Home Automation and Security for OS/2


=| Description |=

 

HOUSE/290 ver. 2.0 - Shareware. HOUSE/2 - Home Automation & Security for 
OS/2 using the CP290 interface by X-10.  

HOUSE/290 is an OS/2 version 3.0 and later program to control the home 
automation interface model CP290 made by X-10. HOUSE/290 brings a modern 
graphical user interface to the CP290 and at the same time provides a 
separate REXX-enabled and network-aware communications engine. Unlike other 
programs for the CP290, HOUSE/290 will work on Pentium class computers.  

HOUSE/290 is shareware and registration is available through BMT Micro at 
www.bmtmicro.com or through the author directly. Registration now includes 
the game Leave-One, a puzzle similar to Pegged. See the section How To 
Register for details.  

HOUSE/290 has the following features:   

 Organize modules into groups of up to 18 modules per group and 16 groups 
per set. Each set can be saved to disk. The number of sets are only limited 
by disk space.   

 Move modules into other groups using drag and drop. Rearrange module 
order within a group using drag and drop.   

 Operate modules directly from your desktop. It allows you to 
interactively turn on appliances or lights from your computer. If you run 
Warp 4.0 with dictation installed, you can operate your modules with speech 
commands.   

 Program the CP290 interface by uploading timer information to the 
interface memory. Special features like random turn on and off, multiple 
module events, dawn to dusk individual and series calculations are 
supported.   

 Clear interface timers, set interface clock and interface diagnostics are 
supported.   

 Modules and groups can be setup without having to connect to the CP290 
interface.   

 Logging of all X-10 events originating from the CP290 switches and 
logging of all computer commands to a file.   

 Automatic weekly update of CP290 timers to adjust for sunset and sunrise.     

 Separate, REXX-enabled Comm Engine. Use your own REXX script to control 
the CP290 interface or any other X-10 devices.   

 Comm Engine enables CP290 to be accessible over a LAN or peer-to-peer 
network.   

 Comm Engine can start up to four user defined programs triggered by X-10 
events originating from the CP290.  

 

Note: The CP290 interface is not required to run the program only. However, 
in order to fully take advantage of the program's features, you must buy 
the CP290 interface and at least one module. This can be done for around 
$80 total to get you started and it can easily be expanded from that point 
on. See Internet Links for Home Automation for information on home control 
devices.  

X-10 devices are available for most international power configurations. 
Please see Internet Links for Home Automation for information on X-10 
representatives around the world.  


=| Introduction |=

 

Home Automation and Security with HOUSE/290 

HOUSE/290 is OS/2 based control software for the CP290 home control 
interface sold by X-10.  

What is X-10? 

X-10 is a system of modules and controllers that communicate through the 
power line to activate lights or appliances. Installing this system 
requires no extra wiring to automate lights and appliances. Simply plug in 
a module into a receptacle, plug in a lamp into the module, connect a 
controller anywhere in your home into a receptacle and you can control the 
lamp from your controller. 

There are a number of modules available to control lamps and appliances. 
Wall switch replacements are also available to automate your built-in 
lights. These wall switches replace your existing light switches and in 
this case some wiring is necessary but it is limited to disconnecting your 
existing switch and reconnecting the new wall switch using the same wires. 
Using the wall switches you then have the capability of controlling the 
lights at the wall switch or remotely through a controller. These wall 
switches will also give you the capability of dimming the lights, although 
only through the controller. 

Controllers are also available in different versions, ranging from manual 
on/off style to programmable units by timers or through your home computer. 
The model CP290 is a popular controller which can be programmed by a PC, 
however, it is only one-directional as it cannot monitor X-10 commands and 
send them back to the PC. There are a at least two OS/2 programs available 
to control the CP290. The CM11A controller is one step up from the CP290 
and can be used to monitor events from other controllers or modules as it 
reports the X-10 commands back to the computer. The CM11A can be purchased 
for under $50 which is a bargain for the feature it offers. HOUSE/2 
currently supports the CM11A and is the first OS/2 based control software 
for this device. HOUSE/290 is based on HOUSE/2 and supports the CP290 
interface. See a picture of the CP290 controller, an appliance module and a 
wall switch below. 

 

Figure 1. The CP290 Home Control Interface and two Modules  

What is HOUSE/290?  

HOUSE/290 is OS/2 based control software that allows to program the CP290 
home control interface. It is based on HOUSE/2 for the CM11A controller and 
most features of HOUSE/290 are identical to HOUSE/2 but are limited to the 
capabilities of the simpler CP290 controller.  

HOUSE/2 is OS/2 based control software that allows to program a CM11A home 
control interface. The CM11A is manufactured by X-10 and available at a 
number of home electronics, hardware stores and mail order companies. Radio 
Shack sells this device separately under the name plug'n play and it is 
also bundled with the IBM Aptivas under the name HomeDirector. 

Control software is available for the CM11A, but it is mostly limited to 
the Windows platforms. HOUSE/2 was written specifically for OS/2 Warp 3.0 
and later. It supports speech navigation under Warp 4.0 allowing you to 
turn modules on and off with voice commands. 

The CM11A interface connects to your computers serial port and HOUSE/2 
allows to program macros and timer events that are stored in the interface. 
Once these events are programmed, you do not have to stay connected to the 
interface. Timer and macro events will execute within the interface 
automatically. To use logging and security features you must stay connected 
to the interface and HOUSE/2 must be running. 

HOUSE/2 allows you to interactively control lights and appliances, which 
have X-10 modules, right from your desktop. Simply turn on a slider on the 
screen and HOUSE/2 will send out a command to turn on the corresponding 
module. Lamp modules also allow you to dim lights between 0 to 100%. 

Physically, X-10 can only handle 256 unique addresses for modules. HOUSE/2 
organizes the modules into groups of 18 with 16 groups available per 
configuration. Each configuration (*.SET files) therefore can contain up to 
288 modules. The number of configurations is limited only to the hard disk 
size. This keeps organization of the modules simple and easy. 

HOUSE/2 allows to read and set the CM11A interface time, check battery 
status and keep track of date battery was changed. It also allows to clear 
the CM11A interface memory and program timers and macros events into the 
interface. HOUSE/2 was designed to keep operation and configuration of the 
CM11A interface easy. 

Once the interface is programmed, it is not necessary to stay connected to 
the CM11A and tie up the serial port. The CM11A can be disconnected from 
the serial port or the PC can be turned off as the CM11A will run the 
macros and timers on it's own. If you stay connected to the interface, 
HOUSE/2 will record and log every X-10 event that appears on the power 
line. This allows HOUSE/2 to be used as a security system as you can 
program responses to these events. For example, you could turn on a series 
of lights in response to an event that occurred at a certain input device. 
An input device can be connected to a contact closure from a vibration 
switch, window, or door sensor. An input command can also originate from a 
motion detector or thermostat. 

A number of X-10 compatible devices are available not just from X-10 but 
also Radio Shack, Stanley, RCA etc. To get more information on these home 
control devices, you can visit any of the sites listed under Internet Links 
for Home Automation.  


=| Internet Links for Home Automation |=

 

To get more information on home automation, you can visit any of the sites 
listed here: 

www.x10.com
Homepage of X-10.
This is the manufacturer of X-10 products.

www.x10.com/x10euro.htm
Links to European Representatives of X-10.

www.smarthome.com
Home Automation System, Inc. Vendor carrying large 
selection of home automation devices. Download 
catalog in PDF format, search for part numbers online.

www.hwg-telekom.de
HWG Telekommunikations Systeme GmbH.
X-10 Representative of Germany, Austria and 
Switzerland. The CM11A is available as 
PowerHaus-II in these countries.

www.automationplus.com
Mail order company for home automation devices.

www.asihome.com
Mail order company for home automation devices.

support.tandy.com/support_security/
Radio Shack Support. Follow the X-10 links.
Contains FAQ for home automation devices.

www.hometoys.com
Mailing lists, newsletters, articles and product reviews 
of home automation products and services.

www.homecontrols.com
Large product catalog for home automation devices.
Also carries 220/230V models for international markets.

www.hometeam.com
Information about products and services for home automation.

www.infinet.com/~dhoehnen/ha/list.html
Index of home automation related sites.

www.io.com/~lbs/
Laser Business Systems Ltd. Home Automation dealer in 
the United Kingdom. Lists controllers and modules for many 
other European countries.


 


=| Important Notes |=

 

See the help inside the Comm Engine on ways to start user defined programs 
triggered by X-10 events.  

On a 200 MHz Pentium it takes approximately 10 seconds to load HOUSE/290 
when classic REXX is used. If Object REXX is used, then the load time 
increases to 15 seconds because of the additional syntax check. On a slower 
system, load time will increase as expected. 

HOUSE/290 first comes up with a splash screen which loads the main program 
and communications engine. The splash screen displays a Close button after 
a few seconds and it may be closed by clicking on it. The splash screen 
will close automatically once the main program has loaded. By default, the 
communications engine is minimized and it can be made visible by restoring 
it to screen from the windows list.  

When performing direct control of modules through the switches on screen, 
the program will wait for confirmation from the CP290. It will then update 
the slider and toggle positions. During that time, you cannot control any 
other switches or access any of the CP290 tools like the clock. Also, 
changing groups, deleting, moving and creating modules and disconnecting 
from the CP290 or Comm Engine are locked out. It only takes about one 
second to receive confirmation before all mentioned items are accessible 
again.  

Problem 1: 

Slow loading of module edit windows. This is expected if you run HOUSE/290 
on a 486 computer. This delay is considerable, but normal. Opening the 
module edit window needs to load all objects required for editing. Using 
HOUSE/290 on a Pentium improves the load time of the edit windows 
considerably.  

Problem 2: 

If you are running this program at resolutions lower than 1024x768x256, the 
button bar icons will look a little fuzzy and the program will look grainy 
because of the gray color background. I will correct the fuzzy icons in a 
future version. Please note that the program is designed for a 256 color 
minimum system and will look the best at 1024x768x256. See also the help 
sections on Start-up Options and Troubleshooting for possible solutions.  

Problem 3: 

If you use version 30.539 or later of the HP Laser printer driver, the Job 
Properties button on the print window will not work. Please read the 
explanation under File - Print for more details.  

Problem 4: 

Modules do not display the correct status under certain circumstances. Note 
that it is impossible for HOUSE/290 to know what the module status is 
because the CP290 does not send out any X-10 commands that do not originate 
from it's own switches.  To make certain to what level a particular module 
is set to, do the following: From the desktop turn the module fully on or 
set to the desired dim value. 

The CP290 does not support the extended features of the new Two-Way modules 
like status request. ON, OFF and DIM are however supported.  

Problem 5: 

You may experience a growth in swap file under the following circumstances: 
You run another Vispro/REXX compiled program at the same time as HOUSE/290 
AND Object REXX is active. If you repeatedly start and exit HOUSE/290 while 
another Vispro/REXX program is running, the swap file keeps growing. You 
may have to start and exit HOUSE/290 5-10 times before you see a growth. 
The memory is not released until both Vispro/REXX-compiled programs are 
closed. If you close both programs, the swap file will return to it's 
original size. I have been able to duplicate this problem with UPS Monitor 
for OS/2 and the HOUSE/290 main and X-10 Comm Tester program. This memory 
leak may not be specific to these programs as the source of the problem 
points to Object REXX. If you use classic REXX, this problem will not 
occur.  


