"tech-ing up" my house

[hulkster]

first a bit of history...so recently i was able to run 2 cat5e cables from my rec room to my bedroom for network access.  i'm running a windows 7 media center and media center extender in my bedroom (heh...extender in the bedroom..heh heh...eh....shutup).  i was using wireless for the extender but the signal was crap.  i ran 2 cat5e drops into the wall and now the signal is great.  i also recently got a windows home server (Acer Aspire Easystore...awesome!) and now ive got all my movies/music/photos/recorded tv all archived and streaming to my main tv in the rec room, to the tv in the bedroom via media center extender, and to my main pc/gaming rig.

so now that ive got all that, and im confident in my wire pulling/running abilities through the house....im ready for more!!! 

so my question to you all is....what next?  and specifically im looking for cheap options, so no $30,000 tech makeover or anything like that.  i dunno what im really looking for, but like i said, i can run more cable if need be and im just looking for opinions on what else to add to the house.  thoughts?

[shardian]

A project I would love to do, is run IR repeaters so I can hide all of my TV components in the laundry room. Then mount the TV up on the wall for a no wire, no component solution.

[hulkster]

A project I would love to do, is run IR repeaters so I can hide all of my TV components in the laundry room. Then mount the TV up on the wall for a no wire, no component solution.

yeah but you would then have to run speaker wire, hdmi/component, etc etc wires from your laundry room to your wall outlet/tv. 

[polaris]

A project I would love to do, is run IR repeaters so I can hide all of my TV components in the laundry room. Then mount the TV up on the wall for a no wire, no component solution.

yeah but you would then have to run speaker wire, hdmi/component, etc etc wires from your laundry room to your wall outlet/tv. 

You can get AV send receive things for about £30 that handle the IR as well, not sure how well you'd gauge the quality of signal , i've done it but not with good tv's/amps to know if the quality is there.

[shardian]

Laundry room is right on other side of tv.

[hulkster]

Laundry room is right on other side of tv.

well now that's convenient isnt it? 

[drventure]

Run sound/video out to the patio for music in the pool/while bar-b-queing.

I had some old Optimus speakers that are built like tanks for outdoor use. Ran some speaker wire and picked up a 20$ amp/receiver off craigslist with a remote. Used one of those "remote extenders" and an IRMAN so I can use the al cheapo remote to control my media center. It'd be WAY better if I had a touchscreen on the patio, but that's down the line....

[orion]

Laundry room is right on other side of tv.

In that case the question I have for you is why haven't you done it yet? I did something like that for my mother in law when I mounted her 32 inch LCD in her bedroom and ran the cables a few feet though the wall into her closet. The whole thing cost less than $75.00 for the cables and the cheap IR repeater that they sell at radio shack, and it took me less than two hours total to do. This also included mounting the TV to the wall and installing additional shelving in her closet for the components.

[patrickl]

A project I would love to do, is run IR repeaters so I can hide all of my TV components in the laundry room. Then mount the TV up on the wall for a no wire, no component solution.

You should go for something like this:

[protokatie]

Patrickl, That is just wrong... On so many levels... I hope that isn't your setup... evil.

[boykster]

The main advice I can offer is to home run all of your wiring and properly terminate it. 

Projects I have done at my house:

* Home run structured wiring (minimum 2 cat5e drops and 5 RG6 drops per zone)
* Distributed audio with in-wall speakers using Sonos
* Centralized IR system
* Distributed HD video using a component video matrix (12 zones / 8 inputs)
* HTPC / storage server based video system (DVD and BluRay titles)
* Centralized component closet - all source video devices are located in a single location

Its pretty cool having a flat panel mounted and a touch screen remote in a room, with no other gear visible, but being able to watch TiVo, movies, AppleTV, etc from anywhere.   

[vertygo]

When we take possession of our new house definitely going to go for a programmable MP3 doorbell replacement. Haven't settled on one particular model, but I know there's a few to choose from. Hallowe-en should be a blast!

I'm  a laptop/iphone whore, so I like web access for stuff..

-Security cams you can access via the web for when you're away
-Change lighting or temp in various rooms via a web control panel

And tho it falls into the more money than you (or I) want to spend category, there's always alot of "Green" options.. solar panels, etc.

Cheers!

[NiN^_^NiN]

I recently brought a brand new how and i am teching it up so to speak as well

Here's what i'm doing you might like some of them

Stair Lights
http://alan-parekh.com/projects/stair-lights/

These are leds you can put on your stairs or anywhere you want really and it uses an IR Beam to detect when your at the top or the bottom of the stairs and turn the lights on. The cool thing is that if you walk up or down the stairs then the leds go off one by one based on the direction you first tripped the sensor. Watch the video to understand what i mean.

