Fuda Family Homepage

The purpose of this area is to discuss home automation techniques and equipment specific to the Fuda household. It's not an attempt to become another automation website. If you wan't to visit some great automation and electronic sites, try cocoontech, AVS, or the HomeSeer or MainLobby forums.

I hope you find the discussion here usefull. Check the downloads area for files specific to our set-up!

Access to the pages hosted on our automation server require an additional password, that you may get upon request. Even with this password, however, your access to the server will be very limited.

To the right, you should see some screenshots of our touchpanel PC running MainLobby. More of screenshots like these can be found in our photo and video album. Below this introduction there is an article title "Our Autmoated Home" that describes some of the features of our home and how we make them happen. This is a dynamic document that is under constant revision!

• Lighting
• Movie lights
• All off
• Holiday lights
• JC's Sunrise
• Security
• While Home...
• While Away...
• Cameras
• Garage Door Status
• Audio
• HTPC Jukebox
• Whole house music
• Whole house announcements   

• Video
• Baby Monitor: The camera monitoring JC's crib is available for viewing via the living room and master bedroom TVs, the touchscreen, and the internet.
• Movies: Movies can be played via the DVD Changer, Single DVD Player, VCR, or HTPC. Using a combination of MainLobby, DVDLobby, HomeSeer, Girder, and ZoomPlayer, a movie is selected by the user using the DVDLobby interface. The selected movie is announced and appropriate trailers play while the movie loads. The lights also gradually dim during the course of the trailer/loading sequence. The endresult is a very "theatrical" experience. The DVDLobby interface is very easy to use and I can show guests how to use it and launch movies in less than a minute.
• TV: Once you have a DVR, you'll never want to go back. The Dish VIP-622 HD DVR feeds the living room, kitchen and master bedroom, with 3 independent tuners in one package. All TVs can share recordings, so you can start watching in one room and finish in the other!  
• Phone
• CallerID: Callers are announced via the whole house speakers, last caller is visible on each touch screen scene.
• Caller blocking: Selected callers are blocked and played a "telezapper" tone in order to be removed from their calling lists. Unwanted callers can be added at any time.
• Answering Machine: Messages are recorded to the Automation PC and emailed to our personal and work accounts. The messages can be listened to from email, over the web, from the touchscreen, and over the phone at home or away.
• Directory: A personal phone book from which entries can be directly dialed from. New callers can be added to the directory with the touch of a button.
• Voice activated dialing: Any caller in the directory that had voice dialing enabled can be dialed via voice commands after picking up a handset in the house, pressing pound and saying "call 'so and so' at 'location.'"
• Outgoing calls: Outgoing calls are monitored for both the number called and the duration of the call.
• Mute/Pause during incoming calls: Whenever the phone rings, all audio sources are muted and all playback sources are paused.  
• Other
• Weather: Weather data is tracked by two primary components, the WeatherLobby MainLobby component, and the WeatherXML script in HomeSeer. WeatherLobby provides a pleasing interface where current and future weather conditions can be browsed for a default and other userdefined zip codes. WeatherXML provides a means to create triggers and announcements based on current and forecasted weather conditions. Additionally, the Weather Warnings script tracks sever weather in our area.
• On every scene: Each scene on the touch screen summarizes current weather conditions.
• Announced: Current weather conditions and the day’s forecast are announced on workday mornings when the security system is disarmed.
• Weather Warnings: Sever weather warnings in our zip code are announced.
• Reminders: Things like birthdays, holidays, trash day, etc.