=| Shareware Limitation |=

 

This shareware program is fully enabled with the exception of the 
following:   

 Registration reminder when exiting.   

 Only timers 1 through 30 (out of 128 possible), can be programmed into 
the CP290.   

 When uploading to the interface, you will be reminded of a possible 
limited number of timer uploads. 

 

The registered version has these limitations removed.  


=| Future Versions |=

 

I will continuously update this program and add new features to it. If 
there are any features you would like to see, let me know.  


=| Menu Description |=

Describes all menu items available for this program.  


  =| FILE - New |=

 

Clears HOUSE/290 of all groups and modules to start a new SET 
configuration.  


  =| FILE - Open |=

 

Allows to open any of the SET configuration previously saved. SET 
configurations are modules ordered in groups. 

When you run HOUSE/290, by default, HOUSE290.SET will automatically load 
into the program. Use Save As if you like to name your module setups 
differently. When you exit the program, the last setup file name will be 
saved and remembered the next time you run HOUSE/290.  


  =| FILE - Save |=

 

Saves the current module configuration to disk. The default file name is 
HOUSE290.SET. Use Save As if you would like to change this default name.  


  =| FILE - Save As |=

 

Saves the current module configuration to disk by prompting for a file 
name. The extension of the file name must be SET.  


  =| FILE - Print |=

 

Brings up the Print Report window. It allows you to print the current 
module setup to the printer or to a text file of your choice if you choose 
Save to File. Currently only a General Report is available which prints out 
all information of the modules. 

Note: The PRINT... button on the Print Report window will bring up the OS/2 
print dialog where you can select any of the printers attached to your 
system before the report is printed. The Job Properties button on that 
window allows you to call up a specific printer property like landscape or 
portrait orientation. It may be possible that for certain printer driver 
versions (like version 30.539 or later of the HP Laser Printer driver) this 
button will not bring up the Printer Properties window. If this is the 
case, and you would like to use the Job Properties, try going back to an 
older version of the particular printer driver. HP Printer driver version 
30.460 does work properly. 

The Font... button brings up the Font Selection Dialog and allows you to 
select the font the report will be printed with. 

If you use Print Grid Lines you can use any proportional font you have 
installed on your system. Make sure the size is smaller than 7 points or 
the text will not fit in the grid when you print in portrait mode. If you 
only see a size selection of 8 or larger, I hope you are aware that you can 
type in sizes lower than the provided ones for most fonts. When you press 
the enter key after you typed in the new size, it will show you the new 
smaller font on the Font Dialog. The newly selected font will display in 
the Printing Font window. You can select larger font sizes if you print in 
landscape mode. 

If you don't print with Grid Lines, you must select a non-proportional or 
mono-spaced font otherwise the data columns will not be aligned. Again, use 
font sizes smaller than size 7 if you print in portrait mode. The font size 
can be larger when printing in landscape mode. There are a very limited 
amount of mono-spaced fonts available on a standard Warp system. System VIO 
and Courier are two of them, but unfortunately, selecting these two fonts 
may print nothing but blank pages. This may be a problem with the print 
object provided by Vispro/REXX. You may have to find mono-spaced fonts 
elsewhere. Look for ATM fonts with the file extensions AFM, PFB and PFM and 
install them with the Font Palette (see HELP inside the Font Palette). 
LotusLineDraw is one font that works well, you can select sizes down to 2 
points. If you use Warp 4, you can also get any True Type mono-spaced font, 
provided there is support for sizes smaller than 7.  

General Report Column Explanation. 

Location = Group Name.

Module Name = Name of module.

Upload = Module upload to interface, yes or no.

Type = Part number of module.

Code = House and device code of module.

Event = Event or action number.

Upload = Event or action upload to interface, yes or no.

Date Range = Date range module settings are executed on.

Weekday = Weekday(s) module timer settings are executed.
       U = Sunday, M = Monday, T = Tuesday,
       W = Wednesday, H = Thursday, F = Friday, S = Saturday.

Time-On = Time ON event for module.

Time-Off = Time OFF event for module.

Level = Dim level in percent for module.

Live-In for = Live-In for modules executed at either time ON or time OFF.
       This shows for what time the random time is active.


 


  =| FILE - Exit |=

 

Exit the program. A remainder will be given to save any SET data if the 
configuration has changed. At exit, the current name of the SET file will 
be saved and the next time you run HOUSE/290, that particular SET file will 
automatically open. 

Also, if HOUSE/290 is connected to the Comm Engine, the connection is 
terminated. If Auto Unload is checked, HOUSE/290 will terminate the Comm 
Engine as well. If no auto unload is performed, the Comm Engine will stay 
connected to the CP290.  


  =| INTERFACE - Connect CP290 |=

 

Instructs the Comm Engine to open selected com port to the CP290 interface. 
A check mark on this menu item will indicate connection status. Also, the 
tool bar icon will indicate three possible status: ONLINE, OFFLINE or 
Connect Error (if serial connection to interface gets disconnected, 
interface or Comm Engine do not respond).  


  =| INTERFACE - Disconnect CP290 |=

 

Instructs the Comm Engine to close selected com port to disconnect from the 
CP290 interface. A check mark on this menu item will indicate connection 
status. The tool bar icon will indicate three possible status: ONLINE, 
OFFLINE or Connect Error (if serial connection to interface gets 
disconnected or interface does not respond).  


  =| INTERFACE - Connect to Comm Engine |=

This menu item opens the named pipe to the Comm Engine and allows to access 
all functions of the CP290. HOUSE/290 will have exclusive access to the 
Comm Engine while connected.  


  =| INTERFACE - Disconnect from Comm Engine |=

This menu item closes the named pipe to the Comm Engine and allows other 
custom programs to access it.  


  =| INTERFACE - Unload Comm Engine |=

This menu option sends out a CLOSE command to the Comm Engine which then 
closes the com port to the CP290 and terminates itself. To reload the Comm 
Engine, you must start it manually.  


  =| MODULES - Edit |=

 

Edit any selected module within a group. To edit a module in any group, 
right-click near the particular module slider and select Edit from the 
popup menu. Double-clicking on any of the module status lines (text 
appearing at the top of the switch plate), will also allow to edit the 
module. 

Note: Module editing notebooks are modal windows, you must close the 
notebooks before returning to HOUSE/290. You can, however, go to any other 
application on the desktop without having to close the edit notebooks.  


  =| MODULES - Add Module |=

 

Adds a module to active group. The module will initially be a generic 
on/off type. You must edit house, device code and on/off times, module type 
and other settings, to fully configure the module. The button bar also 
contains an ADD Wallswitch button which will add any module that allows dim 
commands (wall switch, lamp module, screw-in module). See Modules - Edit 
help for details on how to edit module settings. 

Up to eighteen modules can be put in one group. You can rearrange module 
order inside a group or move them to other groups. Modules in a group 
always appear in sequential order, no blanks are possible. Blank groups are 
allowed. 

To add a module to any existing group do one of the following:   

 Right-click near any slider already in the group and select Add Module 
from the popup menu.   

 Select ADD Module or ADD Wallswitch from the tool bar.  
      


  =| MODULES - Delete |=

 

Delete any selected module within a group. 

To delete a module in any group, right-click near the particular module 
slider and select Delete from the popup menu. A dialog will pop up to 
confirm the delete.  

Drag and drop deleting of modules is also implemented. Simply right-click 
on the module name and drag it to the trash can shown in the upper right 
corner of the program. A dialog will pop up to confirm the delete. 

Note: Deleting a module by the popup menu method while connected to the 
interface is disabled because of circular dependency problems when changing 
the module organization. You can however delete modules while connected to 
the interface using drag and drop.  


  =| TOOLS - Set Clock |=

 

Checks the CP290 interface time, weekday and base house code. A window pops 
up showing interface and system time, weekday and house code. You can set 
the base house code in this window. Interface time is read only under the 
following circumstances:   

 When the Clock Read/Set window is first opened.   

 Every time the minutes advance to the next value.  
 

Interface time can be corrected with the SET INTERFACE TIME button. A red 
warning will pop-up if the computer and interface time differs by more than 
10 minutes.  

To set the base house code, select the desired value from the spin button 
and click on SET HOUSE CODE. The house code set will then be updated on the 
display to confirm the change. When setting base house code, the CP290 will 
loose all timer information programmed. A warning will be displayed to 
indicate that fact.  

Note: This window closes automatically after 2 minutes of inactivity.  

Note:  You can use SET CLOCK as a troubleshooting tool to check if your 
computer has trouble connecting to the interface.  

The Set Clock window will also flush the pipe in case there are previous 
uncleared items present.  

 


  =| TOOLS - Diagnostics |=

Initiates internal CP290 diagnostics. This test will take approximately 12 
seconds and a counter will show progress. Possible outcome of the 
diagnostics are: PASSED, FAILED and ERROR. If an ERROR is reported then the 
CP290 is not connected properly or does not respond. 

CAUTION: Do not use the Close from the system menu to close this window 
during diagnostics. Wait until the diagnostics has finished and the Close 
button is enabled. 

Performing diagnostics will destroy all timer data currently programmed 
into the CP290. A warning will be displayed before diagnostics is started 
and you will be given the option to continue or cancel. 

After performing diagnostics, you must upload all timers to make the CP290 
functional again. 

 


  =| TOOLS - Clear Interface Timers |=

Clears all timers in the CP290 interface memory. This will take 
approximately 45 seconds and a progress bar will indicate percentage 
complete. Interface memory size for timers is 1024 bytes (128 timers).  

Clearing timers can not be interrupted. The Cancel button is therefore 
disabled. 

Note:  If the interface becomes disconnected during this operation, the 
program will display an error below the progress bar.  


  =| TOOLS - Read Interface Timers |=

Reads all timers from the CP290 interface memory and stores it in a file 
CP290.IBK by default. This preserves existing CP290 setups and is a way to 
migrate from previous CP290 programs to HOUSE/290. This operation will take 
approximately 45 seconds and a progress bar will indicate percentage 
complete.  

Reading timers can not be interrupted. The Cancel button is therefore 
disabled.  

Note:  If the interface becomes disconnected during this operation, the 
program will display an error below the progress bar.  

To restore the timers, use the REXX program RSTCP290.CMD included with 
HOUSE/290. Please observe the upload limit of 30 timers if you did not 
register the program yet.  


  =| TOOLS - Upload Timers |=

 

Uploads all timer settings to the CP290 interface. Before the actual 
upload, you will be given a choice to upload or not. Also, it will show how 
many timers the setup uses of the 128 available in the interface. Any 
unused timers will also be cleared and upload therefore takes considerable 
time. This same upload window is called when doing a weekly auto upload. 
See CONFIGURATION - Settings: Misc for more information on auto upload. 

Uploading timers will reassign and save new timer numbers to all enabled 
timers. 

During the upload, a progress bar indicates percentage complete. 

Uploading timers can be interrupted by clicking on the Cancel button.  

 

Note:  If the interface becomes disconnected during this operation, the 
program will display an error below the progress bar. 

