Home Automation

Mark1966 said:
Fortran!!!

Sensational
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You can get a lot of working code written very quickly in Fortran. A big thank-you to the Boeing math library there. Back in the 80s when my music career was brought to a shuddering halt, I went back and trained as a systems programmer, working on just about any and every mainframe that wasn't built by IBM, so after a few years I had lots of different programming languages under my belt, including assembler code for each of those processors. Assembly is not a recipe for productivity (though you can do all sorts of cool things like self-modifying code that scare the pants off managers) but FTN is almost as powerful.
 
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Gargravarr said:
You can get a lot of working code written very quickly in Fortran. A big thank-you to the Boeing math library there. Back in the 80s when my music career was brought to a shuddering halt, I went back and trained as a systems programmer, working on just about any and every mainframe that wasn't built by IBM, so after a few years I had lots of different programming languages under my belt, including assembler code for each of those processors. Assembly is not a recipe for productivity (though you can do all sorts of cool things like self-modifying code that scare the pants off managers) but FTN is almost as powerful.
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I went to uni in the '80s and did a 'minor' in computing. Started with a little Fortran and it was ...




... COBOL!

Those were the days:ROFLMAO:
 
Mark1966 said:
I went to uni in the '80s and did a 'minor' in computing. Started with a little Fortran and it was ...




... COBOL!

Those were the days:ROFLMAO:
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Don't laugh, my last computing job (ending in 1990) was coding mostly in COBOL (plus C and Data General Assembly). It gets the job it's designed for done very well - if you can stand the loss of brain cycles... :rolleyes:

But you can't compare Cobblers to Fortran. That's like a pogo stick compared to a Ferrari.
 
Gargravarr said:
Don't laugh, my last computing job (ending in 1990) was coding mostly in COBOL (plus C and Data General Assembly). It gets the job it's designed for done very well - if you can stand the loss of brain cycles... :rolleyes:

But you can't compare Cobblers to Fortran. That's like a pogo stick compared to a Ferrari.
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... and around 1999 you would have been very much sought after in case of Y2K issues (which would be a foreign language to many kiddies!)
 
Mark1966 said:
... and around 1999 you would have been very much sought after in case of Y2K issues (which would be a foreign language to many kiddies!)
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I may have been, but at that time I was very much sought after as a blacksmith. When I change direction, I don't look back. :D

Besides, COBOL is almost my last choice of programming language (just ahead of Pascal and Basic, but not by much). Using COBOL is a bit like sticking your brain in a food blender and hitting the start button.
 
Nanook said:
I've got one of those Foxtel remotes that you speak to to make it change channels, search etc. I feel so foolish using it. I just reverted back to pushing the buttons :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:
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Mark1966 said:
Well just after Christmas I order stuff for a whole range of projects. This one arrived today -

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What is it? Well it replaces this old thing -

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with this (blade for scale) -

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The manufacturer is called Konnected and they have replacement boards like this or interface ones to act in parallel with the existing system. Mine is WiFi but you can also get PoE.

My system was an old Ness D8x from when we had the house built in 2009. Frankly, we never turned it on, who wants cranky neighbours with a siren blaring.

Now I get alerts on my phone when the motion detectors are tripped. I can manually activate the siren or have it automated. At least now I will know if there are issues!

I think it is pretty cool!

EDIT: Decided to make a thread on Home Automation as a result.
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The allure of home automation is very strong, but software that doesn't work absolutely sh*ts me on a primal level, especially when I'm a prolific tinkerer :ROFLMAO: so I've stayed well clear away from automating anything at home if I could help it.

That being said I do have a robot vacuum/mop which is the best thing ever for hardwood floors.
 
neongas said:
The allure of home automation is very strong, but software that doesn't work absolutely sh*ts me on a primal level, especially when I'm a prolific tinkerer :ROFLMAO: so I've stayed well clear away from automating anything at home if I could help it.

That being said I do have a robot vacuum/mop which is the best thing ever for hardwood floors.
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Agreed. I have a google home device hooked up to my TV, I can cast to it, but It won't listen to some commands. Shits me to tears that it works in one way but not the other! Would I trust it with my lights or to run a program? Nup. Their integrate home security looked alright, but still...
 
neongas said:
The allure of home automation is very strong, but software that doesn't work absolutely sh*ts me on a primal level, especially when I'm a prolific tinkerer :ROFLMAO: so I've stayed well clear away from automating anything at home if I could help it.

That being said I do have a robot vacuum/mop which is the best thing ever for hardwood floors.
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Wilkshire13 said:
Agreed. I have a google home device hooked up to my TV, I can cast to it, but It won't listen to some commands. Shits me to tears that it works in one way but not the other! Would I trust it with my lights or to run a program? Nup. Their integrate home security looked alright, but still...
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I hear you both!

In a moment of weakness with none of my other 'toys' arriving yet, I purchased a Google Nest Doorbell (battery) to cover the front door where there is no good alternative.

I figured since I had a Nest Aware subscription for the office I could add this at home to it (wrong, separate 'home' = separate subscription) and it has been 'interesting' so far ...
 
OK, today's project was the garage.

You can see from the post above that I settled on the the Meross 'Collie' Smart Garage Door Opener. It did only come with the two cables in the pics but they are sending me separately a third cable per the text - lesson there to ask!

Following the online instructions using the QR Code in the box OR reading the instructions provided you know to set up all the app and software before trying to install. Did that last night so I was ready to 'play' first thing this morning before it got too hot in the garage roof.

