1st step done, now need some recommendations

[hatrickpatrick]

Hi Folks,
I've got zoneminder 1.25 running on a foscam and it's great. However, I'm now stumped. I'm trying to do a little home security project and I'm not sure what the best next steps would be. Here's what I'm thinking:
-several wireless IP cameras
-some motion sensors
Perhaps when a motion sensor is tripped on the back or front entry, lights in those sections go on, and/or cams start recording and perhaps a radio turns on in the house or a recording of a mean dog starts barking, etc.

I know that zoneminder can do some stuff with x10, but I'm worried that the "wiring upgrade" someone did 10 years ago in this 50+ year old house will mean that some x10 stuff may or may not work. I was interested in zigbee/zwave because they are supposed to be lower power and have good networking, but I wasn't sure if I could hook up something like that to ZM.

Do any of you have some ideas on what may be a good direction here?
Thanks!

[graphicw]

You should not have much trouble getting X10 powerline signals to work, especially if the circuits in question are on the same phase. The problem is with circuits on the opposite leg due to signal attenuation caused by the signal going out to the transformer and returning on the opposite phase. If you integrate a phase coupler near the breaker box, that will solve the problem and allow a bridge between the phases for the signal to cross over without having to go all the way to the transformer and return. http://kbase.x10.com/wiki/Phase_Coupling

The second problem you can encounter on X10 devices is line noise. There is a solution for that as well. The page on the X10 wiki will guide you: http://kbase.x10.com/wiki/Noise%2C_Nois ... se_Filters

Last but not least to know is that the drivers for older X10 equipment are quite mature and functional on linux. If you are trying to add in newer hardware like the CM15a on Linux, good luck, it is very difficult to get working. Stick with the older hardware like the Bottlerocket or CM17 and such.