Upload Timers will upload all enabled timers to the CP290. Depending on the 
number of enabled timers, this may take up to two minutes. Do not close the 
upload window during that time. Individual timers can be uploaded from the 
module edit window by clicking on the Upload Now buttons at each of the 
timers setting groups.  


  =| TOOLS - Battery Status |=

 

Keeps track of the battery type and date of installation. 

To edit the battery installation date and battery type only and if you do 
not change batteries, simply select the desired battery type and edit the 
date. When you exit this window, you will be asked if you want to save the 
changed data. 

This data is only kept in the HOUSE/290 configuration file, no interface 
communications takes place for this function. 

Note: To conform to Year 2000 standards, the date format is DD MMM YYYY, 
where DD = day of month, MMM = month using three letter abbreviation and 
YYYY = four digit year. If your set date does not conform to this format, 
simply edit it manually by clicking on the date and then pressing EXIT. 
This date is not used for any calculations at the present time, but it 
doesn't hurt to be Y2K compliant.  


  =| TOOLS - Interface Memory Status |=

This selection displays the following data:  

   - Date of Interface last programmed.
  - Timers used of 128 total available.
  - Battery installation date.

This data is recorded after every upload to the CP290 and then stored in 
HOUSE290.INI. The battery installation date is displayed for convenience 
and can be edited under the TOOLS - Battery Status selection. 

 


  =| CONFIGURATION - Settings |=

 

Contains all configuration settings for HOUSE/290 in notebook format. The 
note book contains the following pages: Comm for Interface communications 
settings, Location for geographical location settings for dawn/dusk 
calculations, Dawn/Dusk for dawn/dusk offsets and series events calculation 
sets and Misc for dim percent offset, toggle switch options and others.  


  =| CONFIGURATION - Settings: Comm |=

CONFIGURATION - Settings: Comm 

Communications settings for the CP290 interface. Allows to set serial port 
(COM1 thru COM8), auto connect option, computer name if running HOUSE/290 
over a network and Comm Engine control.  

Note:  Communications parameters are fixed by the CP290 to 600 Baud, 8 data 
bits, 1 stop bit and no parity.  

If Auto Connect is checked, then HOUSE/290 will connect to the CP290 
interface whenever the program is started. Auto Connect is disabled by 
default to allow you to setup the com port and configure your modules.  

The Scan Rate is set to 1 sec. by default. This is the rate at which the 
system time is checked for automatic weekly timer upload. Automatic timer 
upload occurs at 11:55pm of the selected weekday. See CONFIGURATION - 
Settings: Misc for more information.  

If Auto Load is checked, then the Comm Engine is loaded every time 
HOUSE/290 is started. By default, Auto Load is checked for single computer 
operation. If you run HOUSE/290 over a network, you may want to un-check 
this option.  

If Auto Unload is checked, then the Comm Engine is unloaded every time 
HOUSE/290 is terminated. By default, Auto Unload is checked for single 
computer operation. If you run HOUSE/290 over a network, you may want to 
un-check this option.  For more details on network operation, see the 
section Network Operation for more information.  

To permanently change the settings, press the SAVE button. The CLOSE button 
and close window selection on the system menu will leave the settings for 
the duration of the current HOUSE/290 session only.  


  =| CONFIGURATION - Settings: Location |=

CONFIGURATION - Settings: Location 

This page is used to select your geographical location required for 
dawn/dusk calculations. You must select a location to gain access to the 
dusk/dawn and series event calculations. 

The three radio buttons labeled N. America, Europe and Other select the 
location data file for each region of the world. The file names of these 
three regions are NORTHA.DAT, EUROPE.DAT and OTHER.DAT and they must appear 
with these file names in the same directory as the executable program. 
These files are text files and you may add your own location to them using 
the Custom button or a text editor like EPM. The file format is described 
in each of these files. Note that only the first 100 cities are recognized 
in each of these files.  

The Location selection box shows the city that is currently selected.  

The Custom button allows to add your own location to the DAT file. Select a 
city near your location before you press Custom. This will help you in 
determining the sign of the time zone and longitude/latitude. When you 
press Custom, a text window will appear where you can enter the location 
name. After you have entered the name, set the time zone, longitude and 
latitude. The newly entered location will be added to the end of the 
location list and will be displayed in the selection box. Select Store to 
permanently save the location in the DAT file. You can only store newly 
added locations and these locations are appended to the DAT file. No 
alphabetical sorting takes place. Locations with the same name can not be 
stored. Make certain the data you enter is correct. If you have to delete 
any entries, it must be done with a text editor. If more than 100 entries 
exist in the DAT file, a warning will be displayed.  

Time Zone, Longitude and Latitude text boxes show the corresponding data of 
the selected location. This information is pulled directly from the regions 
of the world DAT file. Time Zone is positive for locations west of GMT and 
negative for east of GMT. Longitude is positive for west and negative for 
east locations. Latitude is positive for northern and negative for southern 
locations. The format is DDD.MMSS where DDD is degrees, MM is minutes and 
SS is seconds.  

The Daylight Savings Time Observed check box must be enabled if your area 
observes daylight savings time. If you turn this box on, then the program 
will automatically calculate the dates when DST will be active. The 
calculation defaults to the first Sunday in April and the fourth Sunday in 
October. If these dates are not correct for your area, then you can direct 
edit the dates (click on the text box and type in the date in the format 
MM-DD-YYYY) and they will be saved in the HOUSE290.INI file.  

To save the Location settings, press the SAVE button. The CLOSE button and 
close window selection on the system menu will only change the settings for 
the duration of the current HOUSE/290 session.  


  =| CONFIGURATION - Settings: Dawn/Dusk |=

CONFIGURATION - Settings: Dawn/Dusk 

This page is used to select parameters for dawn/dusk calculations. 
Dawn/Dusk calculations can be performed for single events right from the 
Time page of a module setting. Dawn/Dusk calculations can also be done for 
a certain date range by automatically creating a series of events. This 
feature is available on the Series module settings page. This allows you to 
preprogram a module for up to one year to follow dusk without repeated 
programming for example. 

For example: From January 1 to January 10 the module on-time is set to 5:25 
pm, from January 11 to January 20 the on-time is set to 5:30 pm etc. The 
interface will then turn on the module at the specific time and date range.  

Dawn/Dusk Series Computation Sets. 

These parameters determine the range and accuracy of the dawn/dusk series 
calculation. 

Start Month is the month the calculation begins, default is 1 (January). 
This value can be between 1 and 12. This parameter can also be changed 
temporarily in the Series page where the calculations are started. 

No. Months is the number of months the calculations are to be carried out, 
default is 12 and therefore it will calculate the dawn/dusk times over a 
full year. The range of this value can be between 1 and 12. This parameter 
can also be changed temporarily in the Series page where the calculations 
are started.  

Day Steps is the number of steps in days the dawn/dusk calculation will be 
performed. If this value is set to one, the dawn/dusk times will be 
calculated for every day of the year. Default value is 3. Maximum value is 
30. Depending on your location, these default parameters may need to 
change. If you live close to the equator, the dawn/dusk times will not vary 
as much as if you live closer to the poles. This parameter really 
determines the resolution of the data for selecting module events. It does 
not set the selection criteria for events directly. See the help on Series 
for an example.  

Dawn/Dusk Event Selection Sets. 

These parameters determine which dawn/dusk times will be selected to create 
a series of module events. 

Minute Steps is the time in minutes that determines the selection criteria 
of events. If dawn time or dusk time do not change by more than the 
selected Minute Step between two dates, then the next calculated date will 
be checked if it matches the criteria. Default value of 10 minutes appears 
to create about 40 events over a one year period if you live at the 41st 
parallel. You can therefore preprogram an outside lamp for a full year to 
follow dawn/dusk in you area. Be aware that only a maximum of 113 timer 
events can be programmed into the CM11A, provided you have only one module. 
If you program other modules, then the number of dawn/dusk events will have 
to be reduced accordingly. You can either increase the value of Minute 
Steps or, preferably, shorten the date range. 

Dawn Offset is used to compensate the calculated dawn (sunrise) time. Civil 
dawn time is calculated, which is defined as the point when the sun is at 
the location of 6 degrees before astronomical sunrise occurs. Depending on 
weather you live behind a mountain or in a flat area, you can use this 
offset to adjust the actual time when artificial lighting is required. The 
range is 0 to 30 minutes. If the offset is negative, then the amount 
selected will be subtracted from the rise time, thus activating a module 
earlier than sunrise. If the offset is positive, then the module is 
activated later than the actual sunrise. This offset is used for both, the 
single event sunrise calculation and the series event sunrise calculations. 
Default offset is zero.  

Dusk Offset is used to compensate the calculated dusk (sunset) time. Civil 
dusk time is calculated, which is defined as the point when the sun is at 
the location of 6 degrees after astronomical sunset occurred. Depending on 
weather you live behind a mountain or in a flat area, you can use this 
offset to adjust the actual time when artificial lighting is required. The 
range is 0 to 30 minutes. If the offset is negative, then the amount 
selected will be subtracted from the sunset time, thus activating a module 
earlier than sunset. If the offset is positive, then the module is 
activated later than the actual sunset. This offset is used for both, the 
single event sunrise calculation and the series event sunrise calculations. 
Default offset is zero.  

The DEFAULT button is used to restore all parameters displayed on this page 
to the default values.  

To save these parameters, press the SAVE button. The CLOSE button and close 
window selection on the system menu will only change the parameters for the 
duration of the current HOUSE/290 session.  


  =| CONFIGURATION - Settings: Misc |=

CONFIGURATION - Settings: Misc 

The 18 Switch Group check box enables HOUSE/290 to hold up to 18 switches 
per group. After changing this setting, you must exit HOUSE/290 and then 
restart it. Only then will the changes take place. 

The Base House Code allows to preset the base house code of the CP290. The 
base house code can be uploaded by selecting the TOOLS - Set Clock menu 
selection or by clicking on the clock button. Default setting is house code 
A. 

Toggle Switch forces 100% is used to preserve any pre-dim settings for 
modules that support this feature. The Two-Way Lamp module LM14A does for 
example. If this check box is un-checked (default), then the ON command of 
a toggle switch will be ON, which will turn on a pre-dim capable module to 
the level it has been set the last time it was turned off. If this box is 
checked, then the ON command of a toggle switch will be DIM 100, thus 
forcing the dim module to 100%. For this to work, you must set the module 
type to Two-Way Lamp LM14A regardless of which module you actually attach 
and you must use a pre-dim capable module.  

Dim Percent Offset sets the dim value when using keyboard up or down arrows 
to change the slider. An offset of 0 (default) will change dim value by 4% 
each time an arrow key is pressed. An offset of 4 would add double the 
slider change to a current dim value. Offsets of 0, 4, 8 and 12 are 
possible.  

Enable Auto Upload makes it possible to automatically refresh the timers 
once a week. The CP290 can only be preprogrammed for a week ahead of time. 
If you want to have lights turn on/off at sunset and sunrise throughout the 
year, then enable this setting, leave HOUSE/290 and the Comm Engine 
running, and at 11:55pm of the selected weekday, the timers will 
automatically upload. As an alternative, you can also manually upload the 
timers once a week at your convenience. By default, the weekday is set to 
Sunday and auto upload is disabled.  

