Net Controlled Lighting

[Mike]

Hey,

To keep my hands (and mind) busy between competitions i've decided to work on a big project. I decided to make my room, 'net controlled'. This meaning, I would be able to go onto a site, and via the internet turn my lights on and off. I can figure out the online part, the offline part, but I can't figure out how I would be able to control a switch via a computer port.

Thanks in advance

EDIT: I'm thinking of buying http://www.smarthome.com/1132U.html and re-programming it to be controlled by my program... not theirs.

[Katy]

...modern wonders never cease...now your friends can hack your room too...

[Denman]

could you not just use a simple relay and wire it as an extra switch on your home circuit? I realise this would involve drilling into walls etc.....
Otherwise, attach a really big magnet to one of the switches in your room already , and get an electromagnet controlled by the computer...

[Mike]

The problem is I don't know how to output a controlled amount of voltage from a computer.

[evulish]

If you want premade ones, check out X10 stuff. Yeah, the company known for the wonderful pop-unders.. but they do manage to make nice products. There are occasionally sales where you can get free stuff or they may go cheap on eBay. If you keep an eye out, you can get a whole bunch of their stuff for a sweet price.

[Mike]

Originally Posted by evulish

If you want premade ones, check out X10 stuff. Yeah, the company known for the wonderful pop-unders.. but they do manage to make nice products. There are occasionally sales where you can get free stuff or they may go cheap on eBay. If you keep an eye out, you can get a whole bunch of their stuff for a sweet price.

I'd be willing to settle for premade ones, as long as I can write my own program to control it... and not use their program.