button to the group.

If the module is dropped via the group set change buttons onto any other module
name of the source group, then the module orders are rearranged and no module
to group move takes place. See section below on rearranging module and macro
orders.

Rearranging Module and Macro Orders inside a Group.

To rearrange the module or macro order within a group, simply drag the module
or macro name (text appearing on the bottom part of the switch plate) to
another module or macro name. During the drag operation, the color of the name
of the source module is changed to green to indicate which module is being
moved.

This module move and rearrange operation is canceled by the following
operations:

      Γûá  Dropping the module on the HOUSE/2 window background.

      Γûá  Dropping the module on the module name of the same module.

      Γûá  Dropping the module on any slider or module or macro status line (top
      line of switch plate).

      Γûá  Activating any of the menu bar items, toolbar buttons or pop-up menus.

 After the move and rearrange operation or a canceled move or rearrange, the
 module name color is changed back to the default color.

 Note: If the mouse pointer for some reason can't be cleared of the switch
 pointer, press ESC to restore the original mouse pointer.

 Deleting Module and Macro Orders inside a Group.

 Modules and macros can be deleted from groups using drag and drop. Simply drag
 the module or macro name to the trash can located in the upper right corner of
 the program window. A dialog window will then pop up to confirm the removal of
 the module.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 21. Menu Bar Description ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The menu bar provides for quick selection of the most used functions. All menu
bar functions are also available from the regular pull-down menus.

Note:  The offline, clock and battery icons are also used as status indicators.
If the offline icon is displayed, then HOUSE/2 is off-line. Clicking on that
icon will put HOUSE/2 on-line. The clock and battery icon, as well as the
upload icon, start that particular function. If HOUSE/2 is offline, then
activating these functions will result in a high-pitched beep and an error
message in the status line of the program is displayed.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 22. HOUSE/2 Interface Roadmap ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Below is a screen shot of the HOUSE/2 program with short descriptions on how to
navigate through the program.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 23. Getting Started ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This section explains how to get started, both for first time users and users
who already have a CM11A interface and have used other software to control it.

 First Time Installation of HOUSE/2 with new CM11A Interface.

This explanation assumes that you installed HOUSE/2 with a new CM11A interface
for the first time and that you have not previously used the CM11A with any
other software.

Follow the installation instructions of HOUSE/2 and the CM11A interface to
install both products. Connect the CM11A to one of your serial ports. Start up
HOUSE/2 and select the serial port you connected the CM11A to from the
Configuration - Settings - Comm notebook page. Save the settings and connect to
the interface by clicking in the OFFLINE icon in the tool bar. Click on the
BATTERY icon. Select the battery type (Regular or Alkaline) and click on New
Battery. This will reset the CM11A battery counter and save the battery
installation date and type to the HOUSE2.INI file. Exit the screen and click on
the CLOCK icon to verify interface time. If the time does not match system
time, then click on Set Interface Time to correct it.

If you have problems up to this point, please read the help section on
Troubleshooting.

If battery counter and clock are successfully set, then you can disconnect from
the interface by clicking on the ONLINE icon in the tool bar and start adding
modules to HOUSE/2.

To add modules, make sure Group 1 is highlighted and click on ADD MODULE, ADD
WALLSWITCH or ADD MACRO icon in the tool bar. You can also make these
selections from the MODULES pull-down menu. A module will appear on the screen.
Right-click on the gray slider area (but not inside the slider channel) to
bring up a menu. Select EDIT to start editing module name, address, type,
on-time etc.

You can add up to 12 modules and macros to one group. Use the groups to
logically organize your modules by room, function, time of the year, etc.
Please read the sections on module and macro editing for the various types of
settings and features.

Migrating from Other Software to HOUSE/2.

This explanation assumes that you installed HOUSE/2 with an existing CM11A
interface and that you have used the CM11A with other software.

