There are power line Ethernet hookups and Ethernet power relays. With a wireless bridge you have it all. Just put it together. Security may be an issue.
Why don't you just get a PLC and operate a Web sever to it.
You can have all the switches you need over TCP.
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And for a stand alone web device that can talk to other things
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And if you want to get to the building of things level you can use this with some software in your PC to talk to it. This is most likely the best solution for the home control system from the ground up and it's cheap, do it yourself solution.
What I really want is a Homeplug device that is addressable, plugs into the mains, and which I then plug my power cable into and which will switch the power. Having some huge box hang off the wall is a bit pointless, as is a central distribution hub with power cables running across the room.
Something like this, but with an addressable relay on board:
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Dirk
http://www.neopax.com/technomage/ - Magick and Technology
I just tossed that at a search engine that is the network side of the equation add the "Ethernet power switch" (it will have a settable = address) and you are home. Unfortunately not inexpensive.
USB Net Power 8800 Single Outlet Network AC Power Controller - Remote, Local & Programmed Control of AC-Powered Devices
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While it is currently out of stock, the specs there should give you some idea of what other items might be available.
Google found several of these with eBay listings and for sale at
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for $31USD. Be sure to get the 8800US and not the
8800OK version unless you're planning to offshore your working quarters.
Here's a link to a UK version
NP-8800 USB Net Power Mains Switch
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which has a link to a user manual.
Hope this helps...
Frank McKenney
--
It is hardly too strong to say that the Constitution was made to
guard the people against the dangers of good intentions. There
are men in all ages who mean to govern well, but _They mean to
govern_. They promise to be good masters, _but they mean to be
masters_. -- Daniel Webster
Not really, because it has not got to look out of place here:
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So some big ugly box with power leads and an ethernet cable running everywhere is right out. Each of those speakers must connect to the mains through the net switch, which must either be invisible or look like a wall wart
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Dirk
http://www.neopax.com/technomage/ - Magick and Technology
Close, but I cannot have three or more USB leads connecting into the sockets around the room. I need something invisible, hence my original IR request. Ideally, it would be controlled by ethernet over mains and just look like a normal(ish) power socket
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Dirk
http://www.neopax.com/technomage/ - Magick and Technology
Ah. Yes, you'd have to pair each of the Ethernet-controlled switches with another module, something like one of these:
DHP-301 PowerLine HD Network Starter Kit
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Soooo... we screw down a quad outlet to provide enough outlets to plug in one PowerLine module and one 8800US Ethernet-controlled switch, and we jumper a short (4"?) piece of Cat-5 to connect the one to the other...
But the end result is, admittedly, somewhat short of your aesthetic requirements. A single module combining both would be a nice replacement for an X-10 module.
So close...
Frank
--
My experience of men has neither disposed me to think worse of them
nor indisposed me to serve them; nor, in spite of failures which I
lament, of errors which I now see and acknowledge, or of the present
aspect of affairs, do I despair of the future. The truth is this:
The march of Providence is so slow and our desires so impatient; the
work of progress is so immense and our means of aiding it so feeble;
the life of humanity is so long, that of the individual so brief,
that we often see only the ebb of the advancing wave, and are thus
discouraged. It is history that teaches us to hope.
-- Robert E. Lee
That's what I cannot understand. People who are doing Homeplug stuff are already running TCP/IP over the house wiring. How hard can it be to add a chip with a stack and drive a relay? It seems so obvious its a no-brainer for manufacturers of HomePlug devices. It would instantly give them a foothold at the center of a home automation system for very little investment.
--
Dirk
http://www.neopax.com/technomage/ - Magick and Technology
I don't understand. The electronics is powered from the mains, which is always on. Whether the mains is allowed out of the socket via the relay depends on the command.
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Dirk
http://www.neopax.com/technomage/ - Magick and Technology
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