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The X10 FireCracker Kit: Not Your Grandmother's Clapper

  • Mar 10, 2006
Getting old/lazy? Got a broken leg and can't get to and from the lamp easily? Save the Clapper for Granny and instead follow Kulvir Bhogal's easy instructions on hooking up your electrical devices to be run right from your computer.
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You might think that being able to turn your lights off and on via your computer would require a bunch of expensive equipment and be ridiculously hard to set up.

You’d be wrong.

In this article, I’ll introduce you to the X10 FireCracker kit, which lets you control a device such as a lamp, either via a remote control or via a computer interface. As you’ll see, the components of the FireCracker kit are quite affordable and easy to set up.

What Is X10?

X10 is a communications protocol that enables compatible products to interact with one another over the existing electrical wiring in your home. No costly rewiring of your home is necessary to enable the wireless control of X10 devices.

X10 signals are sent from X10 transmitters. The signals are heard by X10 receivers, which are wired to lights, audio/video devices, appliances, and so on. In this article, I’ll show you how to use X10 to control a lamp.

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