Taking the plunge into building automation consulting
Discovering if you have what it takes to be a consultantEven though I have been programming Crestron system … http://p.ost.im/p/dr5VS4
the ffwd life
but be kind and don't rewind.
Time for a new beginning
Hi everyone
So after deciding to do something with the skills that I have. I plan to set up a consulting company in the coming months to further address the needs of home and commercial building automation systems and particularly with Crestron control.
I think I will start a blog on the path of becoming a consultant. Stay tuned for more
I will be a certified programmer in the coming months and have had many experiences in the last 5 years ranging from airports, casinos, boardrooms, city councils, and high end residential buildings. I know how the systems work and what you need to accomplish your IT goals in the AV and control system world. Now is a great time to speak with me if you have any spaces that require any kind of control system and/or automation system.
walt.yao@gmail.com
That’s enough self solicitation now haha. thank you for your time.
managing applications within a crestron 3-series processor
the 3-series processor brings a whole new set of console commands and parameters that go with them.
in the e-control web interface, you have the ability to register and start applications:
register – find the program in app0# and attempt to run anything in it kind of like installing a program. must be registered before starting
start – starts the program. must be registered to start. you can only you can unregister a program while it has already started but on won’t start on a startup sequence
the loading sequence looks for app01-app10 first starting from locations RM, RM2, then internal memory. RM are the USB removable media slots.
console commands to manage and control your programs
PROGREG :: lists all registered programs
PROGREG -p:## :: register program ##
PROGREG -p:## -u :: unregister program ##
APPSTAT :: allows you find which devices (ethernet, cresNet, IR, RF, et al) are being used by which program
STOPPROG :: stops all programs in the processor
PROGRESET :: starts all registered programs
New weather module at www.customcodecrafters.com
hi guys,
in response to my last post: https://waltyao.wordpress.com/2010/10/19/new-module-i-created-weather-with-favorite-cities/
i have updated it since and my weather module full with graphics is now available on the Custom Code Crafters website at:
http://www.customcodecrafters.com/section/11/1/crestron_modules
please let me know if you require more information on this if you are deciding if this is a good buy.
Dirty South and Thomas Gold – Alive (Yaoza remix)
i’ve released my version of
Dirty South and Thomas Gold – Alive (Yaoza remix)
hope you all enjoy it. it’s for the Dirty South & Thomas Gold Alive contest for EMM 2011.
SMTP: Emailing through your crestron processor
The Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is required in order to use crestron’s ‘send mail’ module.
Click here for a list of SMTP servers by ISP in USA
Click here for a list of SMTP servers by ISP in UK
Click here for sample code from Crestron on how to send email from a crestron touchpanel.
crestron’s mc3 vs av2
Crestron’s 3-series processors have been on the market for a few months now. This is the first look at the 3-series from my perspective. i will be pushing the limits of what the processor can do and answering the age old question:
is it worth it to upgrade?
only if the price is right. so let’s check it out and see what it’s got.
i will summarize the details of the MC3:
| AV2 | MC3 | |
| Memory | ||
| SDRAM | 64MB | 256MB |
| Flash | 4MB | 2GB (expandable to 1TB) |
| CompactFlash | 2GB (support to 2GB) | N/A |
| NVRAM | 256KB | N/A |
| Operating System | FAT32 file system withreal-time multitasking | Extended FAT file system withCore 3 OS and support for up to10 simultaneous programs |
| Communications | ||
| Ethernet | 10/100BaseT, SSL, TCP/IPUDP/IP, CIP, SMTP, SNMP,Webserver support | 10/100BaseT, SSL, TCP/IPUDP/IP, CIP, SMTP, SNMP,IIS v6.0 Webserver,
IPv4 or IPv6 compatible |
| Cresnet | Yes | Yes |
| USB | No | Yes x 2 rear (HID, Mass Storage)1 x front (console port)on front panel |
| IR/Serial | Yes x 8 | Yes x 5 with 1 input to receive |
| Relay | Yes x 8 | Yes x 2 |
| Digital I/O | Yes x 8 | Yes x 2 |
| RF | No | Yes (infinet EX, MTX-3/MLX-3) |
| A/V ports | ||
| Audio | N/A | 1 x RCA L/R in1 x TCA L/R out(passthrough with auto mute for playing wav, mp3, or wma files) |
| Video | N/A | 4 x out (Component and composite)*Currently not enabled |
Toolbox System Info
The real advantage in the MC3 is in the program management. It can load up to 10 simultaneous programs as opposed to one for the AV2. Here’s the system info windows shown in crestron toolbox:
as you can see in the second image, there’s two programs in there. you can load up to 10.
