<para>This HOWTO will tell you how to use Linux to control your home electrical
devices. You will only need to make a very
simple circuit to control almost any kind of electrical
device using Linux!</para>
</abstract>
<pubdate>2003-02-08</pubdate>
<revhistory>
<revision>
<revnumber>0.008</revnumber>
<date>2003-02-08</date>
<authorinitials>Goldencat</authorinitials>
</revision>
<revision>
<revnumber>0.007</revnumber>
<date>2002-02-12</date>
<authorinitials>RL</authorinitials>
</revision>
<revision>
<revnumber>0.006</revnumber>
<date>2001-06-27</date>
<authorinitials>JEY</authorinitials>
</revision>
<revision>
<revnumber>0.005</revnumber>
<date>2001-06-13</date>
<authorinitials>RL</authorinitials>
</revision>
<revision>
<revnumber>0.004</revnumber>
<date>2001-06-12</date>
<authorinitials>JEY</authorinitials>
</revision>
</revhistory>
<othercredit role="converter">
<firstname>Joy</firstname>
<surname>Yokley</surname>
<contrib>Coverted document from Linuxdoc to DocBook v4.1 (SGML).</contrib>
</othercredit>
</articleinfo>
<sect1 id="Introduction">
<title>Introduction</title>
<para>Many people asked me, "Is it possible to control some electrical
stuff [e.g. lights, radio, tv, etc.] by using a home computer?" The answer is YES.
The process is very easy, and anyone can do it.</para>
<para>After I read the Coffee Machine Mini-HOWTO, I got an idea of how to control
my home electrical appliances. I made some modifications on the circuit discussed in that
Coffee Machine Mini-HOWTO, and wrote a simple program. The circuit can
control many small electrical devices.^_^ You can use <command>crontab</command>
to set your lights to come on automatically or to turn on your airconditioner. I use it to control my VCR and VCD ( I do still need some modification on VCR/VCD).
By writing a simple program, you can control everything over the web. You can use
telnet with SSH and your telephone dial in to control all the appliances you have on the circuit.</para>
<para>This circuit is VERY SIMPLE. Even if you don't know anything
about circuits, you can set up this circuit.</para>
</sect1>
<sect1 id="SysRequirements">
<title>System Requirement</title>
<para>Get any computer that is running Linux and has a working parallel port. :)
I'm using a 386DX with 4MB RAM 40MB HD.
You will need gcc to compile the program. If you want to use telnet or SSH,
you will also need <application>telnetd</application> or <application>sshd</application>. You can write your own
program by using <application>ioperm</application> and <application>outb</application>. If you would like to
use my program, you will need g++.</para>
<para>Click the following link to download my program. You will need g++ to compile it.