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Curtain control example

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Mark D Himes

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Dec 5, 1997, 3:00:00 AM12/5/97

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I recently responded (separate Email) to another member as to the
details
I used to control my curtains (as a detailed example). Since going to
the effort to create it, I decided to share it with the rest of the
group. (so it is a little bit long).

I have a drapery controller that is about 8-9 years old now.
(just keeps on truckin'). I don't remember the brand since
I'm not at home, but it's not one of the more recent models
like Makita or DrapeBoss. Mine was one of the 1st type to come
out. It has two AC cords. One for power and one for direction.
So I have them both attached to X10 appliance modules, each
with a different address.

I found through experience that they need to be energized in
a specific sequence to get the desired results (open the drapes
if/when they are closed, and close the drapes if/when they are
open and so forth. I also experienced a situation where
turning off both modules after the drape sequence was completed
could cause some noticeable HUM from the drape motor. I also
discovered a state to always restore them to in order to
eliminate the hum. Since I had no "feedback mechanism" to
know when the "transition" from open-to-close or close-to-open,
I simply added a timer (around 18 seconds) to "assume" the
drapes reached their desired state and then restore the modules
to the state that prevents humming.

With all that in mind, I set up my controller (an Enerlogic ES1400)
to perform all the dirty work so that when I press a console command
(13-ON) in the living room (for example) the controller performs
all the work to open the drapes and restore the modules when
completed. Pressing 13-OFF performs the close sequence.

The controller also has "automatic" curtain control activity as well.
When we leave home to go to work, the last person logs out of the
house (with another X10 command button). Among other things
the controller opens the drapes automatically. Later in the
afternoon, when the sun starts coming in the West windows, the
controller closes those drapes to prevent the sun from bleaching
the furniture and carpet. Also keeps it cooler in the summer. If
we're away on vacation, the activity is also automatic. Curtains
open in the morning, close in the afternoon. This adds to the
lived-in look. I can always tell when most of my neighbors are
away for the weekend or vacation. Their blinds/drapes are
closed all the time.
Not mine !! :^)

Here's some samples of my Enerlogic that controls it to
give you and idea of the logic.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

{ If the curtain is NOT open and it is between 6am-1pm and NO one is
home,
then open the living room curtain }

IF ( AFTER 6:00 AND BEFORE 12:50 AND no_one_home AND NOT
o10_curtain_status )
CALL open_curtain
CALL rest_of_house_off { Scan Rest of house off }
ENDIF

IF ( 13:01 OR 13:31 ) { Close curtain to keep hot sun off of }

CALL close_curtain { delicate table and other stuff }

CALL rest_of_house_off { Scan Rest of house off }

ENDIF

IF ( dusk )
FORCE n5_busy_lite ON { Turn on busy lites }
FORCE n10_living_lamp_3 ON { Turn on Living Room lamp }
FORCE n10_living_lamp_3 ON { Turn on Living Room lamp }
CALL close_curtain { This will turn busy on/off again
Close them again in case someone
re-opened them or left them open }
ENDIF

{ --------------- -------------------- CURTAIN CONTROL FUNCTION }
{ o10_curtain_status Appliance flag to reflect curtain status. It
gets re-xmitted during ES1400 UPDATE so other
systems can read its status via X10 .

RESET_CURTAIN To force resetting curtain motors to known
state
C5 supplies power to the curtain mechanism }
C6 commands the direction ON = Open OFF = Close
}

IF ( 13-ff OR 13-gg ) { Press 13-ON on the }
CALL open_curtain { Kitchen or Living room Consoles }
13-ff NEUTRAL
13-gg NEUTRAL
ENDIF

IF ( NOT 13-ff OR NOT 13-gg ) { Press 13-OFF on the }
CALL close_curtain { Kitchen or Living Room Consoles }
13-ff NEUTRAL
13-gg NEUTRAL
ENDIF

FUNCTION OPEN_CURTAIN
FORCE n5_busy_lite ON
FORCE n3_kcurtain_power OFF
FORCE n4_kcurtain_command ON
FORCE n3_kcurtain_power ON
FORCE o10_curtain_status ON
WAIT-2 00:00:18 SET reset_curtain { Delay to allow curtain
to open }
ENDFUNC

FUNCTION CLOSE_CURTAIN
FORCE n5_busy_lite ON
FORCE n3_kcurtain_power OFF
FORCE n4_kcurtain_command OFF
FORCE n3_kcurtain_power ON
FORCE o10_curtain_status OFF
WAIT-2 00:00:18 SET reset_curtain { Delay to allow curtain
to close }
ENDFUNC

IF ( reset_curtain ) { Leaving curtain motor in this }

FORCE n3_kcurtain_power OFF { state (after usage) to prevent }

FORCE n4_kcurtain_command ON { "motor hum" }

RESET reset_curtain
CALL busy_off
ENDIF

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This has all worked fine for the past 7-8 years now. Hope this
helps someone or stimulates further ideas.