The Default button resets all values on this page to their defaults.  

To permanently change the miscellaneous settings, press the SAVE button. 
The CLOSE button and close window selection on the system menu will leave 
the settings for the duration of the current HOUSE/290 session only.  


  =| CONFIGURATION - Thermostat |=

THIS FEATURE HAS BEEN DISABLED FOR NOW. Create individual modules to 
control your thermostat. 

Thermostat Configuration 

Contains all configuration settings for a thermostat. This configuration 
notebook page is also accessible form the Edit... button of the Thermostat 
Control window.  

Before the thermostat icon in the button bar is enabled, you must configure 
the thermostat through this menu selection. Only one thermostat is 
supported right now. Up to 99 thermostat events can be programmed and 
executed at different times, weekdays or selected date ranges. 

The thermostat configuration notebook contains three buttons on the bottom 
to save, cancel or delete the thermostat settings. SAVE will save the 
thermostat settings and close the settings notebook. CANCEL will cancel any 
edit operations and close the settings notebook. DELETE will delete the 
thermostat and also disable the thermostat icon on the button bar.  

Thermostat Definition:  

The Name entry field defines the Thermostat Name as it appears on the 
thermostat window. This name can be up to 12 characters long.  

Two models of thermostats are currently supported and a selection box 
allows to choose between the models. The HAS-3035 and HAS-3045 are one-way 
models and use an entire house code with 16 device numbers to perform the 
functions. The functions of these two models are very similar, differing 
only in three temperature setting values. Changing models will 
automatically adjust the temperature settings range box. The specifications 
for these thermostats can be found on the Home Automation System site 
(Smarthome) listed in the Internet Links for Home Automation in this help 
file.  

The thermostat address occupies an entire house code and is selected from 
the House Code box. Only unused house codes appear on the list to prevent 
interaction between existing modules and the thermostat.  

The Upload to Interface check box enables the thermostat events for 
uploading to the CM11A interface. The On time has to be enabled if the 
thermostat events are to be uploaded. Upload to Interface is completely 
separate from the On time enable setting. Turning Upload to Interface off 
will not change the On time check box.  

Thermostat Event Time: 

This section defines the times the thermostat function is to take place for 
each individual event. The On check box provides a way to enable or disable 
the time for the particular event. Time is 00:00 to 12:59 AM or PM. Dawn 
and Dusk buttons automatically calculate the civil sunrise and sunset times 
depending on the location set in the Configuration. The date used for the 
dawn and dusk calculation is the FROM Date as set in the currently selected 
event. 

Note that a 12:xx AM selection will be displayed as 00:xx AM when this page 
is re-entered. When a thermostat event is added, On time is disabled. If 
the time value is changed, then the box is automatically checked, thus 
enabling the corresponding timer event.  

Thermostat event time can be set to different days of the week. The 
switches in the group Day of Week provide for this selection. If the 
weekday buttons are green then that particular day is selected.  

Thermostat Event Date Range: 

This section allows to set the date range the particular thermostat event 
will be active. Spin buttons provide for month and date selections. If the 
date falls to the last day of the month and the month is changed, then the 
date is automatically set to the last day of the new month. You must enter 
the TO date to a later date than the FROM date. An error window will pop up 
if the date range of the current event is invalid. The date range must be 
valid before the thermostat settings can be saved. There are no checks for 
overlapping date ranges among all the events.  

Thermostat Event Select: 

The thermostat can have up to 99 events with different event on times, 
weekdays and date ranges. The buttons in the Event group select these 
events. A text window shows the current event and the total number of 
events for the thermostat. The Next button selects the next event. If the 
current event is the last one, then you are asked if you would like to add 
a new event. If you don't add a new event, it wraps around to the first 
event. Previous event will cycle through all available events and wrap 
around to the top event. Delete event will delete the current event. 
Currently, only the highest event can be deleted.  

Thermostat Function Definition: 

The thermostat functions can be selected from the Function/Temp. selection 
list. A check box provides for Fahrenheit or Celsius temperature display. 
All programmed events can be displayed in the text window. The Refresh 
button must be used to re-display the events after changes were made as 
refresh of that window is not automatic.   


  =| GROUPS |=

 

The menu selections under this menu item performs actions on the currently 
active group. 


  =| GROUPS - Edit Group Name |=

Opens up the Edit Group Name window for the currently active group. You can 
also activate that window by right-clicking on any group button.  


  =| GROUPS - Turn All Switches ON |=

This selection will turn on all switches in the current group. You must be 
connected to the Comm Engine and to the CP290 for this to work. Switches 
are turned on one at a time, disregarding their current status. You can 
also turn on all switches of a group by pressing function key F4 on the 
keyboard.  


  =| GROUPS - Turn All Switches OFF |=

This selection will turn off all switches in the current group. You must be 
connected to the Comm Engine and to the CP290 for this to work. Switches 
are turned off one at a time, disregarding their current status. You can 
also turn off all switches of a group by pressing function key F5 on the 
keyboard.  


  =| SWITCHES |=

 

This pull down menu provides access to the sliders through hotkeys. It is 
especially designed to allow speech macros to control each of the switches. 
The hotkeys assigned to switches 1-12 are ALT-F1 through ALT-F12 and 
switches 13-18 are assigned SHIFT-ALT-F3 through SHIFT-ALT-F8. Activating 
any of these hotkeys will give focus to the corresponding slider which can 
then be turned on with the up arrow or turned off with the down arrow. 
Speech macros can easily be assigned to each of the switches so that for 
example you can say "Living Room Light ON" to turn the corresponding switch 
on. 

Note that only as many switch selections are enabled as are switches in the 
currently displayed group. 

To help recognize which key combination belongs to the switches, a number 
followed by a dash is displayed on each switch. For example, switch 10 of a 
group is labeled 10 - to indicate that ALT-F10 is the hotkey. 

Note: You must use the SHIFT-ALT sequence in that order for switches 13-18. 
The reverse, ALT-SHIFT is used to cycle through the open programs and is 
assigned by the system.  


  =| HELP - Help Contents |=

 

Displays the help contents (but uses the OS/2 index feature). The Help 
Contents is also accessible from the Toolbar. Note that help is organized 
in sections and Help Contents brings up the section headings in 
alphabetical order. I find this a more logical way to organize help even if 
it goes against common OS/2 convention.  


  =| HELP - Quick Help |=

 

Displays this help file (HOUSE290.HLP) starting with the quick help 
section. Press the Index button to display the help content sections. I 
know, this goes against OS/2 convention, but I find Help easier to navigate 
this way. Pressing F1 inside HOUSE/290 will bring up this same help 
section.  


  =| HELP - How to Register |=

 

Explains how and where to register this program (HOUSE/290).  


  =| HELP - Product Information |=

 

Product information.  


=| Editing Modules - Name |=

Module Name: 

The name section defines the module's Group Name and the Switch Name as it 
appears on the bottom label of the switch face plate. These two names can 
be up to 12 characters long. The Group Name can also be edited by 
right-clicking on each of the group buttons. You can name all groups 
without having to add any modules. 

The module's address (House Code and Device Number) is selected here and 
will appear on the top label of the switch face plate. If a duplicate house 
and device exists, then a warning is displayed on the notebook status line 
just below the tabs. Remember, if you have a thermostat configured, then 
all 16 device numbers of that particular house code will create a warning 
if you select the same house code for the  module and the thermostat. 

Do not select the same house code for a module and a thermostat because 
module events will interfere sooner or later with the thermostat settings.  

The Module Type selection box allows to define the module. This is used to 
distinguish between dim, non-dim, one-way, two-way, input and output 
capabilities. Module Type selection is important to correctly support the 
module's features. 

Dim-capable modules are: Wall Switch WS467, Lamp Module LM465, Screw In 
Lamp Socket WS467 and the LM14A Two-Way. Selecting these enables the 
sliders to adjust from 0 to 100%. All other type selections will provide 
ON/OFF only function to the slider.  

Note: Two-Way specific features like requesting status are not supported by 
the CP290. The Two-Way modules can only be turned ON/OFF and dimmed with 
the CP290.  

The type "Generic Input Module" is used for any modules providing input 
signals like the Motion Detector for example. Input modules are currently 
not handled by HOUSE/290 any different than a regular output module.  

If you have a module that is not on the list, simply select one that 
closely matches the features and it will be fully supported by HOUSE/290. 
As an alternative, you can use the external database and define your own 
module.  

The External Database check box lists the modules as entered in the 
H2MODULE.DB file. This provides a way for entering and defining modules 
that are not listed in the internal database and also keep a part number 
inventory once that report feature is added.  

To edit the external database, you must use the separate HOUS2UTL program, 
it cannot be done from inside HOUSE/290. Use the menu selection UTILITIES - 
Module Database in HOUS2UTL to add your own modules to the database. See 
the Help in HOUS2UTL for additional information on the external database 
features.  

Note: You don't have to use the external database feature to fully take 
advantage of the various module features like dimming. Simply select a 
module from the internal database which closely matches your module's 
features and you will be able to support all features. The only thing you 
won't be able to do is keep an accurate part number inventory.  

The settings in this section are common to all events of the particular 
module.  


=| Editing Modules - Time |=

Module Time: 

This section defines the module's on and off times. Modules may have only 
ON time, only OFF time or both. The title of each timer box shows the timer 
number with which the data has been programmed into the CP290. A zero 
indicates that the particular timer has not been programmed. There are 128 
possible timers the CP290 can accept. Timer numbers are assigned the first 
time HOUSE/290 uploads the data to the CP290 and are then saved in the SET 
file. 

The On check boxes provide this selection for each ON or OFF timer. Time is 
00:00 to 12:59 AM or PM. Dawn and Dusk buttons automatically calculate the 
civil sunrise and sunset times depending on the location set in the 
Configuration. The date used for the dawn and dusk calculation is the FROM 
Date as set in the currently selected event. 

Note that a 12:xx AM selection will be displayed as 00:xx AM when this page 
is re-entered. When a new module is added, on and off times are disabled. 
If any of the time values are changed, then the boxes are automatically 
checked, thus enabling the corresponding timer. 

Also, if the ON and OFF times are identical and you save or change to a 
different event, you will be notified of the identical times. You have the 
option to answer YES to disable the timers or NO to continue. If you choose 
NO, you will be returned to the event and you have to correct the timers 
before you can continue. Either disable one timer or make the ON and OFF 
times unequal. If you Cancel or Close the edit module window, you will be 
warned of the time conflict. A YES response will disable the timers, a NO 
response will leave the event as is. The program will upload such an event 
if you choose Upload to Interface, there will be no further equal time 
check. 

Be aware that uploading equal on and off times may result in unpredictable 
module behavior and there is no way in testing for certain how the 
interface will respond to such a case.  

Module on/off time can be set to different days of the week. The switches 
in the group Day of Week provide for this selection. If the weekday buttons 
are green then that particular day is selected.  

The Live-in Time check boxes program the CP290 interface to randomly turn 
on the module within 30 minutes of the selected on or off times. This 
provides a live-in look to your home. Live-In time feature is available 
separately for on and off-times. This feature is also called SECURITY but I 
find Live-In a more descriptive and obvious way of naming it. 