Start up HOUSE/2 and select the serial port you connected the CM11A to from the
Configuration - Settings - Comm notebook page. Save the settings and connect to
the interface by clicking on the OFFLINE icon in the tool bar. Click on the
BATTERY icon. Select the battery type (Regular or Alkaline) you installed into
the CM11A. Do not click on New Battery unless you also change the battery. This
will reset the CM11A battery counter and you will loose track of battery
condition. Edit the battery installation date. The format is MM/DD/YY. You can
approximate the date as it is not used for any calculations. Exiting the screen
will save the battery installation date and type to the HOUSE2.INI file. Click
on the CLOCK icon to verify interface time. If the time does not match system
time, then click on Set Interface Time to correct it.

If you have problems up to this point, please read the help section on
Troubleshooting.

If battery information and clock are successfully set, then you can disconnect
from the interface by clicking on the ONLINE icon in the tool bar and start
adding modules to HOUSE/2.

If you have existing module setup from ActiveHome or HomeDirector, then use the
HOUSE/2 Utility program to convert the setup. Read through the help in that
program on how to perform the conversion.

After you have converted the setup, select File - Open from the HOUSE/2 menu
and choose the HOUSE2.SET file. If you closed HOUSE/2 before you ran the
HOUSE/2 Utility program, then the converted file will automatically be loaded.

To edit any of the modules, right-click on the gray slider area (but not inside
the slider channel) to bring up a menu. Select EDIT to start editing module
name, address, type, on-time etc. Please read the sections on module and macro
editing for the various types of settings and features.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 24. Examples ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This section shows example module and macro setups and explains how to create
them.

Example 1. A Series Dusk/Dawn Event.

Problem: You want to control the outside lights to turn on at dusk and turn off
at dawn automatically throughout the year.

How it's done: Create a module in the appropriate group and set the house and
device code and enable Upload to Interface. On the Time page, enable both On
and Off times and make sure the weekday selection is set to Every Day. On the
Special page, set On Time Brightness to ON or desired dim percentage if the
module is a dimmer. Make sure the Live-In check boxes are unchecked. On the
Series page, select Start Month = 1, No. Months = 12, dial in the desired
dusk/dawn offsets if necessary, and select the Sunset - Sunrise option in the
Series Event Type list. Click on Make button to create the series events. Press
Accept when the calculations are finished, save the module settings and upload
them to the interface.

You can control the number of events by adjusting the No. Months or Minute
Steps in the Configuration-Settings Dawn/Dusk page. See the help section on
Configuration-Settings Dawn/Dusk for details.

Example 2. A Series Dusk/Live-In Event.

Problem: You want to control the outside lights to turn on at dusk and turn off
at 11:00pm ё30 minutes automatically throughout the year.

How it's done: Create a module in the appropriate group and set the house and
device code and enable Upload to Interface. On the Time page, enable both On
and Off times and make sure the weekday selection is set to Every Day. Set the
Off time to 11:00pm. On the Special page, set On Time Brightness to ON or
desired dim percentage if the module is a dimmer. Make sure the On-time Live-In
box is unchecked, but check the Off-time Live-In box. This will result in the
ё30 minute random off-time that gives a live-in look to your house. On the
Series page, select Start Month = 1, No. Months = 12, dial in the desired dusk
offset if necessary. Select the Sunset - Repeat option in the Series Event Type
list. Click on Make button to create the series events. Press Accept when the
calculations are finished, save the module settings and upload them to the
interface.

Example 3. A Macro Event.

Problem: You want to turn on two lights (A1 and A2) whenever the garage door
opens, but you want to turn off one particular light (A1) 10 minutes after it
had turned on.

How it's done: Create a macro in the appropriate group and give it the house
and device code B1. Enable Upload to Interface. On the Action page, enable
action number 1, set Start Delay to 0, set house and device code to A1 and
function to ON (or set dim level if dimmer). Click on Next button to add a
second action. Set the second action to enable action, Start Delay to 1, house
and device code to A2 and function to ON (or set dim level if dimmer). Click on
Next button to add a third action. Set the third action to enable action, Start
Delay to 10, house and device code to A1 and function to OFF (or set dim level
to zero if dimmer). Save the macro and upload to the interface. This macro will
be activated every time an external X-10 event of B1 ON occurs. This could be
from a PowerFlash module connected to your garage door with a door sensor
switch or from an X-10 compatible remote control activated by the person
opening the door.