• Personal Computers

• Automation Hardware
• PC-Connected
• ACT TI-103 PC to X10 power line interface
• Applied Digital Ocelot
• Applied Digital SECU16
• Applied Digital SECU16IR
• HACS A/B 8 Speaker Switcher (AB8SS)
• W800RF Receiver
• Net CallerID
• ACT Zwave ZU100 USB controller
• PC Remote
• HomeSeer PCI Modem
• On the powerline
• Active plug-in phase coupler
• X10
• Wired
• X10 Appliance Modules
• Smarthome Appliance Modules
• X10 Lamp Modules
• Smarthome Lamp Modules
• X10 Dimmer Swithces
• Wireless
• Security Motion Sensors
• Security Glass Break Sensors
• Security Remotes
• Security Door/Window Sensors
• Zwave (SOLD)
• ACT Lamp Modules (SOLD)
• Sylvaina Lamp Modules (SOLD)
• ACT Appliance Switches (SOLD)
• ACT Dimmer Switches (SOLD)
• ACT Remote Control (SOLD)
• Other Automation Hardware
• 8 Elk speakers (connected to AB8SS)
• Home Theater Hardware
• Control
• Yamaha DSP-AX1 Receiver (Same as RXV1 minus built-in tuner), control via IR and feedback to MainLobby and HomeSeer via RS232.
• Home Theater Master MX700 Remote Control (Living Room)
• Home Theater Master URC-200 remote Control (Kitchen)
• Dish Ver 6.3 RF/IR remote control (Master Bedroom)
• 2 x Dish Ver 6.2 RF/IR remote controls (JC's room and guest room)
• IR distribution hardware
• 2 x Xantech 291-80 CFL-friendly hidden link receivers (IR receivers)
• 2 x Xantech 291-10 Hidden link receivers
• 1 x Xantech 791-44 One-zone amplifed connecting block
• Multiple xantech 282M, 283M, and 284M IR emmiters
• 4 x Xantech 481RG regulated power supplies
• 3 x INJ94 IR/RF injectors
• 1 x CPL10 IR/RF coupler
• 2 x Smarthome IRLinks
• Audio
• Yamaha TX492 Tuner
• Sony Turntable
• Pioneer Dual Cassette Deck
• Terk Amplified AM/FM antenna
• Video
• Panasonic PT50LC13. 50” LCD rear projection TV. Great picture, although it’s recently developed a stuck red pixel!!!
• Hitachi VCR. I can’t remember the last time this thing was turned on…
• Sony DVPCX777ES 400disc DVD Changer. Great DVD Player, controlled via DVDLobby and an RS232 connection.
• Panasonic A310 DVD Player, purchased in 1997 – still used for playing rentals and other discs not loaded into the changer or ripped to the HTPC. Can’t play ripped/burned DVDs.
• Dish VIP-622 HD DVR. This is a great sattelite receiver that can tune in 3 channels at once (two via sat and once OTA).
• Parts Express/Dayton 3-channel mono A/V modulator. This is used, in conjunction with the built-in modulator on the 622, to send video throughout the house on a single run of RG6 cable. TVs in remote parts of the house can view output from the Dish VIP 622, Sony DVP-CX777ES, Baby Monitor, and one additional source, from designated NTSC channels.
• OTA HDTV Reception hardware
• Radio Shack VHF/UHF Antenna oriented at 270 degrees
• Radio Shack UHF Antenna oriented at 160 degrees
• Channel Master 7777 preamplifier
• Channel Master Channel 32 Jointenna
• Speakers… They’re mixed and matched, probably not ideal – but we’re happy with them.
• Mains: Optimus Mach III.. 1991 vintage w/15” woofers… paid about $300 each for them and they sound great to me despite their questionable (Radio Shack) origins. Due to their large size, they may one day be replaced by some bookshelf speakers and a subwoofer.
• Front Center: Yamaha
• Front Effect (for Yamaha DSP modes): Old Sony surrounds that came with my current rear surround. These used to be my rear surrounds in my old Dolby ProLogic setup.
• Rear Surrounds: Yamaha
• Rear Center: Old Sony center channel that came with the front effect speakers. This used to be my center channel speaker in my old Dolby ProLogic setup.
• Bass Shakers: 4x25watt bass shakers wired in a series/parallel configuration and connected to a 100 watt subwoofer plate amplifier. Shakers are mounted to the couch in the living room.