Monthly Archives: June 2011

Serial Backpack for Avago HDLx-2416 Using Teensy

Posted on June 23, 2011 by steve

I purchased an Avago HDLS-2416 display from eBay a while back for my refrigerator monitor project (Fridge Squid FTW!).  This is a really nice compact 4-character 5×7 alphanumeric display, extremely bright and readable. Unfortunately it was the wrong part; the 2416 … Continue reading →

Posted in Arduino, Electronics | Tagged | 2 Comments

Don’t Be Afraid of Surface Mount Components!

Posted on June 21, 2011 by steve

While taking stock of the components I had on hand last weekend I found a small box of sample components that I had ordered from Maxim a while back; Two each of several components: DS2717 RTC, DS2438 Smart Battery Monitor, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1-Wire, Electronics | Tagged | 2 Comments

Finally, a Working Caller ID Solution: Whozz Calling 2

Posted on June 18, 2011 by steve

I’m still paying for a POTS telephone (land) line.  Whether it’s just basic paranoia or a product of growing up in the 70s, I just can’t bring myself to get rid of my land line.  For some reason, this cold … Continue reading →

Posted in HomeAutomation | Tagged | Leave a comment

Hacking Eaton HomeHeartbeat Part 5: Ack! No Time!

Posted on June 10, 2011 by steve

Between one daughter’s wedding and another daughter’s surgery I haven’t had any time to play with this stuff this week.  I did, however, clean out my friendly Ebay vendor’s supply of $5 sensors for my collection, adding a few more … Continue reading →

Posted in ZigBee | 6 Comments

Hacking Eaton HomeHeartbeat Part 4: Why Bother?

Posted on June 6, 2011 by steve

It’s been asked. Why bother? Seriously? HomeHeartbeat was hot sh*t back in 2005, but isn’t it showing it’s age now? All valid questions. Consider this, however – let’s say, for the sake of argument, that you were just now getting … Continue reading →

Posted in Arduino, HomeAutomation, ZigBee | Tagged | 6 Comments

Book Review: Getting Started with the Internet of Things

Posted on June 5, 2011 by steve

I rarely write up book reviews except in extreme cases.  I admit that I am a harsh critic; rarely do I find a book worthy of praise, and when I do my reviews tend towards being large volumes in and … Continue reading →

Posted in Arduino, Electronics | Tagged | 4 Comments

Hacking Eaton HomeHeartbeat Part 3: New Project!

Posted on June 5, 2011 by steve

If anyone is interested in following along, I’ve created a new project on GitHub: HomeHeartbeat on GitHub This will be a simple Python interface library.

Posted in HomeAutomation, Python, ZigBee | Tagged | 2 Comments

Hacking Eaton Home Heartbeat Part 2: They’re Heeeeerrrrrreeee…

Posted on June 4, 2011 by steve

I received a box chock full o’ Eaton Home Heartbeat devices today.  They are nice little devices, fairly well designed (if a bit boxy).  I was up and running with a basic installation in a matter of minutes – very … Continue reading →

Posted in HomeAutomation, ZigBee | Tagged | 14 Comments

Robust 1-Wire Support for Arduino via EDS HA7S

Posted on June 2, 2011 by steve

I have purchased several devices from Embedded Data Systems (EDS) over the last few years.  Their HA7Net Ethernet 1-Wire Host Adapter makes integrating 1-Wire devices utterly painless; it is a solidly constructed, well-engineered piece of hardware.  It is also very … Continue reading →

Posted in Arduino, HomeAutomation, XBee, ZigBee | 9 Comments

OpenZWave: Startup Sequencing, Values, Etc.

Posted on June 2, 2011 by steve

Developers new to the OpenZWave project are often confused by system behavior immediately after the application is started. I thought I’d quickly write up a blog entry detailing some of what I’ve learned about the system, hopefully this will be … Continue reading →

Posted in HomeAutomation, ZWave | Tagged | 2 Comments