Note: A B1 ON command from the desktop to the interface will unfortunately not
activate this macro. You will require an external signal to do that. You can
however test the A1 and A2 module individually with appropriate modules from
the desktop. Also, it appears that if a macro with several actions is uploaded
to the CM11A interface, the actions must be separated by a minimum delay of 1
minute in order to be executed properly. The first action can have a zero
delay. This explains the 1 minute delay of the second action in the above
example.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 25. Logging Events and Updating Module Status ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

If HOUSE/2 is connected to the interface and logging is enabled, then every
external X-10 event, as transmitted from a mini controller for example, are
recorded to HOUSE2.LOG. The HOUSE2.LOG file can be kept at a certain size. See
the section Configuration-Settings: Misc for details. The contents of
HOUSE2.LOG can be decoded into regular X-10 commands like A1 ON. See the Help
section of HOUS2UTL.EXE for details.

All configured modules on the screen are updated with the ON/OFF and Dim status
as well. The following X-10 events are currently supported for desktop module
status update:

  All Units Off   All Lights On   All Lights Off

  On        Off        Dim      Bright

Extended X-10 commands as used by the new Two-Way modules are supported as
well. ON/OFF and Dim information is updated on the modules displayed on screen.
The Two-Way LM14A Lamp module reports back the bulb status. If the bulb is
burnt-out or the circuit is interrupted, then a status request (double-click on
label) will report back a bad bulb status. The label of the module will turn
yellow and the text will display "Bad". Right-click on the yellow label to
clear the alarm.

Two-Way appliance modules unfortunately don't seem to have this reporting
feature.

See the section Slider Control for more information.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 26. Slider Control ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Each module or macro is represented by a switch face plate as shown here.

The top line is the module or macro Status Line showing the house and device
code. Hotkeys to access the switch are indicated by a number and a dash. See
below for explanation. If a check mark shows, then the module or macro is
enabled and time settings will be uploaded to the CM11A interface.
Double-clicking on the status line will bring up the edit notebook.

Each slider (modules only) can be accessed through a hotkey. The hotkeys are
ALT-F1 through ALT-F12 for sliders 1-12 and SHIFT-ALT-F3 through SHIFT-ALT-F8
for switches 13-18. The status line of each switch shows the hotkey number
followed by a dash, i.e. 10 - for switch 10 of the current group. This hotkey
assignment allows to attach speech macros to each slider for speech controlling
all your modules.

The bottom line shows the switch Name. To move the module or macro to another
group or position, simply drag the name and drop it on a group or other switch
name within the same group. To delete a module, you can also drag the name to
the trash can in the upper right corner of the program window.

If the module has dimming capability, then the slider Label displays 0 to 100%
otherwise it shows ON or OFF. If the module has two-way capabilities, then you
can get the ON/OFF/DIM status by double-clicking on the label. The label will
show ???, as the status request is sent out. It will then show ON?, OFF? or
xx%? (depending on current status) as it awaits the new status. When the status
is received, the label is then updated and will show the new status. Please
note that this can take several seconds before the status request is complete.
The color of the label will change to green if the module is turned on.

If the label is yellow following a status request, then that will indicate a
problem with the circuit, either the bulb is burnt-out or no lamp is connected.
Note that this feature only works if the module is a Two-Way Lamp model LM14A.
You can right-click on the yellow label to clear the alarm or request status
again after the circuit has been restored. The alarm will only be stored during
a single session. Exiting HOUSE/2 will result in loosing the alarm.

Each module has now a Toggle Switch to turn it on (up position) or off (down
position). This is useful for dim-capable modules that have the pre-dim
feature. Using the toggle switch to turn a pre-dim or Two-Way lamp module on,
will set the light to the dim level before it was turned off the last time.

