I installed the Sonos ZP80 bundle this week, and all I have to say is: WOW! I initially had some difficulty getting the desktop controller software to see the unit, but I installed it on a different computer and it worked fine. Normally, problems like that are related to software firewalls, or security software, which I didn't have installed, so I just decided to try a different computer.

I also had a slight issue with using the Coax digital connection, and I'm sure it has something to do with my receiver. However, I was anxious to get it working, so I have it temporarily hooked up with RCA cables, and it still sounds great.

They really made this install very user friendly for the novice (outside of the issues I had, but from what I read in the forums, I'm in the minority). One issue that was previously pointed out is that other remotes cannot control the Sonos, nor can the Sonos controller change the A/V source. I have a couple options with this:

1). Add a small X10 keychain remote to the Sonos unit, and have the X10 code change the source on the receiver. I'd then just update my Stargate to treat this as any other source, which turns back to the Stargate audio if any trigger happens that has a voice announcement.

2). Purchase an audio line-level switcher and have the receiver share inputs with the Stargate. I'd then make the Sonos system the primary source that the receiver is set to, and if the stargate makes an announcement, it would switch temporarily to that. The main issue with this, is that I can't use my digital output on the Sonos.

At some point I'll check out the web control plug-in that someone created for the Sonos, as well as Homeseer integration. One feature that I love is the Internet Radio! I am using this feature to connect to XM Radio channels so I now have the Sonos programmed to show my favorite XM channels.

Format for the XM URL to add to your Sonos Internet Radio Favorites:

http://www.xstreamxm.com/mobile/stream.asx?email=me@me.com&pass=password&chan=6&speed=high

Just change the email and password to match your XM online account, and create a different link for each channel that you'd like to monitor.

Main Drawbacks of the Sonos System:

Imagine sitting on a Airbus A310 plane which has left Cuba heading to Quebec. About 30 minutes into the flight you are flying 35,000 feet above the Carribean when suddenly the pilot notices the rudder is not responding to his control! He then notices that it has not only stopped responding, but is now falling into the sea below!

This is not a nightmare, it happened on Air Transat flight 961 on 3/6/05.. The rudder on the Airbus A310 is approximately 28 feet high, and provides the majority of the steering for it. Besides flashing back to the rudder failure that occurred on the American Airline A-300 that crashed in NYC back in 2001, the pilot needs to immediately figure out what to do! Fortunately, the pilot and crew were quick on their feet and were able to turn the plane around by utilizing the wings and tailflaps. They safely landed at the airport they previously departed from without any casualities. The pictures above were taken from the actual plane.

Which brings me to my biggest point of confusion... While this happened over a couple weeks ago, the mainstream press did not make a big deal out of it at all. I'm curious why most of the information for this incident is coming from blogs on the internet and international press?! Doing a quick search on Google News for 'Airbus'+'A310'+'Rudder' turns up only a handful of stories (about 58 hits), yet I search for 'Congress' + 'Baseball' and I turn up 9,670 hits on the congressional panel that is looking into steroid use in Baseball (MLB) which has heard testimonies from Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco (don't get me started on this topic).

Conspiracists are having a field day with this one, but my take on this is that there are so many airlines in financial trouble right now, they (not sure who they are, but someone obviously that has some leverage of the press) are trying to avoid widespread panic and a major impact to the industry.

So, how many other things am I being protected from?

There are many different uses that people have for cameras in and around the home. How you plan to use your cameras will point you in the right direction on what type of cameras to purchase.

Sample Uses at Home:

• Baby Monitoring
• Home Security
• Front Door Camera (See who's at the door before going to answer it)
• Pet Monitor

Types of Cameras

There are numerous types of cameras out there: Black and White, Color, Low lux (night time viewing), wired, wireless, remote pan/tilt capable, hidden/covert, weatherproof, IP/Network Ready, etc..

My Setup

What I decided to do for my setup at home was to use a combination of cameras. My primary goal was to have camera coverage around the perimeter of the house. From a security standpoint there is no better setup than a video perimeter. It's also great to see who's at the door, pulling in the driveway, or on our deck. Since I have motion sensors around the house, I get the added benefit of the cameras being setup to show up on the TV screen when motion in that area is detected. PIP pops up on the TV showing the live feed. In order to do this, you would need to have some additional home automation equipment, and an IR distribution network.

