On Topic: power control

You might consider OPTP22 devices. I'm currently working on a home automation project using OPTO22 technology. I have found them to be easy to interface, flexible, cost effective, and very reliable. The devices are controlled via a RS422 serial interface (easily converted to RS232) and drivers are available for a number of OSs including DOS, WINDOWS, and Linux. The protocols aren't that complex so writing your own driver, if one is not available, wouldn't be too difficult. Most of the work I've done so far is basic experimentation and prototyping. I currently have a OPTO22 controller interfaced to a HP 9000/832 running HP-UX 10.20. It can turn on and off a few lights, measure the temperature in the house, etc... All the collected data is captured into an Informix DB. The application(s) are written in PERL / CGI and I have put together a rudimentary web interface. I don't have a static IP otherwise, I'd publish the address so others could see the system in operation. My ultimate goal is to build an automated Printed Circuit Board drilling machine using a classic HP 3000 MPE computer running COBOL. I'm not sure if OPTO22 is suitable for that application or not, I'll need to do a lot more experimentation to make that determination. If it's too difficult, I may wind up using a STD BUS computer as a smart controller/interface between the drilling machine and the 3000. FWIW: All the hardware I'm running is over 10 years old so, it is on topic. With the exception of the 9000, most of it is closer to 20 years old. SteveRob _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com