The sliders for macros and modules can be controlled with the mouse, keyboard
or voice commands.

Note: Macro activation from the desktop is not supported yet. The macro sliders
will immediately return to the off position when turned on.

Slider control with the mouse.

Non-Dim Modules:

To turn a module ON or OFF, simply left-click inside the slider channel. The
slider will toggle the state from ON to OFF or OFF to ON. You can also change
the state by grabbing the slider knob itself and sliding it to the ON or OFF
position. Slider positions for non-dim modules can only be positioned to ON or
OFF. The slider will jump to the ON position if the slider is positioned above
50%. Below 50%, the slider will jump to OFF. The toggle switch duplicates the
on/off action of the slider.

Dim Modules:

To turn a dim module ON or OFF, simply left-click inside the slider channel.
The slider will toggle the state from ON to OFF or OFF to ON. This action will
override the pre-dim setting. If you want to preserve the pre-dim values, then
use the toggle switch to turn the modules on. Slider positions for dim-type
modules can be set to anywhere from 0% to 100% by dragging the slider. Note
that if the dim level is set to 4% or lower, HOUSE/2 sends out an OFF command
to turn the module off. Because of integer calculations, some percentage
settings may not be possible.

Slider control with the keyboard.

Before you can control the sliders with the keyboard, you must give the module
focus. Use the TAB key until the desired slider has the focus or use the
hotkeys ALT-F1 through ALT-F12 for switches 1-12 and SHIFT-ALT-F3 through
SHIFT-ALT-F8 for switches 13-18. Then using the up or down arrow will turn the
slider ON or OFF. I'm not aware of any keyboard controls to set dim percentages
other than 0% or 100%, you may have to use the mouse to do that.

Slider control with Speech Navigation.

The speech commands for controlling sliders are "UP" for ON or "DOWN" for OFF.
Before you can control the modules you must give focus to sliders by saying
"SLIDER" repeatedly until the desired slider is highlighted. You can also
create speech macros that will play back keyboard commands to activate the
sliders. ALT-F1 through ALT-F12 give focus to switches 1-12 and SHIFT-ALT-F3
through SHIFT-ALT-F8 for switches 13-18. Then using the up or down arrow will
turn the slider ON or OFF. You can play back these keystrokes whenever a
"Living Room Lights On" speech command is received. I have not found a way to
control dimming with speech commands, but will continue to investigate.

To control HOUSE/2 with speech controls in general, you can execute any buttons
or pull-down menus by simply saying the text that appears on these objects. You
can also use "What can I say" to find out what HOUSE/2 supports.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 27. Thermostat Control ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Interactive thermostat control from the desktop can be done through the
thermostat icon on the button bar. You must first configure the thermostat
through the CONFIGURATION - Thermostat menu selection before the icon is
enabled. Only one thermostat is currently supported.

Clicking on the thermostat icon will bring up the thermostat control window as
shown below.

When the thermostat control window is open, you can access any other functions
in HOUSE/2. You can position the thermostat window anywhere on the desktop, the
position will be remembered the next time the thermostat window is opened. If
HOUSE/2 is not connected to the CM11x/CM12x controller when the thermostat
window is opened, interactive thermostat control is not possible. You must exit
the thermostat control window and connect HOUSE/2 first.

The top line of the thermostat face plate will display any messages when
operating the controls. It also displays any external thermostat control events
like OFF, COOL, HEAT and AUTO if they are detected.

The Edit... button opens the thermostat settings notebook which is the same as
selecting CONFIGURATION - Thermostat from the menu.

The Close button closes the thermostat control window.

The Temperature Setpoint group of controls allows to select a temperature and
pressing SET will send out the X-10 command to set the appropriate temperature.
The temperature spin button is always loaded by default with the value of 68
degrees (20 Celsius) and is set to the temperature range according to the
HAS-3035 or HAS-3045 specifications.

