One of the things that you don’t have access to in Composer HE is the loop function. Don’t worry, it’s over-rated anyway. We recently wanted to program a panic light mode where the lights flash while in an alarm state, and were able to do so without a loop. Here’s how: 1) Create a number [...]
So, we’re all kind of bummed that the Kwikset lock doesn’t have the same capabilities at this time as the Yale lock, more specifically the ability to allow/deny access for certain users at certain times of the day. However, with Composer Home Edition and a little bit of programming, you can work around this. Our [...]
A question that comes up fairly often is “How do I use a keypad to turn the volume up and down?”. As I was getting ready to draft a detailed response for a user on www.c4forums.com, I decided why not just post it here? Click the link below for the details…
I am a cyclist, and most days I head out on my bike in the morning…often times before the sun comes up. This was case on Tuesday, July 19th. I left the house at about 5:30, with the entire family still sleeping. About 6:00, more than 10 miles away from my house, I hit a [...]
Okay, so here is one that is extremely functional and will WOW your friends and family. Have you ver been watching a video in a dark room, hit pause so your friend could run to the restroom only to watch him trip on the step because he couldn’t see anything? Has this happened to you? Well, the best part about Home Automation is the automated part, and this is one I really like. This little tutorial will teach you how to have your lights automatically ramp up to a certain level you choose when your video source is paused, and then return to the previous light level once the play button is pressed. VERY COOL! Hit the read link and in 15 minutes or so you’ll be inviting people over for movie night to show this off!
There have been a few requests for this, so here you go!
Do you have your Control4 system sending you emails when certain events take place? While having Control4 send me email when certain things take place, with how active my email accounts are I don’t always stay on top of them. On the other hand, my text message volume is much easier to stay on top of, and I am probably going to see a text before an email so having important things sent via text message sure is nice. This writeup will not only cover how to send you things via email if you aren’t already, but help you send things as text messages also.
Hit the read link for all the details.
Having the functionality to press and hold a keypad or dimmer for a certain period of time to fire certain programming is one of my favorite things. I use alot of press and holds in my house to turn certain things or “modes” on or off, as well as other various programming tasks. At my old website I got a lot of requests for this, so I did a write-up on how to do it. Unfortunately that write-up got lost, and we’ve had some requests to do another here, so here you have it!
Hit the read link for the full writeup.
One of the selling points of the C4 interface is the ability to consolidate your media, and view/call it via the cover-art selection screen. Many DVD changers and media servers are supported via a 2 way driver and work seamlessly through this interface. But what happens after you are done with that movie, and want to start another movie? You are now in control of the device playing your movie, and the guide buttons either does nothing (as it did with my 400 disc Sony Blue-Ray changer) or takes you to the menus of the device playing the media (as it did with my Netgear 9100 Express). These aren’t always as pretty, or as intuitive as the C4 cover-art screen. Also, this will tend to confuse the non-power user (such as my kids). It can become a little button intensive to return to the cover-art screen, which is why this little bit of programming can be a big convenience. For the full rundown on how to get the most out of the guide button and improve your families movie watching experience, hit the read link below.
So, if you were a fan of my writeup “How do I…use a timer to close my garage door?”, but the additional functionality I talked about but didn’t explain was intriguing to you, this article will you get you that much closer to having all that functionality. Here I have covered how to create an override to stop the garage from automatically closing, as well as use the LEDs in your dimmer(s)/switch(s)/keypad(s) to indicate whether the override was put into effect or not.
If all that sounds fun and functional to you, hit the read link for the full scoop on how to make it happen.
We’ve had several requests for people wanting to know how to make lights turn on and off at random to make their home appear occupied while they are away. This makes the home seem occupied and can potentially discourage any would-be burglars. At my house security is something we take seriously. How do we make it look like somebody is always home and milling about? Well, it is really quite simple!
Hit the read link for all the details.
