Depending on how sophisticated you want to get, your home control system could control everything from how long your sprinkler targets the tulips and rhododendrons to dialing 911 followed by your cell phone when the smoke detectors go off. While you go about your daily life, the system can take care of everything from the mundane to the vital.

Steve developed the original home control system in 1985; it was dubbed the Circuit Cellar Home Run Control System—HCS for short (no one seems to remember why the “R” was left out). It was a good start, but Steve knew it would have to expand and change to meet future demands. Seven years later, Circuit Cellar introduced the HCS II (and the “Run” was permanently dropped) to a welcome audience. The project was the result of the collaborative efforts of the Circuit Cellar staff engineers, including Steve, Ed Nisley, Jeff Bachiochi, and then-Managing Editor Ken Davidson.

The system is not a home controller in the traditional sense. Rather, as Steve explained, the HCS II is an “expandable network-based intelligent-node industrial-oriented supervisory control system that, in its minimal configuration, performs quite suitably as a home control system” (“The Circuit Cellar Home Control System II,” Circuit Cellar 25).

When they were expanding the existing HCS, the band of Circuit Cellar engineers definitely tested the boundaries (or a lack thereof) of what they could develop. Steve’s creation, he admitted, bordered on lunacy. His elaborate home security system rivaled the military force guarding Fort Knox. If you haven’t read Steve’s anecdote about trying to outsmart your own creation, I recommend getting a copy of issue 25. Before revealing the details of the HCS II architecture, Steve recounts his misadventures when he locked himself out and had to enlist an unwitting neighbor to help him break into his own home. Their mission was to douse a burning soufflé before the smoke set off a chain reaction that would surely end in bedlam (including, perhaps, some flights misdirected from Bradley International Airport toward his flashing roof, which was decked with Xenon strobe aircraft-landing lights).

The premise behind the HCS II was convenience, but the developers’ intentions were aimed high. More than a tool for the guy who dreams of his computer calling him at work to remind him to pick up a dozen eggs because there are only two left, the system was designed to make living in your home easier and safer. For instance, knowing that flood sensors detect a rising tide in your basement could prevent major disaster.

Over the years, many people have been involved in maintaining and upgrading the HCS II, enabling it to continue evolving. A group of home automation enthusiasts has been working on the newest developments. This month, Robert Morrison begins a three-part series on his contribution. In Part 1, you’ll learn how to acquire more communications interfaces and functions by adding an FPGA board. Later on in Parts 2 and 3, Robert will discuss connecting the HCS II to Ethernet and the Internet.

To keep up to date on the HCS II developments, visit our newsgroup at news://bbs.circuitcellar.com//local.cci.hcs2.

jennifer.huber@circuitcellar.com

Published: March 2003