Darco is evaluating home automation systems for his new house. Devices will be controlled over a power line signaling protocol like X10 or UPB power-line signaling. He seems set to use the more advanced, well documented, and more expensive UPB protocol. To circumvent the hefty price-tags of UPB equipment, he is designing his own device and host controllers:
But there may be a silver lining. As I mentioned above, the UPB protocol is well documented. I could probably make my own UBP modules for less than it would cost to buy them.
I’ve started investigating possible designs for how to build a UPB module, starting at the physical network layer. Here is a prototype schematic of an experimental UPB decoder and encoder.
Via Facebook.