Home Hacking Projects for Geeks

12

Part I: Home Automation

Motion Detection

In this second phase of the project, you will configure a motion detector to

send signals to the light switch you installed in the first phase. However,

the motion detector you’re using can’t communicate directly to the switch

because it’s wireless. Therefore, you now need to install a wireless trans-

ceiver to receive the signals from the motion detector and place them onto

the power line where the switch can process them. This component of the

project is the interface between the human and the light switch.

1. Connect the wireless transceiver

In this step you will configure an X10 wireless transceiver (also known as an

RF receiver) and connect it to an outlet, as shown in Figure 1-9. The wireless

transceiver receives X10 wireless commands from the X10 motion detector

and transmits those commands over the power lines.

First, configure the house code of the wireless transceiver. Use a screwdriver

to twist the dial to set the house code to C. The transceiver will respond

to wireless signals only from other devices using the same house code. For

example, if you later configure other devices using the E house code, the

wireless transceiver will not respond to them.

If the transceiver allows another device to be plugged into it, it probably

has a dial, a switch, and a button. These allow you to control the lamp or

other device plugged ...