The Upload Now buttons will upload the particular timer data to the CP290 
if connected. If the timer is disabled and a timer number is assigned, then 
an Upload Now will prompt to clear the timer data from the CP290.  

Example: To program a light to turn on at random between 8-9pm and off at 
random between 10-11pm, set ON-Time to 8:30pm, OFF-time to 10:30pm and 
check both Live-in Time check boxes. The light will now turn on at random 
between 8-9pm and stay on exactly for two hours. 

Another example: Turn off a module at random between 11pm and midnight. The 
same module may have been turned on by another event or timer previously. 
Set the OFF-Time to 11:30pm and check the Live-in Off-Time check box. 
Disable the On-Time. The off command will now be executed anytime between 
11pm and midnight, at different times every day.  


=| Editing Modules - Date Range |=

Module Date Range: 

This section allows to set the date range during which the particular 
module event will be active. Spin buttons provide for month and date 
selections. If the date falls to the last day of the month and the month is 
changed, then the date is automatically set to the last day of the new 
month. You must enter the TO date to a later date than the FROM date. An 
error window will pop up if the date range of the current event is invalid. 
The date range must be valid before the module setting can be saved. There 
are no checks for overlapping date ranges among all the events. 

Note: The FROM date is used for calculating dusk and dawn times when 
selecting these buttons on the module edit page.  

The rules for uploading events are as follows: 

  - Upload Now will upload events 
   no matter what the date range is.

  - Upload selected from the button bar or 
   menu will only upload events that have a 
   date range that falls within the date of the upload.
 


=| Editing Modules - Special |=

Module Special:  

The Enable Upload check box enables the module for uploading to the CP290 
interface and also enables the Upload Now buttons. The on or off times have 
to be enabled if the module events are to be uploaded. If the on or off 
times are disabled, an Upload Now will prompt to clear the timer, provided 
the timer number is not zero. Enable Upload is completely separate from the 
on or off times enable settings. Turning Enable Upload off will not change 
the on or off time check boxes.  

To upload all programmed events of all modules, use the Upload button on 
the button bar or select the Tools - Upload Timers from the pull down menu.  

The on-time module brightness value can be selected if a module provides 
the dim function. If the module only supports on/off, then the on-time is 
always the command ON. 

The off-time event is always the command OFF no matter what module type is 
selected.  


=| Editing Modules - Series |=

Module Series: 

This page lets you easily create multiple events for modules. 

For example: You want the outside lights to turn on at sunset and turn off 
at sunrise throughout the year. Simply select Sunset-Sunrise on the Series 
Event Type spin button, press MAKE, review the calculated times and press 
ACCEPT. That's it. Read on for more details. For examples using series 
events, read the section Examples.  

The series calculations can be controlled by five spin buttons:  

Start Month selects the month to start the calculations from. Any changes 
to this value will only affect the current instance of HOUSE/290. Range is 
1-12 (January - December). This control is also available on the Settings - 
Dawn/Dusk page where you can save a certain default value to the 
configuration file.  

No. Months selects the length in month of the series calculation period. A 
selection of 12 will perform a full year's worth of calculations. If Start 
Month plus No. Months goes past December, the calculations will roll over 
into the next year. For example: if Start Month is 12 and No. Months is 2 
then the calculations are performed for the range of December 1 to January 
31. Any changes to the No. Months value will only affect the current 
instance of HOUSE/290. Range is 1-12. This control is also available on the 
Settings - Dawn/Dusk page where you can save a certain default value to the 
configuration file.  

Dawn Offset is used to compensate the calculated dawn (sunrise) time. Any 
changes to this value will only affect the current instance of HOUSE/290. 
This control is also available on the Settings - Dawn/Dusk page where you 
can save a certain default value to the configuration file. The range is 
30 minutes. If the offset is negative, then the amount selected will be 
subtracted from the rise time, thus activating a module earlier than 
sunrise. If the offset is positive, then the module is activated later than 
the actual sunrise. This offset is used for both, the single event sunrise 
calculation and the series event sunrise calculations. See the Settings 
page for details on how sunrise time is defined. 

Dusk Offset is used to compensate the calculated dusk (sunset) time. Any 
changes to this value will only affect the current instance of HOUSE/290. 
This control is also available on the Settings - Dawn/Dusk page where you 
can save a certain default value to the configuration file. The range is 
30 minutes. If the offset is negative, then the amount selected will be 
subtracted from the sunset time, thus activating a module earlier than 
sunset. If the offset is positive, then the module is activated later than 
the actual sunset. This offset is used for both, the single event sunrise 
calculation and the series event sunrise calculations. See the Settings 
page for details on how sunrise time is defined.  

Series Event Type selects the type of repeated events you want to create. 
The following types are available: 

   ON-time  OFF-time
  1. Sunset - Sunrise 
  2. Sunset - Repeat 
  3. Repeat - Sunset 
  4. Sunrise - Repeat 
  5. Repeat - Sunrise 
  6. Sunrise - Sunset'

The left half determines the type for the ON-time event, and the right side 
determines the OFF-time event. So, type 1 would turn on a module at sunset 
and turn it off at sunrise. The "Repeat" will simply repeat the settings of 
the particular timer of the current event. 

For example: You want to turn on a module at sunset and turn it off at 
10:00pm using the Live-In Special setting. On the Define page, enable both 
ON and OFF timers, set the OFF time to 10:00pm, ignore the ON time. On the 
Special page check only the OFF-time Live-In box. Go to the Series page, 
select Sunset - Repeat and click on Make, then Accept. You're done.  

The Adjust for DST check box allows for Daylight Savings Time compensation. 
If you do not manually change the interface time at the DST change-over 
dates, then do not check the Adjust for DST box. This allows for operation 
of the lights at the proper dusk and dawn times. This also allows you to 
pre-program the modules correctly if you are planning to be away from your 
residence when the DST changes. If you adjust the interface time later to 
reflect the DST change, you must recreate and upload the events to adjust 
for the change. 

If you adjust the interface time manually every time the DST changes, then 
check the Adjust for DST box. However, be aware that you should change the 
interface time at exactly the official time DST changes or some modules 
will not operate at the programmed time.  

Note: If you are also using ActiveHome to access the interface, then be 
aware that ActiveHome changes the interface time automatically to whatever 
the computer time is set, without letting you know. This may interfere with 
the proper dusk/dawn time settings pre-programmed into the interface if you 
use both programs.  

The Make button starts the series calculations. This may take a few seconds 
depending on the speed of your system. During calculations, progress is 
displayed next to the Make button. At the end of the calculation, all the 
selected events are displayed in the multi-line entry field. See Table 2 
below. You can inspect the calculated values before they actually get 
converted into events. Accept will add all the events starting with the 
currently selected event. All existing events at and above the current 
event will be over-written. 

Cancel will discard all calculations and retain the existing events.  

Details on Series Calculations 

Below is a partial list of calculated values as determined by the default 
Dawn/Dusk Series Computation Sets (Start Month = 1, Stop Month = 12, Day 
Step = 3). These values are only calculated and are not visible within 
HOUSE/290. Note the interval of days (Day Step = 3) for each calculation. 
Too large of a value for Day Step may affect time resolution. You will have 
to experiment with this value in your geographical area.  

Date Dawn Dusk (in minutes)

01-01 441 1062 
01-04 441 1064 
01-07 441 1067 
01-10 441 1070 
01-13 440 1073 
01-16 439 1076 
01-19 438 1079 
01-22 436 1083 
01-25 434 1086 
01-28 432 1089 
01-31 430 1093 
02-03 427 1096 
02-06 424 1100 
02-09 421 1103 
02-12 417 1107 
02-15 414 1110 
02-18 410 1114 
02-21 406 1117 
 
 
 
11-18 408 1057 
11-21 412 1055 
11-24 415 1054 
11-27 418 1052 
11-30 421 1051 
12-03 424 1051 
12-06 426 1051 
12-09 429 1051 
12-12 431 1051 
12-15 434 1052 
12-18 436 1053 
12-21 437 1054 
12-24 439 1056 
12-27 440 1058 
12-30 441 1060 
12-31 441 1061 

  Table 1. Calculated Data.

Below is a partial list of selected values as determined by the default 
Dawn/Dusk Event Selection Sets (Minute Steps = 10, Dawn Offset = 0, Dusk 
Offset = 0). These are the values that will show up on the multi-line entry 
field and you can inspect before accepting them. Note that some time values 
are more than 10 minutes as specified by Minute Steps. This comes from the 
data calculated as in Table 1. You may redo the calculation by reducing the 
value of Day Step, however be aware that it may not result in better 
accuracy.  

No Date Dawn Dusk 
 1 01-01 07:21 17:42
 2 01-13 07:20 17:53
 3 01-22 07:16 18:03
 4 01-31 07:10 18:13
 5 02-09 07:01 18:23
 6 02-18 06:50 18:34
 
 
 
37 11-21 06:52 17:35
38 12-03 07:04 17:31
39 12-15 07:14 17:32
40 12-31 07:21 17:41
A total of 39 events will be 
added starting with event 1.
Select "Accept" or "Cancel"
to continue...

  Table 2. Selected Data.

Below is a partial list of the actual events, showing time and date ranges 
as taken from Table 2 above. Note that an event date range goes from the 
listed date to one day before the next listed day. Certain dates will 
always be present in this list (if they fall within the selected date 
range) as they are important for proper operation of the interface: 

January 1, December 31, the last day of the selected date range and 
Daylight Savings Time start and end dates (if applicable).  

Ev. On   Off   Date Range 
1  17:42  07:21  01-01 to 01-12
2  17:53  07:20  01-13 to 01-21
3  18:03  07:16  01-22 to 01-30
4  18:13  07:10  01-31 to 02-08
 
 
 
37 17:35 06:52  11-21 to 12-02
38 17:31 07:04  12-03 to 12-14
39 17:32 07:14  12-15 to 12-31


  Table 3. Selected Events.

When calculating series events you must observe the limit of 128 timer 
events with only one on and off command that the interface memory can hold. 
This number is drastically reduced if you have other modules. Before the 
data is uploaded, HOUSE/290 will tell you how many of the interface timers 
are used. If it is over 128 you cannot upload the data.  


=| Editing Modules - Event Select |=

Module Event Select: 

Each module can have up to 99 events with different on/off times, weekdays 
and date ranges. The buttons in the Event group select these events. A text 
window shows the current event and the total number of events for the 
module. The Next button selects the next event. If the current event is the 
last one, then you are asked if you would like to add a new event. If you 
don't add a new event, it wraps around to the first event. Previous event 
will cycle through all available events and wrap around to the top event. 
Delete event will delete the current event. Currently, only the highest 
event can be deleted.                  


=| Group Set Change Buttons |=

Groups are selected by clicking on any of the eight buttons appearing on 
the bottom of the main program window. A total of 16 groups can be setup. 
To select between the two sets of 8 groups, click on either of the or 
buttons. These two buttons will wrap around to the other set such that you 
can use either button to select the two sets of groups. 

To name the 16 groups, right-click on a group button and type in the group 
name. Any typeable characters are accepted. The group name length is 
limited to 12 characters. To save the new group name, press the Tab then 
the Enter key or click on the Save button with the mouse. Empty groups are 
allowed and can be named and saved. 