The actual temperature display located to the left of the setpoint control may
initially be set to a question mark if the status is unknown. Any thermostat
settings done externally or through the setpoint control will update the
display with the new value if there were no communications errors. HOUSE/2 will
also keep track of any external temperature updates from other controllers as
long as HOUSE/2 is online and logging set to enabled. The thermostat window
does not need to be open to record these temperature setting changes. Whenever
the thermostat window is opened, any recorded temperature will be displayed
right away.

The name of the thermostat is displayed above the actual temperature display.
If a check mark precedes the name, then the thermostat event uploading is
enabled.

The OFF, HEAT, COOL and AUTO buttons allow to set the corresponding thermostat
functions and activating any of these buttons sends out the appropriate X-10
command directly.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 28. Start-up Options ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

When HOUSE/2 is started up, it determines automatically what resolution the
system is running at and selects the appropriate toolbar icon size. It selects
large size for 1280x1024, 1152x864 and 1024x768 and small size for 800x600 and
640x480. Using the startup option /Px this selection can be forced to a
particular size to accommodate the various video device drivers.

If the switches number 13 through 18 are not properly spaced with regard to the
other modules, your video driver may be using 96dpi mode. Use the option /96
and HOUSE/2 will properly space the switch modules.

The following startup options are recognized:

  /Pb  selects large icons for toolbar.
  /Ps  selects small icons for toolbar.
  /96  used for proper switch positioning when using 96 dpi video drivers.

Important: Start-up options are case sensitive and are recognized by the
HOUSE2.EXE and H2MAIN.EXE executables.

To enter the startup options do the following:

      Γûá  For Warp 3.0:  Right-click on the HOUSE/2 icon and select Settings.
      Under the Program tab in Optional Parameters enter the startup option.

      Γûá  For Warp 4.0:  Right-click on the HOUSE/2 icon and select Properties.
      Under the Program tab in Optional Parameters enter the startup option.

 For the Matrox video card use the /Pb option if you are running 800x600,
 120dpi and 10 point (medium) OS/2 System Font. See the section on
 Troubleshooting for more information.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 29. Troubleshooting ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

HOUSE/2 Video Problems.

If you have problems with irregular font or graphics display in HOUSE/2, try
changing the system default font size. This setting is usually in the video
driver utility. Some video drivers, Matrox for example, allows to set different
default font sizes for Warp. The Matrox driver has an MGA Settings icon with
small-medium-large (10, 12, 14 point) OS/2 System Font selection. For the
Matrox video card use one of the following settings to run HOUSE/2:

  1280x1024 120dpi, small or medium (10 or 12 point) OS/2 System Font.
  1152x864 120dpi, small (10 point) OS/2 System Font.
  1024x768 120dpi, small or medium (10 or 12 point) OS/2 System Font.
  800x600 120dpi, small (10 point) OS/2 System Font, use /Pb to start HOUSE/2. See Start-up Options.
  800x600 96dpi, small (10 point) OS/2 System Font, use /96 to start HOUSE/2. See Start-up Options.
  640x480 96dpi, small (10 point) OS/2 System Font, use /96 to start HOUSE/2. See Start-up Options.

You may have to experiment with other drivers to find a setting that eliminates
the irregular font or graphics display (provided the driver allows to choose
font sizes). Use the command line option to control toolbar icon size for other
resolutions not listed here. See the section on Start-up Options for more
information.

CM11A Interface Connection Problems.

If you are having problems connecting to the CM11A interface giving you Connect
Error messages, then follow these steps below.

      Γûá  Make sure the com port setting in the configuration matches the com
      port you use for the interface.

      Γûá  Make sure you have all the included files present in your HOUSE2
      directory.

      Γûá  It appears that newly installed interfaces sometimes won't talk to
      computers. If this is the case, then try kick-starting the interface with
      an other X-10 Controller (like a Mini Controller) if you have one
      available. HOUSE/2 will then log the event to the HOUSE2.LOG file. You
      must be online to the interface for that to happen. Ignore the Connect
      Error when doing that. View the HOUSE2.LOG file, a text file, for the
      time-stamped event.

