Ok, it looks like my Smart Home project Version 2.0 is going to be a big focus here soon. This has really been in the planning for a long time. You might wonder why I say Version 2.0 and that's because back around 1996 or so, I had set up my home with all sorts of X10 devices. Most of them were the Radio Shack Plug n Power devices, but they were really just relabeled. I even had bought a kit from X10 that included a module to connect to my computer's serial port and control them. It was a pretty extensive setup and I had a lot of fun doing it. I still have the majority of those X10 devices stashed away in a box including the computer module.

When I bought my Pine64, I had ordered it off kickstarted with the OpenHab package. This means it came with a Z-Wave module as well as OpenHab installed on an SD card. I was under the impression that I would be able to access some UI on the LCD screen when I ordered it. However, I got the wrong box and the Z-Wave module didn't even fit on the Pine64 in that box. After watching some Youtube videos of somebody who has a setup very similar to what I've had in mind for a while, it gave me some direction.

Tonight I went ahead and got Armbian running on the Pine64 and configured the LCD and Touch. Then I installed OpenHab 2 in the background along with JVM as a dependency. I opened it up in a web browser and maximized it and I think the setup will work beautifully. Also, since I have the LCD box, the Z-Wave module fits inside. I would still like to add a Raspberry Pi to control my 3D Printer, but I will probably just use a real Raspberry Pi for that.

After I get OpenHab completely configured to my liking, I will integrate Alexa and my Apple Watch and other things. Although I was originally planning on hacking the Serial X10 module to control some X10 devices, I hear that it is very inefficient by today's standards and I would probably just be better off replacing wall switches and other things with more modern versions. There's still a chance I may try anyways just for the challenge, but that will be later down the road. The LCD Screen/Raspberry Pi project that I want to work like an echo show will end up being a big part of the controls for this project

I also decided to continue working on the Hackulator tonight and went ahead and soldered everything together. I still need to transfer some files onto the Raspberry Pi Zero W since I was using the Raspberry Pi 3 for Development and set up the Battery Monitoring Program and that will be part of the electrical testing which happens next. That's to ensure all connections are attached properly. Once I confirm that electrical testing is good, then remaining assembly will be done.