LED Coffee/Dinning room/ Table
http://evilmadscience.com/majors/46-tables
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkmpIXd9Q90&feature=PlayList&p=9FB3E52B52A663F9&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=9[/youtube]

This is a interactive led table it uses IR sensors to light up a certain set of leds it also twinkles when there is no movement it's quite cool and you can buy either the tables or the panel kits assembled or save money assembling them (i have assembled one board and it's easy as)

LED under cabinets in the kitchen
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tgmWeNL0SQ&feature=related[/youtube]
Now you can go all out or you can do something simple like i am and just use white leds at night but it's the same as the above video

LED Faucet / LED Shower
Thinkgeek and other places
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p70uqbIw3aI[/youtube]
These are led faucet adapters (altho u can buy new faucet taps that are powered by by a small turbine so no batteries) which turn blue for cold water and red for hot water they also have them for showers and they are powered by a turbine

Backlight for plasma screens
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qETjgcSvQk&feature=related[/youtube]
Philips has one that changes colours depending whats on screen but i myself am doing soft white led lights no flashing no colour changing.

LCD hidden in a mirror
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvaUx66GGcM&feature=related[/youtube]
I got some 2way mirror tint on ebay for $50 and i tested it out with a 17" lcd and it works great im gonna pit it in my bathroom the size i have is 120cm wide and 1.5meters long which is more than enough for a huge bathroom mirror

LED Backlighting for bathroom mirror
http://www.instructables.com/id/Custom-Mirror/
The same concept just leds

There are loads more like my own web interface to select movies and watch them
and a touchscreen table for boardgames etc (hard to explain)

V1 http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y279/aussie_ninja/dvdflow.jpg
V2 http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/8555/dvdo.jpg

[patrickl]

I doubt that TV behind the mirror is that easy. How do you keep it dry? Also, you can't put horizontal lines of glue behind the mirror because that would trap water and you would get fungus eating away at the back of the mirror.

[NiN^_^NiN]

I doubt that TV behind the mirror is that easy. How do you keep it dry? Also, you can't put horizontal lines of glue behind the mirror because that would trap water and you would get fungus eating away at the back of the mirror.

All you would have to do is follow the instructables i posted for the backlighting of the mirror it really is that easy the monitor sits inside the frame and the mirror sits over the frame and you just need to make sure there's a vent port for the monitor just to be safe all tho it really isn't needed.

If your bathroom gets steamy when u shower then it possible might be an issue but if your got a ceiling fan to deal with the steam then you wouldn't have to even worry about that possibility

[hulkster]

thanks for the ideas guys.

the LED stuff is cool but its not very wife friendly...unless you're wife likes LED's all over the house    if i had rave parties at my house all the time, then id probably go for it!   

[ChadTower]

Some of that stuff is cool but I don't get the LCD in the mirror.  What's the point?

[shardian]

Some of that stuff is cool but I don't get the LCD in the mirror.  What's the point?

Especially with what looks to be a walk-in shower. I could understand if there was a jacuzzi tub or something in there. Sitting on the pot and watching TV is never a good idea...

EDIT: Nevermind, I just went a looked, and it is a tub/shower.

[patrickl]

Some of that stuff is cool but I don't get the LCD in the mirror.  What's the point?

I saw those things when I was shopping for a bathroom for my new house. I thought it looked quite cool, but questioned the usability too. The sales lady claimed they were a good way to check the morning news while shaving and brushing your teeth. LOL.

They wanted something like 1,500 euro for it.

[ChadTower]

Note:  don't use jim's sink

[patrickl]

Note:  don't use jim's sink

and don't shake his hand

[Edgedamage]

Use an Apple IIe to power an alarm system?

Apple II + machine code and the world is yours to control.

[boykster]

Some of that stuff is cool but I don't get the LCD in the mirror.  What's the point?

I like to watch/listen to the news in the morning.....and yeah, even I think the LCD behind the mirror is a waste. 

[Blanka]

You could start buying and Arduino (mega) and hookup all kind of shields that exist for it. To give you an idea of what is possible, get the Make-magazine book on it "Making things talk". For example it includes a cat-activated cat-cam, feeding mech and cat-blog.
Or do something like on the website www.drivemeinsane.com
A bunch of NSLU2's gives a lot of cheap fun too (http://www.nslu2-linux.org/)

[orion]

I think you should upgrade your kitchen counter tops. 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8046659.stm

[ChadTower]

I'd settle for a dishwasher that actually cleans the dishes.

[NiN^_^NiN]

Some of that stuff is cool but I don't get the LCD in the mirror.  What's the point?

Especially with what looks to be a walk-in shower. I could understand if there was a jacuzzi tub or something in there. Sitting on the pot and watching TV is never a good idea...

EDIT: Nevermind, I just went a looked, and it is a tub/shower.

I can understand that it's very limited in what it's useful for so far but im doing it in my house more so as a test to see how well i can do it with and also it will be used for watching movies while relaxing in the bathtub and also for news in the morning or music/radio when showering it's more a proof of concept for me cause it's so cheap to make the way im making it.