      Γûá  With Connect Error icon displayed, try Set Clock to read the clock
      from the interface. Try this several times. This sends out a request to
      read the time. The interface may reply. If it does, then clear the
      Connect Error by disconnecting and reconnecting.

      Γûá  If you have Ray Gwinn's SIO comm drivers, use the included PMLM (Poor
      Man's Line Monitor) to monitor data exchange between the computer and
      CM11A. HOUSE/2 will send out Л (character 139) to request time. The
      interface should respond with 14 bytes of data. Also, if you send an X-10
      event like A1 ON using a mini controller or PowerFlash module, the CM11A
      will send the letter Z to the computer in one second intervals until the
      computer retrieves the data. You can observe these events with PMLM and
      that may help in troubleshooting.

      Γûá  Try Clear Interface EEPROM from the TOOLS menu. This will attempt to
      clear out the interface memory. This was the only way for me to get the
      newly installed CM11A interface to talk to my computer.

      Γûá  If you are using Ray Gwinn's SIO com drivers, check if the baud rate
      is locked for the particular com port you are using with the interface.
      Unlock it so HOUSE/2 can change the baud rate to 4800. From the SIO
      reference, it states:


               Locked Baud Rate

               Placing a colon and a baud rate following the communications port, eg
               (COM1:38400,3F8,IRQ4), causes the port to be locked at that baud rate.
               No program, OS2 or DOS, is allowed to change the baud rate.

      Γûá  Try the standard COM1 or COM2 ports if you have problems with any
      other com ports like COM3 - COM8. Also, remove any serial cable
      extensions or adapters and connect the interface directly to the
      computer.

      Γûá  Try ActiveHome or HomeDirector to see if these programs will talk to
      the interface. Do not run these programs in a Win-OS2 session initially,
      this just adds to the complexity of troubleshooting. If you can talk to
      the interface with ActiveHome or HomeDirector, then HOUSE/2 should work
      also, provided the baud rate is not locked or the serial port is not used
      by another application.

      Γûá  Try using a different computer or different com port to access the
      CM11A.

      Γûá  Download my X-10 Comm Tester program from my web page. This program
      was specifically written to help troubleshooting communications problems
      with the CM11A interface. This program will also work for the CP290
      controller.

      Γûá  If the CM11A will absolutely not talk to the computer, as a last
      resort, unplug it, remove the batteries and let it sit for an hour or so
      to completely reset it. Then follow the CM11A installation instruction
      precisely and try it again.

      Γûá  E-mail me and I will try to help you out. (Eventually registering
      HOUSE/2 will give me extra incentive too!).


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 30. Year 2000 Issues & other Date Problems ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

HOUSE/2, starting with version 1.7 and later is fully Year 2000 compliant.

The CM11A interface does not have any Year 2000 problems directly as it accepts
the date in the form of a number of day in a year. Unfortunately, the CM11A
interface does have a problem with the internal number-of-day-of-the-year
counter in that it always counts to 366, in other words, it always thinks it's
a leap year. This poses a problem when the year changes in that all the modules
that are set for a date range to fall on January 1st, simply will not operate
on that day, three out of four years. All date ranges are then out of sync by
one day. HOUSE/2 corrects this problem by adjusting the last day of the year to
always fall on day 366.

Reprogramming of the interface at the beginning of each year may be necessary
if series events are to be executed properly when daylight savings time changes
over. When HOUSE/2 is started, it checks to see if the DST dates are correct.
If not, it will ask you if you want to adjust them. It will not make
adjustments to the preprogrammed series events, you have to redo them manually.
Depending on the application of HOUSE/2, you may be better of to disable DST
and always use standard time. Make sure the computer is also set to standard
time when accessing the interface.

With a little thinking power it is possible to program the interface around
these little annoyances so it operates properly and unattended for a long
period of time.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 31. Installation ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Note:  REXX (classical or Object REXX) must be installed on your system for
this program to work. REXXUTIL.DLL is required.

