Anyone using command line/scripts to control X-10?

[Tim Fischer]

This is somewhat related to my post from last night. Anyone using X-10 via the command line/.BAT files, and the "Windows Command" functionality in LOR, instead of defining things as controllers in LOR?

I've run up against the limitations with LOR's implementation of X-10 and need to do something different this year - and I didn't fully realize this until last night. I've been limping around LOR X-10 issues for years (having sequences stall out every time X-10 commands get re-sent from the background, etc) and what's now finally pushed me over the edge is my need to get a SINGLE X10 ON event to trigger my projector at the start of the evening, and a SINGLE *ON* event again at the end to turn it back off (X-10 Universal modules set in 'momentary' mode work this way). So I can't simply put it in the background or it will be going on and off all night, and likely not be off at the end of the show.

I'm going to be working with this tonight, but would appreciate any gotchas. Seems like it might also be a good way to get defacto CM15A support for static/background elements.

Thanks!
-Tim

[Steven]

This isn't X-10, but this year I'm using command files to control the parallel port. I have a parallel port relay board that I modified slightly to allow Windows XP to control by sending characters to the LPT1 port. I use it to turn on a 24 to 12-volt converter, connected to the UPS battery, and to switch 12 volts to my amplifier and transmitter.

If you can connect a 2-conductor cable from your projector to a parallel port relay board, you could control it that way instead of using X-10.

[pyromill]

Hey Tim,
I had used this before to have a little extra x10 control in the past via a batch file, it seemed to work pretty good

@echo on
C:"Program Files (x86)Common FilesX10Common"ahcmd.exe sendplc a2 off
c:sleep 38360
C:"Program Files (x86)Common FilesX10Common"ahcmd.exe sendplc a2 on
REM c:sleep 1500
C:"Program Files (x86)Common FilesX10Common"ahcmd.exe sendplc a2 off
c:sleep 81740
C:"Program Files (x86)Common FilesX10Common"ahcmd.exe sendplc a2 on
c:sleep 300
REM echo light show is now running @ %date% %time%>datetime.txt
c:sleep 200
echo hi
c:sleep 150
the sleep is a command line sleep program nabbed off the internet

[Tim Fischer]

Thanks for the replies. pyro, that's almost exactly what I've come up with on my own, so it's reassuring to see that I'm not way off base

It 'almost' worked last night, tonight none of my X10 came on at all (I brought it up manually) but I think that was because I was running shows manually all afternoon and had disconnected the CM11A so I didn't bring lights on. I'm guessing a reboot will fix.

-Tim