Remmington B&W Camera Model 00875

For my initial cameras, I went with (5) $45 Remmington 00875 .2 lux B&W 1/3" weatherproof wired cameras. They work "okay" in the dark, and do the job that is expected of them for the price. They come with 60' of cable, in which I ran each back to my central wiring closet. The black and white camera feeds you are viewing on this website come from these cameras.

Visiontech Color Bullet Camera Model VC23WB

The next camera that I purchased was after the bilco door entrance to our basement was installed a few months ago. I figured since I already had a camera at each entrance to the house, I should add one here. It worked out quite well since during the installation they needed to move the outside water faucet and there was a hole left in the siding. I went to smarthome.com and found a 1/3" color weatherproof bullet camera that fit perfectly in the existing hole! The camera is made by Visiontech and is model # VC23WB. It was a lot more costly than my initial cameras at $160, but the quality is well worth the additional price. Link to camera at Smarthome.

D-Link DCS-5300G

Finally, I purchased a couple of IP based Pan/tilt cameras after receiving an excellent deal on them at Newegg.com. The cameras are D-link model DCS-5300G, are IP based and connect to either a Cat 5 cable or wireless 802.11B / 802.11G network. The going retail price is about $350-$400. The DCS-5300G features remote pan/tilt capability, which allows you to pan the camera (from a remote control or a browser) 270 degrees horizontally and tilt vertically 90 degrees. It also has a remote 4x zoom. The camera attaches to your home network and has a built in webserver for viewing images through your browser. It can upload captured images to another server (such as your webserver) as well as email you pictures when motion is detected. I do not plan on integrating these cameras in my video distribution setup to the TVs, they will be for online viewing only. I don't have them setup permanantly yet, but have the uses for them somewhat planned. One will serve as a baby monitor when the time arrives and allows for full room monitoring from any computer. The other will most likely be placed outside in our enclosed deck gazebo that overlooks a 17 acre pond. I'll be able to get a glimpse of the view when I travel away from home. I'll probably integrate the outdoor one into this website for full control by registered users. Dlink Product Link

I also have a couple of webcams attached to PCs around the house, but they aren't used much either. They can however be integrated into the entire setup through software.

Where to Buy

There are plenty of sources on the web to buy cameras, and they are a Google search away. Once you find a model of camera that you like, I would recommend doing a search on Froogle , to find the lowest price. Lowest price of course does not mean it's the best place to buy, so be sure to check out the storefront at Resellerratings.com. I usually check Smarthome.com for products first as they have a great selection and presentation, however they don't always have the lowest price.

What's Next?

The next article will discuss what to do once you have the cameras installed and wired (or wireless) back to your central wiring closet. You need to be able to view them from your TVs or computers! You may also want to record them, add them to a website, setup motion detection to email you upon any motion detection, etc.

Please provide some feedback (via the poll) on the article. I'd like to know if you find them useful, or would like to see some changes in the topics, level of detail or specs provided.

A couple years ago we stumbled upon a hidden treasure. Nestled deep within the Adirondacks we found a camp that used to be the "Summer Whitehouse" for President Coolidge". They have about 15 cabins on the property that range in ammenities. Most (if not all) have running water, full bathrooms and fireplaces. In the summer the camp is booked solid, however we prefer the solitude of the camp in the winter. It's quiet, peaceful and the large stone fireplace just wouldn't get any use in the summer!

As much as I enjoy technology, it's still nice to get away to a place that has no TV. We had our 2nd visit to the camp earlier this month when we booked the president's cabin. Of course I cheated a bit and brought my XM radio, and my laptop for DVD playback but what's a little movies, music and talk radio with the one you love?!

The 3-night visit was spent taking day trips to nearby Saranac Lake and Lake Placid, Skiing on Whiteface, playing Uno & Scrabble in front of the fire and general quality time with my wife. We fit in a lot and just as our first visit, we enjoyed the 2nd time immensely! A five (out of five) star weekend getaway.

Home Surveillance is the best type of security that one could provide your home. It is both an excellent deterrent to crime and an aid in catching criminals, pranksters or such. I decided when we built our house that I'd like to have cameras around the outside of the house that blended and were not obvious. Is this necessary in Syracuse, NY? Definitely not. Is this proof that I tend to go overboard on my hobby of home automation? Probably.

I plan on reviewing each component of my camera sureillance setup over the next couple weeks. It took me a couple years to find everything I needed to have a smoothly running setup that records all footage from outside and also sends alerts when motion is detected via email.