The name of the current group can also be changed by selecting Groups - 
Edit Group Name from the pull down menu.  


=| Moving Modules |=

Moving Modules to other Groups. 

To move a module to another group, simply drag the module name (text 
appearing on the bottom part of the switch plate) to another group button. 
When the drag operation has started, the module name will turn green to 
indicate which module is being moved. If the group the module is moved to 
is full, the status line will display a message. Modules are moved to the 
last position inside the new group. 

To move a module to the second set of groups, drop the module to one of the 
or buttons. These buttons will turn green to show that they contain a 
module to be moved. Also, the group button labels show the names of the 
next group set, however the modules of the source group remain displayed. 
Now drag any of the green buttons to one of the new group buttons. The 
module will be moved and the previous group names are restored. 

If you do not want to move the module to one of the displayed group names 
after you had dropped it into one of the group set change buttons, simply 
left-click on one of the group set change buttons to display the correct 
group set and drag the module from the green group set change button to the 
desired group. 

If the module is dropped via the group set change buttons onto any other 
module name of the source group, then the module orders are rearranged and 
no module to group move takes place. See section below on rearranging 
module orders.  

 

Rearranging Module Orders inside a Group. 

To rearrange the module order within a group, simply drag the module name 
(text appearing on the bottom part of the switch plate) to another module 
name. During the drag operation, the color of the name of the source module 
is changed to green to indicate which module is being moved. 

This module move and rearrange operation is canceled by the following 
operations:   

  Dropping the module on the HOUSE/290 window background.   

  Dropping the module on the module name of the same module.   

  Dropping the module on any slider or module status line (top line of 
switch plate).   

  Activating any of the menu bar items, toolbar buttons or pop-up menus. 

After the move and rearrange operation or a canceled move or rearrange, the 
module name color is changed back to the default color. 

Note: If the mouse pointer for some reason can't be cleared of the switch 
pointer, press ESC to restore the original mouse pointer.  

Deleting Module Orders inside a Group. 

Modules can be deleted from groups using drag and drop. Simply drag the 
module name to the trash can located in the upper right corner of the 
program window. A dialog window will then pop up to confirm the removal of 
the module.  


=| Menu Bar Description |=

The menu bar provides for quick selection of the most used functions. All 
menu bar functions are also available from the regular pull-down menus.  

Note:  The offline, clock and battery icons are also used as status 
indicators. If the offline icon is displayed, then HOUSE/290 is off-line. 
Clicking on that icon will put HOUSE/290 on-line. The clock and battery 
icon, as well as the upload icon, start that particular function. If 
HOUSE/290 is offline, then activating these functions will result in a 
high-pitched beep and an error message in the status line of the program is 
displayed.  

 


=| HOUSE/290 Interface Roadmap |=

 

Below is a screen shot of the HOUSE/290 program with short descriptions on 
how to navigate through the program.  

 


=| Getting Started |=

 

This section explains how to get started, both for first time users and 
users who already have a CP290 interface and have used other software to 
control it.  

 First Time Installation of HOUSE/290 with new CP290 Interface. 

This explanation assumes that you installed HOUSE/290 with a new CP290 
interface for the first time and that you have not previously used the 
CP290 with any other software. 

Follow the installation instructions of HOUSE/290 and the CP290 interface 
to install both products. Connect the CP290 to one of your serial ports. 
Start up HOUSE/290 and select the serial port you connected the CP290 to 
from the Configuration - Settings - Comm notebook page. Save the settings 
and connect to the interface by clicking in the OFFLINE icon in the tool 
bar. Click on the BATTERY icon. Select the battery type (Regular or 
Alkaline) and click on New Battery. This will save the battery installation 
date and type to the HOUSE290.INI file. Exit the screen and click on the 
CLOCK icon to verify interface time. If the time does not match system 
time, then click on Set Interface Time to correct it.  

If you have problems up to this point, please read the help section on 
Troubleshooting.  

If battery data and clock are successfully set, then you can disconnect 
from the interface by clicking on the ONLINE icon in the tool bar and start 
adding modules to HOUSE/290. 

To add modules, make sure Group 1 is highlighted and click on ADD MODULE or 
ADD WALLSWITCH icon in the tool bar. You can also make these selections 
from the MODULES pull-down menu. A module will appear on the screen. 
Right-click on the gray slider area (but not inside the slider channel) to 
bring up a menu. Select EDIT to start editing module name, address, type, 
on-time etc. 

You can add up to 12 modules and macros to one group. Use the groups to 
logically organize your modules by room, function, time of the year, etc. 
Please read the section on module editing for the various types of settings 
and features.  

Migrating from Other Software to HOUSE/290. 

This explanation assumes that you installed HOUSE/290 with an existing 
CP290 interface and that you have used the CP290 with other software. 

Start up HOUSE/290 and select the serial port you connected the CP290 to 
from the Configuration - Settings - Comm notebook page. Save the settings 
and connect to the interface by clicking on the OFFLINE icon in the tool 
bar. Click on the BATTERY icon. Select the battery type (Regular or 
Alkaline) you installed into the CP290. Edit the battery installation date. 
The format is DD MMM YYYY. You can approximate the date as it is not used 
for any calculations. Exiting the screen will save the battery installation 
date and type to the HOUSE290.INI file. Click on the CLOCK icon to verify 
interface time. If the time does not match system time, then click on Set 
Interface Time to correct it.  

If you have problems up to this point, please read the help section on 
Troubleshooting.  

With HOUSE/290 still connected, select TOOLS - Read Interface Memory. This 
will read all the current CP290 timer programming and prompt you to save it 
in a file. Default file name is CP290.IBK. In case you want to restore 
these settings, use the provided RSTCP290.CMD program to return back to the 
original settings. The file CP290.IBK must be present for RTSCP290.CMD to 
work. There is currently no conversion tool available to create HOUSE/290 
modules from an existing CP290 setup.  

If battery information and clock are successfully set, then you can 
disconnect from the interface by clicking on the ONLINE icon in the tool 
bar and start adding modules to HOUSE/290. 

 To add modules, make sure Group 1 is highlighted and click on ADD MODULE 
or ADD WALLSWITCH icon in the tool bar. You can also make these selections 
from the MODULES pull-down menu. A module will appear on the screen. 
Right-click on the gray slider area (but not inside the slider channel) to 
bring up a menu. Select EDIT to start editing module name, address, type, 
on-time etc. 

Note: Please be aware of the 30 timer limit if you did not register the 
program. An unregistered program will not be able to preset or restore more 
than 30 timers.  


=| Examples |=

 

This section shows example module setups and explains how to create them.  

Example 1. A Series Dusk/Dawn Event. 

Problem: You want to control the outside lights to turn on at dusk and turn 
off at dawn automatically throughout the year.  

How it's done: Create a module in the appropriate group and set the house 
and device code and enable Upload to Interface. In the Time section, enable 
both On and Off times and make sure the weekday selection is set to Every 
Day. In the Special section, set On Time Brightness to ON or desired dim 
percentage if the module is a dimmer. Make sure the Live-In check boxes are 
un-checked. On the Series page, select Start Month = 1, No. Months = 12, 
dial in the desired dusk/dawn offsets if necessary, and select the Sunset - 
Sunrise option in the Series Event Type list. Click on Make button to 
create the series events. Press Accept when the calculations are finished, 
save the module settings and upload them to the interface. 

Note that the CP290 can only be preset for a week ahead of time. You must 
therefore upload at least once a week to have lights follow the changes in 
sunrise and sunset. 

You can control the number of events by adjusting the No. Months or Minute 
Steps in the Configuration-Settings Dawn/Dusk page. See the help section on 
Configuration-Settings Dawn/Dusk for details.  

Example 2. A Series Dusk/Live-In Event. 

Problem: You want to control the outside lights to turn on at dusk and turn 
off at 11:00pm 30 minutes automatically throughout the year.  

How it's done: Create a module in the appropriate group and set the house 
and device code and enable Upload to Interface. In the Time section, enable 
both On and Off times and make sure the weekday selection is set to Every 
Day. Set the Off time to 11:00pm. In the Special section, set On Time 
Brightness to ON or desired dim percentage if the module is a dimmer. Make 
sure the On-time Live-In box is un-checked, but check the Off-time Live-In 
box. This will result in the 30 minute random off-time that gives a 
live-in look to your house. On the Series page, select Start Month = 1, No. 
Months = 12, dial in the desired dusk offset if necessary. Select the 
Sunset - Repeat option in the Series Event Type list. Click on Make button 
to create the series events. Press Accept when the calculations are 
finished, save the module settings and upload them to the interface.  

Note that the CP290 can only be preset for a week ahead of time. You must 
therefore upload at least once a week to have lights follow the changes in 
sunrise and sunset. The upload can be done automatically. See CONFIGURATION 
- Settings: Misc for more information on auto upload.  

Example 3. Launch a program from an X-10 event. 

Problem: You want to launch your favorite OS/2 program whenever you press 
the first button on the CP290.  

How it's done: Open up the Comm Engine (press CTRL-ESC and double-click on 
the Comm Engine entry if it is running in the background, or simply start 
it up from the HOUSE/290 folder). Select FILE - Event Actions and configure 
the event that triggers the program. Enable logging in the FILE - 
Configuration window and connect to the CP290. For more information, see 
the help inside the Comm Engine. The H290MAIN.EXE GUI client is not 
required for launching programs.  


=| Logging Events and Updating Module Status |=

 

If HOUSE/290 is connected to the interface through the Comm Engine and 
logging is enabled, then every computer command to the Comm Engine is 
logged. Every CP290 switch activation is logged as well but not reported 
back to the client at the moment. The log file is HOUSE290.LOG and can be 
kept at a certain size. See the Comm Engine help for details. HOUSE290.LOG 
is a text file and contains regular X-10 commands like A1 ON along with the 
time and date the event took place.  

IMPORTANT: The CP290 does not capture external X-10 events and pass them 
onto the computer. Therefore, it makes it impossible to show live modules 
status on screen.  


=| Slider Control |=

 

Each module is represented by a switch face plate as shown here.  

 

The top line is the module Status Line showing the house and device code. 
Hotkeys to access the switch are indicated by a number and a dash. See 
below for explanation. If a check mark shows, then the module is enabled 
and time settings will be uploaded to the CP290 interface. Double-clicking 
on the status line will bring up the edit notebook.  

Each slider can be accessed through a hotkey. The hotkeys are ALT-F1 
through ALT-F12 for sliders 1-12 and SHIFT-ALT-F3 through SHIFT-ALT-F8 for 
switches 13-18. The status line of each switch shows the hotkey number 
followed by a dash, i.e. 10 - for switch 10 of the current group. This 
hotkey assignment allows to attach speech macros to each slider for speech 
controlling all your modules.  

The bottom line shows the switch Name. To move the module to another group 
or position, simply drag the name and drop it on a group or other switch 
name within the same group. To delete a module, you can also drag the name 
to the trash can in the upper right corner of the program window.  

If the module has dimming capability, then the slider Label displays 0 to 
100% otherwise it shows ON or OFF.  The color of the label will change to 
green if the module is turned on or dimmed to a value larger than zero.  

