I resigned from my job yesterday and am moving out of the CI industry.  It has been a very exciting and fun 7 years.

I really appreciate all of the help and support I have received from my fellow CIs and wish all of you the best of luck.

If anyone of you Crestron programmers out there are looking for a great company I know my previous position is still open.  Introduce yourself at info@sterlinghometech.com

Thanks again.

In my last post I had some examples of what not to do.  This time I am going to show things you should do.  This is all very standard for experienced professionals.

Lighting controls should be clearly labeled, easyly understood, and customizable for the homeowners.  There is no need for cryptic dots or hand-written notes.  This example also includes buttons for volume control, its purpose is to remove cluter from the walls.

Using a lighting control system you can remove these eight switches from the wall.  The electrical circuits are run back to a centrlized lighting panel.  Over all, this allows for a reduction in the total amount of wire used and a much simpler installation.

Whenever you need to have lighting, fan, security and audio in the same location, it is an ideal candidate for a touchscreen.  With a touchscreen you can combine all the individual controls into a simple, customized solution.

Keeping all of the equipment in a equipment rack is ideal.  If it is installed correctly it will help keep you gear running correctly, while making service and additions much easier.

This is a clean-up project that we got called in to fix.  I my recommendation was to turn it down.  It is a spec home for a builder and I believe that the future homeowners would be best served by tearing it all out.  They are asking $3 million, yikes.

I'm not hating on it for being an instion switch, or that it is a relay controlling the garage lanters, I'm hating it because they couldn't be bothered to get an engraved switch.  The incomprehensible scribbles on painters taped is a nice touch.

This is the front door.  Some are reqular switches, some are 'smart' switches.  There is another bank of eight on the other side of the door and so it is anyone's guess what they do.  I have no idea what the dot or '1' label is trying to indicate.

This is the wall of the master bedroom.  It couldn't possibly get worse...

... and then there is this abortion inside the master bathroom.

They should bust out the sharpie and finish the dominos motif.

It is good to protect outdoor keypads.  The elements are the least of this systems problems.

This is spectacular.

This is a quick tutorial of setting up a Crestron Processor with Toolbox.  Traditionally, Crestron does not load the latest firmware on their products and it is wise to first update the equipment.  They do not come with DHCP enabled so the only way to connect with them is through USB (or serial).  You will need to have Toolbox installed and the latest firmware from the Crestron website.

Start up Toolbox and choose 'System Info' from the 'Tools' menu

Choose the pencil icon from the bottom of the System Info window.  For most connections you will need to use USB.

The System Info windows gives all sorts of information about that piece of equipment.  The window is comprised of smaller panes that have specific info.  Choose the 'Play' icon of the 'Product Info' pane.

Upload the firmware for that processor.  The downloaded file will say what equipment it works with in the file name.

Choose the 'Play' icon from the 'Program' pane.

You will need to upload the compiled project file.  It ends in .SPZ

Choose the file and click 'Send'.  You will be asked if you want to update the IP Table, choose 'Yes'

Choose the 'Play' icon from the 'Ethernet' pane

Turn off DHCP and give it a static IP address outside of the DHCP range.  It is a very good idea to start assigning at 192.168.1.99 and working down from there.  Now that it has an IP address you can connect through IP instead of USB.  Please do not update firmware over a wireless conneciton.

Launch the test XPanel in the customer's directory.

Change the IP adress from the 'Options' menu

Your test XPanel should be running now.

Q: Why would anyone want to do this?

A: I don't really know, but I had to figure it out and thought it'd best to leave some breadcrums for the next wayward traveller.  (I would prefer to use the 433 RF gateway instead of IR, it is just as easy and I believe it to be more reliable than IR.)

We have a Whole Home Audio system using an AES and two AAEs.  Volume is controlled from the Vantage keypad throughout the home.  The upstairs game room has a 5.1 suround sound zone controlled with a RTi remote. (I konw Crestron makes lighting systems and remotes, but this is how we roll).

On the remote we want a simple way to make the whole home listen to a selected source.  For example, if you are watching the news you can hit the audio button and now you are listening to it throughout the house.  Or, you can select the Satellite music station and easily make it play through all the rooms.

For these customers, we removed functionality in favor of simplicity.

Step 1:

Start up Integration Desiner from RTi and create a new project with the remote you will be using.  Push the 'Select New Remote' button in the lower right corner.  Choose the 'master.cml' library, search from Crestron and select the CNX-RMIRD Device #0 code set.

Step 2:

Now that you have the right code set, you get 64 codes (per device) to drag on to buttons.

Step 3:

In the 'Configure System' view, pick a 'Pronto/RC5/Universal IR Remote' from Crestron Devices -> Wireless Remotes -> Wireless Remotes (IR).  Drag it on to IRID 00 of Slot 8: C2I-ADG-IR-INPUT

Step 4:

In the 'Program System'  view, you now have a device with 64 digital outputs.  If you have any problems refer to the Crestron manuals.

I got a customer request to make the Control4 iPhone app work over 3G.  

The first thing you need to do is forward ports 5020 and 80 to controller acting as the director.  Next, start the app on the iPhone -> More ->Director -> Add and give it the external (WAN) address and a logical name.

This is what it looks like from the iPhone app.  You can see the garage door from the sensors on the security system.  You can open/close the door with a WCS10-R-ZP from card access .

If you have setup the security system you should be able to arm/disarm it also.  Don't forget to add some lighting so that you aren't walking into a dark house (or leaving lights on when you leave).  This is the fun part of automation, the optios are endless.

We have a customer who wants an e-mail alert whenever the temperature in his wine room goes above or below a certain range.  He also wants to monitor the humidity.  This wine room is an expensive investment.

If you have a similar customer request I hope this helps.

Step 1:  Add a C2N-RTHS sensor into the project.  This gizmo is inexpensive and self-contained.  Very easy to install.

Step 2: Define the min and max values for temperature and humidity

Step 3:  Use the current value and compare it with the min and max values

Step 4:  Use the built-in e-mail module, configure it with the ISP's mail server if possible.  Some ISPs will prevent outgoing connections to SMTP servers to prevent spam. 

Step 5:  Define the custom messege and who it should go to.

Step 6: This is the real-time status that he can monitor with his iPhone.

This homeowner is in a wheelchair and everyday tasks are more dfficult.  The goal is to make the problem of the cat's litter box easier to manage.  We already had motion actived lights throughout the project.  

Motion sensor -> Alarm System -> RS232 -> Control System -> lighting module -> attic mounted fan motor

We hid the cat's litter box inside the cabinet with a portal for the cat to get in and out of.

We also installed a remote mounted vent fan.  It is almost silent inside the actual cabinet because the motor is in the attic.

This is a look at the ceiling mounted motion sensor.  It is bypassed so the cat doesn't trip the alarm.  It runs for 20 minutes to freshen up the area after the cat has done its stinky business.

I recently did a Control4 project and a Crestron project.  I was really happy to see that they both have improved the information they give the installers.  Zigbee is very cool but also can be a huge mystery when things go wrong.  They both now show the path that the devices communcate through.  Feature-wise they are almost identical.  I have Control4 in my own house and will probably switch to Crestron's lighting when I get some free time.