Debugging
Using simpl debugger you can still debug your programs individually. when you select the ip of the MC3 or usb to connect to the processor, a popup will ask you which program you want to debug. then everything loads up just like normal.
Uploading programs
Be careful with your debugging windows while uploading. I noticed a consistent problem in loading new code (abort modem-x) to the MC3 when 2 or more debugging windows are open. this was all via usb so i’m not sure if the same problem persists via tcp. it’s hard to define where the problem is exactly. sometimes no debugging window is open and the error comes up. i would have to open a new debugging window and close it and seems to let me fully upload the program like that.
Controlling multiple programs
You cannot control multiple programs with the same ipid. you will have to use EISC (ethernet intersystem communications) to talk between programs as you did before in multiple processors. the only difference with the EISC method before and now is that the ip address used is 127.0.0.2 to refer back to itself.
End of the Day
Definitely not worth upgrading for the sake of it, especially if you’ve got a perfectly running system in 2-series. but it will save you loads of cash to use one mc3 in place of multiple 2-series processors.
thecomportal.com – monitoring anything from the outside world in
thecomportal.com is a nifty free service that allows you, or your clients the ability to monitor anything via your web browser.
i haven’t completely gotten into using it but it’s handy to give to your client as an added bonus. everyone wants to be able to monitor things remotely and by using thecomportal’s simpl modules in your program you can basically monitor any digital, analog, or serial signal and then you can display this accumulated data in a form of a graph. this entire interface is on thecomportal.com website so you can probably view it from any computer or smartphone.
second encounter of the vpanel kind, ip addressing and why you need it
i’ve managed to get my hands on a test unit V15 Crestron V-panel that i’m using to test a system for a multi-million dollar 30+ touch panel home.
Probably one of if not the biggest crestron residential project in north america its gonna be insane!
I commented on the vpanel from my post ,”first-encounters-of-the-v-panel-kind/“, since then the only thing that’s changed was the firmware for the dge-1, they have a new one (1.00.01.242).
the combo is a bit clunky and i doubt you could ever pull off a proper retrofit with these panels unless you can rip out whole walls. you limited to 200 feet (61 meters) for the dm-cable, the one that connects the dge-1 graphics processor to the v-panel touch panel.
On the other hand, for newly constructed buildings and big renovations for both residential or commercial uses, this panel offers a nice upgrade to their tps series of touch panels.
It does take a bit of reading and know-how to get all the firmware up to date. Remember the dge-1’s ip address info can be set within toolbox initially via cresnet or ethernet.
But the ip address for the vpanel is a little more tricky and has to be done through the setup page of the touch panel.
In the setup menu you have to press the “VPG Config” button:
There you can set to dhcp or static ip address. be prepared to then wait a few more minutes as it restarts. you’ll be accompanied with various isys and dge-1 splash screens.
so why do we need to set these ip addresses?
obviously you can go ol skool by using cresnet to the dge-1, but ethernet on is average 4-6 times quicker than cresnet. so it’s a pretty obvious choice there. but why do we need to set the vpanel’s ip address? this is the power that is shared by other older crestron touch panel models that offer microsoft widgets. in order for these to work you will need to allow the panel have direct access to the internet.
the next post i will put will explain the details behind getting a v-panel to access the outside web.
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the ffwd life 