I think you should upgrade your kitchen counter tops. 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8046659.stm

That benchtop is cool im currently doing something like that for the dinning room table im testing out making the table a tablet screen im just using a wiimote and a pico projector for their small form factor but that benchtop idea is something thats gonna happen soon they started doing it in resturants so u can order and also see what the food looks like

thanks for the ideas guys.

the LED stuff is cool but its not very wife friendly...unless you're wife likes LED's all over the house    if i had rave parties at my house all the time, then id probably go for it!   

Yeah i go alittle led crazy sometimes my cars already gotten the led treatment lol

[patrickl]

I'd settle for a dishwasher that actually cleans the dishes.

Buy a modern one and don't go skimpy on the tablets.

[patrickl]

I think you should upgrade your kitchen counter tops. 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8046659.stm

I like the digital wallpaper too. Probably quite expensive too though.

[ChadTower]

Buy a modern one and don't go skimpy on the tablets.

Mine is a 4 year old mid range model Kenmore.  It just doesn't do the job even if I put the stuff in there half washed.

[patrickl]

Buy a modern one and don't go skimpy on the tablets.

Mine is a 4 year old mid range model Kenmore.  It just doesn't do the job even if I put the stuff in there half washed.

Better tablets then?

I haven't had a problem with dishwashers not washing clean in at least 5 or 6 years.

[orion]

Buy a modern one and don't go skimpy on the tablets.

Mine is a 4 year old mid range model Kenmore.  It just doesn't do the job even if I put the stuff in there half washed.

Are you on a well? Could be soft water, though more than likely there is something wrong with the pump or impeller or something like that. I have had to dismantle a couple of dishwashers to find an impeller not seating properly, or a gunked up pump or something like that.

[HaRuMaN]

I'd settle for a dishwasher that actually cleans the dishes.

Have you tried hitting her?   

[ChadTower]

Have you tried hitting her?   

Ba dum bum psssht!   

I've torn this thing apart 3 times already.  The problem is likely low water pressure.  It's on a timed fill and it's not getting enough volume during the fill cycle.  I open the thing up and the water level is only halfway up to the heating element.  The frustrating part is that the old one we had worked on a float switch so it always filled up nicely.  The only reason we replaced that one is because it was 25 years old and the metal tub rusted out.

[orion]

I'd settle for a dishwasher that actually cleans the dishes.

Have you tried hitting her?   

 

Have you tried hitting her?   

Ba dum bum psssht!  

I've torn this thing apart 3 times already.  The problem is likely low water pressure.  It's on a timed fill and it's not getting enough volume during the fill cycle.  I open the thing up and the water level is only halfway up to the heating element.  The frustrating part is that the old one we had worked on a float switch so it always filled up nicely.  The only reason we replaced that one is because it was 25 years old and the metal tub rusted out.

Has it always done this or did it just start one day? I'm going to assume then that during one of those tear downs you tried replacing the timer. I'm also assuming that when ever you do the dishes you have to resort to filling the thing the rest of the way up with a bucket of water. It sucks when your appliances go on the blink.

[ChadTower]

Sucked like this from day one.  The installer swore there was nothing wrong with it - but I also discovered when I tore it apart that he jury rigged the connection to house main.  He was an idiot.

I have not tried replacing the timer.  I actually don't know if it's a separate unit or controlled in firmware someplace.  Don't know if there is a way to replace it with a longer timer, either, or a way to change the fill time.  I haven't tried dumping in an additional bucket of water yet as I've just learned about timed fill vs float fill this week.  Still need to try dumping in more water after the fill finishes.

[orion]

Sucked like this from day one.  The installer swore there was nothing wrong with it - but I also discovered when I tore it apart that he jury rigged the connection to house main.  He was an idiot.

I have not tried replacing the timer.  I actually don't know if it's a separate unit or controlled in firmware someplace.  Don't know if there is a way to replace it with a longer timer, either, or a way to change the fill time.  I haven't tried dumping in an additional bucket of water yet as I've just learned about timed fill vs float fill this week.  Still need to try dumping in more water after the fill finishes.

Well if you top it off with water, and the dishes are clean you know for sure what the culprit is. If you still wind up with dirty dishes then I would say that the pump is at fault. How did the guy hook it into the house's water supply? Dishwashers are real easy to connect, they sell a hookup at Lowes and Home depot that you attach between the hot water supply line and the hot water supply for the kitchen faucet. Not much can go wrong with it other than not tightening it correctly and getting some leaking.

[ChadTower]

It is hooked up to the water supply fine, I think.  I still have to check the drain hose to see if it's losing any water there.

[orion]

It is hooked up to the water supply fine, I think.  I still have to check the drain hose to see if it's losing any water there.

I doubt the drain hose is causing you issues as the water has to be pumped out of dishwashers and most have an impeller that also does double duty as a food grinder. The only issue with the drain hose is to make sure it is run up and then down (kind of an "upside down P- trap") to ensure that water, and gunk from the sink and/or garbage disposal doesn't make its way into the dishwasher. This would be the opposite problem you are having. I suppose its possible that there is something wrong with the dishwashers inlet valve itself.