Mochad X10 Binding

Documentation of the Mochad X10 binding.

Introduction

This binding makes it possible to control X10 devices via a server running the Mochad X10 daemon by mmauka (http://sourceforge.net/projects/mochad/). Mochad is a Linux TCP gateway daemon for the X10 CM15A RF (radio frequency) and PL (power line) controller and the CM19A RF controller.

With the current version of the binding items of type Switch, Dimmer, and Rollershutter can be controlled. The binding only uses one-way communication so no status reading (yet).

For installation of the binding, please see Wiki page Bindings.

Configuring the binding

First of all you need to configure the following values in the openhab.cfg file (in the folder '${openhab_home}/configurations').

###################################### Mochad X10 #####################################
#
# Ip address and port of the Mochad X10 server
mochadx10:hostIp=192.168.1.30
mochadx10:hostPort=1099

Option	Description
mochadx10:hostIp	The ip address of the server on which the Mochad X10 daemon is running.
mochadx10:hostPort	the port number on which the Mochad X10 daemon is communicating. The default value used by the Mochad X10 daemon is 1099.

Item configuration

In order to bind an item to an X10 device, you need to provide configuration settings. The easiest way to do so is to add some binding information in your item file (in the folder configurations/items`). The syntax for the Mochad X10 binding configuration string is explained here: The format of the binding configuration is simple and looks like this:

mochadx10="<houseCode><unitCode>[:<transmitMethod>][:<dimMethod>]"

where parts in [brackets] indicate optional components.

Addressing of X10 devices is done using a so called house code and a unit code. The house code is specified by characters 'a' to 'p'. The unit code is a number from 1 to 16. This way a number of 255 X10 devices can be controlled by one X10 controller.

X10 devices can be controlled by sending commands over the power-line or by sending RF commands. To explicitly specify the transmitMethod a value of pl for power-line or rf for radio frequency can be used. If transmitMethod is not specified it defaults to pl.

X10 dimmer devices can use one the dim/bright commands or the xdim command to set the level of lighting. To explicitly specify the dimMethod of an X10 device, set it to dim for using the 'dim/bright' commands, or to xdim for using the xdim command. If dimMethod is not specified it defaults to xdim

Examples

Here are some examples of valid binding configuration strings, as defined in the items configuration file:

Dimmer Light_Corridor_Dimmer "Hallway Dimmer [%d %%]" (GF_Corridor) {mochadx10="a1"}
Dimmer Light_Living_Dimmer "Living Dimmer [%d %%]" (GF_Living) {mochadx10="a2:pl:dim"}
Switch Mech_Vent "Mechanical ventilation" (GF_Kitchen) {mochadx10="b12"}
Rollershutter "Bedroom" (FF_Bedroom) {mochadx10="m3:rf"}