I have many uses for the cameras.. When motion is detected via motion sensors outside, my TV's picture-in-picture will popup with footage in the PIP window of the camera that there was motion around. After 60 seconds it will turn off PIP. This is controlled by my Stargate automation controller via IR commands. This allows me to know who may be at the front door, who's in our driveway, etc., all from the comforts of the couch. As you may have noticed, the camera feeds also supply live pictures directly to my web site. When I'm traveling, it's always nice to see the house if I get homesick. :)

Many different components went into my setup:

Cameras: I use relatively cheaper cameras. Mostly black & white with one color. I would recommend using color low lux (to allow for night viewing).

Modulators: Modulators allow you to take the video feed from the camera and put the signal onto a channel on your TV. With multiple cameras, you need a modulator that will have as many channels as you have cameras. The camera comes in through an RCA jack, is modulated to the channel of your choice, and the combined channels of the multiple cameras are sent out via coax to your TV(s).

Recording: Without a way to record an archive, the cameras will do you little good. I used VCRs for a while that my home automation controller would turn the channel to a camera that had motion detected, start recording for a designated amount of time and then stop. Although this worked, it wasn't always effective if the IR signals didn't go through. I have since changed to digital recording through a dedicated PC with a large amount of storage to record simultaneously all 6 cameras.

Home Automation Integration: This isn't required to complete your setup, but adds quite a bit of functionality to your house. You can view camera feeds from every TV, have PIP show the camera where motion is detected, send emails with last 5 pics when motion is detected, etc.

Login to post comments or questions here or in the forums. Stay tuned for more...

After adding three TV's to my basement home theater, I noticed some degradation of the Time Warner Digital Cable service that I had. I came across the Motorola Signal Booster and decided to give it a try.

I have my service split with a two-way splitter from the pole. One run goes directly into the cable modem, and one goes into my cable distribution panel to eight jacks (six TVs and two computers).

First, I decided to check and see if it would improve my cable modem signal. I currently have a signal strength of -7dB down and 53 dB up. This is within normal parameters, and I see a download speed of 4.5 Mbps out of Road Runner's advertised 5Mbps, so there is little room for improvement. I found the signal strength by going into the Motorola Surfboard's internal web server at 192.168.100.1. I hooked up the booster after the 2 way splitter on the cable modem side, and then to the surfboard modem. The signal strength went up to 18dB from -7dB! This puts it too "hot" and my throughput on the modem went down to .6 Mbps. Since I didn't have an issue to begin with this did not help me. However those of you experiencing any signal strength lower than -8 will greatly benefit from this!

Next, I placed the signal booster on the other side of the 2-way splitter before my cable distribution panel. As this was my intended purpose for buying the device, I was hoping to get rid of the poor signal strength on many of the TV's since the addition of the home theater TVs. When checking the TVs I had snow or pixelation on previously, all symptoms of poor reception was gone! The picture was crisp on all TVs!

Bottom line, if you have signal problems with either your cable modem, or your TVs and the cable company has not been willing or able to resolve, this may solve your problems!

Cost: $49.99 (cheaper online at Amazon, etc)

Rating: ***** (Out of five)

If you were in charge of a project within NASA which was to send a rocket into space on collision course for a comet 268 million miles away to learn more about the comet and what it is made of, what would you call the spacecraft? Certainly you wouldn't name it after a movie whose plot is about two comets that are heading towards Earth and that will cause massive destruction and possibly wipe out mankind?

Well, our fine folks as NASA have done it. They've launched "Deep Impact" on January 12 to do a fly-by of the comet Tempel 1. On July 4th, they will release the 800lb "impactor" unit of the craft directly in the path of the comet. It will be filmed while it crashes into the comet at 22,800 MPH. The result will be a crater seven stories deep, and it will release debris into space that they plan to study using the main ship's numerous scientific instruments.

I suppose my biggest concern is that the scientists fully admit they know very little about the makeup of comets, yet they aren't concerned about sending something at it that will cause major devastation. Call me crazy, but I think we tend to overestimate our understanding of the universe. Having the people who organized this project name the ship Deep Impact and planning the impact for July 4th in order to have the 1st man made celestial fireworks doesn't give me a warm and fuzzy feeling. Don't get me wrong, I think it's great that we are exploring unchartered territory, as it's the only way for us to learn more, but there has to be something less risky than this! They have to realize that there are materials out there that we've never encountered and don't know what their stability is. Are we confident that 268 million miles is enough of a buffer of any resulting issue?

It seems that each living being has a range of comprehension within that allows them to understand the world around them. Certainly humans, from our own perspective, seem to have the most understanding and have evolved amazingly. However there is a limit to even our comprehension. Time will tell!