 

Each module has a Toggle Switch to turn it on (up position) or off (down 
position). This is useful for dim modules. Note that regular dim modules 
will fully turn on with this toggle switch. If your dim module supports the 
pre-dim feature (the Two-Way lamp LM14A does for example), then you have 
two options for toggle switch operation: Turn to pre-dim setting (the 
previous dim setting before it was turned off the last time) or force to 
100%. You must have a pre-dim capable module and set the module type to 
Two-Way Lamp LM14A for this to work. Also, the Toggle Switch forces 100% 
setting in the Configuration - Settings - Misc page must be set 
accordingly. 

Note: The CP290 does not support the additional Two-Way module features 
like status request, beyond ON, OFF and DIM. 

The sliders for modules can be controlled with the mouse, keyboard or voice 
commands.  

Slider control with the mouse. 

Non-Dim Modules: 

To turn a module ON or OFF, change the state by grabbing the slider knob 
itself and sliding it to the ON or OFF position. Slider positions for 
non-dim modules can only be positioned to ON or OFF. The slider will jump 
to the ON position if the slider is positioned above 50%. Below 50%, the 
slider will jump to OFF. You can also toggle the slider position by 
clicking inside the slider channel. The toggle switch duplicates the on/off 
action of the slider.  

Dim Modules: 

To turn a dim module ON or OFF, simply grab the slider knob and move it. 
This action will override the pre-dim setting of certain modules. If you 
want to preserve a pre-dim value on turn on, then use the toggle switch to 
turn the modules on. For the pre-dim feature to work, you must un-check the 
Toggle Switch forces 100% setting in the Configuration - Settings - Misc 
page and also select the module type as Two-Way Lamp LM14A Slider positions 
for dim-type modules can be set to anywhere from 0% to 100% by dragging the 
slider. Clicking inside the slider channel will raise or lower the dim 
value by 4%. Because of integer calculations, some percentage settings may 
not be possible.  

Slider control with the keyboard. 

Before you can control the sliders with the keyboard, you must give the 
module focus. Use the TAB key until the desired slider has the focus or use 
the hotkeys ALT-F1 through ALT-F12 for switches 1-12 and SHIFT-ALT-F3 
through SHIFT-ALT-F8 for switches 13-18. Then using the up or down arrow 
will turn the slider ON or OFF for non-dim module. For dim modules, one 
arrow action represents approximately 4% if Dim Percent Offset is set to 
zero. This offset value can be changed in the Configuration - Settings - 
Misc page. For repeated keyboard actions, the slider must be given focus 
again. The toggle switch can also be changed with the up and down arrow 
keys if the toggle switch has focus.  

Slider control with Speech Navigation. 

The speech commands for controlling sliders are "UP" for ON or "DOWN" for 
OFF. Before you can control the modules you must give focus to sliders by 
saying "SLIDER" repeatedly until the desired slider is highlighted. You can 
also create speech macros that will play back keyboard commands to activate 
the sliders. ALT-F1 through ALT-F12 give focus to switches 1-12 and 
SHIFT-ALT-F3 through SHIFT-ALT-F8 for switches 13-18. Then using the up or 
down arrow will turn the slider ON or OFF. You can play back these 
keystrokes whenever a "Living Room Lights On" speech command is received. 
To control dimming with speech commands, you can use the keyboard sequences 
as listed above in a speech macro. The percent change per activation can be 
adjusted with the Dim Percent Offset on the Configuration - Settings - Misc 
page. 

To control HOUSE/290 with speech controls in general, you can execute any 
buttons or pull-down menus by simply saying the text that appears on these 
objects. You can also use "What can I say" to find out what HOUSE/290 
supports.  


=| Thermostat Control |=

 

 

THIS FEATURE HAS BEEN DISABLED FOR NOW. Create individual modules to 
control your thermostat.  

Interactive thermostat control from the desktop can be done through the 
thermostat icon on the button bar. You must first configure the thermostat 
through the CONFIGURATION - Thermostat menu selection before the icon is 
enabled. Only one thermostat is currently supported.  

Clicking on the thermostat icon will bring up the thermostat control window 
as shown below.  

 

When the thermostat control window is open, you can access any other 
functions in HOUSE/290. You can position the thermostat window anywhere on 
the desktop, the position will be remembered the next time the thermostat 
window is opened. If HOUSE/290 is not connected to the CP290 controller 
when the thermostat window is opened, interactive thermostat control is not 
possible. You must exit the thermostat control window and connect HOUSE/290 
first.  

The top line of the thermostat face plate will display any messages when 
operating the controls. It also displays any external thermostat control 
events like OFF, COOL, HEAT and AUTO if they are detected.  

The Edit... button opens the thermostat settings notebook which is the same 
as selecting CONFIGURATION - Thermostat from the menu.  

The Close button closes the thermostat control window.  

The Temperature Setpoint group of controls allows to select a temperature 
and pressing SET will send out the X-10 command to set the appropriate 
temperature. The temperature spin button is always loaded by default with 
the value of 68 degrees (20 Celsius) and is set to the temperature range 
according to the HAS-3035 or HAS-3045 specifications.  

The actual temperature display located to the left of the setpoint control 
may initially be set to a question mark if the status is unknown. Any 
thermostat settings done through the setpoint control will update the 
display with the new value if there were no communications errors. External 
changes to the thermostat can not be detected by the CP290 and therefore 
the thermostat window can not be updated.  

The name of the thermostat is displayed above the actual temperature 
display. If a check mark precedes the name, then the thermostat event 
uploading is enabled.  

The OFF, HEAT, COOL and AUTO buttons allow to set the corresponding 
thermostat functions and activating any of these buttons sends out the 
appropriate X-10 command directly.  


=| Start-up Options |=

 

When HOUSE/290 is started up, it determines automatically what resolution 
the system is running at and selects the appropriate toolbar icon size. It 
selects large size for 1280x1024, 1152x864 and 1024x768 and small size for 
800x600 and 640x480. Using the startup option /Px this selection can be 
forced to a particular size to accommodate the various video device 
drivers.  

If the switches number 13 through 18 are not properly spaced with regard to 
the other modules, your video driver may be using 96dpi mode. Use the 
option /96 and HOUSE/290 will properly space the switch modules.  

The following startup options are recognized: 

  /Pb  selects large icons for toolbar.
  /Ps  selects small icons for toolbar.
  /96  used for proper switch positioning when using 96 dpi video drivers.
 

Important: Start-up options are case sensitive and are recognized by the 
H290.EXE and H290MAIN.EXE executables. 

To enter the startup options do the following:   

  For Warp 3.0:  Right-click on the HOUSE/290 icon and select Settings. 
Under the Program tab in Optional Parameters enter the startup option.   

  For Warp 4.0:  Right-click on the HOUSE/290 icon and select Properties. 
Under the Program tab in Optional Parameters enter the startup option. 

 

For the Matrox video card use the /Pb option if you are running 800x600, 
120dpi and 10 point (medium) OS/2 System Font. See the section on 
Troubleshooting for more information.  

The splash screen (H290.EXE) starts up H290MAIN.EXE and CP290CE.EXE if auto 
load is enabled. H290.EXE checks if H290MAIN.EXE and CP290CE.EXE are 
already loaded and will not start these programs again if already running. 
You can start H290MAIN.EXE or CP290.EXE individually by double-clicking on 
the respective icons. The initial splash screen will not be shown in this 
case.  


=| Troubleshooting |=

 

HOUSE/290 Video Problems. 

If you have problems with irregular font or graphics display in HOUSE/290, 
try changing the system default font size. This setting is usually in the 
video driver utility. Some video drivers, Matrox for example, allows to set 
different default font sizes for Warp. The Matrox driver has an MGA 
Settings icon with small-medium-large (10, 12, 14 point) OS/2 System Font 
selection. For the Matrox video card use one of the following settings to 
run HOUSE/290:  

  1280x1024 120dpi, small or medium (10 or 12 point) OS/2 System Font.
  1152x864 120dpi, small (10 point) OS/2 System Font.
  1024x768 120dpi, small or medium (10 or 12 point) OS/2 System Font.

  800x600 120dpi, small (10 point) OS/2 System Font, use /Pb to start 
HOUSE/2. See Start-up Options.

  800x600 96dpi, small (10 point) OS/2 System Font, use /96 to start 
HOUSE/2. See Start-up Options.

  640x480 96dpi, small (10 point) OS/2 System Font, use /96 to start 
HOUSE/2. See Start-up Options.

 

You may have to experiment with other drivers to find a setting that 
eliminates the irregular font or graphics display (provided the driver 
allows to choose font sizes). Use the command line option to control 
toolbar icon size for other resolutions not listed here. See the section on 
Start-up Options for more information.  

CP290 Interface Connection Problems. 

If you are having problems connecting to the CP290 interface giving you 
Connect Error messages, then follow these steps below. 

  

  Make sure the com port setting in the configuration matches the com port 
you use for the interface.   

  Make sure you have all the included files present in your HOUSE290 
directory.   

  If you have Ray Gwinn's SIO com drivers, use the included PMLM (Poor 
Man's Line Monitor) to monitor data exchange between the Comm Engine and 
CP290. Use HOUSE/290 to send out a request to read time for example. The 
CP290 should respond with data. You can observe this data with PMLM and 
that may help in troubleshooting.   

  If you are using Ray Gwinn's SIO com drivers, check if the baud rate is 
locked for the particular com port you are using with the interface. Unlock 
it so the Comm Engine can change the baud rate to 600. From the SIO 
reference, it states:  


   Locked Baud Rate 

   Placing a colon and a baud rate following the communications port, eg 
   (COM1:38400,3F8,IRQ4), causes the port to be locked at that baud rate.
   No program, OS2 or DOS, is allowed to change the baud rate.

  

  Try the standard COM1 or COM2 ports if you have problems with any other 
com ports like COM3 - COM8. Also, remove any serial cable extensions or 
adapters and connect the interface directly to the computer.   

  Try using a different computer or different com port to access the 
CP290.   

  Download my X-10 Comm Tester program from my web page. This program was 
specifically written to help troubleshooting communications problems with 
the CP290 interface.   

  E-mail me and I will try to help you out. (Eventually registering 
HOUSE/290 will give me extra incentive too!).  

 


=| Year 2000 Issues & other Date Problems |=

 

HOUSE/290 version 2.0 is fully Year 2000 compliant. 

The CP290 interface does not have any Year 2000 problems directly as it 
accepts the date in the form of weekdays only. 

Reprogramming of the interface each week may be necessary also if series 
events are to be executed properly or when daylight savings time changes 
over. When HOUSE/290 is started, it checks to see if the DST dates are 
correct. If not, it will ask you if you want to adjust them. It will not 
make adjustments to the preprogrammed series events, you have to redo them 
manually. Depending on your application of HOUSE/290, you may be better off 
to disable DST and always use standard time. Make sure the computer is also 
set to standard time when accessing the interface.  


=| Network Operation |=

 

HOUSE/290 uses a named pipe to communicate with the Comm Engine and thus 
allows it to run over a LAN or peer-to-peer network. The requestors on both 
machines must be running for network operation. 

