Manage X10 home automation with CP290 computer-controlled interface.
CP290 Director X has the same basic functionality as CP290 Director for Classic. In addition to that, it supports a number of additional features. For instance, it allows you to specify that an event is to occur at sunrise or sunset with a specified time interval. You can also specify a specific date on which an event is to occur and optionally the interval in days thereafter that the event should be repeated. Additionally, the software allows you to specify that an event should occur only on even days or on odd days.
X10 systems work quite reliably, however, noise or interference in your wiring can cut reliability, resulting in a module not being turned on or off at the requested time. If you're experiencing this problem, CP290 Director X might be the solution for you. The software allows you to specify that each "on" event should be sent more than once to the module, and/or that each "off" event should be sent more than once.
CP290 Director X has the same basic functionality as CP290 Director (a MacOS 9/Classic program), but it has been rewritten for MacOS X. The software is backwards-compatible with CP290 Director in that it reads and processes CP290 Director files. To connect a CP290 to a modern Mac without a serial port, you can use one of many USB-To-Serial adaptors.
Keyspan makes several USB-to-serial adaptors, such as the Keyspan PDA adaptor (USA-19). This adaptor was originally made to connect early Palms to Macs and can be found on ebay. However, it has a DB 9 connector, so it will not connect to the cable that came with a Macintosh CP290. Alternatively, you can get a Keyspan USB Twin Serial Adaptor (USA-28X), which has two traditional Macintosh serial ports, although it's more expensive than the PDA adaptor + cable.
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