Regards
Mark

(remove 1st c in return address to Email me)

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<TT>I recently responded (separate Email) to another member as to the
details</TT>
 <TT>I used to control my curtains (as a detailed example). Since going
to</TT>
 <TT>the effort to create it, I decided to share it with the rest of
the</TT>
 <TT>group. (so it is a little bit long).</TT>
 <TT></TT> <TT></TT>

<TT>I have a drapery controller that is about 8-9 years old now.</TT>
 <TT>(just keeps on truckin'). I don't remember the brand since</TT>
 <TT>I'm not at home, but it's not one of the more recent models</TT>
 <TT>like Makita or DrapeBoss. Mine was one of the 1st type to come</TT>
 <TT>out. It has two AC cords. One for power and one for direction.</TT>
 <TT>So I have them both attached to X10 appliance modules, each</TT>
 <TT>with a different address.</TT><TT></TT>

<TT>I found through experience that they need to be energized in</TT>
 <TT>a specific sequence to get the desired results (open the drapes</TT>
 <TT>if/when they are closed, and close the drapes if/when they are</TT>
 <TT>open and so forth. I also experienced a situation where</TT>
 <TT>turning off both modules after the drape sequence was completed</TT>
 <TT>could cause some noticeable HUM from the drape motor. I also</TT>
 <TT>discovered a state to always restore them to in order to</TT>
 <TT>eliminate the hum. Since I had no "feedback mechanism" to</TT>
 <TT>know when the "transition" from open-to-close or close-to-open,</TT>
 <TT>I simply added a timer (around 18 seconds) to "assume" the</TT>
 <TT>drapes reached their desired state and then restore the modules</TT>
 <TT>to the state that prevents humming.</TT><TT></TT>

<TT>With all that in mind, I set up my controller (an Enerlogic ES1400)</TT>
 <TT>to perform all the dirty work so that when I press a console command</TT>
 <TT>(13-ON) in the living room (for example) the controller performs</TT>
 <TT>all the work to open the drapes and restore the modules when</TT>
 <TT>completed. Pressing 13-OFF performs the close sequence.</TT><TT></TT>

<TT>The controller also has "automatic" curtain control activity as
well.</TT>
 <TT>When we leave home to go to work, the last person logs out of the</TT>
 <TT>house (with another X10 command button). Among other things</TT>
 <TT>the controller opens the drapes automatically. Later in the</TT>
 <TT>afternoon, when the sun starts coming in the West windows, the</TT>
 <TT>controller closes those drapes to prevent the sun from bleaching</TT>
 <TT>the furniture and carpet. Also keeps it cooler in the summer. If</TT>
 <TT>we're away on vacation, the activity is also automatic. Curtains</TT>
 <TT>open in the morning, close in the afternoon. This adds to the</TT>
 <TT>lived-in look. I can always tell when most of my neighbors are</TT>
 <TT>away for the weekend or vacation. Their blinds/drapes are</TT>
 <TT>closed all the time.</TT>
 <TT>   Not mine !!    :^)</TT><TT></TT>

<TT>Here's some samples of my Enerlogic that controls it to</TT>
 <TT>give you and idea of the logic.</TT><TT></TT>

<TT>{ If the curtain is NOT open and it is between 6am-1pm and NO one
is home,</TT>
 <TT>  then open the living room curtain }</TT><TT></TT>

<TT>IF ( AFTER 6:00 AND BEFORE 12:50 AND no_one_home AND NOT o10_curtain_status
)</TT>
 <TT>     CALL open_curtain</TT>
 <TT>     CALL rest_of_house_off { Scan Rest of
house off }</TT>
 <TT>     ENDIF</TT><TT></TT>

