I present this free software for your use. It will compile on many Unix and Linux systems. The full source is available here. An executable copy of the program can be downloaded too. You may use this software as your needs dictate, just don't sell it to others or represent it as your own work. If you want to use it as part of a commercial distribution, contact me for permission.
I am your typical gadget freak. I enjoy all sorts of gadgets, from simple toys like the Etch-A-Sketch to complex things like my K6 (and Athlon) powered Linux computers. Any old gadget will do. I drove an RX7 because it had the most unique engine (a rotary, for those that don't know already). Now I drive a Prius Hybrid gas/electric car.
One of the gadgets I like is the CM11A. I created HEYU because there was nothing available to control my CM11A from within Linux. I prefer not to use Windows when I can avoid it. There are now several programs that can communicate with the CM11A from linux. See the links below.
The CM11A is a device built by the X10 company for controlling devices by sending signals through the power lines. It's a small box that plugs into an AC outlet and connects to a serial port. The CM11A is shipped with a Windows application called "Activehome".
I have put together a Linux program that will operate the CM11A computer interface. It will control your X10 devices, set the cm11a interface clock and monitor x10 signals on the AC power lines. It will upload macros and timers to your CM11A for stand-alone execution. It is tailored to Linux, but it should work with other unix systems. The readme file has a bit more information about the program. I highly recommend reading the FAQ if you are at all interested in it.
The program has been written per the protocol.txt documentation from X10's beta web site. You may need to use X10's ftp site to get the docs. I have updated that document with my own notes and discoveries. A link to my updated version is below. It's also included in the sources tar file.
Many people have had problems downloading the source file via Netscape.
The easiest way is to right click, then choose 'Save this link as..."
Current stable (and final version 1) release = 1.35_3
There will be no more enhancements to Version 1. It is capped at heyu 1.35. Future enhancements for HEYU will be to Heyu Version 2, currently being maintained by Charles Sullivan. Heyu 2 uses a different way of looking at the CM11 time (always on standard time) and will not try to remain backwardly compatible in it's configuration file locations, output or command structure. Go to Heyu Version 2 pages
Version 1.3X has a few changes from 1.29. Most notable are the addition of dusk and dawn timers (via the auxiliary program makesched), a configure script and a install script that checks for permission problems. An overrun condition with the macros was also fixed. The overrun sometimes caused extra macros to run after a macro was triggered. Version 1.35_3 has some installation script fixes.
The 1.35 version supports multiple CM11s. It has code to change the CM11 clock when the DST flag changes. It does not eat up processor time when the CM11 is disconnected. The monitor output is a little easier to read from a script. It provides some of the functionality of xtend by calling a configurable external helper program each time a powerline event is detected.
Note that allowing multiple CM11s required a change of the the spool file name, so xtend users will have to change their config files.
Please note that xtend 1.1 does not work with HEYU 1.28i1 or higher unless you apply the xtend patch to against xtend-1.2beta4. I have posted a patched copy of xtend-1.2beta4 with permission from David Shaw. Please read this specialized xtend+heyu faq if you have any questions about using xtend with heyu.
Download the HEYU source in one of two formats. The PKzip compatible version was requested by many DOS users so they could use the code as a reference.
Miscellaneous downloads:There is a mailing list for Heyu users at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/heyu_users. This is where I will be announcing changes and upgrades. It should also be a place for Heyu users to communicate with each other.
Do you prefer a graphical interface over a command line? Look at TKx10 for a Perl/TK implementation of a graphical front end by haig@houseofhack.com. The perl package mentioned at his site is Tk800.022.tar.gz
Do you want to access your X10 via the web? Bluelava does a nice job. It's a perl CGI script that works nicely. The home page is at http://http://www.sgtwilko.f9.co.uk/bluelava/
Another new web based control is DRACONi Automation. It's designed to be a freeware (GPL) home automation and digital entertainment control package. For more information go to www.draconidigital.com.
Do you want to trigger a program when HEYU reports a specific code? Try David Shaw's Xtend software. It will respond to incomimg X10 signals by running any unix command you want. It's at the Xtend Home page.
Neil Cherry's Linux Home Automation Page has a lot of links to many good home automation sites. He also mirrors a lot of the Linux software that's available.
Home-Automation.org is hoping to become the ultimate site for home automation. Their URL is http://home-automation.org
My program is based on the program called "x10" by Larry Campbell as modified by Paul Fox for Linux. His home page has a link to his program. The original X10 program (download CP290 version from here) only works with the cp290 interface.