T1B

Looking to buy one of these systems. Anyone else here use one?

http://www.youdoitsecurity.com/

Welcome to X10. Looks like the same stuff. You might just consider going to X10 and seeing if they have better prices.

Also, I would check out misterhouse.com before I ordered anything to make sure it was compatible. I'm sure there are other home control systems, but this is way better for free. Sure you could get the crap that X10 or other companies throw in to turn your lights on and off and call 911, but why would you do that when you can do 10 times as much with an open source, free system? Exactly. You can build a fully automated house that can be monitored on the road as long as you have a connection to the net. They've even implemented hooks into other open source projects, such as some home built PVRs and more.

I'd check out Misterhome.com, see if you like what you see, and then buy from vendors that they support.

I do have some X10 stuff and I've used a few of it just for fun. Be careful with the power stuff because your house may be split into many different zones, which means a certified electrician will have to bridge them so that your control station (pc) can access all of the power plugs/devices.

IS a mac required for that X10 stuff? Some of the reading there seems to suggest that.

I have two dogs, a couple of Glocks and an H&K MP-5.

That's my security.

No, I want to be able to visual monitor places. I'll be traveling a lot this year, and when I am home my office is at the back of the house, can't see the front door or hear a knock.

No it has nothing to do with a Macs. X10 has nothing to do specifically with PCs or Macs. Its basically a system that allows a controller unit to send signals to receivers over the electric grid of your house. Its just that your computer can hook into the controller unit and add a few extra features.

Then you have MisterHouse, which is an open source system that runs on Linux, unix or windows. The best support the last time I checked was on Linux.

Thanks for the link. Looks like a much better - and cheaper option than what I found.

Know anything about the different cameras out there? I've never dealt with any of that before. I'd like to get a few wireless cameras set up that I can view from my computer.


EDIT:

HOw about this setup? Looks like a good deal:

http://www.x10.com/affiliate_pages/2005 ... ab142#3cam

Looks decent. I've only worked with some of the cameras. There are really a few features you are looking for and that make a difference pricewise.

B&W vs Color
Zoom
Pan and tilt/rotate

then you have waterproof cameras made for the outside.
night vision and of course the frame rate.

obviously the more features a camera includes, the more useful it will be and the more expensive, but you probably won't need all of the features. X10 also sells the Ninja base (or whatever it is called) to move the camera so you can get a better look.

Then you have the wireless link. I've never used the X10 camera system so I'm not sure what they do, but one problem a lot of the times is that the video signal is not encrypted, which means that a robber can spend a few bucks and check out whats on your cameras and who is in your house before he/she/it robs you.

My guess is that for that price, X10 just sends the clear analog video signal from each camera to your receiver/monitor.

Interestingly enough, one of the funny thing that happend as 802.11b/g (wireless ethernet) cameras came out is that people left the cameras wide open, unsecured and put the cameras in their bedrooms. Quite a few interesting stories/videos have come out from this.