OSC to Processing to Arduino to CM17a to x10 devices

Projects General Guidance
1

So the idea sounds good on paper. I can create a custom layout in OSC and use my iPod Touch to control the lights and outlets in my house. Like I said, it sounds nice, but unfortunately, this project is WAY more expensive than I usually take on (I'm one of those low-budget student types) and therefore I am here at the lovely forums trying to nail down whether or not I have the idea straight in my head.

So if I think through this a step at a time, I will start with the first part of the action I want to complete, which is to transmit a signal from my iPod Touch. I plan to use OSC (I did buy that for a previous project) which will talk to my PC and Processing (Processing is what I want to code this in because it is compatible with OSC) and Processing will write to the Arduino. I have proven all of this works and I have all the parts necessary. I used this technique in a previous project which got featured on Jeremy Blum's Facebook and Twitter. (please excuse my very lame video)

Yay!
There should be no complication there.

I was hoping to use a CM17a CM17A - X10Wiki to transmit to the x10 devices. One YouTube user I talked to said that he just lopped off the end of a serial cable and plugged that into his Arduino. That sounds simple enough for me. This is where it gets a little fuzzy. I understand that there are libraries for this Firecracker gizmo for the Arduino programming environment, but I can't find one for Processing. At least in my experience, OSC only works with Processing, not directly with Arduino. I can separate the program into an Arduino half and a Processing half (send characters from Processing to Arduino and have the Arduino react to those characters like in the video) but I much prefer to have my program live in the PC and control the Arduino directly. If anyone knows a better way to go about this please let me know.

At this point I will apologize for the length of this post and continue to type furiously.

From what I can learn, x10 is a very old protocol, and there are all kinds of modules and stuff to choose from. My goal is to control one single light switch, and then maybe after than an outlet. I pricing this stuff, I was thinking that I would need one switch (for the wall) and one Firecracker. Then I read somewhere else that the wall switches themselves are not capable of wireless communication, and that you have to buy a transceiver module separately. I understood that I have to transmit from CM17a to transceiver (wireless) and this over my house wiring to the switch. This brings me the question of does it work if I'm controlling stuff on different circuits? If there is a way to cut out the middle-man here (transceiver) I'd like to keep costs low (remember I'm on a low budget here).

If anyone knows something more about x10 please help me out in understanding this before I attempt this project!! Thanks for reading and I sure hope you can help!!

2

The firecracker is easy to control/power from the arduino. You may want to get an Ethernet shield and make a web based GUI instead of a program on a pc.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&as_q=cm17a&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_nlo=&as_nhi=&lr=&cr=&as_qdr=all&as_sitesearch=http%3A%2F%2Fforum.arduino.cc%2Findex&as_occt=any&safe=images&tbs=&as_filetype=&as_rights=

3

You can just use Processing to talk to the arduino through the normal serial port, check out this project:-
http://www.thebox.myzen.co.uk/Mac_Apps/Processing.html
Then use this:-
http://arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/x10

4

Hi,
UM, what is OSC?? Everyone else seems to know... :~

5

Thanks zoomkat I may do that at some point, but for now I'm more interested in finding out which x10 parts I need. That might be a cool direction to take the project, but I have a private IP address so it may not be the best application for me.

@Grumpy_Mike I have since the making of the video above used the Arduino library with Processing and I know how to make Processing talk to the Arduino. I'm confused about getting the x10 library (for Arduino programming environment only) without actually using the Arduino IDE. I'm thinking I will have to resort to the the tactics I used in the video of sending code messages between two separate programs. I have referenced the tutorial you linked before and plan to use that to help compile a working program. Thank you for your effort in finding it though.

@terryking228 OSC is actually a type of message that is commonly used with music controls (like on stage mixer units and what not) and there is an app called TouchOSC at www.hexler.net and it allows you to create a custon UI with their Windows/Mac program and use than UI to send messages to a computer or other device. I just set up a Processing sketch with the OSC library and so it can read these messages and complete actions based on input. I used this principle with the Arduino library and had the program light up LED's and such. It is about $5 unfortunately, but I thought it worked well and was happy with my purchase. Hope that clarifies some.

6

Oh, OSC!

Ok, I have done Broadcast/Audio for 50+ years but I didn't know about Open Sound Control. I'll do some reading.. I'm building another DAW (Digital Audio Workstation)[AntiAcronym] with a M-Audio PCI 8-channel card (planning another 8 channels when this is working) and using N-Track Studio. I have been thinking about some 'Surface' that could be remote. I mostly have used this kind of workstation to do multitrack recording in clubs (snaked off the insert points) for later mixdown. But it Would Be Cool to be out in the club with a tablet and a beer and a woman and be able to check that the recording is running OK. I was thinking of doing that with LogMeIn to the DAW screen, but OSC and a cool app may be nicer...

Did I cover all the acronyms?? Oh: Snake: an (often long) audio cable with a multiplicity of channels and many connectors on each end.

Thanks!

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Thank you for your effort in finding it though.

Finding it? I wrote it.

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I really don't have any experience with Open Sound Control outside of my application in the video. I like it for its simplicity, and it works well for me.

@Grumpy_Mike Haha I had no idea you wrote it :slight_smile: I'm very excited to have someone with such experience in the precice goal I am working with. Would you mind explaining to me a little about how the x10 devices were set up. Did you need a transceiver? I'm most curious about the idea of which parts of the x10 system I need to buy. I can get by with the 2 part software program for testing anyway, but I'd first like to nail down what to order as far as x10 is concerned.

While you're at it, please shed some light on how the signal gets from the remote (in our case something connected to the Arduino) to the switch. Does the signal ever travel through the house's wiring? Thanks again.

9

Sorry misunderstanding, I wrote the OSC page not the X10 tutorial. Yes X10 carry the signals through the mains, you need both ends the controller and the part at the plug.

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We just added a Processing example for Serial OSC in the OSC for Arduino library: