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[on:]

Hello Everyone,

I hope my first post on the forums can help someone and give back some of the great information i have found here! I have been reading the forums for a while... finding ways to automate my house and now i would like to share my findings / project!

I had one requirement around automating my house... it needed to be cheap (I'm married with children )... after investigating various options i found all the commercial options out of my price range!..!... so I started to build my own.

I have created something i call HomeZone, its a cheap 320x240 touch screen i picked up from a local vendor for about 35chf which sits on top of an Ethermega from Freetronics $99AUD. The remote can control my lights using RemoteSwitch Library and some 315Mhz Learing relays... I can control the motion detection on my Foscam cameras using HTTP client (GET commands) + currently working on IR for my home theater and then the alarm.

In addition I have a Webserver running on the same Arduino which can also control everything the touchscreen can.... i know the code isn't great but i only got my first Arduino about 2 months ago   ... i am learning to code and improving it slowly... anyway i thought i would share.. you can find all the details on my blog @ www.humpadilly.com I always share the code for my projects / schematics when i post about them... I hope it can help someone with their home automation project.



Cheers
HumpA

[Reply #1 on:]

Did you have any problems with the ethernet socket fouling the underside of the touch screen?
Also did you have any pin conflicts between the requirements and the screen?
I'm looking to put a similar combination together but all the boards and shields I've looked at so far have these two incompatabilities and its putting me off a bit.

[Reply #2 on:]

Yes the screen from boxtec.ch and the ethermega from freetronics didn't fit together well because of the Ethernet port.. I filed / sanded about 2mm of the lcd  shield away around the Ethernet ports location and now it fits snug as a bug in a rug!

I will take a photo later tonight and post it for you.to see. 

Nope no pin conflicts with the hardware I used... check out my page it links to the exact components I used.

Good luck with your project.

[Reply #3 on:]

By the way.. I have updated the code and moved away from a http web page based webserver to using JSON / DomoticHome / android app... if your interested I can just paste the updated code here as I have not had the.time to do a post on it at my blog....

[Reply #4 on:]

Which pin selects the screen then? obviously not D53 because that is usually hogged by the W5100 ehternet chip
Are you using the SD card as well? I make it that you need three sellect pins if you are.

[Reply #5 on:]

LCD uses 38,39,40,41
Touch uses 6,5,4,3,2

No I'm not using the SD on the ethermega or the LCD shield as I generate the buttons on the fly and they are not images

I use pin 11 for the 315mhz transmitter

Here is a link to the code.. http://www.humpadilly.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/HomeZone.txt

[Reply #6 on:]

it needed to be cheap (I'm married with children

lol... same here

[Reply #7 on:]

I have taken some photos of the shield and the Ethermega / published the updated code.

http://www.humpadilly.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/IMG_20120509_083313.jpg

http://www.humpadilly.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/IMG_20120509_083613.jpg

http://www.humpadilly.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/IMG_20120509_083408.jpg

sorry i couldnt post the code here i got the following message: (9500 characters).

check out my blog: http://www.humpadilly.com/?p=218

or download the code http://www.humpadilly.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/HomeZoneWithDomoticHome.txt

[Reply #8 on:]

it needed to be cheap (I'm married with children

lol... same here

I will have to teach my kids arduino and programming... this way I have projects completed faster!!
I guess when the turn 3 I will have to start to teach them potty trading is the priority at the moment

[Reply #9 on:]

i only got my first Arduino about 2 months ago

Great first project, well done.

______
Rob

[Reply #10 on:]

i only got my first Arduino about 2 months ago

Great first project, well done.

______
Rob

Ah fellow Aussie, thanks mate

[Reply #11 on:]

Where are you, not anywhere near Bundy I suppose.

Home automation (well actually motorhome automation) is a pet interest of mine, I'm getting close to having some PCBs made to implement an RS-485 network around my truck.

______
Rob

[Reply #12 on:]

Where are you, not anywhere near Bundy I suppose.

Home automation (well actually motorhome automation) is a pet interest of mine, I'm getting close to having some PCBs made to implement an RS-485 network around my truck.

______
Rob

I am from Sydney originally but last 5 years been in Switzerland!

Cool! That's sweet.. what are the plans? Project? Got a blog? I'm always interested in automation stuff!!.  I want to build a new house here and plan to automate it with arduino!

[Reply #13 on:]

I spent many years working in building automation, that was a long time ago but it's still my main interest.

My control network has undergone a complete redesign in the last few months, mostly to simplify it because previous versions have been too complicated.

Some details here

busnet.robgray.com

although these pages are a bit out of data and have some conflicting information at present.

The immediate goal is to monitor various aspects of our motorhome such as the solar power system, truck body level, security cameras etc. I don't plan much control at present but things like water pumps are an obvious thing to play with.

______
Rob