Unzip all files into the same directory, I suggest the name HOUSE2.

Open an OS/2 command prompt (window or full screen), change to the drive and
directory where you put the HOUSE/2 files and run INSTALL.CMD. The INSTALL
script will put a folder with all the HOUSE/2 program objects onto your
desktop.

As an alternative, you can manually install HOUSE/2 by creating shadows of the
HOUSE2.EXE and HOUS2UTL.EXE objects in a folder of your choice or the desktop
for easy access.

To start the program, double-click on the HOUSE2.EXE object.

Installing this program on your system does not change any of the INI or
CONFIG.SYS files.

The following files belong to this program:

       HOUSE2.EXE        Splash screen. Starts the executable main program.

       H2MAIN.EXE        The executable main program.

       HOUSE2.HLP        The main help file.

       HOUSE2.INI        HOUSE2 configuration file for items like com port,
                         battery type and battery installation date. This file
                         will be created the first time HOUSE2 is run.

       HOUSE2.SET        Default module and macro set. This file, if present,
                         will automatically load whenever HOUSE2 is started up.
                         You can have several of these files with the extension
                         SET to keep various module setups. This file will be
                         created the first time HOUSE2 is run and you save the
                         module setup.

       SAMPLE.SET        Sample module and macro set to show how HOUSE/2 can be
                         setup.

       HOUSE2.LOG        A log file that contains all the events as sent by the
                         CM11A interface. Events are only logged when the
                         computer is connected to the interface and logging is
                         enabled. This is a text file and you can look at it
                         with a text editor. Use HOUS2UTL.EXE to decode the
                         contents of this file.

       MACRO.PRM         EEprom image file of the CM11A interface. This file is
                         1024 bytes long and contains the hex data that was
                         last programmed into your CM11A interface. You can use
                         HOUS2UTL.EXE to decipher the data. This file will be
                         created every time upload is used and is successful.

       HOUS2UTL.EXE      The executable utility program to analyze the
                         MACRO.PRM EEProm image file and convert the ActiveHome
                         (and possibly the HomeDirector) module and macro
                         setup. Contains a number of other utilities.

       HOUS2UTL.HLP      The utility program help file.

       VPIBevel.DLL      Bevel object used for modules and macros.

       VPIButtn.DLL      Image button object used for button bar. These two
                         objects are part of the VPExtras package. Thanks to
                         Dion Gillard for creating and releasing these objects
                         for free!

       VPOBJ.DLL         Dynamic Link Library required by executables.

       VPUTIL.DLL        Dynamic Link Library required by HOUS2UTL.EXE and
                         HOUSE2.EXE

       RXASYNC.DLL       Dynamic Link Library required for serial
                         communications to the CM11A interface. This library of
                         serial communications routines is included by
                         permission of Crucial Applications (Author: Ian Timms,
                         e-mail: [e-mail]). The entire
                         serial communications package, including the source
                         code for RXASYNC, is available at my home page or
                         other major OS/2 sites by the file name RXASYN20.ZIP.
                         This DLL has been packed with LXWARP for smaller size.

       X10CDLL.DLL       Dynamic Link Library required by HOUSE2.EXE

       H2MODULE.DB       External Module database. Use HOUS2UTL to edit.

       NORTHA.DAT        Geographical data file for North American locations.

       EUROPE.DAT        Geographical data file for European locations.

       OTHER.DAT         Geographical data file for other areas of the world
                         locations.

       MACRO.PRN         Temporary file created by HOUS2UTL when printing
                         converted image files. This file is deleted after
                         printing is complete.

       REPORT.TXT        Default file name when saving reports to a file.

       INSTALL.CMD       Installation program. Creates a HOUSE2 folder on your
                         desktop containing all the HOUSE2 objects.

       HISTORY.TXT       History of changes to the program.

       README.1ST        Program description and installation instructions.

       BMTORDER.TXT      Order form to register HOUSE/2 through BMT Micro.

