X10 enabled cat litterbox?
Posted: Mon May 08, 2006 1:36 pm
Perhaps Pete doesn't have a cat, but if he does I'm deeply disappointed that he doesn't have one of these:
http://www.epinions.com/LitterFree_Self_Washing_Cat_Box
(And even without having a cat they're fun to look at!)
The company went out of business, but I still have one. This company bought the rights and will introduce a later-and-greater version soon:
http://www.catgenie.com/
Both the old and the new version have a <b>big</b> flaw: They don't flush on demand. The new unit has a sensor, but it's only used to postpone a flushing cycle if the box is occupied (so it's solving a non-existing problem because the occupation usually doesn't last when the flush cycle starts). The older box doesn't have a sensor at all. I have mounted a sensor in my old box, and I've been meaning to programm a PIC chip for it or tie an eZ80 board into it to make it web-enabled, but since I'm installing X10 I might as well use that.
Now are the questions:<ul><li>I want the box to start a cycle 5 minutes after the cat has left the box. The best way to achieve this is to set a timer at the rising edge of the sensor. If the timer was already running, it must be reset at this edge. If the time exprires, I want the box to start a cycle, stop the timer and set it to 0. Can any domotica software handle this? Can the CM11 perform this task autonomously, using a macro?</li><li>I'm planning to use 4 inputs: The cat-sensor, the cycle in progress LED, the error led and the pause led. I only need one output, potential free, to start the cycle. Which single unit is most suitable?</li><li>If an error occurs, the error LED blinks. Won't that saturate the X10 bus?</li></ul>
http://www.epinions.com/LitterFree_Self_Washing_Cat_Box
(And even without having a cat they're fun to look at!)
The company went out of business, but I still have one. This company bought the rights and will introduce a later-and-greater version soon:
http://www.catgenie.com/
Both the old and the new version have a <b>big</b> flaw: They don't flush on demand. The new unit has a sensor, but it's only used to postpone a flushing cycle if the box is occupied (so it's solving a non-existing problem because the occupation usually doesn't last when the flush cycle starts). The older box doesn't have a sensor at all. I have mounted a sensor in my old box, and I've been meaning to programm a PIC chip for it or tie an eZ80 board into it to make it web-enabled, but since I'm installing X10 I might as well use that.
Now are the questions:<ul><li>I want the box to start a cycle 5 minutes after the cat has left the box. The best way to achieve this is to set a timer at the rising edge of the sensor. If the timer was already running, it must be reset at this edge. If the time exprires, I want the box to start a cycle, stop the timer and set it to 0. Can any domotica software handle this? Can the CM11 perform this task autonomously, using a macro?</li><li>I'm planning to use 4 inputs: The cat-sensor, the cycle in progress LED, the error led and the pause led. I only need one output, potential free, to start the cycle. Which single unit is most suitable?</li><li>If an error occurs, the error LED blinks. Won't that saturate the X10 bus?</li></ul>
(though somebody will send me a spare controller, so that option is still open)