Download 2 System Architecture

10 Setup Reference
10.1 Setup1-Rain8
10.1.1
Module PC Interface
The interface to the Rain8 modules can be either directly connected to a COM port on this PC or available
on any PC that is on the same network. The radio button selection determines the interface location for
each type of Rain8 Module and the box is used to enter the COM number or the Xap address.
The Xap address can be wild carded such as *.CM11A.* to indicate that any CM11A xAP node should
respond to a command. An explicit target, such as mcs.CM11A.MyPC can also be used to specify as
particular node on the network that is responsible for the power line interface with the CM11A.
The Xap Serial is used when the serial port is connected via xAP protocol using the xAPBSC schema. The
Netiom is one device that supports this type of connection.
The Homeseer interface applies to the mcsSprinklers as a Homeseer plug-in and the interface is achieved
using the ExecX10 Homeseer scripting method.
It is generally the case that internal COM ports are dedicated to a specific application and the same port
cannot be used amongst applications. In the case of the Power line and Wireless interfaces they can share
the same port if desired.
10.1.2
Interface Test
When the RF button is pressed then an ON, 5-second delay, and then OFF is sent to device address A1.
The same is done when the Power line button is clicked except the commands are delivered on the selected
power line interface.
These buttons are intended to provide a means to test the connectivity of the Rain8 modules to the PC.
10.1.3
Homeseer X10-IO Devices
Devices that are to be controlled by the Homeseer generic X10 or IO interfaces are itemized in this list.
Commas are used to separate device codes. For example] 3,]45,A5,B15.
10.1.4
Rain8 Net and Rain8 WiFi Master Modules
A typical Rain8Net or Rain8Wifi configuration will have one port on the PC with one or more Rain8
modules daisy-chained. It is also possible to use multiple ports on the PC with each connected to one or
more Rain8 modules. This second configuration is most appropriate with the modules need to be
physically separated.
The communication protocol is also specified in this section for how mcsSprinklers obtains valve status
from each Rain8Net module. Each command sent to the Rain8Net is always confirmed and retried when
necessary. Valve status is optional and can be after each command or every minute. If communications
interface is robust then the polling every minute will assure proper synchronization between the hardware
and software. If the interface does not maintain timing between commands very well then unexpected
mcsSprinklers recovery actions can be observed.
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