To run HOUSE/290 over a network, do the following: 

Connect the CP290 to one of the peer stations or the server. Install 
HOUSE/290 on that machine and only start-up CP290CE.EXE and configure it 
for the CP290. It is not necessary to have the Comm Engine set to connect, 
this can be controlled over the network with the client program 
H290MAIN.EXE. Install HOUSE/290 on another workstation and only run 
H290MAIN.EXE. Make sure the Auto Load and Auto Unload options are turned 
off. Also, check the windows list to make sure CP290CE.EXE is not loaded 
and minimized on the workstation where you run H290MAIN.EXE. In the 
settings page of H290MAIN.EXE, enter the computer name where the CP290 is 
connected to. Do not use any back slashes when entering the name. Now you 
can connect to the pipe and communicate with the Comm Engine. 

Only one client (H290MAIN.EXE) can communicate with the Comm Engine at any 
one time. If you want to use a third workstation to access the Comm Engine, 
you must disconnect H290MAIN.EXE from the pipe to free up the Comm Engine.  

It is not necessary to map any drives to the client or server machines 
unless HOUSE/290 is executed from the remote machine. 

Below is an illustration that shows HOUSE/290 running over a network. 

 


=| Quick Help |=

Quick Help 

Basic operation of HOUSE/290 is divided into these simple steps: 

  - Add modules by clicking on one of 
   the two ADD buttons on the tool bar.

  - Edit each module settings by double-clicking
   on the top rectangle of each module.

  - Upload the timer settings to the CP290 interface.
 

For a brief introduction to home automation with X-10 devices and 
HOUSE/290, see Introduction.  

For information on how to get started with HOUSE/290 and the CP290, see 
Getting Started.  

For an overall explanation of the HOUSE/290 interface, see HOUSE/290 
Interface Roadmap. 

For an explanation of the HOUSE/290 button bar, see Menu Bar Description. 

For an explanation of how to edit modules, see 

  Editing Modules - Name.
  Editing Modules - Time.
  Editing Modules - Date Range.
  Editing Modules - Special.
  Editing Modules - Event Select.
  Editing Modules - Series. 

For an explanation of how to move and rearrange modules, see Moving 
Modules. 

 


=| Installation |=

 

Note:  REXX (classic or Object REXX) must be installed on your system for 
this program to work. REXXUTIL.DLL is required.  

HOUSE/290 is distributed as a self-installing executable using PillarSoft's 
SFX Installer. See http://www.pillarsoft.net for more information on that 
product. 

When installing HOUSE/290, simply follow the prompts given. 

Installing this program on your system does not change any of the INI or 
CONFIG.SYS files. 

In rare instances, it may be possible that HOUSE/290 may not find the DLL 
files and abort on start-up. To fix this, simply add the directory where 
you installed HOUSE/290 to the LIBPATH in your CONFIG.SYS. A reboot is 
necessary for the changes to take effect.  

The following files belong to this program:   

 H290.EXE   Splash screen. Starts the executable main program and Comm 
Engine.   

 H290MAIN.EXE   The executable main program, also the client for the Comm 
Engine.   

 CP290CE.EXE   The CP290 Communications Engine, also used as REXX-enabled 
server.   

 CP290CE.HLP   The CP290 Communications Engine help file.   

 HOUSE290.HLP   The main help file.   

 HOUSE290.INI   HOUSE290 configuration file for items like com port, 
battery type and battery installation date. This file will be created the 
first time H290MAIN is run.   

 HOUSE290.SET   Default module and macro set. This file, if present, will 
automatically load whenever HOUSE290 is started up. You can have several of 
these files with the extension SET to keep various module setups. This file 
will be created the first time HOUSE290 is run and you save the module 
setup.   

 SAMPLE.SET   Sample module set to show how HOUSE/290 can be setup.   

 HOUSE290.LOG   A log file that contains all the events as sent by the 
CP290 interface. Events are only logged when the computer is connected to 
the interface and logging is enabled. This is a text file and you can look 
at it with a text editor.   

 TMR290.TXT   Timer image file as last programmed to the CP290 interface. 
This file contains the timer data in text format as last programmed into 
your CP290 interface. This file will be created every time upload is 
successful.   

 VPIBevel.DLL    Bevel object used for modules and macros. Required by 
H290MAIN.EXE only.   

 VPIButtn.DLL    Image button object used for button bar. These two objects 
are part of the VPExtras package. Thanks to Dion Gillard for creating and 
releasing these objects for free! Required by H290MAIN.EXE only.   

 VPOBJ.DLL     Dynamic Link Library required by executables. Required by 
H290MAIN.EXE only.   

 VPUTIL.DLL     Dynamic Link Library required by H290MAIN.EXE only.   

 RXASYNC.DLL   Dynamic Link Library required for serial communications to 
the CP290 interface. This library of serial communications routines is 
included by permission of Crucial Applications (Author: Ian Timms, e-mail: 
itimms@ariel.ucs.unimelb.edu.au). The entire serial communications package, 
including the source code for RXASYNC, is available at my home page or 
other major OS/2 sites by the file name RXASYN20.ZIP. This DLL has been 
packed with LXWARP for smaller size. Required by CP290CE.EXE only.   

 X10CHDLL.DLL     Dynamic Link Library required by H2MAIN.EXE only.   

 X10CPDLL.DLL     Dynamic Link Library required by CP290CE.EXE only.   

 X10LDLL.DLL      Dynamic Link Library required by the sample REXX or 
custom client programs only.   

 H2MODULE.DB     External Module database. Use HOUS2UTL to edit.   

 NORTHA.DAT     Geographical data file for North American locations.   

 EUROPE.DAT     Geographical data file for European locations.   

 OTHER.DAT     Geographical data file for other areas of the world 
locations.   

 REPORT.TXT     Default file name when saving reports to a file.   

 DIAL.CMD     Sample script to startup Injoy dialer through an X-10 event.   

 RSTCP290.CMD     Sample script to restore timers to the CP290. Example to 
show how to access Comm Engine.   

 TIMEMOD.CMD     Sample script that turns a module on and off at a certain 
time. Example to show how to access Comm Engine.   

 MODCTRL.CMD     Sample script that turns on a module. Example to show how 
to access Comm Engine.   

 INSTALL.CMD    Installation program. Creates a HOUSE290 folder on your 
desktop containing all the HOUSE290 objects.   

 UNINSTAL.CMD    Uninstallation program. Removes HOUSE290 completely from 
your system.   

 HISTORY.TXT   History of changes to the program.   

 README.1ST    Program description and installation instructions.   

 BMTORDER.TXT   Order form to register HOUSE/2 or HOUSE/290 through BMT 
Micro.  

 

To remove this program from your system, close the program and execute 
UNINSTAL.CMD from the HOUSE/290 directory. This removes all HOUSE/290 files 
and subdirectory where HOUSE/290 was located in.  


=| The Legal Stuff |=

 

HOUSE/290 and Comm Engine for the CP290 are copyright programs by A. 
Schwarz.  

This program is shareware and not free. You may use it for 30 days. After 
that, if you continue using it, you must register to obtain a license. See 
How To Register section on ways to register.  

The shareware version of this program may be distributed electronically as 
long as all files are kept together. The shareware version is recognized by 
the title  Home Automation & Security for OS/2 - Unregistered in the title 
bar of the main program.  

The registered version of HOUSE/290 may not be distributed in any way. Only 
one copy of the registered program (CP290CE.EXE) may be run at one time on 
a computer. In other words, if you have a laptop and a desktop, you may 
copy this program onto both computers but only one instance of the 
CP290CE.EXE program may be run at one time. If there is a possibility that 
two of these programs may be run at the same time, then you must get a 
second license. The client program H290MAIN.EXE only may be run on an 
unlimited number of computers. Contact the author for information on 
quantity discounts.  

Registration gives you many benefits. First of all, it ensures that I will 
continuously update and support this program. Registration will remove all 
restrictions and registration reminders, I will provide prompt technical 
support, implement suggestions to program improvements, enhancements and 
customization (if technically possible but let me add that I can be 
convinced of a lot, but not everything).  

RXASYNC.DLL required for serial communications to the CP290 interface, is a 
library of serial communications routines and is included by permission of 
Crucial Applications (Author: Ian Timms, e-mail: 
itimms@ariel.ucs.unimelb.edu.au). The entire serial communications package, 
including the source code for RXASYNC, is available at my home page or 
other major OS/2 sites by the file name RXASYN20.ZIP  

HOUSE/290 is protected using SecureIt. To get more information on this 
shareware protection program, see http://www.bmtmico.com/catalog/secureit/  

DISCLAIMER 

The author of HOUSE/290 is in no way responsible for any damage this 
program may cause to computer equipment by running this software on it. Use 
HOUSE/290 at your own risk. 

The author of HOUSE/290 also assumes no responsibility of damage to 
property, bodily injury or loss of life as a result of controlling home 
control devices with the HOUSE/290 software.  

For safety reason, I DO NOT recommend to use X-10 devices to control coffee 
pots, space heaters or similar heat-creating appliances.  

Any trademarks mentioned in this document belong to their respective owners 
and the author of HOUSE/290 is not connected in any way to these products 
nor does he endorse any of the products mentioned.  


=| How to Register |=

 

Registration is for life-time, you will NOT be re-charged for any future 
HOUSE/290 versions. Registration also includes the game Leave-One. It's a 
challenging puzzle similar to Pegged. See my web site for a screen shot of 
this game.  

If you are a registered user of HOUSE/2 for the CM11A interface, you are 
entitled to a free, registered version of HOUSE/290. Please send me e-mail 
to indicate that you would like the registration key.  

There are two ways you can register HOUSE/290: 

Send e-mail to ASchw@worldnet.att.net to request my mailing address. You 
may then send me a check or money order and I will return the registration 
key. There are two options you can choose from: If you want the HOUSE/290 
program only, the cost is $15.00. If you plan to eventually add the newer 
CM11A to your CP290 controller, you can purchase HOUSE/2 together with 
HOUSE/290 for the price of $30.00 total. Please indicate which option you 
like when requesting mailing address.  

Register through BMT Micro at www.bmtmicro.com. BMT Micro offers a variety 
of purchasing methods, see the file BMTORDER.TXT for details. A 
registration key will be sent to you within usually one day of purchasing 
HOUSE/290. Two options are available: Purchase HOUSE/290 only for $20.00 or 
purchase HOUSE/2 together with HOUSE/290 for $35.00 total. See the BMT 
Micro site for more information.  

Quantity discounts are available. Please e-mail me for details.  

Registration key and instructions on how to enter the key to enable the 
registered features will be given out at registration time.  


=| Support |=

 

For HOUSE/2 and HOUSE/290 support, you can contact me directly via e-mail.  

My e-mail address: 

  ASchw@worldnet.att.net 

Visit my home page, "The Warped Code Cellar" at 

  http://home.att.net/~ASchw 

for other information and applications for OS/2 like UPS Monitor for APC 
brand uninterruptible power supplies, Memory Game and Leave One, two 
speech-navigation-enabled games. Also available new is a HOUSE/2 and X-10 
FAQ.  

Monitor my home page regularly for future upgrades of HOUSE/290. This will 
be the place where the home automation upgrades will be available first.  

This program is also available at the following sites: 

Internet: 

  http://home.att.net/~ASchw 
  http://www.bmtmicro.com 
  http://hobbes.nmsu.edu 
  http://www.os2ss.com  