 To remove this program from your system, close the program, delete all your
 HOUSE2 AND HOUS2UTL objects or shadows from your desktop or folders and delete
 all the files listed above.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 32. The Legal Stuff ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This program is shareware and not free. You may use it for 30 days. After that,
if you continue using it, you must register to obtain a license. See How To
Register section on ways to register.

The shareware version of this program may be distributed electronically as long
as all files are kept together. The shareware version is recognized by the
title  Home Automation & Security for OS/2 - Unregistered in the title bar of
the main program.

The registered version of HOUSE/2 may not be distributed in any way. Only one
copy of the registered program may be run at one time on a computer, in other
words, if you have a laptop and a desktop, you may copy this program onto both
computers but only one instance of the HOUSE/2 program may be run at one time.
If there is a possibility that two of these programs may be run at the same
time, then you must get a second license. Quantity discounts start with two
licenses, contact the author for more information.

Registration gives you many benefits. Besides removing of all restrictions and
registration reminders I will: provide prompt technical support, implement
suggestions to program improvements, enhancements and customization (if
technically possible). Finally, I plan to enhance this program further as I
myself am using it to automate my home.

RXASYNC.DLL required for serial communications to the CM11A interface, is a
library of serial communications routines and is included by permission of
Crucial Applications (Author: Ian Timms, e-mail:
[e-mail]). The entire serial communications package,
including the source code for RXASYNC, is available at my home page or other
major OS/2 sites by the file name RXASYN20.ZIP

HOUSE/2 is protected using SecureIt. To get more information on this shareware
protection program, see http://www.bmtmico.com/catalog/secureit/

DISCLAIMER

The author of HOUSE/2 is in no way responsible for any damage this program may
cause to computer equipment by running this software on it. Use HOUSE2 at your
own risk.

The author of HOUSE/2 also assumes no responsibility of damage to property,
bodily injury or loss of life as a result of controlling home control devices
with the HOUSE/2 software.

For safety reason, I DONOT recommend to use X-10 devices to control coffee
pots, space heaters or similar heat-creating appliances.

Any trademarks mentioned in this document belong to their respective owners and
the author of HOUSE/2 is not connected in any way to these products nor does he
endorse any of the products mentioned.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 33. How to Register ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Registration is for life-time, you will NOT be re-charged for any future
HOUSE/2 versions. Registration also includes the game Leave-One. It's a
challenging puzzle similar to Pegged. See my website for a screen shot of this
game.

Registering HOUSE/2 also entitles you to a free registration of HOUSE/290, a
home automation program for the CP290 controller. See my web site or BMT Micro
for more information.

There are two ways you can register HOUSE/2:

Send e-mail to [e-mail] to request my mailing address. You can
then send me a check or money order and I will return the registration key. The
cost is $30.00 using this option.

Register through BMT Micro at www.bmtmicro.com. BMT Micro offers a variety of
purchasing methods, see the file BMTORDER.TXT for details. A registration key
will be sent to you within usually one day of purchasing HOUSE/2. The cost is
$35.00 for this option.

Quantity discounts are available. Please e-mail me for details.

To enter the registration key, close HOUSE/2 and start HOUS2UTL.EXE. Enter the
registration key under the HELP - Register menu.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 34. Support ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

For HOUSE/2 support, you can contact me directly via e-mail.

My e-mail address:

  [e-mail]

Visit my home page, "The Warped Code Cellar" at

  http://home.att.net/~ASchw

for other information and applications for OS/2 like HOUSE/290 for the CP290
controller, Memory Game and Leave One, two speech-navigation-enabled games.
Also available new is a HOUSE/2 and X-10 FAQ and instructions on how to run
HOUSE/2 over a network.

Monitor my home page regularly for future upgrades of HOUSE/2. This will be the
place where HOUSE/2 upgrades will be available first.

This program is also available at the following sites:

Internet:

  http://home.att.net/~ASchw
  http://www.bmtmicro.com
  http://hobbes.nmsu.edu
  http://www.os2ss.com