<TT>IF ( 13:01 OR 13:31 )         
{ Close curtain to keep hot sun off of  }</TT>
 <TT>     CALL close_curtain       
{ delicate table and other stuff       
}</TT>
 <TT>     CALL rest_of_house_off   
{ Scan Rest of house off               
}</TT>
 <TT>     ENDIF</TT><TT></TT>

<TT>IF ( dusk )</TT>
 <TT>     FORCE n5_busy_lite ON       
{ Turn on busy lites         }</TT>
 <TT>     FORCE n10_living_lamp_3 ON  
{ Turn on Living Room lamp   }</TT>
 <TT>     FORCE n10_living_lamp_3 ON  
{ Turn on Living Room lamp   }</TT>
 <TT>     CALL close_curtain          
{ This will turn busy on/off again</TT>
 <TT>                                   
Close them again in case someone</TT>
 <TT>                                   
re-opened them or left them open }</TT>
 <TT>   ENDIF</TT>
 <TT></TT> 
 <TT></TT> <TT></TT>

<TT>{ --------------- -------------------- CURTAIN CONTROL FUNCTION 
}</TT>
 <TT>{  o10_curtain_status   Appliance flag to reflect
curtain status. It</TT>
 <TT>                       
gets re-xmitted during ES1400 UPDATE so other</TT>
 <TT>                       
systems can read its status via X10 .</TT><TT></TT>

<TT>   RESET_CURTAIN       
To force resetting curtain motors to known</TT>
 <TT>                       
state</TT>
 <TT>                       
C5 supplies power to the curtain mechanism }</TT>
 <TT>                       
C6 commands the direction  ON = Open OFF = Close }</TT><TT></TT>

<TT>IF ( 13-ff OR 13-gg )    { Press 13-ON on the               
}</TT>
 <TT>     CALL open_curtain   { Kitchen
or Living room Consoles   }</TT>
 <TT>     13-ff NEUTRAL</TT>
 <TT>     13-gg NEUTRAL</TT>
 <TT>     ENDIF</TT><TT></TT>

<TT>IF ( NOT 13-ff OR NOT 13-gg )   { Press 13-OFF on the              
}</TT>
 <TT>     CALL close_curtain        
{ Kitchen or Living Room Consoles   }</TT>
 <TT>     13-ff NEUTRAL</TT>
 <TT>     13-gg NEUTRAL</TT>
 <TT>     ENDIF</TT><TT></TT>

<TT>FUNCTION OPEN_CURTAIN</TT>
 <TT>     FORCE n5_busy_lite         
ON</TT>
 <TT>     FORCE n3_kcurtain_power    
OFF</TT>
 <TT>     FORCE n4_kcurtain_command  
ON</TT>
 <TT>     FORCE n3_kcurtain_power    
ON</TT>
 <TT>     FORCE o10_curtain_status   
ON</TT>
 <TT>     WAIT-2 00:00:18 SET reset_curtain 
{ Delay to allow curtain</TT>
 <TT>                                         
to open    }</TT>
 <TT>     ENDFUNC</TT><TT></TT>

<TT>FUNCTION CLOSE_CURTAIN</TT>
 <TT>     FORCE n5_busy_lite        
ON</TT>
 <TT>     FORCE n3_kcurtain_power   
OFF</TT>
 <TT>     FORCE n4_kcurtain_command  OFF</TT>
 <TT>     FORCE n3_kcurtain_power   
ON</TT>
 <TT>     FORCE o10_curtain_status   OFF</TT>
 <TT>     WAIT-2 00:00:18 SET reset_curtain 
{ Delay to allow curtain</TT>
 <TT>                                         
to close   }</TT>
 <TT>     ENDFUNC</TT>
 <TT> </TT>
 <TT>IF ( reset_curtain )                
{ Leaving curtain motor in this   }</TT>
 <TT>     FORCE n3_kcurtain_power   OFF  
{ state (after usage) to prevent  }</TT>
 <TT>     FORCE n4_kcurtain_command ON   
{ "motor hum"                    
}</TT>
 <TT>     RESET reset_curtain</TT>
 <TT>     CALL busy_off</TT>
 <TT>     ENDIF</TT><TT></TT>

<TT>This has all worked fine for the past 7-8 years now. Hope this</TT>
 <TT>helps someone or stimulates further ideas.</TT>
 <TT></TT> <TT></TT>

<TT>Regards</TT>
 <TT>Mark</TT><TT></TT>

<TT>(remove 1st c in return address to Email me)</TT>
 <TT></TT> 
 <TT></TT> </HTML>

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