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Turning power outlets on and off with my computer?
nitz:
Basically I want to be able to cut/turn on power to an outlet using hotkeys on my computer. What I'm looking for is something like this:
http://www.pwrusb.com/index.html
but I can't seem to find this product anywhere, doesn't even look like they sell it on their own site. :dunno
Seems like every solution I find is a DIY thing which is more complicated (and potentially dangerous) than I want to tackle right now, or it's something that's way too elaborate/expensive for my needs.
Does anyone know where I can get a power bar that plugs into a PC that I can then control via software/hotkeys?
Ed_McCarron:
X10 stuff is cheap and easy -- but not directly connected. Think the newer stuff is even more reliable.
nitz:
Thanks, had a look at some x10 stuff, looks like it would work, but the cheapest option I could find is a kit with a bunch of software and such costing $62 and it's overkill for what I want to do. I really only want to control 1 or 2 devices via autohotkey scripts and wouldn't want to have other programs running in the background.
Maybe I'm missing something and there is a less expensive x10 way, someone let me know if there is!
Howard_Casto:
Controlling house current with a pc takes some specilized software and hardware. If you are wanting to purchase a kit, 62 bucks isn't bad at all.
Typically speaking you need an avr hooked to you pc, similar to a ledwiz to pump out the signal. Then you need a transmitter, a number of recievers, and a relay at each reciever.
There are x10 kits periodically on ebay (NEW) that come with just one reciever, and you can get an additional one for 10-20 bucks. But those kits usually run around 35, so 60 bucks for one with multiple recievers that's a good deal.
It's also about as cheap as you can get unless you build the entire thing from scratch.
nitz:
The kit doesn't come with any receivers though. So add another $24 for a couple receivers, then add shipping and I'm in for over $100 and all I'm really looking for is a relatively cheap, easy straight forward solution like the vaporware I linked to above. This is just something I want to mess around with, not something I want to spend a lot of money on. I was hoping there was a power bar that does this that I could maybe get for < $50. Doesn't look like it though. :-[
EDIT: I should mention that I don't consider fleabay an option since I swore off it last year. Just got fed up with idiots ripping me off.
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