First thing I did was to use the supplied couple of inches of wire to test the operation of my garage door opener. I have a pair of Herculift 800N (SDO V6) which is not directly on the compatibility list BUT does have the same wiring layout and capability for a wall button switch/external radio receiver -

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Connecting terminals 4 and 5 worked to open close the door - so we are all good to go, and that is where I connected in the Meross system

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It worked! Using the app I could open and close that door, so far so good. Next was to find a location for the sensor. I ran the wires on top of the chain rail to the end and down the wall ensuring that they were away from moving parts. Taping the sensor on the wall and other on the top of the door I tested them and all worked well - the app could sense if the door was open or closed. Screwed the sensor to the wall and used double sided tape for the one on top of the door and we are away, there is sufficient gap so that they don't touch as the door moves up when it opens.

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Connecting the second opener was pretty straightforward too. A 10mm hole was sufficient to poke the connector through from the ceiling to connect to the Meross unit. The wires are 7m long so an easy reach to the other opener and connecting to terminals 4 and 5 again there. Tested and it worked via the app. Where the centre mounting bracket for the doors goes into the ceiling there is a gap through to the roof cavity, a little bit of yellow tongue grooving as a pull through and the sensor there is in place.

When the third sensor cable arrives it will not actually connect to another door opener, but I will use that to monitor the normal door into the garage for open/closed.

Not the prettiest final product -



Realistically though, I will not notice it after a while. I might replace the double adaptor with a double gang outlet at some stage though.

On the Meross app I now have the doors I can view, open and close -

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It can alert me when a door is opened -

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But I turn that OFF and just be alerted when a door is open for more than 15 minutes - that is what I have been most concerned about.

It also has the option of sounding a warning when the app is used to close a door - useful I think!

The Meross app can also be connected with SmartThings as a central single app to use -

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I'm happy so far!
 
Wilkshire13 said:
Agreed. I have a google home device hooked up to my TV, I can cast to it, but It won't listen to some commands. Shits me to tears that it works in one way but not the other! Would I trust it with my lights or to run a program? Nup. Their integrate home security looked alright, but still...
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I have one of those in my garage that I use to play music with. Every time I ask it to tune into a radio station in Washington State in the US I like to listen to I have to try 3 or 4 times and in different ways to get it to do what I want. What annoys me with it is that a phase I use last time to get it to play, might not work the next time.

I also have another in the kitchen that I use to set timers and reminders while I'm cooking. This one has a real attitude problem, it's frustrating but it is good for a laugh.
 
Nanook said:
I have one of those in my garage that I use to play music with. Every time I ask it to tune into a radio station in Washington State in the US I like to listen to I have to try 3 or 4 times and in different ways to get it to do what I want. What annoys me with it is that a phase I use last time to get it to play, might not work the next time.

I also have another in the kitchen that I use to set timers and reminders while I'm cooking. This one has a real attitude problem, it's frustrating but it is good for a laugh.
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My kitchen one is a dick. Never listens. I will say one thing and it does another. Like yours, what works one time doesn't work another time. My main gripe there is that i can go into the Home app and see it heard the same command but gave me a different outcome. They also cut off listening to what you are saying, i.e "Play Moog, Drowning in the Fire" (Artist, song) it just plays Moog or if you tell it to play a song by a specific artist, it will play the song by a different artist!
 
Wilkshire13 said:
My kitchen one is a dick. Never listens. I will say one thing and it does another. Like yours, what works one time doesn't work another time. My main gripe there is that i can go into the Home app and see it heard the same command but gave me a different outcome. They also cut off listening to what you are saying, i.e "Play Moog, Drowning in the Fire" (Artist, song) it just plays Moog or if you tell it to play a song by a specific artist, it will play the song by a different artist!
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Hahaha

After asking mine in the kitchen to play or tune in 105.5 KUKN it will say "I don't know but I found these results on the internet" and it will bring up the station's website but can't find it to stream it :sneaky:. Then next time, it will stream straight away. I swear it sulks if I give it a mouth full.
 
Nanook said:
Hahaha

After asking mine in the kitchen to play or tune in 105.5 KUKN it will say "I don't know but I found these results on the internet" and it will bring up the station's website but can't find it to stream it :sneaky:. Then next time, it will stream straight away. I swear it sulks if I give it a mouth full.
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The verbal abuse mine cops.... :ROFLMAO:
 
I have a Google Nest Hub sitting on a shelf in its original shrink-wrap, I'm not even going to open it. It was a freebie from JB's that came with my phone.

If anyone here wants it, just say the word and it's yours. I'm happy enough with the deal that I got: discount off the phone plus $149.95 hub plus Chromecast plus $100 voucher. That's some heavy selling.
 
Well my Dell Optiplex and my new additional camera have arrived!

The Optiplex came with a NVME SSD with the OS on it, so tonight has been spent slipping the 6TB HDD into the vacant slot, setting up and updating Win 11 Pro and all the drivers etc for the machine and installing Blue Iris. Love tool-less cases BTW!

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Next task will be setting up the cameras in Blue Iris and configuring it - a job for another night!

Looks like I will also have a Google Nest Hub to play with and report on here - thanks @Gargravarr !!
 
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Google Nest Hub

OK, have it set up, after skipping a lot of steps I don't want, and it functions just fine as a doorbell, less so for other activities as people have indicated.

My major irritation though is the PLUG!

It is so large it blocks the powerpoint beside it :(

As a result it is in the third choice location into a power board with a couple of separate points for large plugs.

Low expectations, low demands - it is satisfying them so far!
 
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